I live in the UK in a little town in the Cotswolds' called Dursley where The Lister engine was very lightly made , it was the home of the Lister engine it is where the main factory was , my grandfather and my farther worked and my brother did a Lister apprenticeship which was one of the best you could have in this country , they also made Sheep shears that are one of the best you could buy , It was a big factory that employed about 5000 people in its hay day here in Dursley ,people were bussed in from all over the county everyday to work , but in the 80ies the factory burnet down , but buy then it was taken over and sold to the Petter group , so very lightly one of my family had a hand in building your engine
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
That is awesome, thank you for taking the time to comment! Super interesting!
@jamesmarsh4957 Жыл бұрын
@@HarrisT love to see how you get on with it in the future
@dspencer88276 ай бұрын
Hawker siddley owned lister and petter and on 1st jan 1986 merged them to make LP LTD
@jamesmarsh49576 ай бұрын
@@dspencer8827 yes thats right m i find it a shame that here in Dursley its all gone now , the site where is was is all houses now
@nickdavies70134 күн бұрын
Have a tS2 with a 7kva generator on it. Owned it for over 30 years. Never let me down, brilliant piece of engineering. Getting a bit old to swing the starting handle now, think I’ll treat her to an up grade. Love these old engines, engineering at its best.
@brucerazor52023 ай бұрын
I am so jealous, as a heavy equipment operator I can appreciate quality. 👍
@HarrisT3 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching - stay tuned!
@clivedredge Жыл бұрын
I have sold and serviced Lister engines in Southern Africa since the late 60's.... That old SR is one of the best and you can still get spares.... The newer model is the TR.... I must admit to rolling on the floor laughing when I watched this... Have fun and enjoy... BTW - fuel consumption is negligible as against a petrol gen set....
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
Thank you for commenting! Folks like you are a testament to the longevity of these engines. I bet you’ve got some stories people would love to hear!
@rickc5303 Жыл бұрын
I once worked on a tug boat that had a Lister as a backup generator for when the main engine was shut down. It worked flawlessly. The only complaint was the noise, they are a bit loud being air cooled. We also towed an equipment barge that had a ramp on the bow. This ramp was raised and lowered with a hydraulic winch system that was driven by a Lister on a hydraulic pump. We were on the West Coast of Canada where it gets a little cool in the winters and you are %100 correct when you say "it might be a little harder to start when its cold!" Its as hard AF to crank when the oil is minus 10 degrees thick! Either is required, even with two people, one to crank and one to throw the compression release levers. When to oil is tar thick you cant two hand crank and throw the compression release lever shut before it stops turning! If you run it out of fuel,....it will run on either long enough to re-prime and run on fuel again!! Best emergency generator power ever!! If it was running and you shut it down,...it will start again when you need it. No bells, no whistles just good solid reliable quality machinery! As a side note,...I'm in South Africa as I type this, the country is suffering "load shedding" a couple of times a day,.....almost everyone here could use your Lister!!
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
That is awesome! Thank you for commenting! This winter when we have 5+ feet of snow I’ll dig it out and make a cold start video for you guys 👍
@marthinusstone55306 ай бұрын
I'm actually now researching lister engines as an option to generate Electricity in South Africa.... that's what brought me to this comment today.
@rickc53036 ай бұрын
Lister is a good solid, reliable chioce but do keep in mind they are noisy. Even with a good silencer, the engine itself is noisy. BTW, you're up early!? By my estimate it 06:30 in SA right now! @marthinusstone5530
@marthinusstone55306 ай бұрын
@@rickc5303 Thanks! Maybe the engine can be placed inside a box or small enclosure to further dampen the sound, but will that not lead to cooling problems? Yes, around 6:30... but I'm up at 5 already. I can't reliably stick to routines unless they are placed in the time between waking up and going to work...
@rickc53036 ай бұрын
It wouldn't be good to contain the unit in an enclosure without considerable airflow. They are a very robust unit, but with the hot climate in SA, I would think maximum airflow would be necessary.
@clayadam2344 Жыл бұрын
What a great birthday present! That's a very nice sounding engine.
