Armstrong Siddeley AS2 genset

Winter is approaching, so I decided it was time to have a look at an old portable MOD generator set that someone had abandoned, before leaving it in their estate. It obviously had gotten water in it through the topside exhaust, as it arrived here last fall with dismantled heads, stuck, a missing manifold, and both injectors gone missing too. I poured the barrels full of a mixture of diesel and motor oil, and just left it to sit until now with the occasional refill.

Here it is behind the shed last week, together with its slightly older and complete and turning brother in the background. 122 hours on the one in the front, and 514 hours on the other:



And here it is in the process of being dismantled for a check up and an attempt to get it to run again.



Turns out that I got a stroke of luck with it, as the rust was only superficial. Both the bores and the rings were in good shape after a good cleaning and a hone. It had a couple of broken fins on the top of cyl. 2 though, probably after a poorly executed attempt at removing the heads. I absolutely hate that, so the cylinder went in the parts bin, and the good unused one that came with the set as a spare was put to use instead.

3 days of work later, overhauling the stuck dieselpumps of which 1 needed a new element, and fitting new injectors to the lapped and cleaned cylinder heads. And here it is with a borrowed exhaust, running like it came from the factory last week:



The worst mishap was a sagging bucket on the aging backhoe, that dented the nice original tank as my phone rang and kept me occupied for half an hour. Not too bad, it's a soft dent, and the tank is soldered. So it will have to come apart, be straightened, and soldered back up. Really annoying none the less, a day I could use for better things.

We'll see where it goes as a project over the winter. The sliprings to the rotating armature are unfortunately coming apart due to broken through-bolts. Simply age-related corrosion and fatigue, I believe they're bronze. But if that issue gets fixed the 12kW 3-phase generator windings measures out as if it just might work. The piggybacked exciter assembly delivers DC for the field, so I might just try to split the generator assembly and see if I can find a fix for the sliprings. I like to have everything working and checked out before I dismantle it for paint and pretty. As said, we'll see where it goes.

If anyone ever come across a manifold for it from a wreck or donor I would be delighted. I'm missing 2 twin manifolds, and one complete set engine base/mounting feet for my AS2's.

Great work on the generator, what make of backhoe is that?

Chris

chrismac wrote:Great work on the generator, what make of backhoe is that?

Chris

Thank you. I try to fix and preserve as much of this stuff that I can. They're not making any more of it, and the entire design and build philosophy was a completely different mindset. Than our planned obsolesence, that turns everything to shit.

The backhoe is a norwegian built Hymas model 4, based on a Volvo Bolinder BM350 tractor. From around 1966. I got it for cheap, everything works except some sag in some cylinders, and the thing had 28 000 hours on it when the hourmeter stopped working!!!

It really deserves to be preserved that one too, but it has gotten a bit far down the road in general wear and tear. So it might be abandoned for a better one if it ever shows up. For me it has paid for itself a couple of times over, so everything it manages to help me with from now on is just a bonus. I don't think it'll start in the winter though... It runs ok once it gets going, but it takes some churning to get there, hahaha!