What engine to power water pump??

[northcreek2624]

Hi folks!
I'm looking for a power plant to turn a 4"x3" centrifugal water pump,the manuf.suggest a 25-40 hp engine that can operate comfortably at 2600 rpm.
I'd like to go diesel but,have not ruled out gas.A compact tractor engine would be great if the prices were not in the stratosphere.
Can anyone think of any compact car diesel engines that would work,I guess more hp wouldn't hurt.Also is there an aftermarket governor unit that can be added to an engine.
This may be a tall order but,I'm trying to help my son who has limited $$ to spend on this venture.

Thanks for looking and hopefully your ideas.....Mike.

 

[SimS]

Mike;
Try looking at the Wisconsin V4 line up. They have them from 30 to 65 hp. Integral governors, air cooled, proven over time and always on ebay.
Sim

 

[northcreek2624]

Thanks Sim,I had forgotten about the old V4,at one time you saw them everywhere.........thanks,MIKE.

 

[Soundguy]

Look at surpluscenter.com.. they sell lots of stationary gas and diesel engines.. as well as some perkins power units with the 'wide open' governor throttle sets like for generators or welders.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[MarkV]

A friend just bought a very nice saw mill that is powered by a VW engine. I think they are in the right hp range, air cooled, easy to work on and should be cheap to find.

What will you be using that much pump for?

MarkV

 

[northcreek2624]

Thanks Soundguy,I had checked them earlier they had a Perkins that would have been perfect but,are no longer available......Mike.

 

[northcreek2624]

Thanks Mark,Those VW's are getting a little scarce,I'm leaning towards a 24hp Honda V-twin,reliable and pretty reasonable too.
My son co-owns a MX track and we are upgrading the watering truck.We have a 5 ton army truck(old truck was 2wd),we have placed a 6000 gal tank on it and want to increase the pump from 3" to 4" intake,it's kinda like Monster Garage......Mike.

 

[jeffmc134]

what GPM and pressure are you trying for. I have a supercross track and water it with a 2000 gallon tank. i use a 2hp electric motor (about 125 GPM). i pull the tank behind my kubota. how are you going to control the water flow?

www.ridemudroad.com

 

[northcreek2624]

Jeff,We have two national caliber tracks on 130 acres of naturally rugged land.We run practice,race,school,member and special events.
Our water truck is modeled somewhat like the one used at Steel City.The spray nozzles are controlled by air valves...thanks,Mike.

www.area51motocross.com/

 

[JRP]

Deutz makes nice small air cooled diesels.
My preference would be for a Honda air cooled.

 

[northcreek2624]

Thanks JRP,I'm thinking Honda too....Mike

 

[MossRoad]

What about the diesel VW engines? They seem to be plentiful in the junkyards.

 

[jeffmc134]

Awwh, the steel city trucks are top notch. Racer Productions has some very nice and very expensive equipment. www.northerntool.com have some water pumps and engines.

what about these air valves, how much do they cost and where can you get them?

 

[northcreek2624]

Mossroad,I was thinking about an old VW rabbit diesel,don't know much about them though......thanks,Mike

 

[northcreek2624]

"what about these air valves, how much do they cost and where can you get them?"
Here's where we got the valves and other stuff.

www.watertrucks.com

 

[MossRoad]

Me neither, but it's always fun to learn! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Also, have you considered an old tractor? I've seen several around that people just took the wheels off and put them on a stand in woods or field with a fuel tank near them and ran PTO water pumps off of them. Looks like they were old Ford units. You can still get parts for most of them.

 

[Soundguy]

Ford made lots of standalone power units for industrial applications.. from genset to air and waterpump engines. most of them came with the sheet metal and grill/side panels from the ford N series, including dash and gauges.

Tractor chassie and pto or pulley/flywheel setups were popular as well.

Soundguy