Onan diesel engines

[albertaphil]

Hey Friends,

I recently read a thread here referring to Onan engines. And yes, Onan was a company that made generators and small engines, not just a Bible character we don't normally talk about . Great generators and good engines. They did make small-ish diesels, and I happen to have the smallest, which is in a 3kw generator. See the video of me starting it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZMqNOesh8M

Note that the garage is heated, so it doesn't prove anything about cold starts, although I have started it at -5C early in the morning, and it sure seemed like it would start even colder than that.

The engine has a bore of 3.25" and a stroke of 3.625", giving a displacement of around 490cc or 30cu/in.

The engine is 13" long, 16" wide and 20" tall. The genny is rated 3kw, which would mean the engine itself, at the 1800rpm it runs at, is probably making 6 or 7hp? And it is bloody heavy!

I don't know if Onan mated this engine to anything but a generator, but I know they made multi cylinder versions of this engine to run other things...air compressors, for example. In that application, I saw a rating of 2250rpm, if I remember correctly. So if you upped the revs with the one-lunger, you might make 10 or 12 hp? And since rpm control isn't such the issue now that you're not running a genny, you can shave the flywheel down so save weight.

Mostly, this post is fyi and for fun, 'cause I know you all will get a kick out of it, but I challenge anyone to but one of these beasts in a motorbike. Some of you have done more with less, plus, you would bet a real butt massage when riding:-) I have to insist that you keep the green color, though, for the sake of Onan nostalgia...