Date(s): Opened Jan. 3, 2008. Album by Bruce Strand. Photos by Bruce & Ralph. 1 - 64 of 64 Total. 1956 Visits.
1 Our latest farm implement, "The Rolling Cultivator," another toy for the tractor!
2 Another find - an Onan generator with weatherproof enclosure. A little clean-up, fresh oil and it kicked right off. A real steal for $200.00. It is 4KW and enough power to run the well pump and fridge here, and then some.
3 Here is the other side with what looks to be a five gallon fuel tank. We were surprised it even ran for what we paid for it. The engine is an Onan CCK model that has the cast iron block and is a very durable two-cylinder engine.
4 Just another angle. It is mounted on a rugged skid and is it ever heavy, must be about 500+ lbs.
5 " But wait, there's more!"
Just could not pass up this little 3HP twin cylinder air cooled 1.5KW military gen set used for battery charging and communications gear in the field. Runs great but WOW, it sounds like a little turbine, and for sure the enemy would find you on a quiet night! It has dual voltage capabilities - 120/240 with a frequency meter, voltage meter with fine adjustment for the voltage under load. Model Year: 1973
6 "This unit is not for sissies!"
No, it is not electric start.... no, there is not a recoil pull start either. What you get is govt. issue standard 3/8th's rope with wooden pull handle. Last time with full choke, it kicked off on one pull.
7 AND "MORE"
Side view of 7.5 KW gen set with plumbers exhaust system,---now being replaced with original military manifolds and muffler. The same is true of the missing intake air cleaner canister (new one can be seen laying on top of unit).
8 Main control panel.
9 Front angle view with old carb showing, new replacment carb is soon to be installed and linked to the intake from the air cleaner canister.This thing rope starts like a dream, one pull and it's fired right up. Old carb was abused, has homemade crude gasket and govenor that was set up 180 degrees out when we received it. That held the carb closed very nicely so it could never start!
10 Here we can see the Fairbanks-Morse magneto. The Tilotson carb is soon to be replaced with a new Zenith carb and fuel bowl. Air cleaner and new exhaust manifold system is also to be replaced to bring the unit back to original condition.
11 "Plumbers farm special" muffler system removed to be replaced with original equipment.
12 Close up on left showing tell tail "GOO GOP" weld and other side on right experiencing a "RING AROUND" crack.
13 New parts, plus manual will soon put things back in order.
14 Another find.......P&H welder with 200 AMP DC output & 3/4 X 4 28 HP Waukashaw four cylinder engine for power scource. It runs! Needing some TLC and a ring job and paint, but all is working.
15 On The Road Again, one of my favorite Willy songs. Weight is about 1,100 lbs.
16 Will need axil and hitch put on so we can use it around the property for odd projects.
17 As my friend Tec would say, "OH NO.......NOT ANOTHER ONE!" Yes, while on expedition through the local scrapyard, I noticed a glimmer of Onan Green in the distance. In a place getting ready to be smished up with a bunch of other assorted metal, there was an intact RV style Onan 6 KW generator.
18 Side and top views show how dirty the little thing is, and needing a good bath and some degreasing. * Just contacted Onan Corp in Minisota can't help no info !!! Contacted old friend at Marine Engine Eq in WPB, Yup, Gordi had all the impotent info on the little guy. It's an RV unit and is designated a "Works In The Draw" model only made for two years. We hope Gordi will stop in next time he is going through Lake City.
19 Here you can see most of the dirt and thank GOD they did not get sand in the intake. I will have to go through it to do a full flush-out job before trying to crank it over, new filters, new plugs, oil, clean the commutator and brushes. I'm sure it will run fine as most RV gen sets have low hours on them, or it will be great for spare parts. It was bought for scrap metal at a price of 20 cents on the lb! It weighs 360 lbs exactly. Do the math: $72.
20 Here is the latest project --- a 9 cubic Ft. cement mixer --- going slow, but we have found a source for the worn drive gear and just need to do a clean up of old cement layered on over the years. The Briggs engine missing the air filter but still has compression.
21 "Homemade Bagpipes"
It may look like bagpipes but it is the new sprinkler system zone manifold soon to be installed with a new Hunter 8-zone computerized timer/scheduler.
22 "On location"
Manifold mounted to support posts and timer / computer intalled with pressure gauge for flow rate adjustments of zones.
23 Manifold almost ready for the water, with right at 2000' of 1" PVC pipe trenched in the ground. Included at right, Bruce inspects his handiwork.
24 System working better than I ever expected with lots of pressure and dimeter of 70 to 90 feet according to amount of heads and nozzel size. Auto controller works as well. Controller is an eight zone Hunter XC model and has a lithium backup battery for memory in case of power outages.
