Small Changfa 180 mini CHP system heats water and makes electricity

[veggie]

Nice clean system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv0I2rEGK3M

[Henry W]

Veggie, thanks for posting this.
I just spent a half hour and from what I understand, the engine Alex Dr. Lange originally used was the R180.

The engine experienced bearing failure and other things. He repowered the CHP unit with a Kubota D722.

He shared his thoughts about the Chinese diesels and unfortunately he has a very negative opinion of them. He did mention that he felt the bearings were undersized. Possibly a design flaw?  I never seen a R180 so I can only speculate that the bearings were possibly  low quality or, timing was too far advanced and the bearings were hammered to death.

Overall, it was a nice setup and something we can go to and learn from.

Looks like a very clean setup.

[veggie]

Henry,

It is strange that he had failures with the Changfa style units.
There are so may other systems using that engine.
(As far as I know the 175 and 180 are identical, just a 5mm difference in bore size)
Although that casing does look quite different than the 175/180 that I have. Looks lighter built and it does not have an oil pressure indicator on top of the side cover. I think it's a light duty version. The same way the 195's available as an R195 or an S195. Very differently built,
I see that he added an oil filter adapter to the lube system.

[Henry W]

I agree, The gearcase looks different from anything that I seen. Would be something if this variant can be broken down and compared with the ones we know.

Something else to think about. Has the oiling system modification compromised oil flow on this variant?

[mobile_bob]

personally i think it wrong to dismiss a complete line of engines, or rather all of the chinese engine's based on the experience of one example.

especially a modified example,  done by someone unknown to the community, no matter how clean his work appears to be.

there are so many things that could cause a brg failure, admittedly most of which are oil/lubrication related.

anytime we set out to modify an original design, we take on the responsibility for whatever the outcome might be, good or bad. it seems as though when it is a good outcome one is fast to take credit, but when it is a bad outcome it seems to always be pointed back to the manufacture as a bad design, bad build, inferior parts, etc.

personally i put little to no credibility in the report, that is until i see some evidence of what failed, pictures are always a good thing.

plain brgs generally don't just up and fail, unless they are starved of oil, or fed dirty/grit laden crap.  most of the changfa designs i have seen when it comes to the plain brg varieties have never shown to be undersized, or deficient in design. 

when it comes to the roller/ball brg main brg of the larger engine's, the brgs are quite large for what they are expected to do, and being rolling element brgs, they require only enough lubrication to provide for cooling, certainly much less than plain brgs... the 180 series likely uses plain brgs, i don't think they would use roller/ball brg mains.

now if the 180 has counter shafts, and he had an early failure of a countershaft brg, maybe he had a bad brg, cheap brg?

again who knows,

in all the years folks on this forum and the our sister forum, having used the changfa/clones, apart from counterbalance shaft brg failures, i don't recall even a single rod or main brg failure? 

with as many of these buggers having been built for decades and ran in some of the most inhospitable places, with poor maintenance, likely nasty oil that is strained and reused over and over again, it just doesn't seem likely that there would be an inherent weakness in the design.

but what do i know?

bob g

[Henry W]

Bob, your right. We can't base ones negative comments that Chinese engines are junk. As others mentioned, there are many operating with many hours. I personally have not seen any failures. I've heard some minor issues but never witnessed them myself. So, what can this mean? Can't believe everything we read or hear.

The Golden Flying Fish S195 I had was a direct injected engine and if I listened to others opinions after purchasing it I would of been disappointed. But, after removing the crankcase and gearcase covers to inspect it I realized that parts were of good quality. I think most parts are made to standardized specs by manufactures that make parts. If there are any issues, it could be from assembly from just a few of the many manufacturers that purchase the parts from the suppliers to assemble these engines. Overall, it does not mean an engine is junk, or, it's a poor design. It means that training of workers on the assembly line is lacking, tooling not up to standards, and QA lacking.

From my experience, I pull the crankcase, gearcase and valve covers off all engines and do a visual inspection on any engine. Heck, I pulled the valve cover off the Kubota D1005 engine and the Kubota EB300 engine before running them.
Why? It's how I've been conditioned all these years in manufacturing.

I've seen good workers make unintentional mistakes. No manufacturing facility is immune to error. It is very hard or in lots of cases, almost impossible for manufacturers to check 100% of products being produced.

The Golden Flying Fish S195 did need to be reworked some:

1--Installed higher quality fasteners on the counter balance shaft and governor assembly.

2--Replaced one main bearing and shimmed crank end play to proper specs.

It might not of been put together with Changfa quality standards. But, once the engine was set up and operating properly, the engine was one tough work horse.

One of my all time favorite engines to work on.

As others here and around the world experienced with Changfa and others, they sure can take abuse and they will run for some time.

I've also learned that with all the exposure I've had in manufacturing that at times, I'm my worst critic. Sometimes I would sit on a project and think what if...  Nothing gets done sitting on the fence.

Henry

[playdiesel]

I confess to not listening to the entire video but I do own almost the entire range or R series diesels from various manufactures and R165 to 1115. The variations in quality are large, very large.

There is not a doubt in my mind that if a prospective buyer shops long enough for the cheapest Chinese diesel engine of a given type, and then proceeds to squeeze the seller on price that his price offer will be met,,,,
and when engine arrives the cylinder block be made of paper with a plastic crankshaft and a wood piston. 

My Changfa R180 has more hours than any otber diesel I own and has been totally reliable in every respect. On the other hand my R165 was built by some xyz Bicycle Company (no kidding!) and looks like  a cheap toy.  It runs but Id bet on a short lifespan. Now, for big time quality the Lai Dong 1115 takes a back seat to no other engine from anywhere.

Also in that video it sounds like the engine is running balls to the wall. Totally unrealistic to think its going to last forever at that RPM,, in my opinion.

[Henry W]

+1 It did sound heavily loaded.

And, some buyers are so unrealistic of the price of materials and good labor. Yet they think they can purchase engines for almost nothing and expect it ot last for thousands of hours.

I bet some of the sellers were taken down on the price so much that they probably felt it might be best to send the buyer a crate full of iron ore with instructions written in Mandarin how to build an engine.

In other countries respect is still part of their culture.

[Tom Reed]

My NM195 is a genuine ChangChi from a Hardy Diesel genset. I don't know how many hours it had on it when I got it, but it's doing an excellent job on our wood chipper. It sometimes runs 6-7 hours per day. I did just put a new injector in it as the old one was grinding its self up and damaging the nozzles. The 10Si alternator mount is working great along with the 9 gal fuel tank.