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#1810 12/06/2020 02:47 PM
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Here I go again with another custom generator build, doing frame layout and fuel tank mods right now..frame will be a slide-in arrangement for easy truck tailgate loading and will have cross-frame forklift pockets as well made from rectangular tubing..smaller sections of tubing for end-frame forklift loading,reliefs will be cut for the forks to enter the cross-frame tubing..60 gallon aluminum fuel tank will sit inside the frame rails and bolt down to the forklift tubing underframe. My brother brought me some flat plate to use, sent it out to be bent into the channels in the pic below; turned out it was AR400 steel plate not mild plate.The guys at the press brake shop had trouble bending it-I guess so. Frame channels are 3/8"thick x 5ft 5" long..The press brake guys said it took everything the brake had to bend it..175ton.wow

[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

So right now the frame is upside down on the floor, I'm laying out the cross tubing pocket locations, will cut them in with the Milwaukee metal cutting circular saw..what a gamechanger when it comes to working with steel. Keep ya posted as this build moves along,most everything I have here in stock..or it might stall out too-you never know..but I'm usually pretty good about keeping things moving along

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WOW! 175 ton should mash about anything, ---however-----hard stuff could be a problem! Looks like they did a good job anyway.
I take it from 60 gallon fuel tank that this is no 5,000 watt jobber!! LOL!!!


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Ok so I finished the base forklift pockets yesterday, if I didnt have interruptions I would get a lot of work done..but sometimes I guess it's good to take a break and deal with people..so I had 6"channel pulled up into the shop but the fork slots were 8"wide so I had to send the channel back to the rack and pull a section of 8"channel..man working with iron again I see now why I'm exhausted at the end of the day..and I do pace myself too..I went thru some metal saw blades on the Milwaukee metal circular saw,it sure makes iron work easy..plunge cutting 3/8"plate it works hard..so far two blades down,and onto the third..gotta reorder some more.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

So then I have to rebuild and expand the size of the fuel tank fittings, I'm a stickler for 2" and up filler fittings..This tank was used scrap and sized out great for the base..so here I have to cut off the old fitting and prepare the tank for new bungs..The aluminum tank will get a pair of bungs here, one as a filler neck and one for a tank gauge..the bungs are easy to fab, just get a 2"aluminum coupler and cut it in half..presto two threaded bungs with perfect threads..onto those will go 316 stainless hex nipples, a 45deg ell and a threaded cap. Note to you out there, once you go above 2" on fittings they get expensive..2" as a filler will flow all you need. Use stainless as black pipe fittings rust internally and will contaminate your tank with scale. The stainless won't make for galvanic interaction like steel will on the aluminum..A little money now,helps keep the fuel system clean but also saves a lot of filters.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

More to come as I work on this.
Sonny the generator is a naturally aspirated Isuzu 4LE2 diesel with a 25kw 3phase generator end.

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You going to fill the tank with water before welding on it, or purge it? Was it used before, be careful with it. Looks good. I have a small 4" metal circular saw, it makes short clean work of plate. I have used it on a few steel pieces but mostly aluminum. I would like a bigger one, may have to look into that Milwaukee. I haven't ever had a muliawkee tool that wasn't great, expensive but great.


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Nope,didnt fill the tank with water or anything. It had been empty for a year or two,actually probably way more, the fuel fill cap was off and the tank was stored in my barn..it had some diesel residue in it and aluminum shavings where I cut the old fuel fill neck off that was mangled..I simply wiped it out with shop towels,fit the threaded filler neck couplers to it and went at it with AC Tig and some 4043 this morning over a cup of coffee. Now if it was a gasoline tank it would be a different story of washing,purging and inerting it..I try to avoid welding on any used tanks but the diesel tanks don't scare me..altho I do have respect for arc-initiated tank exposions..Ive had enough close calls already..
Anyway the Milwaukee saw is rated for 1/4"steel like concrete deck pans and such,I did structural with it yesterday and today,the blades Im using are the Evolution 50tooth blades.They run pretty good but reach a point that they start to screetch and just wont cut anymore,not even slowly..they just stop. Im going to do some 1/8" and some 1/4"plate with it within the next couple days,I'm on my last blade and hope it makes it thru.

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Lookin great! --- ya that a big generator---specially runnin 3-ph. Know about the interruptions LOL!!!! Keep the pics coming!


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Sonny everyone has a different idea of big..we'll just leave it at that. Ive had 'em all here big and small, its what sells and fits the customer's need at the end of the day that matters..the small diesels seem to really move quickly and thats whats keepin the lights on in this shop. I've been buying and selling the small to midsize military surplus generators for years..the market is crazy right now and no signs of prices going back down.

Anyway I got the engine core mounts modeled last night,should have them done by noon..they span the base frame and support the engine/generator above the tank in the frame.This Isuzu is pretty lightweight for it's size,3"channel should be just fine for this situation.Anti vibration mounts bolt to the top of the channel to mount the engine/gen to the crossmembers.

