Running a mill or lathe on a generator

I bought a 12k backup generator for the house this year and plumbed it to my 500 gal propane tank. Did the same with the grill while I was at it. At $1.40 a gal, it seemed like a no brainer. Propane is about 10% less efficient, but runs much cleaner, fewer oil changes, your engine life will be extended significantly, and the fuel is delivered to you. Also kinder to the environment, if that's important to you. Mike
 
Well, today has been a great day for antisocial distancing with some free time in the shop. The frame part is
pretty much under control and I even added oil to the crank case in preparation for starting the engine.
The wind is just howling up here today so happy to have respite in the shop. Some of the welding was
gas welding and a bit with SMAW and the foreman is presently looking over my work. At any rate, it is
starting to look like a real generator so happy with that. Dang, he has the photogenic look that I wish I had!!:)P1020847.JPG
So far, I am happy with the progress. It does have electric start so will have to make a place for
the battery.

Dogs and cats can transfer Covid-19 but pigeons do not carry the 19 Strain I read. I have had several cats
in the past but lately only pigeons. Blue jays who are welcome to feed here as well. I see crows too on occasion and they are fun to watch as they are acutely interesting. Ravens are even better!
 
OK ... as long as the foreman doesn't decide to express his approval by "anointing" your newly refurbished generator!
 
I sure hope it will start and make electricity after all the work you put in to it.
 
Glad Your stuff is advancing. !
Well done.

You can produce the power You want in terms of volts/amps any way You want..
Your motors or motive elements wont care ..
unless it is high load or multiple excess load and no cooling.

It is easy to electrically load a motor that is only appropriate for say 1/4 of that.
Basically all of the stuff regarding old motors and VFDs is bookum.

My old Bp motor, 3-phase, excellent, extremely expensive at the time, 18 kg, 1/2 hp, is an example.

My 2.5 kW cont. servo motor for my lathe is about 15x better in terms of power, heat, accuracy and position.
Vs a 5 kg ac induction motor.
 
Today I hooked up a battery and put a little fuel in the intake. It started right up. The innards of the generator look
good so am pretty optimistic that it will be a working unit eventually. An optimist looks at the possibilities and a pessimist
would just walk by it at the scrap yard and give it a kick.
 
Wow! This is pretty exciting.:dancing banana: This morning I poured some gas into the carb and used the electric starter to start up the generator. I had connected a big motor with a wire wheel that would run if there was indeed power.
The generator ran for maybe 30 seconds and it did power the wire wheel with a 1 horse+ electric motor!
The next step will be to fix up some loose ends, do some painting and come up with a fuel tank. It occurs
to me that a 6 gallon outboard motor fuel tank would fit right in the top of the machine with no modification other than
making a place for it to sit. I had originally planned to make an aluminum TIG welded tank but maybe the
Johnson or Mercury outboard tank would be a simpler solution. The original replacement fuel tank is over
$500 so that is out of the question. If not, I will have to hone my TIG welding skills and make up something
that looks at somewhat similar to what it came with.
 
WAY COOL!!!

I have rescued many useful things from the trash heap.

Check the output frequency and or the engine rpm to verify that the govoner is holding the correct speed. Should show 60 Hz or 3600 RPM. Govs get old and sticky.

You can even use the gov as a sort of motor speed control. I would not go to much up on the high side so that you do not put a rod thru the side of the engine. When going slower you will have to keep an eye on temperatures of the engine, then generator itself and the motor it is running since the slower fan speed will not cool as well.
This will only work on an induction motor, it will not work on a universal motor (A motor with brushes). Or any type of motor that already uses a speed controller. You do not want to go
 
Congrats on your successful test run! Sounds like the outboard motor tank will work for you. Just be careful to test run the generator long enough to make sure it doesn't get too hot for the plastic tank!
 
hman said:
Congrats on your successful test run! Sounds like the outboard motor tank will work for you. Just be careful to test run the generator long enough to make sure it doesn't get too hot for the plastic tank!
Click to expand...

Outboard tanks I have are made of steel. They feed from the top but I would think they would siphon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top