Petter Diesel Generator (Made by Metro)
Disclaimer: I assume no liability for what you may see on this page. In the same way that some people should never have any sharp objects, I do not advocate or encourage doing anything shown on this page. With that said, proceed at your own risk and enjoy the show! = CrazyJerry
Pictures are large and pop up in their own window (so be patient)......
If your computer blocks pop-ups, Click here for the same page without the pop-up feature.
In the quest for a hearty, long-life generator, we decided to give the diesel Petter style, or Petter Clone, a try. This unit is a hand crank start only, and is quite simple in technology by today's standards. The info below pretty much tells the whole story.....
The Petter Generator overview:
Metro – by Metex of India
- 12 horsepower @ 1800 rpm
- 7500 watts
- 1200 pound shipping weight
- fuel consumption depends on load
- Est life = 50,000 hours/ 5.7 years cont
Will run on:
- -Diesel
- -Fuel oil
- -Kerosene
- -Biodiesel
- -Vegetable\soybean oil
Co-gen: does two jobs:
- -provides additional power
- -provides warmth by capturing excess heat!
A barrel or an old water tank can be substituted for the radiator, water pump and belt...(eliminating potential failure points.)
The entire unit us more or less self contained having it's own radiator and water pump for cooling. .
Here it is in my house!
){kind=link}
Prior to first run, one should remove the base covers and check the sump for sand. This is a must do with any engine made in India. Below is a photo of what you'll see when you look beyond the outer cover.
Inside the base.
The round screen is the oil pump screen. Notice all the "dill pickle" bumps in the white paint inside the base. Some of these turned out to be paint over sand granules. Luckily they were scraped out and base rinsed prior to running!
){kind=link}
After a few hours of running, I decided to check the clearance on the valves. This is simple to do and after removing the valve cover via one thumb fastener, it takes all of 3 minutes tops!
Here's what's under the valve cover!
){kind=link}
Results:
The Metro Petter Generator runs very well indeed! The AC output is rock steady and easily runs my whole house while providing some very welcome heat from the cooling system. (Did this for one whole winter approx 3-4 hours per day with zero problems!)
Here's a shot of two output indicators!
){kind=link}
This was a full load from 2 Trace 2400 watt inverters and about everything I could turn on - 125 volts at 61.2 hz! All this at 1800 rpm and the engine didn't sound too labored!
Conclusion
An excellent generator after a thorough base cleaning. Portable due to the fact it is on wheels - but at about 900 lbs it's not something one takes to camp every weekend in the trunk of a car! The whole thing was under $1600 with shipping. Noise isn't bad, however there is some noticeable diesel knock which is normal..
In the end, we kept this as a back-up generator and got a different one. Why? Check out the link to the Lister Generator below to find out more!
Changzuki Diesel motorcycle that's still pulling an average of 120 mpg!!
Urba Centurion - a 100 plus mpg diesel powered sports car!
The Aurora Project - Lithium Rocket Trike!
A very nice off-grid 375 rpm Lister-style generator!
The Commando - A Portable Battery Bank Tracked Charger!
Electro-Split - Very fast and very quiet Wood Splitter!
