| i started building a belt driven generator about a year and a half ago. A gm-90 (lister clone) of 14 hp was purchased in north Carolina (west coast shipping is just too much for me). A 10KW, Chinese 1800 rpm generator from Ohio. (I realize they don't match load wise but the 10KW was cheaper than the match). The engine was rated for 14hp at 1000 rpm, but I fabricated a pulley to allow the engine to achieve 1800 generator rpm with 900 engine rpm. I chose to drive the generator with a seven groove belt that also fits my F250 diesel pickup. The specs for the pulley grooves were found in the Machinery's Handbook. to give the pulley some flywheel effect it was made of weldment of two inch thick steel plate welded to a 4 inch round for the hub. the final pulley weighed in at around 60 lbs. a base was made of 6 inch channel, 3/4 inch base plate for the engine. the generator was mounted on a 1/2 inch plate that slid on channel rails, belt tension being furnished by a Chevy valve spring compressed against the sliding plate. the engine included a belt driven water pump, but I decided to use thermosphoning instead. this complicated the design some in that an elevitated frame had to be added to the channel base. i wanted to have the unit somewhat portable so all components had to be mounted on a common frame. A David Brown tractor radiator was used for cooling. (I have three DB tractors on the farm). The radiator was mounted in a spring isolated frame. Well that's about it.
I've had the house on this rig for about 6 hours now. Old farm house, two kids, wife and I. Electric water heater, 1 hp well pump, two 1500 watt electric heaters, then all the other stuff two TV's , two computers, every dang light in the house, (I did mention two kids didn't I?). The voltage has drifted between 118 and 121. My generator has a variable voltage adjustment and the vibration of the generator may have an effect on that. I have monitored the frequency with a recording meter. It has varied from a min. of 59 to 61 Hz. So so far so good.
What would I do different. Someone warned me that the listers vibrate. That may be an understatement. My unit is sitting on a wooden pallet now for ease of movement after all work is completed, and this is contributing to the vibration of the unit. The vibration is amplified in the movement of the generator on its spring tensioned, sliding mount. I think it would be better to weld the generator plate directly to the base and then use a spring tensioning pulley to maintain belt tension. (just like under the hood of my F250. Oh well, another excuse to go to the junkyard). The control box of the Chinese generator is way too light and not mounted very well. I will have to fabricate another one (someone already mentioned that fact on Georges site).
My wife just started cooking Thanksgiving Supper for our friends and us. Add an electric oven, three stove top elements, and the microwave. The voltage dropped to 111 and frequency to 55, the engine throttle is full open, and my 50 amp welding plug is getting warm, so I guess that's the max.
Well thank for listening, They have started supper without me and my wife is looking at me cross-eyed, so I had better go.
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