@herringchoker014 ай бұрын
Listers also had a factory in Wroughton near Swindon (the since-demolished Marine Mountings factory, which I understood had made Motor Gun Boat gun turrets during WW2). I worked on the night shift there in 1964-5, initially assembling the SL and LD 2, 3 & 4 cylinder engines. Later I moved to the test bay, and got to run them on the electric dynos. We had the occasional drama there, such as crank weights that had not been properly torqued down, which when run up punched through the side cover or the block and flew across the test bay. After testing, the engines were fitted with any auxiliary bits like a generator or marine reduction gearing and then crated. The night shift at the time was a real UN: some English, a few Irish, Scots, and Welsh, Iranian, Indian, Pakistani, Polish, Russian and West Indian. I was the only Canadian. It was an interesting place to work, and I enjoyed it there. Many years later, while visiting the Fisherman's Museum in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia I heard a familar thumping down at the end of a pier. It was a really ancient Lister single, pumping the bilges of one of their ships. The Cold War radar station chains across northern Canada (Pine Tree Line, DEW Line, etc) all used Lister generators.
@HarrisT3 ай бұрын
That is an awesome story man. Thanks for sharing 👍 stay tuned!
@therealchayd7 ай бұрын
Every time we have a power outage here, I always think "It's about time I got round to fixing that Lister genny that's languishing in the shed", then immediately forget about it when the power comes back on. This video has given me the necessary impetus to have a go this weekend - thanks for the kick up the butt! 🤣
@PeterChapman-rg6gr Жыл бұрын
As you rightly state the lister SR, ST and HR series were the real "Gold" standards in engine reliability. look up the old Lister literature and they quote an engine life of some 120,000 hours subject to being looked after. also the fuel economy knocks the spots of more modern engines. I used to run over 30 of the SR, ST and HR engines
@JohnSmith-yv6eq Жыл бұрын
Don't forget the CS slow speed Listers and Petters...they are now made in India..... They are imported into the USA as "air compressors" with kits available by separate import to convert them to diesel engines... EPA or something mumble mumble...
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
120,000 hours is an insane lifespan by todays standards. I’ve wondered about the import status of the newer models and listeroid clones. I’d love to have one of the quieter, low speed models you mentioned in another comment.
@XXXXIndices7 ай бұрын
I have a generator with a TR2 Lister Petter engine, little bit later model with direct injection. It consumes 3 litres of fuel per hour at full load makling 8KW. Apparently these were used in radio transmitters where grid power was not available. They had a large oil tank connected to the sump so they could run 6 months non stop then serviced and run for the next 6 months.
@PeterChapman-rg6gr7 ай бұрын
@@XXXXIndices Countryman used to make scores of these sets c/w acoustic enclosures.
@darrenparker4017 Жыл бұрын
Its a four stroke
@jrevillug Жыл бұрын
Yup.
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
Thanks for that! Admittedly I was going off of info from the Craigslist post… I’ve done a lot more research now and know better…
@user-hh3il8yh5uАй бұрын
I was just thinking that.
@nhilistickomrad425919 күн бұрын
@@HarrisT 1000 usd will get you 8kva 50hz single phase 230 volts in India We still make Lister clones and currently the only one who continue to do so.
@muhammadanassiddiki575310 ай бұрын
ufff !! That majestic lucrative sound, that I look for in lister or listeroid (like Ruston) engines ❤❤
@JohnSmith-yv6eq Жыл бұрын
The revs that this engine needs to be at to produce 120VAC 60hz electricity are: 900rpm for a 4 pole generator direct drive, 1800rpm for a 2 pole generator direct drive. There are earlier slow speed Lister CS and Petter (both air and water cooled diesels) operating at 600/750 rpm but with a belt drive utlising pulleys to achieve the 1800rpm rotation speed of the generator...a lot less "noisy"...
@XXXXIndices7 ай бұрын
4 pole is 1800 RPM, 2 pole requires 3600 RPM which is what most petrol generators run at.
@colddiesel5 ай бұрын
I have a number of the CS (Cold Start) series of Lister Diesel engines at my place in Queensland Australia 2 2 cylinder 2 3 cylinder and 1 4 cylinder. The 3 cylinders (both 70+ years old) are used as back up for a refrigeration plant on the property. The CS machines were made by Listers primarily at their Cinderford factory rather than Dursley and they, especially the single and 2 cylinder versions are the real collectors items. They were manufactured from 1930 until 1974 by Listers and subsequently have been made by various manufacturers in India and Iran. A continuous run of 94 years so far. There are a lot of videos of Lister CS engines on You tube.
@randallweaver7034 Жыл бұрын
4:33 I believe that engine has a RPM adjustment on the gear cover above the red guard. I think it's a 10-32 stud with jam nuts.
