1978 CHB 39 Mystery Generator

[Lilypad]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and have yet to even post on the welcome mat as I wait on a few more reports to come in before closing on my purchase of a 1978 CHB 39 Sundeck. It is a twin Ford Lehman 120hp 2715E power configuration with what appears to be the original generator. I already intend on doing a complete maintenance update on the engines and have my long (and expensive) parts list from American Diesel waiting for me.

What has got me and even a few of the experts stumped is what make and model the old generator sitting in the engine room is. Here is what I know. It is a single-cylinder, horizontal engine, 3kva engine/generator. It is cast iron metal. There are no visible tags or serial numbers but it is suspected to be a Yanmar copy (Janmar?). It is not seized as the flywheel turns all the way over.

It might be kind of fun to try cleaning it up and restoring it but that would prove impossible if one didn't know where to begin looking for parts if needed. Does anyone have experience with these old generators? Is it worth trying to restore or should I simply sell it for parts?

Thank you all in advance!

 

[mvweebles]

I had one similar in Weebles. It was indeed a single lung Yanmar with belt drive starter and belt drive to some sort of AC power head generator. Man, it was loud and would vibrate the fillings out of your teeth. Only good part was you could hand start it. Somewhere there is a compression release that you old with one hand and crank like hell with the other to get the giant flywheel going. Release the compression release and she might roar to life. Positively awful AC regulation.

I don't know who you could sell it too. If kids still have auto mechanics classes in high school, might be a worthy donation.

Good luck with it and the rest of the boat. Pretty exciting.

Peter

 

[Crux]

I think its an excellent candidate to restore.....if you enjoy such things!

Check out 'Smokestack.com' for the folks who live in the antique generator world....and search for 'Antique Tractor Club' for a chapter in your area....these folks live in the stationary engine era.

Public shows are usually held in October...check youtube...ebay for a manual?

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard and congrats on your new boat.

 

[Arc]

I doubt it’s yanmar. India made lots of knockoffs. After great effort and some success, you will be scraping it.

 

[mvweebles]

I doubt it’s yanmar. India made lots of knockoffs. After great effort and some success, you will be scraping it.

Mine was definitely an old yanmar. It wasn't identical to rhe OPs, but pretty dang close. Circa 1970. I had the owners manual for it - only recently tossed it when cleaning my junk. Given OPs boat is 1978, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a yanmar.

Peter

 

[Lilypad]

Thanks so much to all for the responses. A lot of good information here. So you say it was a loud one eh? I would have, for some reason, thought that it would have been quieter being a much simpler engine but there you go... I'm not pretending to be an engine guy. I very well may check out some of the old engine resources posted here and see what a few more have to say. In fact... come to think of it, my neighbour actually does those old tractor farm shows... hmmmm.

 

[BruceK]

Don`t easily junk it but can you get it running?. The decompression hand start is a bonus. I had a Volvo single cylinder aux. in a sailboat, not too noisy, reliable and miserly on fuel. You might be able to put a soundshield around it. Is 3Kw enough, you may need to take care with loading.

 

[kchace]

That very much looks like a converted "Chinese diesel". Look up Chinese diesel 175.

Ken

 

[O C Diver]

It also resembles the horizontal single cylinder Kubota. Maybe an earlier generation?

Ted

 

[mvweebles]

Found this picture of my old 1-cyl Yanmar 'generator.' Looked like a cobbled together affair, but actually had an owners manual showing it was purpose built. Was definitely a Yanmar. Belt-drive power head on right, belt-drive starter on lower left. Black crank handle visible beneath generator atop plywood support.

Peter

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. L. I would most definitely keep it even if just to fiddle with it. You may want to replace it but keep it in any case. I absolutely love rehabilitating older machinery. Clean it up, nice coat of paint, tuneup/repair and you have an interesting artifact but that's just me.
Removal would be the first step as working "on the bench" is much preferred to wrenching in situ IMO.

 

[mvweebles]

.... Clean it up, nice coat of paint, tuneup/repair and you have an interesting artifact but that's just me......

Yes, what mantle is complete without a few family photos and an old diesel thumper?

I zoomed in on the OPs pic and my old pic. Case shape, oil full cap, and crank aperture are identical. I wonder if the triangular plate beneath the crank receptor is an oil filter housing?

Peter

 

[High Wire]

Welcome aboard.
If you are in New England, email Mustie1 on You Tube. He brings left-for-dead engines back to life.

 

[38ark]

I have a yanmar TS70c that looks like yours. Parts were still available 10yrs ago. I put a new electrical end on it but have not installed it in my boat yet. Mine only starts by hand and runs at 2000rpm. Contact me if you have any questions.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

I just removed my Yanmar TSC80 4kw generator (and gave it to a junk yard). I don't know how noisy it was because I never ran it. Could not get the injector pump to work, even after buying a new one and hiring a diesel mechanic. Since I didn't need it, I removed it (which was a pain). Compression release is under the cylinder jug. Mine was electric start, but had a hand crank that was held in clamps on the lower front.

It had a Groco strainer for the raw water intake. Now I wish I had kept that. There is a little through hull intake (now unused) and, if I still had the Groco, I could have easily put in little pump and had an anchor wash down system. That would be something useful for me.