[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

The fork pockets recessed INSIDE the frame of this one raised the profile of the fuel tank inside the base,usually the engine/gen sits lower in the frame (yes it's not the first one we've built) The others have the fork pocket cross tubes welded underneath the base frame,it raises the overall height of the enclosure about 4"..months back I fabbed a 30kw Deutz with that setup, worked out OK and gives an area to get cables and charger cords,etc out underneath of the enclosure..for this one I might put a cable port on the rear.

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I have seen some good sized generators but to me anything over 5,500 start-up watts is big. Neighbors have the 25,000 perm. mount sets by their houses, all enclosed and run on lp gas.
Around here mostly 5,000 on down is the size most people have not knowing a thing about the size they need then try to run the whole house with them and wonder why it wont do the job.
I have two 5,000 generac units, one with b&s motor, one with tech motor and a Coleman 4,500 watt b&s all 8 hp then comes the Linclon 150 weld-and-power so if it ever comes down to it we could run as many of them as needed and use drop cords to freezers and 2 fridges.
Well pump is 220 and if needed we can run it long enough to get water then shut gen. down. disconnect box at meter pole for the well has a plug for gen.
I am thinking you might be busy if chit hits the fan this winter! Outages these days are taking longer to fix for some reason!


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Made some real progress, lower frame is complete,in basic paint,and the fuel tank installed on top of rubber vibration mat inside frame. Mounted genset on top of base frame with mount brackets..This generator will not use a subframe to mount it, only the factory Isuzu engine mount brackets and the Marathon generator mount feet..Im using rubber vibration isolators,some NOS ones I had in the shop here. They are just a bit too wide for 3"channel brackets I fabbed but they hang over the edge just a shade,not too bad that I can't use the combination..I did run into some fuel filler neck interference with the generator end,I have some stainless 45deg ells ordered to fit into the vertical fuel filler nipple,they probably won't get here till after the Christmas holiday.The fuel fill will have to 45 around the generator to clear it..If I still run into clearance problems I'll miter cut and TIG weld the 45ell with some 308L to make it tighter to clear the generator end. The generator end has to be raised up another 3/4" to level out the engine/gen combination so it sits right on the base,that will also make for additional clearance for the fuel fill.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

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So I'm back to waiting on parts delivery here with this project..The rear generator mount bar is finished and installed,it gave me a bit more clearance to fit the fuel fill..I did get to making a mount for the Racor water separator,the fuel pump draws thru it and sends pressured fuel thru the secondary filter then up to the injection rack, with a return back to the tank..easy to plumb,just have to purge hoses for dirt and contaminants before making them up. Waiting on a new electric fuel pump to be delivered too.

[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

So Im at a standstill until parts get delivered,maybe take a break for Christmas then back at this. Keep ya posted. Have a safe Holiday folks.

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Happy Holidays to you! --- keep us posted when you get the parts!


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Making some progress here after the holidays..some parts are trickling in at a snails pace but at least they are arriving..so I noticed a collision between the fuel tank filler neck and the generator end..so I lifted the engine/gen up and off the fuel tank frame and turned the tank around inside the lower frame for more filler neck clearance..an easy fix for an emerging problem. I have to run a bond wire from the frame to the fuel tank as well,maybe run a couple redundant wires there for surety..no drawings or blueprints here,just build it up as it fits..so while waiting on other parts (USPS at it again) I refit the air cleaner for a lower profile..the stock air cleaner mount was located too high and ran into the exhaust muffler area..I cut some 1/4"thick 6061 aluminum plate, then drilled and tapped some holes for the mount..the air intake tubing was fabbed from a 90deg mandrel bend I had here, I wanted to use a 45deg bend but didnt have any here in 2"dia...I had to inspect and clean the interior of the tubing and swab it out, paint and re-install, so it lowered the air cleaner about 4" from where it was...the air cleaner has a swivel repositionable outlet..kinda neat..glad this genset came with that,a lot of times they are missing..those Donaldson air cleaner assemblies are expensive!
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

So now I'm building up the wiring harness as I can..trying to use up some high-temp Teflon insulated wire I had on the shelf..Wire is an expensive thing these days,I like to use Teflon as I can and when I can find it..I use friction tape(tar tape as many call it)-you can reposition it and open it up and reuse it many times if you keep it clean..the engine/gen core didnt come with much of the original harness as it was salvaged from scrap..it was a working engine combo with 150hrs..so the electricals are all 24v, so I can use smaller wire to put this one in service as the currents are lower vs.12v..glowplug circuit is a #14 Teflon insulated wire, I salvaged that from the original harness scraps. The magnetic pickup and throttle actuator wiring was salvaged as well as it is Teflon.. HD relays are still in place for the starter and glowplug circuits, so some of that work is already done, just have to refit those control wires,and add some reverse spike diodes to the relay coils. Keep ya posted as this build continues.

