I have been slowly building a decent generator for running the house and also for site work. I had a Kubota D950 engine here to mate to an alternator. The engine is 17hp continuous at 3000rpm.
I ended up purchasing a Mecc Alte 11kva AVR bare shaft generator head and learning a bit about power factor in the process. The generator is coupled to the engine via a jaw coupling.
Various purchased from China, like the fuel tank, emergency stop solenoid, and local purchases like the electrical outlets I cobbled together something that looks a bit rough compared to commercial units but seems to work well. A local electrical repair centre wired up the outlets and circuit breakers and test ran it with a 40 amp load and they said it handled it well. It has been wired up as an isolated supply as it will be used for house backup power you can not have a MEN wired generator hooked up to a MEN wired installation as the RCD on the generator will just cut out. Our local mains electricity supply outages seem to be increasing in the length of time it takes for repairs.
It has 2X15 amp outlets and a 32 amp outlet. It is a pity in Australia the 15 amp outlet gained such widespread use leading it to become a common outlet as I feel it is too close to the 10 amp and we would have been better served with 20 or 30 amp outlets being more common with appliances easily available to suit. I would like a decent stick welder (250 amp) to run off the 32 amp outlet but I doubt they exist in Australia.
The engine has been fitted with a electronic engine watchdog and will stop the engine with either low oil pressure or high engine temperature (via a sensor that sits under a bolt on the engine head). Attached to a solenoid that pulls in the decompression lever to stop the motor in case of something going wrong.
It weighs about 320kg and I can cart it around with my dingo.
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