R175B/110-555

[scottpeterd]

It isn't finished yet, but it's working.

The 175B was swapped from a fishing canoe in Lake Victoria in Uganda; the triple nickle from Eric at Romaine Electric in Tacoma, WA.

The regulator is a Sterling Pro-D.

Using it to charge a 24v 1000Ah battery bank in my RE syste, based on mobile-bob's work.

All the metal used in the chassis was repurposed, a lot ot it from old roof racks from Land Rover. Rails and trolley are from a old air compressor.  Engine rubber mounts are from a small Toyota.

The 140Ah battery at the end of the chassis is temporary for testing.

It's home is Kampala, Uganda.

[mobile_bob]

how is the system working out for you?

how many amps can you get with the 175 driving it?

and last, but not least, how do you like the sterling regulator?

thanks for posting

bob g

[quinnf]

Looks just like my R175A.  I wonder what the difference is.

Quinn

[scottpeterd]

Ummm...

Mine came off a 'B'oat outboard drive?

[scottpeterd]

Bob,

For the first couple of tests, it never got above 40 amps. But my battery bank was not very discharged (lots of sun recently, and both daughters off to the states for college.

I'm stateside now chasing them down and rounding them up for school.  I'll be back to Africa in mid-september to play some more. 

I'm using a separate shunt with my outback flexmate to check the output.  I'm somewhat tempted to get the Sterling remote monitor to mount on the genset itself.

One weak point is that I only have a double 'A' pulley on the 555 right now.  i just picked up a double 'B' pulley from Romaine Electric yesterday that I'll be taking back with me.

Thanks for the inspiration for this project.

I'm using it with our Unicef Technology for Development project to stimulate some thinking for micro-grid projects in North Uganda and South Sudan.  I've got  Finnish university project interested in doing the pilot projects.

[mobile_bob]

your double A belts should be able to handle up to 130amps at 28.8volts no problem, provided of course you have enough power input

don't think you will need B section belts for this application

i am using a pair of AA section belts which drive two of the 555 alternators, one is used to charge the starting battery and provide the excitation current for the other 555 which was used to do all the power testing. there was no slippage evident and the drive components including the belts only saw a very slight increase in temperature over ambient.  so i would be hesitant to go with B section belts.

thanks for the pretest results, look forward to hearing more later.

bob g

[veggie]

CAUTION...

when you buy your belts, make sure your belts are labeled "A" section and not "5L".
Some stores sell 5L belts as "A" belts and they are not the same.

Eg: A50 or 5L-500
Both are 50" belts and both are "A" width.

BUT the "5L" belts are fractional horsepower rated and will not carry the power you need.
(5L series are made for furnace blowers and 1/2 - 1/3hp electric motors.)

Nice project !

veggie

[mobile_bob]

Good point out there Veggie!

another addition that one should do if he has the option
that is use AB pulleys, they are made to use either A or B section
and if you use A section they ride deep in the grooves contacting all the available
side of the belt

the other thing is to use AX section belts most especially on applications such as this
with small radius pulleys, the AX belts also can handle about 30-40% more power than a standard A belt, same goes for the BX series belts.

i would say they are not necessary for this application, but i would still use them if they are available.

bob g

[scottpeterd]

Ok,

Now I'm confused.  the Changfa has a 'B' type pulley.  I can't change it for anything else (the local dealer does not have interchangeable pulleys for anything under the 185).  I bought a 'B series pulley from Romaine electric for the 555, so now i have an'A' an a 'B' pulley. I was planning on getting a common back 'B' belt.

Pete

[mobile_bob]

you can certainly do as you like, and use a B pulley on the alternator
but it is way more than is needed for the power available

2 A belts can easily handle all the power the engine can deliver, and if you
went with 2 AX series belts they could handle twice the power of the engine.

the common back is generally a good thing, however i am not sure the chinese groove
spacing on the pulley is correct for a common back, something to verify before you lay out the bucks and get back to africa. although if the spacing is not correct  you could cut the belts apart and use them as a perfectly matched pair.

bob g

[veggie]

Bob,

I measured the "B" groove in the stock Changfa pulley and it is a dedicated "B" groove.
An "A" belt falls all the way to the bottom of the groove without sufficient contact on the sides.
Unfortunately, Changfa stock pulleys MUST use "B" section belts.

Veggie

[mobile_bob]

well now that is something different, my 175's use dual purpose pulleys, maybe they quit doing that in recent production?

i can't imagine the need for a B section belt for a 175, however if that is what there is to work with now, then i would suggest a BX notched type belt, because it will flex a bit easier and run a bit more efficiently.

bob g

[scottpeterd]

Thanks for that double check.  i wanted to do that before I left Africa, but could not find a 'b' series belt.  I was told by the Chinese agent that I could not use auto belts with the pulley, but that I had to use agrocultural belts.

I guess that's the difference between the 'A' and 'B'

Just to hedge my bets, I ordered both 'AX and BX notched belts, and a common back BX belt to take back with me.

[veggie]

well now that is something different, my 175's use dual purpose pulleys, maybe they quit doing that in recent production?

i can't imagine the need for a B section belt for a 175, however if that is what there is to work with now, then i would suggest a BX notched type belt, because it will flex a bit easier and run a bit more efficiently.

bob g

Hi Bob,

Just to follow up, I checked my 175.
It has a dedicated "A" section pulley.
So my engines with "B" pulleys are B only, and the engines with "A" pulleys are A only.
Now...that does not mean that Changfa is the same as JianDong or LianFA, or Flying Fish or....or.....or.

So I guess there is no fixed rule other than "check what you have" and make sure you buy the correct belts for your particular pulley. 

cheers,
veggie

[mobile_bob]

well that just goes to show you,, shame on me for making an assumption!
and i don't know why i did, i know better than doing so!

it stands to reason that the supplied pulleys are probably made in offsite job shops
and are probably spec's for whatever is cheapest that day.

maybe the best castings when turned come out clean as an A groove, and those that are rougher
clean up to being B groove pulleys, and maybe there are some that machine out to being dual use deeper cut pulleys that can run either? 

nothing should surprise us i guess.

thanks Veggie for the info!

bob g