home built diesel generator

[@frankperry1543]

This is the kinda project I always think/talk about doing, but never actually do. Thank you for sharing.

[@admcstabby]

Thank god it's not loud. Great work, always love watching videos like this for inspiration! Some say it's "reinventing the wheel", but to me, it's finding economical ways to have something made available that isn't overpriced or over-marketed.

[@haydenc2742]

My son and I got one of the cheap chinese clones...bolted up to his riding lawnmower, we have been running 3q waste oil, 1q diesel and it runs great...it is a bit more smokey...but it runs like a boss! I have yet to see anyone do a long term (100+ hr) run on these things to check for longevity... Definitely cool self build generator...could always find a generator that someone has thrown away and see if a larger generator head would run on it (under reduced load of course) Very very cool!

[@pickles4412]

i also have one of the 196cc diesels in use as a outboard boat engine for my small inflatable boat i didn't put a whole lot of hours on it this summer but it runs like a champ

[@zlimzkat3671]

A Simple and Functional Build. Great Project 😎👍😁 -Z-

[@TechOne7671]

Reminds me of myself about 40 years ago. Forget the unistrut for the chassis, especially the slotted flavour. Get some 1/4x 2” c channel and weld it together. The unistrut will twist to the torsional forces as load is applied to the alternator. What type of governor is the engine using ? Depending on the number of poles in the alternator this will be 1800 or 3600 rpm. Try loading it to its nameplate rating with some electric heaters for say an hour as a shakedown test. All the best.

[@pickles4412]

thoes small disels engines are governed by a gear that pushes the rack back at about 3600rpm and the gen head is poled to 3600rpm acording to the specs. the gen head is not a multi pole sadly but what can you do working on a budget so the generator has to run at full rpm to get the right cylic rate

[@TechOne7671]

@@pickles4412Fair play to you mate, your concept is spot on, she will just need a bit of fine tuning to works to bugs out of her. Handy that the engine comes with a governor as they are another expensive item. The frequency changes won’t matter to modern electronic devices or resistive loads, only synchronous motors will run faster or slower depending on frequency variations. And get a solid welded up subframe to hold the engine and alternator and rubber mount it onto your chassis. When the vibrations start resonating they will shake the thing apart. About 25 years ago I built a standby genset from a 20kW 240/415v 50Hz second hand alternator and a 1.8litre turbo diesel car engine. It took a few years to build using mostly scavenged parts but it works and still does to this day. Only thing is, since building it, we have only had 3 major outages!! I have subscribed and looking forward to see the developments to your machine. Wishing you all the best with your project.

[@winmancaboose]

You need rubber motor mounts to reduce vibration.

[@univisiontech1]

Great project, love the detail. Thank you for posting links to what you've used too, that's awesome

[@ptonpc]

I like this design. It's relatively simple and inexpensive, especially compared to others.

[@pickles4412]

one thing that is a pain with a project like this is the gen head is a fixed output pole so the engine has to be running at full speed to get the required 60hrz that our eletronics expect, that means you cant idle the engine down and save a bit of fuel like some of the commercial gens out there

[@blainecelestaine4543]

Great work

[@jamesgiovagnoli7754]

Great project. Maybe flip the unistrut over and use unistrut nuts

[@keithbowman8492]

Hey brother at the end of the video you said you knew how to weld it would make it a whole lot more sturdy if you use to weld a frame together and then also what will make it more quiet would be to use rubber bushings that will help take away some of the vibration and a lot of the noise but good thumbs up for you you're on the right track just keep working at it you'll get it👍👍👍

[@pickles4412]

I do know how to weld, i have a AC tig welding machine and a mig machine behind all the junk in the garage🤣. But I wanted this project to be bolt together, because I understand that a lot of people don't have a welder, or the skills to weld. The only two tools i used were an angle grinder/havk saw and a drill. 2 very affordable power tools. I did use nylon nuts and lock washer on every bolt and if that's not enough god gave us red locktite

[@electromechanicalstuff2602]

I'd get a solid piece of c channel and bolt all that to it. Also that coupling won't last long if it's not true. We get them down to the thousandths of an inch when mounting motors to pumps etc. otherwise we'll be back in a few weeks to replace the coupler

[@keithbowman8492]

@@pickles4412 yes my friend you are doing the right thing but those nylox and nylon washers will not quiet down the noise you need to have a solid welded frame in order for it to be quieter and then put bushings rubber bushings on your Motor and Engine so that is more quiet you're on the right track my friend keep up the good work

[@duncancremin1708]

I don’t think the spider coupling is going to be dependable, long term. Professional sets use a cone shaped rigid coupling to ensure everything is in line and can’t get out of whack. Parallel sided shafts are more commonly used with pulleys and belts. These are much more tolerant of slight misalignment. Spiders need to be within a few thou of perfect,particularly under load, if they’re not to self destruct. Otherwise, I love this. Thanks for posting

[@jhordan2631]

Nice it could get anyone out of a Jam

[@bencapobianco2045]

Does anyone else feel like they just watched Seth Rogan build a generator??

