Post by desp on Mar 19, 2013 9:33:20 GMT -5
I was directed to this forum from Racketmotorman on DIY Gas Turbines, as for some reason I'm not able to post over there, and the yahoo group is an antiquated interface anyway, even this orange forum is better!
So here's where I'm at - I bought this Schwitzer turbo off of ebay about 7 years ago with the hopes of building a jet engine out of it, except I didn't have the tools or money to do it. Well in between that time and now I have a lot more tools and ability to work on it, plus the constant teasing by my friends on "How's the jet engine going", I figured it was time to build it.
The Turbocharger is a Schwitzer 4LF-504, P/N 180290R. I can't find any info on it. I bought it on ebay and I believe it was a reman, I got it for $50 shipped, which is why I bought it so long ago. It appears to be in excellent condition, except some surface rust on the housing from sitting. The oil holes have been plugged this entire time.
I took everything apart to look at how it worked and assess the condition, it all appears good, I should probably give it a thorough cleaning before firing it up for the first time, so any suggestions on re-assembly and cleaning practice would be appreciated.
I have a cheap pump that's rated at 50 PSI, 300 GPH, it's going to pull the oil from the tank, through the oil cooler, then push it through the oil filter and into the turbo. I'm not sure if 50 PSI is enough oil pressure though, I haven't been able to find any documentation on the turbo.
The turbo's inducer is 2.5" at the smallest part of the blades, and the exducer(?) is 3" at the smallest part. Using the calculations from Jetspecs I created my flame tube, although it's slightly smaller than what was called for, I used what I had.
The flame tube is 3 1/4" ID, and the combustion chamber is 4 3/8" ID. The holes are drilled according to the jet spec calculation.
I was originally going to use a spark plug, but instead of trying to get the circuit to work with my ignition coil I decided just to get a glow plug. I found an AC Delco 60G that is rated at continuous duty, so I shouldn't have to worry about burning it up.
My nozzles are HAAG misting nozzles from McMasterCarr, rated at 10 GPH at 100 PSI. I was going to run two at a lower PSI, but I probably won't get good atomization much lower. At around 50 PSI they seemed to be misting well, but higher PSI will probably be better so I'll just end up using one.
I have a Walbro, 140 PSI, 255LPH fuel pump I'm using, I have an adjustable fuel bypass to adjust the PSI going to the nozzles, I'm considering also using a PWM to adjust the fuel pump speed and be able to make adjustments on the fly a little bit easier.
Here's where I'm at with the testing.
Exhaust from a shop vac connected to the combustion chamber, heat up glow plug and then start fuel pump, diesel ignites right away and I have a good flame, except I have a significant amount of unburnt diesel dripping out the end. As Racketmotorman pointed out to me, the nozzle I'm using with a shop vac or leaf blower is dumping way more fuel than it needs.
Some other possible design flaws:
Flame tube is too small
Fuel nozzle is to the side, and not in the middle
Should probably use propane to start then switch to liquid fuel
Suggestions on...
Will my small diameter flame tube be able to work, can I slow down the axial flow to allow the diesel to fully burn?
If I get the flame tube hot enough with propane, will my off set diesel nozzle work?
So here's where I'm at - I bought this Schwitzer turbo off of ebay about 7 years ago with the hopes of building a jet engine out of it, except I didn't have the tools or money to do it. Well in between that time and now I have a lot more tools and ability to work on it, plus the constant teasing by my friends on "How's the jet engine going", I figured it was time to build it.
The Turbocharger is a Schwitzer 4LF-504, P/N 180290R. I can't find any info on it. I bought it on ebay and I believe it was a reman, I got it for $50 shipped, which is why I bought it so long ago. It appears to be in excellent condition, except some surface rust on the housing from sitting. The oil holes have been plugged this entire time.
I took everything apart to look at how it worked and assess the condition, it all appears good, I should probably give it a thorough cleaning before firing it up for the first time, so any suggestions on re-assembly and cleaning practice would be appreciated.
I have a cheap pump that's rated at 50 PSI, 300 GPH, it's going to pull the oil from the tank, through the oil cooler, then push it through the oil filter and into the turbo. I'm not sure if 50 PSI is enough oil pressure though, I haven't been able to find any documentation on the turbo.
The turbo's inducer is 2.5" at the smallest part of the blades, and the exducer(?) is 3" at the smallest part. Using the calculations from Jetspecs I created my flame tube, although it's slightly smaller than what was called for, I used what I had.
The flame tube is 3 1/4" ID, and the combustion chamber is 4 3/8" ID. The holes are drilled according to the jet spec calculation.
I was originally going to use a spark plug, but instead of trying to get the circuit to work with my ignition coil I decided just to get a glow plug. I found an AC Delco 60G that is rated at continuous duty, so I shouldn't have to worry about burning it up.
My nozzles are HAAG misting nozzles from McMasterCarr, rated at 10 GPH at 100 PSI. I was going to run two at a lower PSI, but I probably won't get good atomization much lower. At around 50 PSI they seemed to be misting well, but higher PSI will probably be better so I'll just end up using one.
I have a Walbro, 140 PSI, 255LPH fuel pump I'm using, I have an adjustable fuel bypass to adjust the PSI going to the nozzles, I'm considering also using a PWM to adjust the fuel pump speed and be able to make adjustments on the fly a little bit easier.
Here's where I'm at with the testing.
Exhaust from a shop vac connected to the combustion chamber, heat up glow plug and then start fuel pump, diesel ignites right away and I have a good flame, except I have a significant amount of unburnt diesel dripping out the end. As Racketmotorman pointed out to me, the nozzle I'm using with a shop vac or leaf blower is dumping way more fuel than it needs.
Some other possible design flaws:
Flame tube is too small
Fuel nozzle is to the side, and not in the middle
Should probably use propane to start then switch to liquid fuel
Suggestions on...
Will my small diameter flame tube be able to work, can I slow down the axial flow to allow the diesel to fully burn?
If I get the flame tube hot enough with propane, will my off set diesel nozzle work?