History of the Lister

The original Lister engine was produced by the Lister Company in England. They were first produced in 1929, and continued in production until 1987. They were called Lister Cold Start (CS) engines, due to the fact that they are started easily without the use of glow plugs.

The Lister engine was used extensively throughout all of the British colonial territories. They were especially popular in rural areas were a reliable and simple system was need for producing electricity, pumping water, and powering a multitude of farming implements. These engines were responsible for helping to making rural lands habitable around the developing world.

Production of these engines continued after 1987 in India. There are now a number of companies in India that produce Lister clones, sometimes known as “Listeroids”. Their ability to run 24/7 for years with only basic maintenance, while using a variety of fuels (diesel, kerosene, BioDiesel, Waste Vegetable Oil, Motor Oil, Etc,) has caused a huge surge in the popularity of the Lister type engines.

Slow Speed

The standard Lister engine produces its power at an incredibly slow 650RPM (Some of the higher horsepower Listers run at a slightly higher RPM). This is about the same as a car engine at idle. A typical industrial diesel engine runs at 1800RPM, while small diesel generators run at 3600RPM. This is the primary reason some of these engines have been in service since the 1930’s without an overhaul.

The slow running speed produce a rhythmic melody that some would say is almost hypotonic. More than one buyer has emailed us to say that they sometimes start their engine just for the joy of listening to it run.

Flywheels

Check out those huge flywheels on each side on the engine. Together they weigh almost 300 pounds. Once all that mass is turning, it takes a lot to slow it down. This is ideal for providing great surge capability on a generator set. When that A/C unit kicks on and momentarily overloads the engine, those big flywheels keep the engine up to speed.

Indirect Injection

We first became interested in the Lister engine as a Prime Mover for generator sets. Our main goal was to build a generator to run on Waste Vegetable OIL (WVO). Our research concluded that an indirect injection diesel was the best choice. The fuel is injected into a “pre-combustion” chamber where ignition begins and then spreads to the main combustion chamber.

Indirect Injection helps prevent some of the ring coking issues that can develop when using WVO in direct injection diesel engines. The coking results from the thicker veggie oil creating a different spay pattern from the injector nozzle, which hits the cylinder wall, rather than the top of the piston. The oil on the cylinder wall can end up in the rings where it causes them to stick in their ring lands. Once they stick, the engine will loose power due to blow-by, and burn lots of oil. The Lister uses Indirect Injection. ( Direct injection heads are also available, but we do not carry them.)

In addition to Indirect Injection, the fact that the cylinder head can be removed and reinstalled in less than an hour was a factor in our decision to use the Lister. This means that even if we experience carbon buildup in the cylinder, it can quickly be remedied.

Alternative Fuels

Although the Lister engine was designed to sue diesel fuel, it can be run on a variety of fuels. The engine will run without modification on bio-diesel. Some modifications are required to use other types of fuel. For example, a fuel heater is needed to lower the viscosity of WVO before using it in the Lister. The WVO should be heated to about 190-200 degrees.

Other modifications may be required for other fuel types. Do a Google search on Lister Diesel, and you will find lots of interesting alternative fuel experiments being conducted by the enterprising Do-It-Yourself (DIY) crowd.

Fuel Economy

A diesel engine uses much less fuel than a gasoline unit. The Lister is one of the most fuel efficient diesels available. When paired with one of our ST style generator heads, the resulting generator set would use less than 1/3 Quart per hour per Kilo-Watt. In other words, it could produce 3 Kilo-Watts for 1 hour using only about 1 quart of fuel! That is 6 gallons for 24 hours. A gasoline (or natural gas) engine would use 2 to 3 times that amount of fuel.

In addition, diesel fuel will not go stale and turn to varnish like gasoline. There is nothing like trying to start a gas engine that has sat in the garage for a year! You can buy “off-road diesel” for use in this Engine. This lets you avoid the road tax.

Starting

The Lister engine is started using a simple hand crank mechanism. Simple set the decompression lever, turn the crack to spin the engine, and release the decompression lever. Pop-cha Pop-cha Pop-cha and off you go. I had my 90lb, 15 year old daughter try it (on the 6HP single). It was a bit of a challenge for her to get the engine rotating fast enough, but she got it on the first try.

There are also discussions on the web about how to build an electric starter if desired.

Cooling

Buyer will need to build and connect a cooling system to this engine prior to its use. A common and simple cooling system can be made from a 55 gallon drum (or any similar tank, such as an old water heater tank). This design uses the “Thermo-Siphon” concept. In which the tank sits slightly higher then the cylinder head on the engine. The cooling inlet hose (cool water) on the engine connects near the bottom of the water tank, and the cooling outlet hose (hot water) connects near the top of the water tank.

As the engine heats the water in the cylinder head, it naturally rises and moves up the outlet hose to the water tank. This in turn draws cooler water in from the bottom of the water tank. There is no water pump needed, and no water pump to fail.

An automotive radiator (not a cross flow type) and electric fan can also be used in a Thermo-Siphon cooling system.

The heat in the cooling water can also be used to warm a house or provide hot water for a house or cabin, further improving the efficiency of the total system.

Building a Generator

There are a number of resources on the Web to help you build a Lister power generator. We can supply the ST generator heads, and point you to sources for pulleys and belts, etc.

Generator Power Output

Most people are building generators with these Listers. Engines are generally rated in Horse Power (HP) in the USA. Generators are generally rated in watts (or Kilo-watts). Both of these concepts are measuring Power. You can easily convert from one unit of Power to another. For example, 6 HP = 4474 Watts = 4.474 Kilo-watts. The specification table below lists each engine’s max power output in both HP and watts.

In a perfect world, you might expect your 6hp powered generator to be capable of producing 4,474 watts of electricity. However, when determining what your power output will be on a generator set, you will need to consider the energy lost to friction between the pulleys and belts, heat losses in the alternator head, as well as the general efficiency of converting mechanical power into electrical power in the alternator head. A good rule of thumb is that you can expect to convert about 70% of the engine’s power into electricity.

So, for your 6HP Lister, you can expect to achieve about 3000 watts of continuous power. However, because the Listers have those huge (heavy) flywheels storing a large amount of mechanical energy while they are spinning, your Lister generator set will be capable of sustaining a temporary load that exceeds 3000 watts. This is why we recommend that an alternator head rated at 5KW be paired with the 6HP engine. We list a recommended alternator size for each engine in the specifications table below.

 

Parts Support

Search for Lister Diesel on Google and you will find parts support available from multiple sources. Of course, we can also supply parts. The factory will also express parts via Fedex if needed.

Specifications

This is a new unit.

Shipped via motor freight in a custom wooden crate.

Local pick up is O.K. Call first to make arrangements at 972-980-6555.

We also have the other sizes and styles listed in the specifications table arriving in the same shipment. Order now to reserve yours.

Shipping, handling & Insurance:   Shipped via motor freight. Call for a quote.

Payment Terms: Our preferred payment method is PayPal. We also accept checks and money orders. Payment is due within 3 days of auction close.

Warranty: 1 year or 1000 hours. Parts only.

Return Policy:  Your satisfaction is our number one goal! If you have a problem with an item, please let us know and we will send out parts necessary to repair the item. If you'd rather have a cash refund, item must be returned to our warehouse in unused sellable condition within 15 days of receipt. If you plan to send your item back, you must email us to obtain an RMA number. Items received without an RMA number will not be accepted. 20% restocking fee will apply on all returned merchandise. Shipping and handling fees as well as return shipping charges are not refundable.

Please email us if you have any questions at robert@generatordepotusa.com or call us at 972-980-6555.