Petter AS 2.75hp ex army gen set.

Gone and collected this old petter AS gen set..



The genny bit isnt original as its a 110volt driven by a V belt then the 110volt goes through a invertor of some kind by the looks of it..electric wires looks eerrr shall we say old and not a thing to touch when running as a few bare wires in places..and no plug or any trip switches or fuses anywhere so a thing to sort out before even trying to make it power up a light..

this is on the side of the genny bit..

and this label is on the invertor bit which is in next pic



engine spec plate..
got a nice burgess air filter fitted along with a proper petter starting handle(not a reproduction either)
Had to remove the head as exhaust valve was stuck open.no surprise really as it hasnt run for over 20 years. so lapped both vales in once i freed the exhaust valve up and I got compression.When i was turning it over to check the compression I noticed the spark plug lead which is milatary screen type was sparking away so a check the plug sparks and i refit it all back together..At this stage it was 8.30pm so a shut of the garage doors and gave it a few swings and I would love to say it fired right up onto its governor..but no it sort of coughed a few times and after me nearly giving up it spluttered into life..Will give it a better longer run in the daytime and add a video once i got it running ok..

Nice looking genny, looks a bit on the heavy side for my liking and as for the wiring you can keep anything over 24volts as they scare me I thought you'd have to at least clean the carb before it ran so looks as if you've got a cracking engine.
Can you tell me what checks you'd have to get done before you could take it on to a rally field to satisfy H & S, I notice more rallies are asking for them to comply.

Stu.

A vintage genny is actually exempt from modern H&S requirements as long as its only being used for display purpose..But to make it a bit more safe I have fitted a trip switch and modern socket for the 100 and 240 volt part but this is hidden a little so unlikely public would even notice the modern socket in place.. If you use this to connect to caravan or yourwork shop at home then it should comply with regs just like a modern genny should.

Had this powering a few 200watt lights today along with a 500watt light and all is ok on that side as the wires that were there had many bare wires showing so had to replace a few wires and the internal fuse was also blown most proberbly from the bare wires shorting out on the frame at some point in the past.
Going to take it to a rally in 2 weeks time and see how it goes hopefully by then i will have it all on a set of wheels so I can move it more easily,I can just about shuffle it across the floor at the moment and theres no way i can load it by myself or unload it until i get some wheels on it..

i thought it was only 240volt that was the problem..think that 110volt was ok..
but i guess the law will change in time...
mike...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guNIjyl7oCU
video of it running..the knocking you hear is just the exhaust which has now been moved so it dont rattle on the frame...thats a 110volt bulb lit up but the 240 bit does work but only got that working later in the day powering a few spot lights really well.

Sounds well Jay, you must be happy with it. Jay can I ask do you go out looking for your engines (auctions, farm sales etc) as you've some strange stuff compaired to the rest of us or does it just come along in your line of work? I know a lot of the things you have not many people would bother with or just remove the engine and scrap what's left, as a lot of your stuff is large, heavy or both and storage must be a nightmare for everything. It is good to know that at least someone is saving the complete item not just the engine.
Keep up the great work.

Stu.

got my own 6wheel lorry with 4 tonne hiab as well as drawbar trailer which goes behind the lorry.I do a lot of farm clearance work atm mainly in europe which is where a few engines have come from(my lister jp3 gen set I got from a little village in germany for 50 euro)my main work is buying old eurpean tractors and bringing them back to the uk and reselling them through a classic tractor dealer nearby to my main yard..
Doing a few farm clearances in uk over the next few weeks which is also where i find the gen sets and water pump sets..
I got 2 big old farm sheds 1 of which i am losing so a lot of engines have had to be moved recently which is why i had a bit of a sell off of the more common engines but mainly kept the big sets as I was afraid the big sets would just get the engine removed and the rest scrapped which is a real shame to see..
plus i enjoy the sets much more than just a engine on its own..some of the sets i havent ever seen another exactly the same which then brings a common engine that bit rarer when its on its original set up.

Top man Jay, I hope you can continue saving the equipment for many years.

Stu.

Took this set to a rally last saturday and it ran all day on about 5 to 6 litres of petrol it ran from 10am till about 4.30pm didnt stop at all and was powering a 110v floodlight and 2 240v flashing lights.

Great news Jay, are you leaving as it is or planning on painting it up, fitting a set of wheels to it?

Stu.

fitted some inflated type wheels to the end of the frame will add a few pics later tonight of it running at a rally..I plan to repaint it soon as its already been painted with diffrent colour paint in a few places and it will be blwn over just as army would of done in kharki matt green rubbers and all just as they would of done

Yeah the only look good in army kharki green. A local guy to me always has a camoflarge net hung around his for effect, it looks good but he keeps it on a trailer because of the weight and the trailer spoils the look, as it's not an ex army trailer or even in army green.

Stu.

camo net is my next thing to get as well as maybe a radio set and canvas type small tent they use.. got a russian flag to go with my russian gen set and hope to get a russian tent to go with that set

Sounds like your going to have a great display once your sorted Jay.

Stu.

This was teken at raveningham rally on saturday..the 2 red lights flash and the yellow one is 110v..you can see the wheels i fitted which dont steer but is pretty easy to move about on rally fields.