A friend of mine passed away a couple of years ago. Reminds me of our Jack - his name was Jack too, he owned a repair shop all his life then sold it and opened a storage lot. I have some of my trailers there. About half the lots are filled with his stuff. Cars, tractors, all kinds of equipment. His widow has been trying to clear it all out so she can sell the business.

One item is a diesel generator inside a trailer. It's not small. Obviously was a commercial unit, prolly from the oilfield, mounted on a 8' skid that's attached to the trailer. The entirety is inside a wooden, homemade enclosure that has all four sides on hinges that raise up for easy access from all sides.

Jack put it all together for his personal use. It's got everything to be self contained - tools, spare parts, oil, filters, fuel, breaker boxes, control panel, etc. But, now it's sat 2-3 years. I know it runs, or did right before he passed (quickly). He even left her instructions on how to start and operate it. Just imagine something like our Jack might put together, albeit maybe a bit older now, and not quite as clean - but very complete and well engineered.

Anyway, I was going to buy it from her. I told her a few hundred dollars and she agreed. But, that's not right. I think it's worth much more, and I wouldn't feel right flipping it for a killing and cutting out my friend's widow.

So, I've told her that I'd sell it and split the proceeds. There's a Ritchie Bros. auction here next week. But, it'll sell for a whole lot more if I can show them it starts. Sounds like a great project for one of my bros here. Problem is, I don't have a clue what it is - what kind of engine, how many HP, the generator, KVA? It's got wires - I hate electronics.

I'd love to find someone who knows how to work on these to just give her a fair price. I'll upload some pics is a bit.

 

Pictures are the first step.

 

Sounds pretty cool, but a little extreme for a homeowner. What amperage on the breakers?

 

Ok, got lots of pics, but no bandwidth until midnight, lol

Doors closed. Its on jackstands. Theres some junk behind it.

Oops, wrong pic. I wanted the serial number plate.

 

The generator. This is Army surplus. 2008, and unused the last 3 years

Hard to read, but this is the motor.

You tell me.

 

 

Seriously, do these lbels remind you of anyone named Jack? Theyre on everything.

 

Good news. Jack sold his shop, LaRue Automotive, when he retired to an employee. That man helped Jack with the genset. He felt real confident all it needs are batteries. So he's going to fire it up and tke a video.

 

Dang, that clock says 95 hours.

 

Anyone know what type of engine that is? sorry my pic of the name plate didn't come out clear. I'm going to go back with a flashlight. I could read the Model no. and MFG, but nothing came up in a search of their catalogue. Looks like it says 15-12 KVA and 1.75? KW and 52.?amps? Which of those numbers mean anything when I try to find similar units? Can you tell what the important specs are?

 

Says Continental engine, gen head is 60 hertz single phase 15 kilowatts at 1800 engine rpms,120/240. It is a hands on unit, you need a constant or steady 60 hertz as you power up what ever is plugged in. Newer generators will adjust to keep you in range, this definitely is a hands on unit for someone who knows what they are doing as you bring in new loads to run.

Not sure if I helped, that is all I got..........

 

Labels ..... a good thing.

Especially when your older and can't remember a damn thing.

It's my mother's fault, damn labels on clothing when young and going to kindergarden.

 

LOL. I knew it. You and my Jack were two of a kind - I'm thinking y'all even looked alike, if I'm remembering correctly that you're seen in some/one of your videos. And he was always helping everyone. Helped me weld up my box trailer. The only way you could get one of his storage lots was by referral. It's at the end of a dead end road. I just stumbled on it when another lot up the road wouldn't answer their bell to rent me a spot. He gave me the third degree and, I think, looked me up online to confirm I had lived there all these years before letting me rent. You can only pay in cash, lol, but an uncovered space long enough for two 20' trailers and my 30' bus for $60/mo.

 

Okay so what you have there is a combination of years and parts. The most valuable is the Chinese generator head. They are known as ST generator heads. There used to be a big importer of them with a huge following. They are still made and work well. The engine is old army surplus. It used to have a 120/208 3 phase head on it.

You can visit the utterpower website to learn about the ST.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...LyqJg_pa-FOFvs

The last importer is in Georgia and it's very likely that head came from them. Parts are available directly from China or them.

https://centralgagenerator.com/customer/st-generator/

I am very fond of these generator heads and have two still in heavy use from the early 80's. I have a large 30kw to run my house that is coupled to a 4BT cummins and its been flawless.

 

Thanks!! These are just general questions to everyone:

wonder what the market opinion is on Continental engines? I hadn't heard of them, and now it looks like they mostly do plane engines. Not sure what you mean by "hands on" and the rest - all Greek to me. Does that make it significantly less valuable?

Any guess on value? I can see the market on 15kw gensets by viewing the Auction Results on RitchieBros, but they have so many different specs and big price swings, that I can't tell which ones this unit compares to. Finally, any reason to not assume that hour meter is accurate?