guykay Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Anybody out there interested in an old ex military meadows diesel engined gen set. It must be around 70 yrs old, I was offered one yesterday, but it's not really of interest to me. It has been stored indoors for years and used to be used for occasionally powering an industrial unit near me. The unit is now closed & the gen set is now unfortunately being stored outdoors, so I guess will deteriorate fairly rapidly. I don't think the owners want much for it. They just want rid. if there is anyone interested let me know & I will put you in touch with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surveyor Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Any pictures please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ives Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 where in the country are you as intersted but would need to arange transport if to far away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FEC Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Is it the 27.5 Kva? Frame mounted with the control panel in the middle of one side and a starting handle at the front, canvas sides and an air tank at one end? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oats and barley Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 where are you got a post code Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangie Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 Hi, Did you ask them about books/manuals? Alec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popz Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Hey guykay is that generator gone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangie Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 I asked him about manuals at the time and he never got back to me. I have a reasonable selection but some elude me. Alec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S_Bluck Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Is it one of these....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangie Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Thats the one! Well, two of them 🙈 Alec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S_Bluck Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 the 27.5 kVa meadows three phase generrator. They are beautiful... I'd love one for the farm! This is the one at a fort in essex that's now shut-down. Air or cart-start.,and is all else fails decompressor and a starting-handle! The only data I could find when I was looking at repairing this one was some info on the diesel-engine from some tractor-mates..... I was into vintage tractors at the time and had a zil131 russian truck. All the best with your info-search Alec.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Grundy Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 I know where there is two of these for sale, dry stored, in the north of England Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S_Bluck Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Sounds like an interesting project ! They are heavy as hell..... Definately a job for a fork-lift ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuffen Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Would they be the same as the generators in the tunnels on Gibraltar? The reason ask I was in Gibraltar as a teenager in 1966 and my Father was telling me how to start them with the crank and demonstrated how it was done on a genset. He was a RADAR operator in New Guinea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 I used to repair these Meadows gen sets during the 70’s and 80’s until the ‘new generation’ were brought into service. They were on the whole very reliable. To hand crank them you would set the cold start on the pump, then set the de-compression lever, this allowed a set number of turns on the crank handle before it kicked in, giving you time to get the speed up. I remember a small apprentice doing this one day, he was not turning it fast enough and when the de-compressor kicked in it threw him off the trailer! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S_Bluck Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 I used to de-compress and turn the one at the fort over a few times a year to keep the oil pump shifting oil around the system. But I think there was a problem with the air-start on that one. We never ran it. A pity I would have loved to get it goung! What sort of BHP/Torque did that big meadows engine have? Most of those older diesel lumps were fairly low (power to tonnage) by todays standards.... If I ever see one looking for a new home I may have to get it as a backup for the farm.... Would be just the beast for a job like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mk3iain Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 We had one in Belize as a standby genny, it got a lot of use and always worked fine. It sat between our hangar and the army vehicle "workshop" with Swampy usually parked close. I was told they were used by Bofors guns, would that be correct ? Would love one now. .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 51 minutes ago, S_Bluck said: I used to de-compress and turn the one at the fort over a few times a year to keep the oil pump shifting oil around the system. But I think there was a problem with the air-start on that one. We never ran it. A pity I would have loved to get it goung! What sort of BHP/Torque did that big meadows engine have? Most of those older diesel lumps were fairly low (power to tonnage) by todays standards.... If I ever see one looking for a new home I may have to get it as a backup for the farm.... Would be just the beast for a job like that. You have just reminded me, there was a hand pump to pressurise the oil system in the engine and you did this first prior to starting, you could see the pressure rise on the gauge. The air starters suffered with damaged pinions when people tried to start them on air without enough pressure, they were bronze if I remember correctly. The air starter had four pistons in V formation as I recall. You could also start them with a cartridge, to turn the starter, but I never saw that done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S_Bluck Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 On 11/17/2020 at 10:17 AM, Richard Farrant said: You could also start them with a cartridge, to turn the starter, but I never saw that done. The cartridge looked like a very large shotgun blank.. A Coffman starter?.... We never had the cartridges! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 The cartridge worked directly on the air motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S_Bluck Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 so the gases from the cartridge powered the air-start motor.. Brilliant!.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzer999 Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) Hello Guys I am scratch building a model of the 27.5kVa Meadows Generator. I have enough pictures but I do not have any dimensions. Does anyone know the width, depth and height of one of these as it would have sat on the Sentinel trailer. I remember these from my time in the Outer Hebrides we had a number of them up there and then in Germany I used to drive a Bedford RL Radar Repair Vehicle with the gen set in tow. You had to leave a decent space behind the vehicle in front as emergency stops were not too quick!!! Edited January 14, 2021 by buzzer999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogmaner Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Dose this help ,will measure trailer when I can get to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally dugan Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Quote IS this the one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzer999 Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Wally that is perfect, thank you very much. I can do some serious planning now. Thanks again Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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