Make-A-Plan Motors

One of the challenges of the mission field is keeping older vehicles in good running condition.  Uncle Piet and I often joke that we work for "Make-A-Plan Motors."  Our most recent project has been a welder for me that runs off the massive Lister diesel engine that also runs our generator.

The diesel engine (green) is a single cylinder, water cooled engine that only produces 9 hp in spite of it's massive size and weight.  It runs very slow--550 rpm--so it is very efficient.  Five gallons of diesel will produce many hours of electricity--much longer than a comparably sized gasoline generator.

The welder (in the middle) is made from a slightly modified car alternator.  (I rewired it from star to delta phase and made a heavy duty external rectifier.)  It's not that powerful but does most of what I need to do.  It will weld 3/16" steel with good penetration if I am careful.

Uncle Piet made the intermediate shaft for me.  The engine runs so slow that I needed an extra shaft to get the rpm high enough for the alternator to weld.

I finally got the whole set up working this last Saturday.  Since then I've been trying to catch up on the backlog of maintenance projects that I couldn't do without a welder. 

Thanks Uncle Piet!!!