Generator modification....

[txslowpoke]

I have tried searching, but found nothing.
Anyways here is my question.......
I have 5500k and 4000 k gen sets, B&S powered, very loud etc.
Would it be feasible to remove the B&S power units and rig up a belt drive system being powered from a car/truck engine? My idea is to mount the motor on a trailer or skid unit, build the necessary brackets to drive the 5500 and 4000 units via a belt and have a 12 volt charger via the alt. I have never broke down a B&S power gen set, so this maybe a stupid question .
thanks

 

[aczlan]

Can it be done? yes, will it be worth it? good question.

what you will need to do is build a pair of jackshafts and put a lovejoy connector on the end of each one, the reason is that the generator bearings are probably not setup to withstand sideloads like a pulley would put on them, this way the jackshaft takes the sideload and just transmits the rotational force to the generator.

The jackshaft would look something like this: http://www.ardcorechoppers.com/images/partspics/page400/Jackshaft2.jpg but with a pulley instead of the sprockets on the one end and the lovejoy coupler would go on the other end. you will need one of these for each generator.

HTH

Aaron Z

 

[Egon]

On many of the small generators I have been told that the generator inboard side uses the engine as the bearing.

 

[Oldmax]

Would be next to imposible the inboard end of the shaft is taperd and uses engine bearing for support . Would take a lot of Machine work .

 

[grfok]

I did exactly what you are proposing with a 5500W homelite generator head. It doues take a fair amount of machine work, at the time I had a mill and lathe so this was no problem. You need to build a bearing housing / adapter to hold the shaft and build the shaft. If you do not have access to a friend with a machine shop... rebuild or repower as it was. Lastly their are generator heads available that are already set up for belt drive.

 

[grfok]

This is a P. S. I'm not sure if you were talking about synchronizing the 4000 and 5500 watt for 9500 watt output.. yes it too can be done but unless you are familiar with synchronizing generators..... don't bother.

 

[schmism]

sell both 4K and 5K gen sets and buy this

10K watts and is ready to bolt on a flywheel for belt turning off a PTO...

 

[bbirder]

Don't leave us hanging like that. Please post a link where we can find this.

 

[radioman]

harbor freight has them

 

[George2615]

As well as Northern Tool and TSC stores.

 

[txslowpoke]

Thanks for all the help and info. I never thought about the side loading.
I have a 318 Dodge motor to use, found a belt drive head as suggested
@ northerntool. The northstar 10k head.
How do I size up the pulleys,RPMS etc?

 

[grfok]

your engine needs a govenor to regulate the speed ( of the generator ) to 3600 rpm to provide 60hZ.
Example: a 4 inch pulley on the engine running 1800 rpms will turn a 2 inch pulley at 3600 rpm..

 

[groundcover]

Go buy a Honda! Running a V8 318 to make 5k is nuts. It is done on shop trucks but for what you will have in this the Honda will be cheaper and the fuel costs will be nill compared to the V8(it will even be quieter).

 

[txslowpoke]

groundcover
I can buy a 10k belt drive head unit for 899.00, so for me its still a feasible project. Plus I can down size to import 4 cylinder like toyota 22r for 500.00 in good running condition. for a power unit. The 318 I have in hand to use so to speak.
Hondas are great units no doubt. 2k units run any where from 1000.00 to 1200.00
The 3k is close 2 grand, none which will work for what I want,not enough power/watts.
A V8 running at 3k rpm is still quieter than B&S 5500 k unit.
Thanks to all for the info posted, it has helped alot. grfok thanks for the info on pulley drives.

 

[CCWKen]

It takes about 2hp per kW. That's around 20hp for the 10kW generator. You can get 20hp from a 318 just off idle. Size the pulleys to keep the engine at low rpm to conserve fuel. Keep in mind that as load on the generator increases, the engine needs to speed up to maintain torque and keep the gen output at 60Hz. Some speed regulation will be needed as load changes.

Maybe a simple cruise control system would work. Just a thought.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

If you are serious about building a genset and need something that can run for expended periods of time and do so reliably, I'd suggest you take a look at one of the ST designed units built in China. Redially available on ebay. They are intended for use running 24/7 for months on end without stopping. Simple design, only bearings and brushes to ever fail. They also operated at 1800 rpm.

One does need to know who you buy these from. The better importers make sure qlty sealed bearings are use and make sure the bridge rect is from a qlty supplier. The gen-head from HF or Northern are not intended to run for extended periods of time and need to turn 3600 rpm for 60Hz power.

As for pulleys, may I suggest you take a looks at Burden Sales Surplus Center - Hydraulics, Engines, Electrical and More as they have some very attractive prices on HD pulleys. Using an automotive engine and with of the ST genset, one could couple/drive driectly with just a coupling to handling alignment issues.

 

[txslowpoke]

CCWken, I was thinking more along the lines of a welding truck style governor. I have to research that to see if I can adapt it. I also want a overheat shutdown system, like on big rigs..kysor I blieve it is called.
BTW, CCWken what part of South Tx you from? Corpus here.


Mickey_Fx, thanks for posting that info, where/how do I find seller on Ebay, that sells the good stuff, to buy from?
Thx again

 

[schmism]

groundcover
I can buy a 10k belt drive head unit for 899.00, so for me its still a feasible project.

you can find one for much less than that especially one of the ST heads mentioned...

as for governor... for something home built... go simple. HUGE flywheel. it will store all the rotational energy you need to get over any startup load hump.

 

[ToadHill]

What about a more efficient muffler?

 

[Mickey_Fx]

...
Mickey_Fx, thanks for posting that info, where/how do I find seller on Ebay, that sells the good stuff, to buy from?
Thx again

There was a seller on ebay that is not far from me and he had a good rep with those how took home power generation seriously. I don't see him selling these any longer.

Best advise I could offer is to read the offerings and see if there is any mention of bearings or bridge rectifiers being upgraded.

Ya might want to check this site out. Generator Heads, Generator Ends, Homemade generator, DIY Generator, Small Diesel, Generator, Lister, Listeriod, one cylinder diesel, Asian Diesels, off grid power, custom pulleys, custom sheaves, as the fellow I'm thinking about was tied in with this site.

Think the ebay store I was thining about was called Powerful Solutions and the seller was sawyer235. Just pulling this off the top of my head and it has been a couple yrs since i gave this any thought.