@PeterChapman-rg6gr Жыл бұрын
That engine was made with imperial BSF or BA threads.
@randallweaver7034 Жыл бұрын
@@PeterChapman-rg6gr All the SR/ST engines I've worked on was SAE.
@donbyers1448 Жыл бұрын
Great video, had several Lister light units down at the harbor in LA. One thing, the rpm is important, on that gen set 1800 rpm is probably 60 HZ, if this is off too much can damage electrical motor driven units, like refrigerators. Many multi meters now have a AC frequency setting to check the HZ, may want to verify this before connecting to a motor load.
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
That is a great point. It’d be interesting to integrate some gauges into the gen head, and frequency would be a useful one.
@michigandon7 ай бұрын
With military gensets, the rule of thumb is to set the speed @ 62 HZ no load. I've always done this and never had a problem.
@andrewcrawley44297 ай бұрын
I ran several lister SR and ST engines for many years for prime power. As you stated, they are the standard that all others aspire to be. I have rebuilt quite a few of these and I can say that they are quite simple to work on. The RPM is adjusted buy a little screw ( about 1/8" x 1" ) sticking out the front cover by the crank handle towards the top of the cover. The starting procedure is to lift the stop lever over the first catch to where it turns about 90 deg., that allows the fuel system to go to full fuel and will make it start easier when cold. Once it starts, then you put the lever back over the stop ramp so that it is just prior to the stopping position, that position is the run position and will limit the rpm if something goes amiss in the governor assembly. This engine sounds good and should give many years of service, if you change oil every 200 running hours, and keep it supplied with plenty of fresh air. It is air cooled and letting it get too hot will cause it to start leaking oil or worse, and then you will have oil everywhere since it throws it throughout the entire air cooling paths, and you can't usually find the leak since it is usually coming from behind the flywheel. Good luck on your Lister journey.
@HarrisT5 ай бұрын
Thank you for the great information! It will definitely give me some good service. Stay tuned 👍
@JohnSmith-yv6eq Жыл бұрын
If you have the 12VDC or 24VDC starters it's not hard to add a "thermostart" valve to allow a bit of diesel to burn in the metal intake manifold so as to provide hot air for easy starting in cold weather. In fact even just a small motorcycle battery and a push button with wiring onto the thermostart could do the same job.....
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
Thank you for the info! I’ll look into that!
@nicksnextproject535 Жыл бұрын
Cool man I might have to get me on of these.
@frankgrant47844 ай бұрын
Used both the Lister generator and its twin which was a compressor unit to build 1,000's of homes in the Bay Area in the 70's and 80's. Great unit and yours is very clean. Watch the crank handle on cold mornings. You have bought wisely, the Kabota tractor is great too.
@HarrisT3 ай бұрын
Thanks buddy 👍 stay tuned!
@brianrhodebeck64657 ай бұрын
I had 5 Three cylinder of these generators Looks just like yours , I still have one and sold the others. There are champions of generators for sure. I'm assuming mine is twelve to sixteen kilowat Brunch the house and barn. Nice video Sir
@davesnodgrass20743 ай бұрын
Have one at a family ranch it's an awesome generator it still starts easy at 115 degrees or zero turn it over three times and flip the compression release
@davem64923 ай бұрын
Very cool. Super nice find.
@fire44x Жыл бұрын
It has a cold start device you pull stop lever out and turn anti clockwise then ckld start is set
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
Thank you for that! I’d heard about the cold start setting but couldn’t find it. I mentioned this to someone else, but when we get 5+ feet of snow up here I’ll have to dig it out and do a cold start video for you guys!
@fire44x Жыл бұрын
It moves fuel pump to max delivery
@jarrodemery463110 ай бұрын
The apocalypse generator.
@jeffanthony54348 ай бұрын
Looking forward to the follow-up
@davem64923 ай бұрын
I want one of these things... Maybe 2 or 3......
@Bodgemiester10 ай бұрын
Not 2 stroke
@paulcollins909810 ай бұрын
Just shows how little people know! If he did his research like he said, he would know it's a 4 stroke!
@HarrisT9 ай бұрын
Haha. Luckily the KZbin army is here to correct me
@hillbilly4christ6386 ай бұрын
I know you have many, but that is the only genset you need. Take good care of it and it will last indefinitely.
@boathemian76946 ай бұрын
I’d buy one of those.
