Follow me@ my job in the Hudson Valley as a Gen Tech(pics) - page 1 - General - VWDiesel.net The IDI, TDI, and mTDI source.

• Follow me@ my job in the Hudson Valley as a Gen Tech(pics) by hillfolk'r on 25 Aug, 2007 21:07
• As some of you know,im a gen tech
  I was living in  cleveland ohio for 10 years as a gen tech/engine rebuilder
  Well,about a year ago i moved back to my hometown,and never realized how much I missed it here.
  its "country" here,and i was stuck in the city(cleveland)
  so i wanted to get back into generators,and ive got a great job now in the area where i grew up
  granted things have changed,new developments coming in...
  theres been alot of people moving up from nyc to here(us locals call them "citidiots") :lol:
  But anyways,theres lots of beautiful scenery here+history too
  if George Washington stopped to pee,they marked the area with a plaque :roll:
  enjoy
  ill tell ya the town where  the pic is from,but thats about it
  maybe it can be like a game,and local people reading  this thread can try to locate stuff :wink:
  I got here to Moores Mills for a service,the door was so rotted it fell off
  
  unfortunately a big hairy thing crawled in and died while the door was off
  im not sure if it was a squirill,or 'possum
  
  lol,rofl  now im just up outside Pine Plains and you want me to service that?? I cant even get to it!!!
  this was AFTER i used the truck as a battering ram to get to it a few days previous
  a mouse chewed a hole in the air filter,and went down to the  throttle plate
  needless to say,the unit was faulted out on over crank(no start)
  this is the rear of the unit(gen end)
  
  nice they kept it sorta trimmed around the propane tank,what about the gen?
  this is the left side of the unit(from looking at REAR of gen)
  
  after using about a half a can of wasp spray, i opened the door slowly,getting ready to run like a little girl.
  notice vine growing on door
  
  i forgot  i think this thing is around a 30kw katolight,and has a propane fueled 3.0 gm 4 cyl on it,note mouse poopie
  
  this unit was severely neglected,it was installed in 02,and has approx 79 hours on it,and has the orig. battery+oil filter(never had an oil change)
  
  MAN,look at that view!! too bad it was overcast that day
  
  lookie that view
   :lol:
  Representin the Co.,Yoe :lol:
  
  :
• #1 by burn_your_money on 25 Aug, 2007 21:24
• Very cool.
  
  What is that generator for? it looks like it's in the middle of no where with nothing around
• #2 by hillfolk'r on 25 Aug, 2007 21:31
• its a standby for the house that is a little further up the hill
  yea its gotta be 150 feet away from the house
  to me,its still a "small" generator though,but im gettin used to it
  i dont know if its too good an idea takin pics of these houses
  im sending a link to my boss+manager, sort of a "documentary" ,as long as i post pics occasionally :wink:
• #3 by Slave2School on 25 Aug, 2007 21:33
• Is it common for these generators to be propane powered?  Mostly because the fuel doesn't go bad as fast or what?
• #4 by hillfolk'r on 25 Aug, 2007 21:45
• thats part of it
  i think big gasoline generators were"banned" years ago,fire hazards
  they are now  nat. gas/propane vapor(or liquid with special carb,but very similar to propane vapor)
  usually a simple regulator adjustment /spring removal will convert from natural gas to propane+vise versa
  i havent seen alot of diesels yet, i guess people dont like the noise/smoke
  and they cost more,but usually they sit on top of their own fuel tank
  there have been a few "big " diesels ive seen ,but those are mainly at businesses/industrial places
  propane units are reasonable$$ up to 100kw
  http://pilot.katolight.com/
• #5 by hillfolk'r on 25 Aug, 2007 21:45
• thats part of it
  i think big gasoline generators were"banned" years ago,fire hazards
  they are now  nat. gas/propane vapor(or liquid with special carb,but very similar to propane vapor)
  usually a simple regulator adjustment /spring removal will convert from natural gas to propane+vise versa
  i havent seen alot of diesels yet, i guess people dont like the noise/smoke
  and they cost more,but usually they sit on top of their own fuel tank
  there have been a few "big " diesels ive seen ,but those are mainly at businesses/industrial places
  propane units are reasonable$$ up to 100kw
  http://pilot.katolight.com
• #6 by Slave2School on 25 Aug, 2007 22:57
• Cool it sounds like an interesting job out in the country.
• #7 by punkvideo81 on 25 Aug, 2007 23:40
• cool. yeah, rodents will crawl into anything in upstate ny. There is a groundhog living under my garage, and field mice love living in my garage, while the chipmunks live in the dirt under my porch. fortunately none of them has crawled into one of these spots to die yet. Opening up one of those gen enclosures sounds like junkyard door opening in the midst of summer - you never know if you'll disturb a beehive!
• #8 by subsonic on 26 Aug, 2007 10:09
• Looks like you are in a good area to go deer hunting.  They must be crawling all over the place up there.
  
