The Lister Engine

      The Lister engine is a single-cylinder diesel engine created to produce general purpose mechanical power.  It was originally designed in 1930 and built from 1930 to 1987 by the British Lister Company. When British Lister went out of business in 1987 companies in India and Africa began building “knock-offs” called “Listeroids”.   The engines are renowned for their long life, low maintenance and low costs.  Currently, millions of the single-cylinder, low RPM designs exist throughout the developing world.  As such, the present day technical knowledge of variations of the Lister engine in India and Africa is already considerable.

http://www.admit-one.net/webimages/listeroid.jpg