In anticipation of our campsite genset failing, I started gathering parts for a "new" genset project. This time, instead of a 2-cyl diesel, I wanted something smoother running, so I found a Kubota V1505 4-cyl engine that also happened to be turbo charged!

This engine is from a Toro ReelMaster 6500D fairway mower. Hours are unknown but the eBay seller estimated it to be around 2,500 hours. Since the engine did not come from a generator, it had the flat "automotive" type flywheel and a plain starter plate. Luckily the seller just so happened to have the correct Kubota "BG" flywheel and bellhousing from another 05 series 3-cyl engine that he sold to me on the cheap (he kept the flat flywheel and starter plate as part of the deal). After decoding the serial number, we discovered it is 2001 vintage so it could be from a 2002 MY machine.

Here is what the engine looked like when it was listed on eBay:

 

Here is what it looked like when we got it home on the cart (the turbo is tiny!):

 Here is what it looked like after cleaning up the BG flywheel and bellhousing:

We did not have much planned for this engine since we personally witnessed it run when we picked it up, so just gaskets and hoses were all it needed:

The oil was very black so we figured on taking the oil pan off just to double check the bottom end. Surprisingly we found everything was very clean inside:

Parts finally showed up from the local Kubota distributor and so reassembly soon began:

The bearings in the alternator did not sound or feel good so we priced a rebuild and found it to be more expensive than a "Denso clone" on eBay. Once it arrived, it and the other final missing parts went on:

Now it was finally time to hear this engine run on our own engine stand! But first we had to mount other things like the fuel pump, water separator and pre-filter:

CLICK HERE to see the test run!!!

During the test run, we noticed the fuel filter was shaking badly. The bracket was not strong enough to cope with the vibrations, so we had to reinforce it with another piece of steel.

With the engine now fully working and sound, it was time to start shopping around for a gen head. Marathon Electric is a big name in gen heads. They have two models that suited my needs: a "regular" style unit (MagnaPLUS) and a "shorty" unit (Pancake) which was neat because it was very compact with aluminum constriction but was only class F rated windings. Plus, it had a gap in the kW size between 13 and 19 which is where this engine is sized. Then I looked at some of the "Stamford/LeRoy Somer China clones" that were very attractively priced. The problem here was my Kubota SAE 6.5 flywheel was not a popular size which meant the importer would have to special order my unit and what's worse is they were going to have to charge me floor space within the container. Then, if that weren't enough, freight from Canada to FL was going to kill the deal as they had no USA based distributors (go figure). I searched a little more and found the Stamford (now Cummins Generator Technologies) and got a price less than both the MagnaPLUS and Pancake units. The Stamford was also dimensionally in-between the MagnaPLUS and Pancake and offered class H rated windings. The distributor offered free truck freight shipping so all I had to pay was sales tax. This became a no brainer! The unit was also in stock so I just had to wait on transit time from MN to FL.

Here is the Stamford PI044G1 unit the day it arrived.

I bought some grade 8 bolts and trimmed them to the proper length (for maximum grip-length and for the thread locker to bond). You need a person with small hands to fit inside the bracket in order to run the bolts through the drive plate and into the flywheel. Luckily we had such a person on hand (my awesome wife). Alas the unit was finally starting to look like a genset!

I wanted a way to accurately monitor the engine's rotational speed. To do this, I was going to need a magnetic pickup sensor to use with the genset controller I plan to use later on. I did not want to drill a hole through the bellhousing to pickup on the flywheel's ring gear so we made a spacer/coupling/adapter out of aluminum to fit into the front drive pulley. I found a new timing gear off eBay for $7 which originally fit a Buick V6. The part # is S610. Once test fit and finished, black paint for protection.

 

 

This page was last updated: 04/13/2016