I am a newly registered member but I have been following this site for some time. I have a 5 cyl. non turbo from a wreck that I want to make a stationary generator with a belt drive 10k alternator. I haven't started the engine but I'm in the process of building a stand for it. I could use some advice on how to proceed once I get it mounted and a radiator and exhaust setup. The engine has been stored for 3 or 4 years since I bought it. I don't know the year but maybe someone could clue me in on where to look for some ID numbers.

 

If you go to the Diesel Giant Website he has info on where to find the Engine Number.

I do not know what you plan to run off of your Generator but Generator Engines have a different type of Governor than Engines in Vehicles do.
According to the Factory Service Manual in the description of how the Governor works in the mid range that Governor is not controling the Fuel Injection pump.

On a Gen Set it is all about the Engine maintaing a certain speed all the time even when the electrical load changes.
And, the faster the Governor can respond to a load change the better off the Electrical circuits are.
Another way to explain it is when you are driving your Diesel Car and you start going up a hill (increasing the load) you have to give it more throttle by way of the accelerator pedal (or your Transmission will drop to a lower gear). The Governor on the Fuel Injection Pump will not do that for you.
So in a Vehicle you change the amount of Fuel Injected to change the speed of the Engine to match the load.
As the load changes the Speed has to change also.

On a Gen Set when the load increases it is the Governor that give The Fuel Injection Pump more Throttle.
So on a Gen Set you change the amount of Fuel Injected into the Engine to deal with the load but the Engine rpm stays within a small limited rpm range when under load.
So under varing loads the Engine/governor maitains a specific rpm. However, when there is no load idles.

 

The governor is one of the issues I knew would have to be dealt with. I was planning on running a 10k belt driven alternator and thought it would be possible to install a governing setup that would be quick enough to keep up with load changes. The alternator needs to turn at 3600 rpm so I thought I could gear up the drive so the engine could turn at, I'm just speculating here, 1500-2000 rpm.

 

Think of the lawnmower engine, it has a blade thats next to the flywheel that it spring loaded = fast when no air is flowing, but when the engines rpm increase's the air blows the blade away from the flywheel slowing the rpm. then when the rpm's decrease the blade moves back to fast. With some brackets, linkeages, and a little imagination. ? ?

 

Actually the answer is to find an old ThermoKing Gen set with a Mercedes Engine on it. It is already setup.

Also if it has a Garrett (Air Research) turbo on it the Turbo is not kicking in until clse to 2000 rpm.

 

I appreciate the input here. Having never driven or had any association with
anyone with a Mercedes diesel, I don't have any idea of the power range and rpm
limits of these engines. I own a '95 12 valve Dodge Cummins truck and it runs
around 2500 at 70 to 75 mph and around 1800 at 60 so I was using that as a
comparison. Now that I'm getting a little bit of a start here, I need to know
some information on what the various lines and filters and hookups are before I
can think of trying to start it. I took some pictures yesterday and I will post
them and perhaps some of you could tell me what everything's purpose is. I am
especially curious about the round thingy on the front of the engine with two
lines coming out of it. One is a clear plastic one which is broken off about 10
inches above and the other is a black tube/cable/whatever that goes to the back
of the engine. There is also some sort of filter canister at the rear of the
engine and what appears to be a fuel filter at the front mounted on the back of
the power steering pump which I plan on removing {The power steering pump, not
the filter} I will of course remove the A/C compressor and all the lines
associated with it. Also, are the horns protruding from the block on each side
of the engines some sort of motor mount? There are no holes in them but an
indent on the bottom side where they may sit on some sort of protrusion from the
frame. I'm calling them horns for lack of a better word and they are toward the
bottom of the block.

 

13.4 HP (10 KW) at 3600 RPM is absolutely no problem for the engine. At the low end of the power range, the governor resolution might be a bit touchy.

Consider the governor to be like a cruise control circuit, but more responsive. Also, frequency deviation does not adversely effect as many electrical devices as in the past (e.g., TV, computer CRT, AC clock accuracy). Most things will work fine between 50 and 72 Hz.

 

My 84 300D (turbo) runs about 3000 rpm at 60 miles per hour on a flat road.

 

I didn't realize the Mercedes ran so many rpm's. My Dodge Cummins 12 valve runs a little over 2000 at 70 and I have a diesel bus that runs around 2000 at cruising speed so I was thinking that the Mercedes would probably run in the same range. I will have to rethink my gearing of the pulleys for the alternator to arrive at 3600 to get 60 cycles. I found a Haynes manual for these engines on Amazon and bought it so now I'm getting a better idea of what everything does and it's purpose. The round doo-dad on the front of the engine is a vacuum pump and the long plastic line that runs aft must plug into the dash to run door locks and such. Am I correct on this? The other line runs to the air cleaner, at least in one of the pictures I found online. Would I be able to just plug the lines or would I need them for the engine to function properly? I still haven't quite figured out the motor mount setup but I think for starters I can rig up something to clamp on those brackets {horns} that protrude from each side toward the front. I will then use the tranny mount to hold the rear. I think with what I have for information now I can start building a stand and see if she's going to run.

 

Vishvamata, I will be running a 220v 1 1/2 hp submersible well pump with this generator as well as everything else one would run in a house. Do you know if these type of pumps are extremely sensitive to voltage variations? I have been using a 13 hp 6k gas engine generator on this well for over two years now with no problem and I doubt very much if this type of gen set would be all that accurate. Just looking for some answers and info before I get the diesel setup operable. Thanks to everyone on this forum for your help.
I should mention that the generator would mainly be used for the well pump and the household use would be for a backup or to charge the deep cycle batteries when the weather turns cloudy for a spell and the solar panels don't produce any power.