Small Diesel Engine suppliers

[Jacka Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jacka]

I am looking to find a 10-12Hp diesel engine that will like a drop of Biodiesel!

Have a Gen that has a 10Hp petrol engine on it and I want to replace the engine with a diesel to run with the bus I want to use a single fuel so diesel it has to be.

I know some of you would likely have had dealings with small engines so any information that you can provide would be great.

Thanks

[John H Member Find all posts View Profile Close John H]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

Hi Jacka,
Have you had a look on Ebay, sometimes there are diesel engines and generators on there, a couple of things to look out for, matching the alternator running speed to the generator running speed and rule of thumb engine HP to be possibly double the KVA rating of the alternator. At the moment there are 2" water pumps with 6.7HP ??? engines going for about $300+, they would run about 3KVA. Sometimes there is a fair bit of machine shop work to mate two different makes together.
That was my experience from a few years ago.

Regards
John H

[Guest Close David]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

Is the alternator and the engine bolted together as one unit or are they 2 seperate units conected with a coupler or belts?

[Geoffwin Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Geoffwin]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

this is a 10 horse @ $700 chinese diesel

eBay Australia: Diesel Engine 10 HP (item 190109389245, end time 13-May-07 18:42:47 AEST)

I did see a smaller one for $490.

eBay Australia: 10.0hp Diesel Engine Direct Injection 4 Cycle Brand New (item 290112402872)

Don't know about quality though?

Geoff

[sean musso Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close sean musso]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

Hi jacka i have a 6 kva chinese gen erator that i brought brand new single cylinder it runs alittle rough on 100 %bio but after mixing about 20% dino diesel its seems to have solved this problem also this gen is used nearly every week for 4 years and i havent had a single problem at only a quarter of the price of a yanmar hope this helps

[Jacka Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jacka]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

Hmmm Sean sounds like a plan. Did you get it from ebay or some local supplier?

I really can get away with a 6Kva so that wouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for the info guys.

[sean musso Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close sean musso]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

i got it from a local supplier in melbourne

[Tony From West Oz Vice Chairperson of WARFA Find all posts View Profile Close Tony From West Oz]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

Dave,
Do a search on eBay for "Diesel Generator". You will come up with many diesel gennies in the 4.6 - 6 KVA range for up to $1500, many of these are low noise (~72dBa @ 7M), but the "construction site" styles have much higher noise levels.
Unless you really need 3 phase, go for the single phase units, as uneven loading on a 3 phase unit results in poor efficiency and high fuel consumption.

Tony

[Guest Close Marc1]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

I am looking to find a 10-12Hp diesel engine that will like a drop of Biodiesel!

Have a Gen that has a 10Hp petrol engine on it and I want to replace the engine with a diesel to run with the bus I want to use a single fuel so diesel it has to be.

You are not saying if it is a DC or AC generator. If its a DC you can just change the engine and don't worry about revs but if it is an AC to supply 220/240V 50 Hertz you may have an issue with the revs if you change from petrol to diesel.

To buy a good quality new diesel engine you will have to spend good money. Kubota is perhaps the best value for money at this moment. Good quality yet not as dear as JD or Caterpillar. I like the horizontal "one lunger". Shop around for price there are variations and Kubota Australia is not the cheapest as you can imagine.
Kubota Australia :: Categories :: Products
Hatz is a lighter engine but also good stuff. Remember water cooled is quieter then air cooled
Hatz Australia : Our Products
From there down in price you can either go second hand or Chinese knock off. Some of the Chinese are acceptable quality however I am told that there are a few Chinese diesel particularly marine, sold to Indonesian fishing boats, that are worth a few hundred dollars but are disposable, that is, once they loose compression can not be repaired since the cylinders are chromed over very low quality cast.
As suggested by others, e-bay is a source of lots of stuff, and the usual gamble in quality or condition.
see this diesel knock off, this is your typical camping ground neightmare

This is my personal favorite, there use to be a NZ supplier but they are becoming a collectors item. I am sure it would go on straight Canola oil without missing a beat.
Sabb 2JHVP Marine Diesel Engine
Listen to this wonderful music
http://home.no.net/sabb1/bakke.wav

[tillyfromparadise Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tillyfromparadise]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

Hello Mark,
I am not sure you would be happy with the results you get from driving a DC generator designed to be driven at 3600 RPM with a Diesel running at 1800 RPM without changing a pully or two.

