Small Diesel Generators

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

My finely crafted and engineered Lombardini LMG 4000 POS radiator just bit the dust!!! It's only 3 years old and has about 800 hours on it.

Only took 1.5 hours to pull it out without even "giving" blood" and "only" cost me $150 to get the radiator crack fixed. I figure it will be 3 hours to reinstall as I'm going to need to re-engineer the mounting bracket that Lombardini had their highly skilled high school intern engineer trainee design.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Only took 1.5 hours to pull it out without even "giving" blood" and "only" cost me $150 to get the radiator crack fixed. I figure it will be 3 hours to reinstall as I'm going to need to re-engineer the mounting bracket that Lombardini had their highly skilled high school intern engineer trainee design.

Boy, that's impressive, and hopefully a lasting fix. It would likely take me at least 1.5 days of hand-wringing, another 1.5 days to "think" about it, untold hours reading CF threads, and maybe a full week to get the actual job accomplished. Hope it works out for you, and you saved the unspeakable number of boat bucks by avoiding needing a replacement.

[a64pilot]

I’d try to figure out why it cracked with such low hours.
Where did it crack? Was it where a hose connected and maybe could have been pulling on it?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Exile

Boy, that's impressive, and hopefully a lasting fix. It would likely take me at least 1.5 days of hand-wringing, another 1.5 days to "think" about it, untold hours reading CF threads, and maybe a full week to get the actual job accomplished. Hope it works out for you, and you saved the unspeakable number of boat bucks by avoiding needing a replacement.

Ha, ha.


Exactly the same here.


And you didn't mention the crane rental.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I’d try to figure out why it cracked with such low hours.
Where did it crack? Was it where a hose connected and maybe could have been pulling on it?

Cracked was wrong word I think, hole would have been better.

It happened because it keeps coming loose from the highly Italian engineered and crafted top bracket that shakes the mounting bolts loose in spite of the lock washers. That then makes it vibrate like a jitterbug on speed.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Cracked was wrong word I think, hole would have been better.

It happened because it keeps coming loose from the highly Italian engineered and crafted top bracket that shakes the mounting bolts loose in spite of the lock washers. That then makes it vibrate like a jitterbug on speed.

Well, don't just it put it back together like that. Re-engineering it to solve this problem is not rocket science. More vibration resistant fasteners would stop the immediate problem, but then you might just crack the bracket. Maybe you need to introduce some damping into the system somewhere.

[sailorboy1]

Going to take more engineering than what Lombardini was capable of!!!!! Brackets have broken in the past and I've made replacements that one of those has broken. The bracket doesn't even fasten to the radiator!! All it does is hold another bracket that holds it down.

It's a finely engineered and crafted Italian marvel POS!

[a64pilot]

This “radiator” is it separate from the engine only connected by hoses?
If so it ought to easy, I know getting to the thing is likely the hard part.

[sailorboy1]

it's just a radiator like in a car connected with hoses. But it has to fit into the enclosure and the brackets all bolt to the engine. I have a plan involving vibration mounts, bolting and double nuts, lock washers and loctite

[a64pilot]

So it’s air cooled? That’s interesting.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

So it’s air cooled? That’s interesting.

engine is air cooled and the generator water cooled

I don't find it interesting, it just is

In hindsight I would get an better 1800 rpm unit, even if it was a used unit, before getting the Italian marvel again (see post 1)

[a64pilot]

I’d say that an air cooled engine, with a water cooled generator is at least unusual for a marine generator, it’s usually the other way around.
I wondered why you were calling it a radiator.

Other than price of course, the low RPM sets are usually large and heavy.
But I can see the appeal though.

[sailorboy1]

The marcel lives!!!!!

Got the pin hole in the radiator.heat exchanger brazed up. Only took 4 hours to install and re engineer the brackets so maybe it doesn't shake loose again. Afterward it shutdown on high temperature and I found the strainer clogged, then the seawater impeller had broken vanes that required removing the whole pump to get the impeller out and and strainer apart. After it STILL shutdown on high temp within 30 seconds even with water flowing just fine. Finally I disconnected the temperature sensor as I NEEDED to run it so I could run the AC as I was heat stroking out.

So now I need to try to get a distributor of the finely engineered and crafted Lombardini marine generators to respond to a a request for a quote for a new temperature sensor. I don't have much hope for this as its been weeks since I asked for a price on the radiator and no one ever responded.

Please see post #1 on my thoughts about these POS 3600 rpm generators!!!!

[a64pilot]

The temp sensors are usually the same or very similar.
Picture maybe and thread size? I bet the one on my Nexgen may fit.

[AndyEss]

Sailorboy - your Lombardini story matches a bit of my experience on some land equipment back in the early 90's. I needed electrical power for my mobile laboratories and small diesel generators were my solution.
The first small gen I got was powered by a single cylinder air cooled Lombardini. Lombardini had nothing to do with the generator that was powered by it - which was a total POS) but the Lombardini engine seemed pretty cheezy too.
Our next two 3600 diesel generators were based on a very nicely engineered Japanese generator. They ran great for my land operations. I still have one of them which I repurposed into a hydraulic power pack.
Next time I'm back home I'll see if I can dig up the name of that Japanese diesel manufacturer (it wasn't Kubota or Mitsubishi.)
Those were really good little 3600 rpm engines. Maybe they are still in business.