Lister Engine with SVO

USER MANUAL (PDF)     

Team ListerGreen
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)
Engine Modification Kit

Operation Manual:
Lister Engine SVO Retrofit

Manuel Donnay, Seth Karpinski, Rena Rudavsky, Carl Nolen, Nate Beckett

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.  BEFORE STARTING ENGINE
      A.  Mechanical System
      B.  Electrical System
II. IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTES
III. STARTING THE ENGINE
IV. RUNNING THE ENGINE
      A.  General Remarks
      B.  Adjusting Throttle
      C.  Shut Down
V.  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
      A.  Bleeding Fuel System
      B.  Bleeding Heating Loop

I. BEFORE STARTING ENGINE:

A.  Mechanical System

1. With the adjustable wrench check tightness of all engine mounting bolts (both brace to floor as well as brace to engine), preheater shelf bolts, and alternator bracket bolts.
2. Make sure the belt is securely and tightly connected from the flywheel to the alternator pulley. If it is not, loosen the alternator on adjustable slider and pull back the alternator until belt is tight and secure placement bolts.

                   
Tighten engine bolts.                          Adjust alternator belt

3. Fill and weigh fuel tanks to desired level and record weights.  Remember that since the system must be started and stopped on diesel, at least one gallon of diesel must be in the diesel tank. Open the twist cap located on the front of the tank so the fuel is open to atmospheric pressure. When finished filling be sure to put canisters back in fuel cabinet.
4. Make sure both fuel tanks are turned to the on position.  Once opened, check nozzle to hose connection for any possible leaks. If a leak is present, tighten the hose clamp accordingly and make sure to clean up any excess fuel.

Remove fuel cap

Switch to “on” position. 
Check for leaks.
Prepare fuel tanks.

5. Check oil dip stick to confirm the correct amount of oil is present in the sump.  Fill accordingly and put oil container back in the fuel cabinet.
6. Lubricate valves and throttle linkage with WD-40.

                   
Check oil level.                                         Lubricate valves.

7. With a clean rag make sure the engine and surrounding area are void of any excess oil or fuel due to possible leaks or spills. Dispose of dirty rag(s) accordingly.
8. Check to see if water in the coolant tank is at an appropriate level. The level should reside at about 4 inches higher than the input (upper) port of the tank.
9. Turn the kill switch on the engine to the off position (handle pointing downward).

                   
Check coolant level.                                Adjust kill switch.

                    Up: Throttle closed
Down: Throttle open

10. Remove any lose objects proximal to the engine. Be sure the two flywheels are able to turn freely without any obstruction-especially any lose wires.
11. Confirm the wire on the exhaust piping which connects to the ceiling is intact and holding the exhaust pipe securely.
12. Be sure the decompression switch is situated so that it does not allow its respective valve to open and close completely. Once in position tighten the switch to the aforementioned location.

Adjust decompression switch. 

B.  Electrical System

1. Turn on inverter. Check cable connections to the battery.
2. Switch the inverter to read volts.  The user should confirm the battery is in the range of 12-13 volts.
3. Assure the coil activation switch on the bottom left of the load board is open, the switch to the top left of the board is on the off position, all the bulb switches are on the off position, and all the bulbs are present and intact.

Inverter, Battery                           Coil Activation Switch                        
Check inverter and battery.                        Check load board.

4. Check wiring from battery and load board to the alternator.  Tighten bolt to wire connect on alternator to prevent sparking during run.
5. Before turning on the power supply, make sure the respective power supply inputs are set at 5V (thermocouples) and 12V (switch and RPM).  Make sure the battery is connected to the microcomputer. Turn on the power supply of the pump, thermocouples, control and rpm sensor. 

                   
Tighten alternator bolt.                      Check power supplies. 

