Engine mounting

Well the first thing to note is that you do not want a good solid mount. A solid mount will transmit all the vibration to the floor. The choice of mounting really depends on how the engine is transmitting it's power. If the powered machinery is on the same bed, that makes life easier. If the power is sent to a remote machine by belt or shaft, the engine mounts have to resist the drive torque as well as the live weight. The science of vibration control is complicated and one I've struggled with. You could look at various car engine mounts, a lot of research has gone into their design. However, be aware that they can fail and provide restraints for when this happens. A few simple slack wire ropes will at least keep the beast in roughly the same place if it tries to go walkies. Engine mountings are available commercially. Google vibration mount and there's lots of sites. Here's one:

Depends on the engine type etc., but if you mount it to a decent frame, then mount that frame to the floor through fairly stuff mountings, you should find that acceptable.

Don't use soft mountings, they will fail in an accident and allow far too much movement. What you need is restraint rather than softness.

There are some nice mountings that act in 2 planes as well, look at engine mounts in trucks for example.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

I have some blue prints supplied by Listers to a Dealer in Lincolnshire of a large Lister Q type on a solid concrete base with long anchor bolts to hold it down. A Large Crossley Gas Engine I helped with at Pitstone Museum is mounted the same way.

Martin P

This is where the confusion in my mind starts. Some say a rubber mount others say a solid (rock solid) mount? My own idea would be a heavy rubber mount but not a soft mount to absorb the vibration of the engine. I have seen rubber sandwiched between steel plates on smaller electric motors. But surly the more rigid the engine mount the better it will transfer power. I need to dig a bit more. Thanks to all so far...G

"2I0GTO" wrote >

Depend if you need to isolate the vibration - for instance if it is installed close to your house. If not, then bolting securely to the world is probably the way to go. I thought there was some mounting advice on utterpower, but I'm sure you will atready have digested that site if you are contemplating a WVO generating plant!

Nick H

Gentlemen,

Where I served my apprenticeship the compressor room had five compressors, Broom and wade V twins and and a W three cylinder weighing over a two ton a piece, they sat on a concrete mezzanine floor. It was found then when they were all running and became synchronised they caused the floor to produce a wave from one end to the other. They were subsequently mounted onto serious lumps of concrete with very stiff springs between the block and the floor. The mass is needed to dampen the vibration the springs were to stop transmission into the floor. You would need to calculate the engines natural frequency so that when running the engine does not bounce about in opposition to its anchor otherwise it will tear itself free.