25 But wait-------here's more. A new find in the junk yard. Yes we did it again. Sue says I have the obsessive compulsive generator disorder.
26 This little guy is a 4 KW 120/240 Onan from an RV and runs at a nice smooth 1800 RPM. To date I have not found any major problems with these old RV sets. They usually get used only at last resort in case there is no hook-up at a camp site. Who likes to hear a gerator running all the time ( I do ). Thats why Sue has dianosed me with having exssive compulsive generator disorder.
27 These twin cylinder air cooled engines run forever. They are simple durable with cast iron blocks, simple carbs and a bullet proof generator. On rare occasinon, I have had one with regulator problems that were easey to repair....usually a 50 cent diode or a loose wire. Grandpa always told me "don't fix it if it works". New age alternators are a quick fix and can leave you in the dark without notice. Been there done that, I'll take an Onan any day!
28 OH NO! not again. Yes, it happened again. I could not hold back when I saw this little wood chipper. After reading the internet dicussions on this little model, I had to have it to keep things in order around here.
29 Just the right size for a small amount of acreage. It is made in OUR country in Iowa by the Vermeer Corp. It is a 1992, has a 20 HP twin cylinder, "cast iron" block ( made in USA ) Kohler engine. It's light enough to pull behind the garden tractor (1,500 lbs) and can go on the road as it is equipped with tag and tail lights, plug for the break, turn signals, and running lights. Has a 6" log capacity, though I would never push it that hard.
30 Here we can see the hydraulic pump off the front of the engine, with filters for engine & hydraulic system. This has a roller feed system that feeds the logs into the blades at a constant rate. This unit runs well and I watched as it ate a ten foot long two-by-six in nothing flat.
31 OH Boy, heres another scrap yard find.....An English Lister 6 HP @ 1800 RPM diesel. It's a filty little thing and I think it weighs in at around 374 lbs. These are known to run for 30 to 40 thousand hours before a rebuild.
32 Sue says, "That's enough! How many tractors do we need?" Hey, I think I'm onto something here, this is a realy neet little 404 International Harvester with a thrown rod. I will rebuild it or find another "C135" engine to put in.
33 I was told it weighed 2,800 lbs and after we got it home a friend in the tractor business got out the books and told me it's really 3,654 lbs dry. Hey, that was a good deal at 10 cents a pound for scrap metal.
34 Here in lies the problem, a nice hole in the block. The crank surface seems to have minor damage to it and should be ok after a little tlc. Filling the hole is a snap, I must have done 60 or more cast aluminum and cast iron block repairs over the years.
35 Here it is, right where we found it, snuggled up to an old Fordson (English) tractor in the scrap yard.
36 It's true! Sue says I have a full blown case of "MAD TRACTOR DISEASE"! I need to stay away from the scrap yard here. This Yanmar tractor is a 24 HP twin cylinder diesel, with 8 forward speeds, 2 reverse speeds, a PTO and a three-point hitch.
37 The little guy is a Yanmar Japanese diesel, the same engine used for the John Deer compact tractors, I have been told.
38 I was told this tractor had a seized engine. I don't believe it, we shall soon find out. We havn't even found the battery yet.
39 OK, after machining a new shifter part, we now have a working transmission, freed the seized break drum and next is the engine. This will be a great compact spare for moving equipment around. I would hate to see the bill for this work at the tractor shop ! Believe it or not all this work was done under a "shade tree". This one was double the cost of the first one, at 20 cents a lb !
40 Here we can see the reason the wheels would not turn turn .....DUH !
41 Here is our latest tool for the shop, a 35 ton press. It is uneque in that it is powered by air or a hand operated two speed hydrolic pump for slow precision pressing. Hey, we could squeeze a little grape juice real easy with this one!
42 Our next "pressing " problem is frequent power outages with storms and drunks hitting poles. Here shown 2/3 finished. This simple solution requires only four componants. A cheap trickle charger, 6.49 relay, battery, and an inexpencive inverter. I used my old home brew scr charger I made 20 years ago. When the power fails, this circuit comes on instanly and keeps a circuit on for lights and small fan. It only is capable of 5 amps / or 600 watts max output at 120 VAC. Useing the new 13 watt florescent bulbs you can have lots of instant light for less than a hundred watts of power. No more hunting in the dark for a flash light. When you start the generator, or FPL returns, it will revert to normal, and charge the battery. I used an old board that was in the shop, screwed into the wall studs, and a little stain and varnish to dress it up.
