How can I make a diesel generator from an Engine?

Question

One which can run 240v electrics, preferably 2 lights and maybe 1 item of high load (fridge). Only as an emergency measure. I have fair mechanical skill and the engine will be stationary mounted, I'd like to know what size of engine I'll need ,how to do it and whether it's feasible.

Answer 1

first of all your diesel engine must have a governor, this keeps your engine at a steady rpm when load is applied to it. then you have to pick out a generator, you have to know the volts and the amps that each item draws. generators are rated in watts which is volts x amp = watts. so take each appliance and find out how many watts each takes and then add them all together and you will have the total watts you will consume.always get a bigger generator than you think you need so you can add appliances later keep in mind that if you don't run all at the same time your watt usage will be less. Now to mount the generator to the engine it will be easiest to use a belt driven generator,so you don't have to line up perfectly with the out put shaft of the engine as you would if you directly mounted to the engine.
the generator needs to run at 60 cycles a second or you can do damage to your appliances. this is achieved by a constant rpm,for most small engine generators this is 3600 rpms your generator must be equipped with a meter that you can visually look at to set the rpms properly. when picking out pulleys you need to know what rpm you will run the engine at and ratio up or down, most likely up. most diesels run from 1200 to 3000 rpm.
when picking out a generator get one with a revolving field this type of generator is in for the long haul and will last. I hope this helps a little bit.

Answer 2

We Used Diesel Generators To Power The Boats I've Lived And Worked On,Go To A Generator Shop And All The Specifications Should Be Available

Answer 3

First, that is a VERY overall LOW load!
Your power is a 240/120VAC and it's a single Delta phase. If it's in a house in the last 25 years, it's most likely a 200 amp service as standard.
Your looking at 2 lights, 120VAC@3 amps, worst case. Your house fridge, 120VAC@13 amps, worst case. Total 120VAC @16amps. If your fridge is at least 10 years or younger, a 120VAC, 20amp circuit & #12 wire would be fine. A 2KW A.C Generator would be min. size to carry this load. At this size stay away from Diesel Fuel, go gasoline. If you go beyoud 10KW, then I might consider a Diesel motor.

Answer 4

If you want to build a generator first you need to know what size you need as of KW. As you say you have a have a fair mechanical knowledge you would have to make the frame and the mountings for the engine and the alternator,then you have to make the wiring loom and panel.So go and look at this web page i know its a Chinese company but they do many generators petrol,Tri fuel and diesel don't worry its in English,then you can see engine sizing KW and there speck sheets,at least then you can see whats involved.One thing is safety as you don't want to electrocuted any one. www.86shine.com

Answer 5

Sell the engine and buy an assembled generator
It will save you a lot of troubles.
A fridge plus 2 lights are not a high load.
You can get a 1500W gasoline genset for less than $500

Answer 6

We have these in the air force and they are called light-alls. Our newest ones use a 3 cylinder diesel engine (the kind used in sail boats for docking and getting caught in irons) and output 240, 120 and have two lights on them. They can sometimes be bought thru DRMO
http://www.drms.dla.mil/html/drmo_sites.html

Answer 7

Certainly workable. But for cost vs benefit you would be much better off purchasing something ready built. Seems like you are planning a relatively light load as well. Have a look at my other generator installation info online.

http://members.rennlist.org/warren/generator.html

Answer 8

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Anything is possible, but... Is it practical? Probably not. Can you do all the work? I hope so, because the amount it would cost in labor to do it would be much more than rebuilding or replacing what you have now.