You are not saying if it is a DC or AC generator. If its a DC you can just change the engine and don't worry about revs

[Gunner Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gunner]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

Another possible option is the Honda GD411. Somewhat pricey, but Honda engines have a good reputation. I'd bet it would outlive 5 Chinese copies.

[Guest Close Marc1]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

Hello Mark,
I am not sure you would be happy with the results you get from driving a DC generator designed to be driven at 3600 RPM with a Diesel running at 1800 RPM without changing a pully or two.

Well...small diesel engines do not run necessarily at half the revs of petrol one, to start with. Second a DC generator will deliver very similar tension at different revs so yes, the results would be the same in the sense that you can run and use the generator. Your car's alternator is prove of it.
Run an AC generator at anything but the exact revs necessary to deliver 50 HZ and you are in trouble.
However without more details I have my reservations about the economics of re powering a small generator unless it is something really top of the range.
Here is a real steal. If this is a genuine Yanmar, $500 would probably buy the manifold and the fuel tank: check this out

[Qwarla Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Qwarla]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

If you are thinking of changing the engine on a genset there is more to consider than just what engine to buy. I have a Honda 2.8 KVa. Looking on the Honda site at theh type of engine on my generator there are many variations to that engine. Of concern is the end of the crankshaft. It can be straight or tapered, keyed or unkeyed, drilled and threaded internally, or not drilled.
So if your genset is like most with the generator bolted up to the engine the first thing to do is slpit them apart and find out what, and how it is driven.
Then and only then can you seriously start looking for a replacement.

No point getting a good deal on a engine with a straight keyed shaft only to find you need a tapered and threaded shaft.

[tillyfromparadise Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tillyfromparadise]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

Hello Mark

Well...small diesel engines do not run necessarily at half the revs of petrol one, to start with.

Not necessairly, but if you do some research you will find that lots of small diesel powered generators run at 1800 RPM and lots of Small Petrol powered Generators run at 3600RPM.

Second a DC generator will deliver very similar tension at different revs

If by tension, you mean voltage, Only if it is designed to do so. Unregulated generator open voltage is directly related to RPM.
This Website is an interesting read.

so yes, the results would be the same in the sense that you can run and use the generator. Your car's alternator is prove of it.

A car alternator is a special case. It is designed to give Charging voltage/current at very low RPM so that if you idle the motor for a long time you will not flatten the battery. Many automotive alternators can have their regulator modified to produce out 100 volts or more.
Back in the good old days when cars had real generators that weighed 8kg and you had to replace the brushes every couple of years, you could flatten the battery if you idled the car long enough, especially if you had any lights on (I have done that more than once).

Run an AC generator at anything but the exact revs necessary to deliver 50 HZ and you are in trouble.

I am not talking about AC generators.

However without more details I have my reservations about the economics of re powering a small generator unless it is something really top of the range.
Here is a real steal. If this is a genuine Yanmar, $500 would probably buy the manifold and the fuel tank: check this out

[Guest Close Marc1]

Re: Small Diesel Engine suppliers

If you are thinking of changing the engine on a genset there is more to consider than just what engine to buy. I have a Honda 2.8 KVa. Looking on the Honda site at the type of engine on my generator there are many variations to that engine. Of concern is the end of the crankshaft. It can be straight or tapered, keyed or unkeyed, drilled and threaded internally, or not drilled.
So if your genset is like most with the generator bolted up to the engine the first thing to do is split them apart and find out what, and how it is driven.
Then and only then can you seriously start looking for a replacement.

No point getting a good deal on a engine with a straight keyed shaft only to find you need a tapered and threaded shaft.

I agree, however to re power a generator with a different engine and hope to get one that bolts straight on, would be like winning the lotto. Some engineering will be necessary for sure...and some electrical work too. Which brings us to the initial point, is it worth it?

As for a generator without a regulator? Of course it is possible but not plausible...unless we are talking about a dynamo on a push bike.