@patrickbodine13008 ай бұрын
Motorcycles as well.
@joehannan1687 Жыл бұрын
Hey bud did I see you in the comments talking about your lister on Chris and Stacey livestream?
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
It wasn’t me 🙂
@joehannan1687 Жыл бұрын
@HarrisT 10 4 ok, financial prepper was talking about a Lister the other day and magically I saw your video lol because the google machine totally isn't reading our minds! Great vid btw, wish I could find one for a reasonable cost to rebuild in our machine shop...🤙🇺🇸
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
Yep it’s totally weird how those connections are made! Keep your eyes out on Craigslist and Marketplace. You’ll find one. There’s also a guy that commented on here about listers or lister clones skirting the import ban under the guise of “compressors” that can be converted to generators. Worth a shot! I personally would love to have one of the older model units that run at 600 something RPM because they are way quieter. This one is pretty loud!
@joehannan1687 Жыл бұрын
@HarrisT right on man thanks, stay blessed. 🤙🇺🇸
@dieselsforlife38478 ай бұрын
Those are a 4 stroke. Excellent engines tho!
@GoingtoHecq4 ай бұрын
If you make a better exhaust the lister will be a lot quieter. You could like give it a chimney or direct the exhaust through gravel. I saw a guy do that with his stationary engine and it could not be heard. Needs drainage I assume.
@HarrisT3 ай бұрын
I’d love to build an exhaust vault for it like you mentioned. Stay tuned 👍
@bluemoondiadochi5 ай бұрын
um, it's not a 2 stroke. for one, it has valves, while a two stroke diesel (or gasoline) doesnt. secondly, it doesnt have a blower. Other than that, it's a nice engine.
@anahatarae Жыл бұрын
Diesel Jesus
@USSBB625 ай бұрын
Sorry , but I just don't believe it's a 2 cycle. Naturally aspirated 2 cycles by Lister are just to far and few to accept. Just my opinion! Had one like yours exactly hand start and all It was 4 cycle. 2cycles also use twice as much fuel as 4 cycles do. Does it have one set of valves or two ? Two cycle Diesels have a big side port. Looks like yours has an Intake manifold and exhaust manifold. Don't get me wrong if its 4 cycle that's a big win win for you...
@mikemakuh53195 ай бұрын
It is a 4 stroke.
@enginelover14 ай бұрын
Nice, but its a 4 Stroke diesel. Thanks
@MrSeachaser1753 ай бұрын
I have almost the exact same thing, however mine is 7.5kw 240VAC 1500RPM. The worst thing about it is noisy! OMG! 😣
@HarrisT3 ай бұрын
Yes, super noisy! A couple people have recommended building and exhaust vault for it to quiet it down. I might try to do that in the future.
@bigbelconut Жыл бұрын
Only bad thing about a diesel generator, they are loud as fkk.
@JohnSmith-yv6eq Жыл бұрын
This is extra loud because it is air cooled...so the ignition in the cylinder isn't muffled by a jacket of water.... Also the pathetic original small mufflers that are OEM should be replaced with much larger and far better quality mufflers. In stationary mode they benefit from being bolted down to a ton of concrete cube... and the exhaust run through an empty 55 gallon oil drum inset in the ground, filled with large rocks... then it just produces a background thud and thrum.... (Owner of a Petter AVA2 and Lister 3.5kw gen head....)
@HarrisT Жыл бұрын
What an interesting idea for a muffler! I have the space at my property to try that so I might give it a shot. It is quite loud…
@funone87166 ай бұрын
4 stroke fer sure
@michaelroberts68936 күн бұрын
Lister engines are all Four stroke, NOT two stroke
@messijekyl6 ай бұрын
2 stroke ?
@dontbother6659 ай бұрын
Because it’s 🇬🇧
@dontbother6659 ай бұрын
And it’s 4 stroke
@rexharvey842011 ай бұрын
Two-Stroke???
@patrickbodine13008 ай бұрын
NOT
@richardormrod57584 ай бұрын
it is not a two stroke its a four
@janner21218 ай бұрын
It's 4 stroke. Not 2 stroke
@evanjones25396 ай бұрын
IT'S NOT A 2-STROKE...
@outbackmotorcyclesandengin867Ай бұрын
Hi, they are not 2 stroke, they are 4 stroke. I've built and maintained generator sets for over 40 years, and I've never come across a lister 2 stroke diesel and yours is definitely not.