6. Open the Labview program on the computer and be sure that all four thermocouple readouts as well as the RPM readout are on the Labview interface.  Also make sure that all inputs on the DAQ Assistant in Labview are set on Reference Single Ended (RSE) mode and NOT differential.  Test the RPM sensor by rapidly moving the reflective tape in front of the sensor. The LED on the back of the sensor should blink accordingly as the tape passes by, and the Labview interface should vary reading an appropriate number. 

                     Make sure Labview is reading.                  Test RPM sensor

7. If Labview is reading an initial temperature reading greater than approximately 35 degrees Celsuis, check to make sure that both wires from each thermocouple are secured firmly in the breadboard.

                     

Thermocouple inputs and circuit                        On/off switch
                                    
  Check all circuits and inputs. 

8. Also, check all wire inputs into the USB DAQ board.  Secure any loose wires by securely screwing them into the appropriate numbered slot on the board.

II. IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTES

·    NEVER run the engine alone.  At least two people should be present at all times.
·    Always stay clear of flywheels.  Never work on engine during run time.
·    Be aware of kill switch and fire extinguisher at all times.
·    Protect your ears when the engine is running.
·    Never come close to the exhaust piping or tubing of the heat exchanger system due to hazardous temperatures.
·    Be conscious of any possible exhaust leaks. If a leak should occur, shut down engine immediately and repair.
·    Never open the shut-off to the closed loop heating system while the engine is running or hot.

Follow ALL safety procedures.

Flywheel handle position should be changed from shipping position, so that handle points out (see picture below).

Handle should point out away from flywheel as shown above.

III. STARTING THE ENGINE

(requires a team of two individuals):

1. Member 1 positions himself/herself on the handle of the starting flywheel.
2. Member 2 positions himself/herself at the load board.
3. Member 1 starts turning the wheel quickly.  After several seconds they will hear a “click” during every other wheel rotation.  This click is the fuel pump triggering. Several second later you will hear a “clunk” that drowns out the “click”, this noise is fuel injector triggering. Both noises must be present to continue the start cycle. (If either noise is not present pull the throttle bar out away from the engine and repeat step three.)
4. Continue turning wheel with right hand. Once the flywheels are moving at a good clip, with left hand reach to the decompression switch, loosen, and open. The engine will start. Make sure to let go of handle with right hand. Left hand must remain on decompression until the switch is tightened to the open position.

        
Turn flywheel.    Pull throttle bar back.   Move decompression switch.

5. Member 1 should remain next to the engine with his/her hand on the kill switch in order to stop the engine immediately in case of an emergency.
6. When engine starts, Member 2 must close the switch on the bottom left of the board in order to close the alternator/inverter circuit which applies load to the engine.

                   
Stay near kill switch.  (Up is off)      Adjust load by turning on/off bulbs.

7. The RPM of the engine will quickly climb, apply load by switching on light bulbs gradually so that the RPM should never exceed 700.
8. ****Flip the inverter switch from volts to watts, dial in the engine using the load board and throttle linkage to a load of roughly 1.3 kW of load at 600-650 RPM.

IV. RUNNING THE ENGINE

      A.  General Remarks

• Once running, one member should always man the load board and have access to the kill switch of the engine in case of an emergency.
• Note the time the engine started to run in the lab notebook.
• Confirm that the RPM readout on the Labview program is giving an appropriate number (500-650).
• Member 2 should check to see if the pump- which is located on the bottom of the engine shelf- is operating by placing his/her hand on the pump to feel a vibration of about 120 pumps per minute. If the pump is not working, check the power supply connection.  The pump must be working before the fuel is switched to vegetable oil.

Check pump.

• Throughout the run, periodically check the pressure gauge on the preheater shelf to ensure it remains below 10 psi. If the gauge exceeds this number, shut down immediately.
• Confirm that the temperature readings on the Labview program are climbing steadily.  None should ever exceed a temperature of 250 oF.
• At roughly 10 minutes of run time place the temperature sensor of the voltmeter on the top of the heat exchanger to ensure a temperature of at least 120 oF. Checking the Labview program ensure that the temperature of the fuel at injection is in the range of 200-240 oF.
• Once preheating requirements are met, switch the three-way valve on the heat exchanger shelf to the vegetable oil position. Note the time of switch in your notebook.