43 Now all the wiring is finished with the exception of the ampmeter, time delay, and cover plate to protect exposed wireing. The blue box on the left is my homebrew water heater timer, also cheap. It has one 30 amp relay and a 30 minute Intermatic timer and will cut back your elect bill a lot. (mounted in an Intematic T-104 box)
44 Here is the small 220 amp hour battery bank that will give several hours of light and TV during breif power outages. It is not hooked up here and as you may note is located in the wash room..HA.. A clean battery is a happy battery!
45 Here we go again. Sue is right, I have a full blown case of excesive compulsive generator disorder. This is more of an anteque than anything. It is a old Briggs & Stratton, 1961 to be exact and it is quite a beast rated at 5 HP @ 1800 RPM / 9 HP @ 3600.
46 This side shows the electrical componant box with cover removed. the previous owner claimed he could not get any juice out of the generator, it was dead ??
OH MY! We need to flash the feild windings and it will 98% chance produce thousands of milli amps !!
These old gen sets depend on residual magnetisium in the steel laminations of the windings and loose that magnetisium over time while sitting
47 Here we can see " someone " has touched up the paint by the tell tail overspray ?? Hey, I was told the carburator did not use a float.?? NOT! I have a shop manual on the way and , quite frankly dear friends, it does in fact use a float. Some farmer probabley layed the float on the hay next to his cow, it got stepped on it and never got put back in the carb. This may be why the previous owner said it would start up but would only surge and never smooth out!! A new float is $9.00.
48
49 Here is the last generator I ever plan to buy. It's frozen up, was full of dirt and may never run, but wait. This one is a Dayton generator head 2000 watt 120/240 and of course 3600 rpm with the two pole rotor and feild. A car alternator puts out more than this little thing!
50 I had another spell of mad equipment accesive compulsive equipment disorder. This time it is a skid steer. It was running but sat for 6 months and at the cheap price of 30 cents a lb, it was a good deal. It has foam filled flat proof tires (600.00 ea tire alone new) Now it has no bucket and that will be our next hunt for one.............
51 Just like a convertable, the top goes up for service and lets you access almost everything / engine and drive train.
52 This little guy is just what we need here to move manure, I hate to shovel it. It has a 4 cylinder Yanmar diesel and we obtained the complete original service manual for this model, no chiltons !!
53 Will you look at that, we found a bucket with root rake teeth. Has the replaceable teeth on it and they appear to be almost new. I want to see the goats try and eat those off !! A little chain and a hydrolic jack and we will have it back in shape in no time. And all for 250 ! That's cheaper than a new Katahadin sheep I have been looking at for grass eating.
54 The new goat proof teeth, those goats have really eaten a lot of good stuff including the molding on our Dodge truck !!
55 Now this is a must I told Sue so she can have lights and TV when the power goes off. It is a 20 KW UPS backup system single phase 120/240 and all I have to do is manage to fit it in the shop along with two large add on battery bank cabinets.
56 Here we are unloading the UPS from the truck with the aid of the jib crane and winch used to load heavey things into the semi trailer for out of the weather storage.
57 And...these are part of th add on battery bank for the UPS. They are 12 volt - 55 AH batteries sealed and explosion proof.
58 Well here is my latest excuse for a place for the mother in laws to stay when they come to visit. Our new, used 33' Apollo motor home, spacious interior, 6KW Onan and sleeps 18, 8 in the bunks, four on the floor and the rest in the kitchen.........HA not with me in there!
However, it's very nice for two people.
59 Oh boy, there's just no excuse for this anteque planer sold by Sears in the 50's and manufactured by the Parks co. The material feed is gear driven and it has a massive after market Peerless 5Hp 240/440 electric motor. Wow you won't bog down this one easy.
60 Another angle, the weight is aproximately 400 lbs with that massive motor, and if you can believe it the parts are still available from an outfit in Penn. I was able to down load a complete service manual free from the Anteque Wood Workers Machine Club ! Thank's guys.
61 No this is not railroad track. It is the start of a bandsaw mill I am building here to make use of some of the 80 + 75 ft tall florida pines we have here. These are the base rails and I have a long way to go here......stay tuned !
62 Well here's a fine lot of junk. It's a diamond in the "rough" so to speak as I see it. Really a 1960's Gravely garden tractor. This is the one that ran just a short while ago. The other is a parts machine.
63 This little guy has to go around 500 lbs, and not real co operative in the move from one trailer to the other.
64 Almost enough weight to have me use the out riggers on the trailer. This unit has a lot of impliments to go with it. I told Sue it even has a sulky for me to ride on and all I heard back was "HA - I want to see that"
Love your picks of the onan cck gensets. I have one of these and it is going to be a backup for our home in eastern Oregon. Is there any place to find service and parts manuals for these little gems?
