15 hp gas engine...

A.McPherson

A.McPherson

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
2,860
So I just got this gas engine, its 15 hp and It used to be a pump on a wildland firefighter engine. The pump unit is gone, and it SEEMS to be in working order. I haven't really looked at it really hard yet, but it was free. If nothing else I can scrap it.
Any ideas on what to use it for? I was thinking of either rigging it up as a generator, and using it to run the shop, or even more intriguing (and quite possibly more asinine) using it to set up an overhead belt system to run machines, like in the old machine shops!
Anyway, new (to me at any rate) free stuff! What do you think?
 
We used to run twin Westbend 2400 engines on our race carts...running alcohol and nitro fuel....that was ridiculous!

A line shaft would require more torque and HP than that engine has. It could run a small generator, but not likely one to run the whole shop. I would suggest trying to find a small three phase generator unit and hooking the motor to it. Then you can generate three phase power for the shop. You could perhaps also use the motor to power a rotary converter.
 
Hmmm good stuff to think about! 'specially the alcohol/nitro go carts!
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
We used to run twin Westbend 2400 engines on our race carts...running alcohol and nitro fuel....that was ridiculous!

A line shaft would require more torque and HP than that engine has. It could run a small generator, but not likely one to run the whole shop. I would suggest trying to find a small three phase generator unit and hooking the motor to it. Then you can generate three phase power for the shop. You could perhaps also use the motor to power a rotary converter.
Click to expand...



Stacy, is there anything you HAVEN'T done in your life? I think you are the real Dos Equis guy, the most interesting man in the world. ;)
 
I hav done a lot.


When they were building the interstate highway system, there were long, wide, straight sections of road that ran for miles with no cars on them. We would take our motorcycles, mini-bikes, ...and go-karts out on them on the weekends when no construction was being done. My friend and I had built a race cart that was pretty cool. It was 4' wide, about 8' long, and had 12" racing tires. I built a fiberglass front body for it. It was well welded and strong....even had a roll bar. The local trader paper had a Westbend 2400 racing cart engine for sale really cheap from a fellow in Hampton who was getting out of the racing circuit. I went to see the man, and he was really a nice guy. We talked and rummaged through his huge shop for hours. When I left, my car was filled with parts and two engines.....all for $100. He gave me a set of unused alcohol carbs and several cans of nitro fuel mix additive in the batch. He said the engines would turn out nearly 25HP each on the right fuel mix. We modified the cart to take both engines, put on dual disc brakes, borrowed a trailer and took it to the roadway project. The thing was insane to drive. There was so much speed and power, I was scared sh#!less. We ran it at over 80mph a few times and decided to call it quits before we killed ourselves. 80mph is fast enough in a car , but when sitting on a few hundred pounds of steel angle iron and pipe only 3" above the concrete it looks like warp speed. I only ran it a few more times, and then sold the cart for half the price of the new 1968 Mustang I bought. Probably the only reason I am here to tell the story is I got rid of that death machine :)
 
Get a pump back on the motor, pump water up to an elevated tower, use the water to run a water wheel that runs the lineshaft helve hammer and grinders


Or put it on Craigslist and use the cash for something you need, knifemaking always needs something.
 
Heh! Count, I like your style! I never would have thought of using it to run a water wheel!
The more Rube Goldberg-esque the better! Lol! I probably will end up selling it... what I really need is a 2x72!
 
I can't find it anymore, but there was an old thread with a video of a maker in the third world that had a gas engine running his grinder. Probably not a great idea, but it has been done.
 
A guy that worked for me "claimed" that his dad put a 3 cylinder ski doo motor on a basic go cart which was rated at 100hp (I don't know anything about snowmobiles)

So anyway his big story, His dad forbid him and his brother from driving it when he wasn't home, naturally the boys would sneak it out of the garage anyway, one afternoon it was getting really close to the time dad came home, So Jim started hauling ass towards home, turned into the driveway to shoot into the garage, and ran right into the back of his dads truck.

The list of injuries to my recall was 4 front teeth missing, both collar bones broke, both wrists broke, and assorted broken ribs, this is also the guy that set himself on fire while he worked for me in his garage by trying to extinguish a five gallon pail of gas with a dry chemical extinguisher by pointing the nozzle into the bucket from 12" and pulling the trigger

I let him go ;0)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top