         
Test heat exchanger temperature.       Switch fuel source to SVO. 

• It will take several minutes for the diesel to run out of the system. The member at the load board should be prepared to reduce the load in order to accommodate the straight SVO run (the load is significantly less when running SVO). Note: The load may have to be reduced to half of what is on diesel, but still attempt to maintain a consistent RPM.
• Note the time the switch was turned to vegetable oil.
• Periodically check that the input port (upper) of the coolant tank is significantly warmer than the output (lower). This will confirm that the thermostat is engaged and open allowing coolant water to circulate freely.  If this is not the case after roughly 20 minutes of run time shut down the engine immediately.
• Run the engine for the desired test period.

Keep an eye on coolant temp.

B.  Adjusting Throttle

Due to the limits of the governor on the machine, only a limited throttle range is available when running.  Therefore, if you want a different set load or use a fuel that has different power density adjust the throttle manually through the steps below:

• Loosen the stop nut on the threaded hook, which connects the governor arm to the spring
• Remove the connecting rod that connects the governor arm to the throttling arm by removing the clevis pins
• To increase fuel, shorten the connecting rod by rotating the U-bolt at the top.  To decrease fuel, lengthen the connecting rod
• Reconnect the connecting rod
• Run the engine.  Adjust the thumb screw until the desired RPM response is found by pushing down so the spring begins to pull on the threaded hook

C.  Shut Down

• Once the test period is finished, switch the three-way valve back to the diesel.
• Record the time that the engine was switched back to diesel fuel.
• The member 2 should be prepared to increase the load to maintain a constant RPM as the diesel enters the system.
• Continue to run the engine on diesel in order to bleed out all the vegetable oil from the system.  This will take roughly 20 minutes.
• Hit the kill switch to stop the engine.  Record the time the engine was stopped.
• As the engine idles to shut down, decrease the load gradually until no load is applied. All switches should be in the off position.  Open the switch at the bottom left of the board when the engine has stopped completely.
• Put both caps back on the fuel tank.  Weigh the tanks and record the values.
• Clean up any excess oil/fuel on or near the engine.
• Turn off the inverter.

V.  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

A.  Bleeding Fuel System

If the fuel system is adjusted or components are added or modified the system needs to be bled of air to function properly.

1. Start at the fuel tank end of the fuel system.  At every high point in the fuel line open the line by removing the hose clamp and let the air out until fuel starts to flow.  
2. Make sure the flow is clean, no bubbles are present, and then re-tighten the hose clamp.
3. Next open the connection where the line leaving the three way valve meets the fuel pump. Bleed this connection.
4. With the line fully connected to the pump, loosen the connection of the high pressure line to the fuel injector.  Manually turn over the engine making sure the fuel pump is pumping until a stream of fuel flows out every time the pump fires.
5. Reconnect the high pressure line and clean the whole system of diesel fuel to prevent smoking when running.

B.  Bleeding Heating Loop

1. Make sure the engine is off and the system is cool.
2. Connect the funnel with the threaded barb to the shut-off valve near the exhaust coils.
3. Open the shut-off valve and pour new 99% propylene glycol into the funnel.
4. While supporting the funnel, open the lowest connection of the closed loop.  This is the connection to the expansion tank.

Fill heating loop.

5. Bleed this connection.  Close after a stream of glycol is flowing out with no bubbles.
6. Re-fill the funnel.  The system should begin to take the glycol.  Large air bubbles will come up and out through the funnel.  Keep topping off the funnel with more fluid.
7. When the system seems to be filled, turn on the circulation pump. This should push through any of the last air bubbles.
8. Pour off the remainder of the fluid in the funnel and shut the valve.
9. Periodically check the level of the system by opening the valve and looking for the fluid.  If you can’t see fluid, add more.

USER MANUAL (PDF)