Picked up a fairly reasonable-looking PU8 genny on ebay today, nobody else bid for it so maybe possible buyers were at work or thought the price was high at £100?
Year of supply 1941, 4kW DC 110V, non-runner but seems to have the original toolboxes and twin tanks, so is it Petrol-Paraffin?
More when we get it back from Southampton.
Peter
-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk
A hundred quid for that big, heavy, probably thirsty and not especially attractive lump? - Yes ok, I'd have liked it too if I had the space ;-)
Nick H
Tha main atraction for me was that it appears to be complete, toolboxes, tanks (why 2 tanks?) and control panel. Hopefully something can be made out of that as a Nuenen 2009 exhibit....
This has also presumably got to be a 3000rpm job? 4kW at 1500rpm would suggest a lot of poke which I don't think this one has, but would be very happy to be corrected.
110V DC is a little unusual, it would have been kVA for AC, even in 1941. Had they wanted 110V AC then a simple transformer from a 240V genny or a split output winding would have done the job.Peter
-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk
Might be 730cc, so 1500rpm quite feasible for 4kW, almost the same as an Onan. Peter
-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk
:
Do some of the tvo or paraffin start on petrol and switch to tvo when running. Just a guess from the depths of memory.
Possibly, or they doubled up on the fuel tanks for the bigger engine?
Peter
-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk
I think the latter. In pet/par or pet/TVO systems I have seen the starter (petrol) tank is amuch smaller than the main fuel tank. Besides which, I assume the original application was military and petrol was the 'standard' military fuel during WWII.
What do you reckon 4KW of 110 VDC would have been used for - arc lights?
Nick H
You're right, the 730cc engines had twin tanks, presumably with change-over taps.
Don't know about the use of 110V DC, it's a bit unusual, and arc lights normally need a bit more grunt than that, especially when starting up. The Mole-Richardson arcs that we had at Samuelson were 25kW each, and we had 1000A gennies to run 4 at a time. We did acquire a small searchlight from a house in Copthorne which had an arc light mechanism and diddy little carbons, that might have been the sort of thing it ran.
It may well be that this is a red herring and that it is 110V AC, as the connectors look like they could be 3-pin round type as per our cub gennies.
I'll be speaking with the own later today, I'll see what he knows.
Peter
-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk
100v DC and 32v DC were the standards for farm lighting sets so it could have been used for any lighting application which used batteries and a charging generator.
Yes indeed, but the Ministry of Defence or the Air Ministry didn't have any farms....
Airfield lighting is a possibility as well.
Wait until we collect it, might have more information then.
Kim Siddorn has/had one, I think it was a compressor set though.
Peter
-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk
Peter A Forbes wrote: (snip):-
Certaintly a PU something:-
Nick H
They were quite a versatile lump alltold, fuel consumption would have been a problem for equipment that was deemed disposable in war conditions, and there probably wasn't that many of the other companies with the facilities to ramp of production. Peter
-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk
A PU4, a much nicer, lighter, quieter, more efficient engine altogether! One cylinder was indeed a compressor.
The PU8 cropped up all over & one use was to push landing craft along. They are very thirsty though - best of luck Peter.
regards,
Kim Siddorn
Presumably there is the PU2, single, PU4 twin - both small cylinders
Then the PU6 and PU8.
Anyone have any cylinder sizes/capacities for the range of engine?
Peter
-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk
I have a PU2 & the special PU4. Mine was recovered from a quarry (instead of an unpaid Christmas bonus, I understand!) where it inflated digger tyres. Research by the previous owner indicated that it was one of a batch of 17 experimental units made in 1938 for the Air Ministry & that it had spent a worthwhile war inflating bomber tyres in East Anglia.
They also occurred as a special order extra on a agricultural tractor.
Never seen a PU6...........
There was an unusual flat twin on eBay a few weeks ago. It was a factory job based on the PU8 but updated with A1 top ends. Tempted, I was, but too lumpy for me.
regards,
Kim Siddorn
It does exist according to the application listing, but may well have been pushed out by the 8hp.
Philip is going down to Portsmouth tomorrow, and is going to call and see if it will fit in his Combo van.....
Peter
-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk
..and very gratefully received!
Many thanks, Mike.
Peter
-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk
Mike's file shows that there is/was a 110V DC genny, and no AC version at that voltage, so we are looking at DC output.
No2 son is in the area this morning, hopes to get it into his Combo van....
Peter
-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk
First pictures are up on the websites at:
Peter
-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk
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