  Since you are the Gen. man, I have a question for you.  I will have an extra 1.6NA on hand after I do my TD swap.  I was really interested in setting it up as a standby generator.  I have a pos 5K now that sucks down gas like it's going out of style.  I figure a 50hp vw diesel unit should put out all the power I need, and do it for a lot less fuel.  Of course it helps that I can run it off home heating oil   No running out of Gen. fuel during the storm.  I have 3 275gal tanks = 825gal of fuel for the home, Gen. and "off road" use .  I have heard people talk about set-ups like this, but have never seen one.  I figured I could either set it up as a stationary unit in a shed near the house, or have a solid rolling frame built  so it could be somewhat mobile.  Keep it in the garage or something.
  
  Is this something you might be able to help me figure out?  I am guessing this would be real popular.   I looked at some diesel generators a while back that could power the house.  Pretty pricey.  
  I am guessing that if you had a good 1.6 on hand, you could do it for a lot less.  watayathink?
• #9 by hillfolk'r on 26 Aug, 2007 22:46
• most small gens run at 3600 rpms(engine speed),and with a 2 pole rotor,itll give you 60 hz
  a "bigger" 4 pole rotor equipped gen runs at 1800 to give you your 60hz
  theres some equation that ive got in literature
  basically a 4 pole rotor,1hz is = to 30 engine rpms
  1800 rpm gens are so much quieter,but you need more engine
  hp and kw are the "same" measurement,so if you dont have good hp from the engine,it cant handle the load+will slow down engine speed,that is a big no no on generators,gotta maintain the speed
  im thinkin a na vw diesel may be able to run a  15 kw gen at 1800,maybe
  hell you could strap a large gen onto it,and whatever you can get ,ya get
  ive seen a 3-71 detroit engine with a 80 kw gen attached
  the engine would only allow  make enough power to use  about 35,maybe 40kw
  as long as you know your limits,this is acceptable
  id personally prefer a 1800rpm unit,versus a 3600 rpm screamer
  in my pics,the small one is 3600,and the "big camo'ed" one is an 1800rpm unit
  a 1.6 would be ok,yea you could build a housing+ stuff,,put in an automatic  controller for the set,with an automatic transfer switch
  one thing is you need to  do something  to make the governor in the pump to a gen style,so it maintains the speed you set it at  at all times,cause its sitting at a steady speed,or else put on an electronic governor,that may be kinda cool actually
  
  
  i hates meeces to pieces
  
• #10 by subsonic on 27 Aug, 2007 00:11
• I wonder if you could get some gov contols off a 1.9 IDI industrial?
  My gas gen is the 3600 kind.  Way loud, and it just sucks down the fuel.  It does not have enough oomph  to power my well pump and other items in the home.  I dont have a trnsfer switch.  I just throw the main switch off, kill all the breakers I dont need, and backfeed.  Not the best way to do it, kind of a pain in the ass really, but the transfer switch set up aint cheap.  
  Anyone here running a vw diesel Gen setup?
  It would give me some good ammo for when the wife wants me to get rid of that "old nasty looking engine".
  Baby, we NEED it :wink: .
• #11 by lord_verminaard on 27 Aug, 2007 09:11
• VW industrial has used a lot of different engines for Gensets.  4 and 5-cylinder gas, diesel, and even the 2.4 6-cylinder diesel.  I think they even had some aircooled versions of genset engines.  PartsPlace usually has some of these laying around, you might even find a good used gen. to hook up to your existing engine:
  
  http://www.partsplaceinc.com/IndustrialEnginesVolkswagenParts.html
  
  
  Neat stuff.  I have little knowledge of how most of these systems work but they are really interesting.
  
  Brendan
• #12 by hillfolk'r on 27 Aug, 2007 21:45
• back out in ohio in the akron area,a guy used a 1.6 na for a industrial pressure  washer
  he cut up an old  trans and used it like a bellhousing to mount the pump to
  more meeces to pieces in  esopus
  
   he got hungry and ate some wires too
  
  i made a friend in staatsburg,and maybe a date after work
  
  i love this color,i wish i could  get someone to wax it up:lol:
  
  before service
  
  after :wink:
  
  i know one's a 25 kw,and i think the other is too... both katolight
• #13 by QuickTD on 27 Aug, 2007 22:30
• I'll have to post some pics of my home setup. Power goes out monthly out here in the sticks. I felt pretty stupid standing around in the dark so last year I finally built one for myself. 3cyl 870cc thermo king (yanmar) diesel, 8kw meccalte 1800rpm gen, dynagen autostart controls and an interlocked breaker whole house transfer switch setup. Super quiet and built for life. I can fire it up and transfer it remotely while still in my underwear.
  
   I work on lots of generators, but it isn't my specialty. I'm more of an industrial controls/machinery guy. I repair lots of regulators and control boards for the local gen guy and get sucked into a bit of field work on occasion, usually stuff that is larger, uglier and more complicated than he wants to deal with. I also have greenhouse customer with a 900hp@900rpm 565kw cooper-superior natural gas prime power unit and a 450kw 16v71 for standby. Big stuff... The noise is incredible in those closed rooms with those big engines. I just hate working on them. I also work on a bit of airline ground power and aircraft air conditioning equipment. That stuff sits on the tarmac year-round with the block heater plugged in, makes it an excellent source of mouse and raccoon ***e, sometimes even run into the animals themselves...
• #14 by subsonic on 28 Aug, 2007 09:18
• That big green one next to the house, you should paint on some eye brows and a nose. :lol: