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Engine Specific Info and Questions => IDI Engine => Topic started by: bigbad on April 16, 2021, 11:10:11 pm
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I am looking for a diesel engine to make a generator. I have seen used engines (supposedly in good condition) for $500 or less. The generator head requires 50 hp turning at 1800 rpm. More hp is ok - there are other tasks it may be doing. Is there a VW car engine that is made to function optimally at this speed? Also, is there an engine made to accept a clutch at both front and back? I would like to put the generator head at one end and possibly a hydraulic pump at the other end.
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I have run across diesel generators made from a VW engine on Craigslist in the past. So yes, you can use a 1.5 or 1.6 NA diesel engine for your purposes. How it connects is anyone's guess. Not sure if they employed a clutch or not.
As for putting a clutch on the front, I would say that is folly. Just run a belt off the crankcase pulley and have it set up to engage with a separate lever arm or tensioner.
Good luck hunting an engine.
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In order to generate 50 HP at 1800 RPM, you need an engine that can produce 145 ft./lb. of torque at that RPM. No naturally-aspirated VW 4-cylinder diesel can do that. You would have to use a 1.9 TDI engine.
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Those generators I saw either run full bore or are connected to generators that need less HP to work.
I think the 1.6 L cranks out 53 HP at somewhere around 3600 RPM. Nowhere near your stated values at 1800.
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rabbid79 is correct that 146 ft-lbs of torque is required for 50 hp at 1800 rpms. Of course, if there is gear reduction between the engine and generator, you could run considerably higher rpms and produce that 50 hp with lower torque. However, that 50 hp is basically the MAX hp a non-turbo 1.6 is rated at and that is at 4800 rpms! I would not want to run a 1.6 for extended periods of time at max hp at 4800 rpms!
A 1.9TDI would be a better choice although would still likely do better with some gearing so it could get higher in its rpms. At 3600 rpms, that would be half the torque, so it would be having a much easier time.