[@jamesgizasson]

I'd replace those hose clamps so they aren't pinching your cables. Other than that, it's awesome! I have a diesel pickup, so I'm thinking of doing something similar for off grid power. :3

[@alexgoldstein7997]

Nicely done....respect for showing people the correct PPE. I've had to get metal removed from my eye. It's about as fun as it sounds.

[@kf5hcr176]

Well done Sir. I'm thinking like you, but I have a truck alternator, going to use it to charge lithium ion phosphate batteries and then to a LOW frequency inverter, that way I can run it intermittently. I got a low frequency inverter from Amazon for about $200. Either way, I congratulate you for making something work. Don't forget to store engine oil and change it after a few hours as breakin produces lots of metal in the oil.

[@conorgraafpietermaritzburg3720]

Very good thanks 😅

[@DRWebster93]

Pretty cool! Might be nice to add a larger fuel tank in the future for longer run times between fueling.

[@pickles4412]

thats definitely something I will consider doing, one thing i did do was add a small piece of pipe to the fill neck to raise the cap above the diamond plate. made the fuel cap a lot easier to take off and replace

[@jamess1787]

Those are NEMA 240v plugs, not european. Theyre NEMA 2-15. Thanks for the video 👌👍

[@antonioblt9407]

Thanks for sharing, what are the advantages of this setup over a Predator 5000 HF inverter generator?

[@pickles4412]

the bigest advantage this setup has over a HF unit is a wider fuel selection, a simple mechanical diesel engine like I used here is capable of running on a bunch of fuels other than just diesel. things like used cooking oil, automatic transmission fluid and even used engine oil when properly filtred. a diesel engine can also be made to run on propane/natural gas and even LPG just like a gasoline engine. I do also have a predator 1400 generator that i take with me on camping trips because it is compact and quiet

[@antonioblt9407]

@ Having the flexibility to use multiple source of fuel is a great advantage indeed. Thank you this helps a lot.

[@JoshKilen]

very nice job.

[@mp-xt2rg]

It's a fun project. Your better off with a $600 inverter unit And a few propane tanks.

[@wiebewiebstra2848]

nice idea butt not for long . try too get some v belt pully,s and mount it with a v belt . you even can change the rpm too 3000 ore 2500 rpm . i would only weld with it in an emergency. some people buy one time some buy 2 times and some buy 3 times . i would go with 2 solar panels of 400 plus watts one solar controller 3000 watt inverter from victron and one 48 volt 100ah battery . must be good for tv lamps and an normal frige.

[@jamess1787]

What frequency does it run at? I suspect its all over the place depending on load? Thats one nice thing about commercial gens: vfd.

[@haydenc2742]

You can adjust the throttle with a screw, and it has a decent governor built in

[@gibbyrockerhunter]

​@haydenc2742 its a bit more complicated then that, sadly.

[@martinleska4292]

Needs rigid welded frame from thick profile. Its diesel, vibrations are so strong, it will loose every screw on the frame and it will falls apart.

[@pickles4412]

I do know how to weld but I wanted this project to be bolt together. if the vibrations get bad enough ill isolate the engine on rubber bushings but i did already use lock washers and nylon nuts on every bolt and if they do work loose ill put some red Loctite on the bolts

[@martinleska4292]

@@pickles4412 With coupling between engine and alternator you cant use rubber pads under motor. Motor and alternator should be stable with fixed position or misalignment or excessive flexing of frame from torque or vibrations will chew rubber insert inside coupling. I like your idea, but in my country free standing alternator with bare output shaft is more expensive than complete gasoline unit with same power. Even direct shipping from china with additional tax and fees is very expensive.

[@brockallentaylor]

Watch some “how to mig weld” videos and start over with some square tubing... that thing is going to constantly rattle apart. lol. Good info though!

[@danburch9989]

I agree with that. My first thought.

[@pickles4412]

@brockallentaylor i do have a tig welder and the skills to use it but I wanted this project to be bolt together as not everyone has access to a welder. I did use lock washers and nylon nuts on every bolt, and I forgot to mention that in the video.

[@hamop3]

Very considerate to others not having a welder

[@russ9740]

Maybe i missed it, but did you do a cost breakdown?

[@pickles4412]

i did not do a cost breakdown that was an oversite on my part thank you for reminding me i will put it in the discription, the way I did it came in just shy of 1200usd with shipping for everthing included.

[@gamingfuchs9331]

drill out the holes in the engine so it lines up. thats a factory defekt that they arent lined up

[@intercity125]

Nothing European about 60 Hz 240 on a NEMA 6 receptacle!

[@bobbygene8274]

Those are not 'european' outlets. Those are all good ole' USA outlets

[@vitsplays435]

Just wait when it runs away

[@juliogonzo2718]

How do you figure it will run away? The fuel and governor system is very simple and robust. The pressurized lubrication system is all in the bottom end. The only way it is likely to be damaged by overspeeding is by the human controlling it overpowering the governor by hand or by setting the speed too high or monkying with the springs on the 'throttle'.

[@ChrisComp]

If one of those engines run off. With out the fact some idiot messed with the injector pump. It would be a first. Don't have a turbo so that's out of the equation

[@ChrisComp]

​@@juliogonzo2718excatly

[@vitsplays435]

@ it was a joke dumbo

[@MFKR696]

Engine's a Yanmar knockoff, I take it?