Kubota D1005 3-cylinder diesel, direct drive 1800 RPM generator project

[Carlb]

I have both gravity feed and siphon feed guns and have used both.  Both guns have a vent in the top of them so if either one is tipped too far to either side when they have a lot of paint in them they will leak out of the vent hole then the vent will clog and the gun will stop working until you clean the vent hole. I prefer the gravity feed as i have found siphon guns to be a little finicky with more viscous paints.  you just have to be aware of the amount of paint left in the cup when you need to paint in odd positions.

Just my 2 cents.   If i were closer to a HF I would pickup up one of those guns for 9.99 heck if you have a 20% off coupon it only cost 7.99 

[Henry W]

I read up on gravity feed vs siphon feed and I decided to go for the gravity feed gun. I have a small compressor and it puts out enough CFM to operate a low pressure gravity feed gun. It will not keep up with a siphon feed gun. I will be close to Harbor Freight tomorrow so I will pick one up.

Thanks,

Henry

[Henry W]

The chinese starter I just purchased stopped working. It turns out the selonoid quit working. Well I pulled out the other starter that does not fit and took a good look at it. It is a Denso starter made in Japan. I took both starters apart and I could not believe that all the internal parts on the Chinese starter are exact copies of the Denso starter. So I swapped out the selonoid and the starter works fine.

Henry

[piperpilot3tk]

Henry, I would love to have a Kubota genset to back up my listeroid, and in fact I almost bought one yesterday but was a little too late.  My question is how much can one save by building a unit like you did opposed to buying from Central Maine Diesel or some other retailer?  BTW you're gen set looks awesome, it should serve you well for a long time.

[Henry W]

High piperpilot3tk,

Thanks for the comments.

The key in building one is lots of patience. If you have the time and patience to search craigslist every day and find components you can save a lot of money.

So far I have $3,419.00 invested in the project. When it is completed I estimate the total cost will be around $4,200.00 for a brand new custom genset. I think that is not to bad. At least I know what I have.

I had some help by selling some of my personal engines. So far this has funded everything for the project. I enjoy building custom projects to my personal taste and so far this one was a pleasure to build. So far everything has worked out fine.

Henry

[piperpilot3tk]

Thanks for the reply Henry.  You made out really well!  I just missed out on a new D905 genset for the same money you have in yours.  I am still kicking myself

[piperpilot3tk]

I may have a lead on a Mitsubishi genset in the 6-9 Kw range.  Do not know the specs yet, but aren't these powered with Yanmars?  I had my heart set on a Kubota due to a perceived abundance of spare parts.  So how do the Yanmars compare to the Kubotas as far as longevity, maintainability, parts cost and availability?  Thanks, Mike H.

Did some research, found that the unit is most likely powered by a Mitsubishi L3E diesel.  Could not find much info on this engine, just a PDF spec sheet that is vague.  Does anyone have any hands on with the small Mitsubishis, do they have replaceable liners, are parts available?

[Henry W]

The reason I went with the Kubota is availability and price of parts.

It is to bad you lost out on the D905 setup. But I see some come up craigslist and ebay often.

The Mitsubishi L3E diesel is a good engine but they are not abundent where I live. The thing I would look into before purchasing one is parts availability and cost. For myself, this alone would be the deciding factor on the purchase.

Please take some time to check things out before purchasing. It could save you lots of headaches down the road.

Henry

[Henry W]

There is not much info on web for the L3E engine.
I looked for about half hour and came up with the spec sheet you probably saw.

Henry

[piperpilot3tk]

Good advise, thanks Henry.

[hal]

Henry, your project is top shelf.   I have a similar build but with the smaller 905.

Can you post up the part number for the extended capacity oil pan?   It should also fit the 905, correct?

[Henry W]

Hi Hal,

Welcome aboard.

Yes the oil pan will fit the D905. The only problem is I got a new take off from a Kubota dealer and no part number was written down.

How many quarts does your engine take? The larger oil pan only gives the engine 5-1/2 quarts capacity.

Talk to the guy's at http://www.nextgenerationpower.com/index.html

They are a good bunch and they will be able to help you out.

Henry

[piperpilot3tk]

Henry, good news!  The D905 engine/generator that I missed out on a couple of weeks ago came back for sale after the first guy backed out due to lack of funds.  So today I picked it up at the freight dock and took it to the hangar.  This engine /alternator is a NOS '06 leftover unit from the Ingersoll light plant assembly line.  All I need to do is build a base and plumb in a fuel tank and turn the key.  The alternator is even wired with an electrical panel, although no gauges were included with the engine.  All fluids were drained proir to shipment so I picked up a gallon of 10W30 Rotella 5 and some antifreeze at wallyworld.  After looking at this post again it looks like my engine has the deep sump oil pan so I guess I should pick up a couple more quarts of oil.  Do you have a good part number for the oil filter?  I looked at the Wix website and they list filter P/Ns 51064 and 51344 for the D905E engine.  The only apparent difference between the two filters is the length, the 51344 is an inch longer. 

Two other things I need are the service manuals and the part number for the radiator screen that you have on you're set-up.  Would you happen to know where to locate these?

[Henry W]

Hi piperpilot3tk,

That is great news! Your patence paid off.

Congratulations on the purchase.

The Wix filter I use is 51344. Yes they are about an inch longer.

I talked to the application engineer at Kubota and he recommended 15-40 for hot days, and 10-30 for cooler days.

On first startup get everything adjusted as soon as you can and than get a good load on it right away to seat the rings.

Which radiator screen are you talking about? The front screen or the screen that protects fingers and other stuff from getting caught in the fan?

About the manuals, call up a Kubota engine dealer and give them the engine serial number. They might also need the engine code number. They should be able to get you the proper manuals. They are now cheap but at least you will have all the info you will need.

Henry

[Randybee1]

Two other things I need are the service manuals and the part number for the radiator screen that you have on you're set-up.  Would you happen to know where to locate these?

Who makes your unit? I have the same set up, a 905D Kubota direct connected to a 6KW Onan Generator. The whole set up runs at 1800 rpm. If you have the same set up, look on the Gen head and get the model #, then call an Onan dealer for the parts/service manual. The manual for the gen head is about 18.00 and for the engine its about $30.00

Randy B