Some videos of our prototype

[jmw]

I've put some videos of our prototype vegoil-burning S1100 on youtube:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsMAdspwRUY

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Ex_YX3JxI

There's a part 2 coming where we put the generator in an enclosure and investigated noise and temperature control issues.

Any questions or feedback is very welcome.

Mark

[AdeV]

I've put some videos of our prototype vegoil-burning S1100 on youtube:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsMAdspwRUY

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Ex_YX3JxI

There's a part 2 coming where we put the generator in an enclosure and investigated noise and temperature control issues.

Any questions or feedback is very welcome.

Hi Mark,

It seems to be surprisingly noisy (much more so than the Listeroids) - is that mostly (as mobile bob speculates elsewhere) valve-train noise, or are those silencers not cutting the exhaust noise as much as you might hope? Or is it just a hyper-sensitive microphone?

[jmw]

These engines are notoriously noisy, but not as bad as the Indian Petters.
The silencers are good and actually it does seem that noisy when standing next to it.

The noise is not from the exhaust. It is the combustion process and mechanical noise.

The third video (not published yet) has the same engine in an enclosure and noise level is very good. The frequency is just right for the commercially available sound proofing materials.

I have seen videos of these engines (mobile bob?) with automotive silencers on them, and they sounded relatively quiet. I was hoping to beat those results by using an IDI engine, but apparently not.
I was also hoping that using vegoil would reduce the noise, but again, apparently not.

 Mark

[veggie]

jmw,

Consider using an automotive muffler which internally reverses the flow direction (twice) instead of passing through in a straight line.
This made a big difference on my Changfa setup.
Not much can be done about the mechanical noise other than placing the unit in an enclosure as you suggested.
I think the DI engines may be slightly less noisy than the IDI units. Counterbalance shaft gear train noise is a trademark of the Changfa.

Nice rig you built there,
veggie

[jmw]

Veggie,

Thanks for the complement.

The next video I'm posting (when I eventually get round to it) has the genset in an enclosure.
You can tell then that there's not much noise coming from the exhaust. I agree though that an automotive exhaust may be a better solution (even though the primary silencer I am using is architecture quite complex) - certainly from a cost POV.

I also agree that the DI engines appear to be slightly quieter, but I can't work out why. The theory points to the opposite. Any ideas would be very welcome.

I've still got more research to do on the injection timing. This can have a profound affect on noise (as well as exhaust temperature and economy). I've ordered a range of shim sizes which will make the job easier.

Mark

[jmw]

The next video in the series is now on youTube:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z1lWrOTgPg

It's definitely my camera microphone that is not dong this machine justice. It's actually quite quiet when you're there.

Mark

[jmw]

Apologies for the blatant advertising.

I'm posting the link here because I know there are folks that will be interested in this from a technical point of view.
However, the video itself will be used for promotional purposes.

Mark

[Jens]

Mark, could you please elaborate on the statement of "starts on vegetable oil and stops on vegetable oil".

Specifically, I am curious if it does so in winter and how much testing has been done to see what kind of engine life is attainable while starting and stopping on vegetable oil.

Have you looked at the pistons/rings on a test engine after maybe a year or so of regular use to verify that this is indeed a viable way of operating ? What fuel system modifications (if any) have been done to make this operation viable ?

Based on my experience, starting and stopping on veg oil is indeed possible when the engine is new but has not been reliable for anything other than occasional use and will certainly cause engine damage in the long run.

[jmw]

Jens, we've got a total of five 'friendly' test sites running chinese horizontal diesels. They have all got high pressure line fuel heaters. The first was setup in 2006, two more in 2008 and two recent ones.
The most recent two have also got glow-plugs which are used at every start and remain on for 30 seconds after the engine has started.
The first three engines all showed worse than expected piston ring wear at the first examination (can't remember exact how many hours), but did not need replacing at that time. Since then, they have been running on WVO/kerosene blends and the oil change interval has been shortened. There was also sooting and pitting on the exhaust valves and seats.
There is obviously a correlation between exhaust cleanliness and engine component wear. The high pressure line heater is critical to getting the exhaust clean while running, but didn't help when starting from cold. Getting the engine hot as quickly as possible, certainly reduced the amount of smoke from the exhaust.
It took a lot of testing to get the high pressure line heater temperature right. I got it too high once and found the engine to be behaving very strangely - I eventually got down to the cause of the problem - the heater was causing the fuel to expand so much that it was causing random extra pops (injections) from the injector.
The two most recent builds also have the injection timing advanced which has resulted in these engines giving less smoke with WVO than a standard one does with diesel.

Mark

[Jens]

Thanks for the 'behind the scenes' details Mark !