My Home-made Generator

Starting to lay out the genset assembly
Frame back from the powdercoaters
The 14kVA alternator and engine being unloaded
Alternator in place, engine ready to lift into position
External oil tank not bolted on yet, but things are in place
Speed sensor
External oil reservoir/cooler (black tank) holds about 4 litres of oil
Heat exchanger as it came from the scrapyard, one end cap removed
Exchanger with the end caps removed. Engine crane made a convenient way to move and support it
Gaskets were shot, whole thing had a lot of scale and crud inside
End of the heat exchanger showing copper tubes (not yet cleaned)
"A" end cap after milling
"B" end cap after milling and drilling hole
Heat exchanger in (approximate) position
"A" end after tubes cleaned, and a squirt of cold-gal to minimise further rusting
"A" end cap with exhaust stub welded on
"A" end fitted
Fitted a flexible coupling to reduce vibration
Stainless muffler fitted near the end of the run
Exhaust exits through the roof with dektite
Short exhaust pipe and flexible coupling from engine manifold to heat exchanger
Exhaust in place (looking down from above)
Rough position of engine and heat-exchanger
Large timing belt drive. Two idler pulleys help reduce the belt whip
Starting to wire up the motor electrics and gas
Linear actuator coupled to throttle
Linear actuator side on
Mixer (inside rubber tube) and control valve
Gas regulator/converter and shutoff valve and safety (picks up engine running signal from ignition)
Donaldson Air filter, some insulation bats to reduce noise in the generator room and keep the heat exchanger warmer.
Coolant flowmeter
Engine speed under varying loads. Dip in the middle was a 2.4KW load being added


The Generator Controller details are here.

Note, all the plumbing since these were taken has been changed. Originally the water flowed through the exhaust heat exchanger and the engine as two parallel circuits. That has since been changed so the coldest water enters via the "exit" or "A" end of the heat exchanger through the exchanger into the front of the engine, then out the block back to the hot water storage tanks.