Seeking a Little Information on 2 Lister Ds

Well, I say two Lister Ds, but now I'm not actually certain. I have acquired a pair of what I assumed were Lister Ds, but I'm wondering if one is a DK. Here is the info on the plates:

No 7405DH4
HP 1.5
RPM 700

No 2412DKH5
HP 1.5
RPM 800

If that second one is indeed a DK, what does that mean practically (bearing in mind I knows nuffink as yet about engines)?

Any other info you might glean from these two plates would be greatly received. Apparently, they ran milking machines down in deep, dark Somerset.

Phin

Well with my experience I would say yes you have 2 lister d types!

The first one is from 1954 DH stands for D type Hopper cooled.

The second engine is from 1955, DKH standing for: D type, petrol parrifin (k) hopper cooled. You will also notice 800rpm instead of 700rpm. This it to regain the lost power from running paraffin with a lower octain rating.

I would say running milking machines is true, a lot of d types where used on this duty

Hope that helps you a bit

John

Thanks, John - that's excellent information.

Does this mean that for the second engine I need to have a petrol paraffin mix? If so, might you happen to know the mix ratio?

phinhall wrote:Thanks, John - that's excellent information.

Does this mean that for the second engine I need to have a petrol paraffin mix? If so, might you happen to know the mix ratio?

You don't mix petrol/paraffin, they are in separate tanks, you start on petrol, then once the engine has warmed up, switch over to paraffin.

As Stuart says the petrol paraffin engines had 2 tanks a small round one on the front of the engine (for petrol) and the normal tank on the side of the engine for paraffin.

These link to a 2 way tap under the carb to allow fuel to.be switched once the engine is warm.

There should all so be a vaporizer fitted between the carb, exhaust and cylinder head. This uses exhaust gasses to warm the fuel mixture befor reaching the combustion chamber.

Neither are present on the engine marked "DK". Odd...

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It's not uncommon for these engines to be converted back to petrol in later life. Your engine may not have started out running a milking machine or if the owner only wanted to run on petrol they would have removed the vapouriser and replaced the head gasket with a thinner one to reduce fuel consumption. Running a paraffin engine solely on petrol will generally use a lot more fuel.

Intriguing! Thanks for that - it's great having such knowledgeable people to chat with

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philipagri wrote:It's not uncommon for these engines to be converted back to petrol in later life.  Your engine may not have started out running a milking machine or if the owner only wanted to run on petrol they would have removed the vapouriser and replaced the head gasket with a thinner one to reduce fuel consumption. Running a paraffin engine solely on petrol  will generally use a lot more fuel.

To change it back you'd need to change quite a few of the parts of the engine, lower governor rod, carburettor, etc. It would be interesting to see a photo or two of this engine as it is today.

Hi - sorry for the delay. Here are some photos of the converted Lister. I tried to start it today, but failed miserably

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Phin

Well it certainly does look the have been converted back to straight petrol correctly......

[quote="blue cat"]Well it certainly does look the have been converted back to straight petrol correctly......[/quote]

But has a large mish mash of parts from an early engine on a '55 dated engine.... Only matters if you count rivets.

I was referring to the conversion parts which look largely correct to me.

Yes, the fuel tank is certainly from an earlier engine.

....the fuel tank is certainly from an earlier engine.

Interesting. Could that be a problem, or should the parts that have been swapped out still work okay? I only ask as I cannot get the blighter to start. There's compression and spark, the fuel is getting through... but it's not firing up.
I was wondering if the needle valve might be the issue as there's no guidance on where it should be set. All markings have been painted over.

Fuel tank will make no difference to starting or running. Check that there is a hole in the cap though.

Check jet is not blocked in carb.
Check there is a gasket between carb and engine.
Check timing.

Fuel needle is usually 3/4 to a full turn open for starting, shut down to about 1/2 open for running.

blue cat wrote:Fuel needle is usually 3/4 to a full turn open for starting, shut down to about 1/2 open for running.

So not about 10 full turns out as this is!

I've noticed in videos that there is a ticking ratchetty sounds as the needle is turned, but that doesn't happen on mine. It could be due to all the paint. The spring plunger appears to be working properly.

Thanks for your help, blue cat