I’m leaning that way as well Matt. I would kind of like to save the Jimmy to build something like Jan’s Iller but my experience with Honda ATV’s and motorcycles is once you get into parts and pieces they get all crazy for prices. I don’t know if car’s are the same.
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It is kind of worse for AC because the rotation is supposed to be locked to achieve 60hz. If you flop all over, the frequency varies as does the power output. To achieve the right power output and a steady frequency the easiest solution is to rectify to dc then back to ac at the correct frequency. It doesn’t fix the fluctuating power issue, for that you need another source of power or storage.
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It shouldnt be to bad with a civic engine. They were run of the mill with automotive supply chains that are different then small engine supply chains and stocked parts. Its to bad its not the earlier version of the civic motor. Late 80’s early 90’s had a mechanical distributor and they were stupid simple engines that ran for ever.
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TomH your Miller welder is an engine driven welder-generator? This is your four pole generator?
I do not see the engine on it.
Sideways picture maybe?
Look over the Georgia Generator site both MattR and I have put up.
Double bearing heads are designed to be self-standing and have a proper sized pulley installed for belt driven; or attaching gear assembly for tractor PTO driven.
Go back to Cody’s Northern Star generator head net link. Download the “product manual” there. That manual towards the end has a good drive belts selection guide in it.
All of the Miller; Lincoln; Hobart engine driven welder-generators I’ve seen are single bearing units in-line directly mounted to the engine driving thru a flex plate coupler. They use the end crankshaft bearing as their one end bearing support.
Again, back to Georgia Generator look up their single bearing heads for the huge options demanded just to order these. To do direct mounted driving needs lots of bell housing, shaft adapter, and coupler adapting.
I see no way practical to use a different engine family to drive this if it is a direct driven unit.
Fellows try to front of auto engine belt(s) drive two bearing heads. front of engine only ever set up for 5-10 horsepower transfer. They top out at ~5kW electrical useable before they are slipping smoking belts.
S.U.
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Scroll down a little Steve. Pictures are the same as mine. Single cylinder, 16 HP Tecumseh engines. I’ll have to investigate your suggestions. Probably have to pull the engine off to get a good idea of what I’m looking at. There is a lot of Web tech information about these welders. Maybe someone has posted about converting the engine on one. I would have some concern about side thrust on the generator side bearing with the belt drive but I’ll investigate further.
Is this it?
A directly mounted generator; directly driven generator head.
S.U.
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Snuck in behind me. Yes. The same thing. I think you mentioned that you had a Miller. Higher end. Bobcat or Legend? Sold it to Ben.
12kW Trailblazer with electronic fuel injected V-twin Kohler engine. Better gasoline fuel economy usage with the FI. Still 1/3 gallon an hour just sitting there running, waiting to work.
Be no easier to different engine adapt.
At that Yacolt location I needed power at five spread out locations. The miller could be rear of J.D tractor trundled around. And that would have made it very visible.
Every year more county road driving by lookie-lou’s drugies and metals thieves driving around shopping.
I feel fortunate I was able to pass it on before it was stolen.
Then went on to many individual inverter generators. One broken. I still have two locations capability. Now even 1-2 stolen and I still have some capability.
1600 in the Honda + 2400 in the Yamaha + now 7000 in the Harbor Freight and I am back to the Millers 10kW continuous when all paralleled together. Or, in three separated loads-matched locations.
BenP’s first worked woodgased engine was a similar sized Lincoln welder-generator. Is the Tecumseh engine in yours completely shot? Or crankshaft broken?
S.U.
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Nope. Ran many years ago when I quit using it… The kick up/down thingy for the welder screwed up and I took it to a shop that was supposed to fix it but when I got it back it was still broke and I was busy 12 hours a day back then and just stuck it in a shed and it has sat ever since.
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Maybe possible another way if you are feeling it Tom. Watch this:
https://www.youtube.watch?v=CGXjTmJ4WjQ
Well fudge. Another link that will not link.
Search up on youtube for “Miller Blue Star 1E welder with a new Predator engine”
on a Clint R’s channel.
S.U.
Edit add. He has a follow up How-I-did-it video:
https://www.youtube/watch?v=hjdF_5z0MjY
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I put a kohler engine on mine, was going to send pics but I can’t remember how to send here.
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Ernie I. use the pencil tool to go back and edit. Then in your text window in the top icons tool bar: pictures are added using the center one looks like a solid horizontal bar with an upward arrow rising up out of it. Watch your blinking cursor position! That is where the picture will load.
S.U.
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Well guys I hit 15.1 run hours at various speeds and light 800, 1200 and 1850 watts resistive loading on the new Predator 9500 this weekend.
I outside the house repositioned it three times for least to inside the house awareness.
This is only the 2nd generator of all I’ve had and tried (hmm . . eight types) that the very noise sensitive Wife approves of.
That’s the shout out, Hurrah!
Hurtle #1 passed!
Interesting the single rotary fuel Start-Run-Stop knob does cut off the fuel and not the ignition to fuel run out empty the carburetor bowl. After the first time it does this in ~2 minutes.
This knob is a combo of a direct gravity fed fuel valve; with a cable going to the carburetor choke only.
So no crankcase pulsator pump and lines emptied that add at least five pulls like on the Honda suitcase when ran completely dry.
No separate fuel valve to forget to close; later to open, like on the Yamama.
The choke is not a temperature sensitive automatic. Direct cable thu this valve with the cable slacking (choke fully opened) in the Run and Stop positions. And the actual choke can be part opened/closed rotating tuning between Start and Run. Handy for warm pull starting. I am tallish with long arms and will be extending that pull rope after I break it.
Machine does have an ignition cut switch in the three position OFF-Run-Cranking rocker switch. Switched off for quick stopping it does not even seem to flood it hot.
Very Wifie friendly system.
Walking up; rotate to Start. Push the Cranking switch. Started, slowly rotate from start to Run.
Stopping just rotate to OFF. (and if she remembers then unplug loads waiting for it to actually run out to stopping.)
She can just ignore ECO.
Once she’s five gallon cans refilled a few times, complaining, I’ll introduce her to ECO.
“Honey if you use this switch you have to cans dump a lot less.”
More later after more running.
Steve Unruh
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They are nice machines!
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The little briefcase generator I got for free was like that, the switch went to the fuel petcock and choke.
After years of being in someones truck bed the plastic is all degraded. Knob now broken. The generator still goes a full 1600w though. Has a DC output mode as well. Still haven’t made a frame for it. If I do it will be sheet steel skinned to get back the fan blade cooling draft. Set it up as a loaner to friends. 79cc Yamaha engine brought back from Stuck Piston Ring death with ATF Acetone 50/50 soaking. Now there’s a generator not worth putting a gasifier on unless I want to delegate it to battery charging MAYBE.
Edit: here’s some pictures of what remains of the generator. Looks like the flywheel fan sucks air from the front of the unit, so control board gets the coolest air first, then the engine and then the generator itself.
I need to figure a new switch for the thing. It’s beyond replacement.
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How many hours a week do your shop generators run Matt?
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I run them about 40 hours a week. Change oil monthly.
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Maybe I’m just being dense, but do these generator heads have plugs built in or is that something I’d have to attach? I don’t see any in the product photos.
Yes it would have a control panel with sockets built in. The generator head is wired to an inverter and the inverter is wired to the panel.
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