Selecting Residential and Light Commercial Diesel GeneratorsLister Petter is our highest quality engine manufacturer. The Lister-Petter product is our recommendation for "off grid" or "prime power" applications where the generator is run eight to ten hours per day, 365 days a year. In these severe duty applications fuel economy, reliability and engine life are the critical factors customer use in selecting their generator. The Lister product excels at all of these! When comparing fuel economy with other products - you will find that the Lister engine is at least ten percent more fuel efficient than it's competitors. The Lister Petter is not for everyone! The Lister engine uses extremely hard cylinder liners and piston rings - they must be broken in properly to achieve proper operation and avoid "wet stacking". We recommend that the Lister engines be run for the first forty (40) hours of life at 70 percent load to properly seat the rings. Failure to do so will cause the liners to become glazed and the engine will have to be disassembled, the engine liners honed and piston rings replaced - these costs are the owners responsibility and are not covered under warranty. Also, because the Lister engines have such hard engine liners and rings, they are prone to "wet stacking" if not run under load - we recommend the Lister's be run at a minimum of 60% of their rated capacity to burn clean. If you are unable to do this, a more forgiving engine such as the Mitsubishi would be our recommendation. Engine lifetime is another factor to consider when selecting your generator in prime power applications. In the author's experience, the following table outlines expected run time before overhaul for various engines: Gasoline Portable 3600 rpm 500 to 2000 hours - typically not overhauled Chinese Diesel 1800 rpm 500 to 2000 hours - typically not overhauled, most customers then buy Lister Petter products then to get the best available after the horrible experience with Chinese Diesels Natural Gas or Propane fueled 3600 rpm stationary generators 1000 to 2000 hours- typically not overhauled Natural Gas or Propane fueled 1800 rpm stationary generators up to 6000 hours - overhaul or exchange engines available Lombardini, Perkins, Yanmar and Kubota 1800 rpm diesels up to 15000 hours - overhaul possible, economy of rebuild vs replace depends on engine failure Mitsubishi and Isuzu 1800 rpm diesels up to 20000 hours - overhaul possible, economy of rebuild vs replace depends on engine failure Lister Petter and Deutz diesels up to 40000 hours - overhaul possible, economy of rebuild vs replace depends on engine failure (note - hours are estimated, there are obviously exceptions, but based on my thirty-five years in the engine industry) Lister Petter is based in Gloucestershire in England and has operations in the USA, France, South Africa and India. This gives the company global spread and ensures that you are never too far from our expertise whenever you need diesel or gas engine technology. Diesel Engine Wet StackingDiesel engines are designed to operate with a load. When a diesel engine
operates considerably below the rated output level the engine can start to
over-fuel or "Wet Stack". Diesel engines perform most efficiently in the 70-80%
range of rated output. When an engine operates for a prolonged period of time
below 40% of the rated output it begins to over-fuel. This occurs because the
injection tips began to carbonize and disrupt the fuel spray pattern. In
commercial generator standby/emergency systems where loads can vary and low
output conditions can occur more frequently because of the diverse load
applications, an automatic load bank is normally used. A load bank will place a
"false" load on the generator system to keep the diesel engine properly loaded
to prevent a "Wet Stack" condition. In residential or small business
applications a "false" anti-wet stack load condition can be accomplished with
the use of an electric heater or other high load appliance to make sure the
diesel engine generator system is not allowed to operate for prolonged periods
of time below an acceptable level. Once a diesel engine begins to "wet stack"
the only way to correct the problem is to load the engine for a couple of hours
to burn off the excess fuel and clean up the engine. Some diesel engines are
less prone to "wet stacking" than others. Generally, electronically controlled
engines and engines with advanced emission systems are less likely to "wet
stack". Unfortunately, all diesel engines will "wet stack" if operated for long
periods of time considerably below the rated output level. It is for this reason
that proper sizing and design is important. We can help you with all your sizing
and design considerations. It is part of our Sales Engineering
Service program and it is free. |
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