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slow progress is better than no progress! lol! lookin good!


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yes I got the wiring harness done,still waiting on a 24v fuel lift pump. Once a flex transition pipe and some 2-1/2" stainless 90's get here I can start on exhaust and muffler placement. Post holiday shipping is slow I guess with returns and whats left of holiday surge shipping being backed up..maybe like a clog busting loose it will all show up at once. Somewhere there is a USPS guy named Newman that is holding all my shipments off to the side laughing.

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We just had postal shipment of parts mis-sent to the town 6 miles down the road, so they sent it back 60 miles to the hub! ---- The thing is ,---is that the post office there knows me personally!-- so WTF?-- if she would have called we would have drove over there and picked it up!! no big deal! lol!
Our parts are coming decent here even with the f-ups in the mail system.
The neighbor friend of ours wanted some parts off epay but epay wouldnt accept his email for some reason so we ran his order thru Virginias account ----- went right thru! I think the whole world is screwed up! lol!
Hopefully all of us will get our stuff soon!


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yes three items due here were 'missent' by USPS in Wash DC hub..seems this is happening quite often here.

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anyway the USPS mail delay ridiculousness continues here,so I started and finished the control box and engine throttle control while waiting on other parts to arrive..Gauges mounted to box lid along with engine protection controller..easy to use control, I've used a bunch of these not too hard on the wallet at $50 or so each..very versatile to use. I try to use a terminal block with box lug sections as it contains the wires and makes for good connections.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

So then I started building the enclosure to protect,house it and reduce sound levels..basically using 1x1 steel square tubing and some 1x3 rectangular tubing for the top and bottom enclosure frames..I don't have a complete sheet metal fab shop here but do have access to a hydraulic plate shear to make straight cuts on sheet..All 14ga sheet steel for panels..Im using Roxul laminated rock wool 2"thick 2x4ft panels for sound control inside the cabinet,it comes in Monday so that'l occupy the morning going into Baltimore to pick that up.The muffler will mount inside the enclosure,wrapped with silica cloth and compartmented inside the top with a plenum for the rad discharge air to blow thru,upwards and across the top plenum to help cool the muffler then out the top of the enclosure thru a screen..lot of work to build and set up but well worth it..more to come as I get to working on this again as parts trickle in.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

I do have a critical level exhaust muffler for this engine,I may series it up with another resonator to tone down the exhaust noise..Im going big on exhaust pipe sizes so as not to restrict flow and cost HP. The engine has a 2"exhaust port and I step up to 2.5" and 3"ports on the muffler and resonator..should be OK with that. Keep ya posted on this.


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Looking real good, is this build for a customer or for you?


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yes for me, I'm simply trying to downsize my fleet some,the Isuzu is much better on fuel than a 160hp Deere 6068T 60kw which is getting wetstacked running a small 5HP compressor..as designed this unit can be forklifted into the back of a 1T pickup truck

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Can that isuzu take the gear drive truck type accessories? If you have times when you only need about 5hp of air, that's about what a truck air brake compressor runs, direct mount and run the output into your existing system to use as the tank? You'd reduce the conversion losses at least. And the genny would still be running for all your other regular draws like lights and stuff.

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Lookin good --- movin right along on it!


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never thought of that Glyford..this Isuzu 4LE2 doesnt have any mounts for accessory drives like a Detroit has on the flywheel housing,nor on the front area of the engine..it's predecessor the C240 Isuzu had the pads where you could mount accys,cam gear drive..it's pretty tight on the front end of this engine with only a bump out for the cam to drive the injection pump cam and rack. Maybe I could direct drive the pump if I had to off the crank snout or make up a dual pulley type arrangement..I have two of these gensets I got at auction, this one's use is for my next shop to drive two 5hp IR two stage air comps, two 5ton 3phase package A/C units and a 3ph transformer to upconvert to 480V for a plasma cutter.Ive got more gensets here than I know what to do with,they come and go,plan to sell off the larger units and keep this one thats why Im putting the effort into it.I'm fabbing up the enclosure now,it has to come off and be sandblasted then painted before it gets lined with Roxul soundproofing and completed.

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so still working on this build off and on,found some stainless steel Nema 4 electrical enclosures on the local Craigslist classified ads,I was going to buy one for the generator digital power meter to go into but even in regular steel they were $200..this guy on craigslist had them in stainless for $75/each..I took two at that price,what a bargain..anyway the stainless must have been 316 grade it was a total PITA to cut the meter hole out with a recip jigsaw..went thru about 5 blades making that hole even with wax stick on the blades. Jim I coulda used your plasma cutter and done this job easily!
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

The meter box mounts up next to the control panel and gives you a power spec readout both voltage and current..all power data is logged in memory and also can be streamed over Cat5 if I need it to..probably need that in the future?..it was included with the meter basic functions.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

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so the engine mounted fan must suck cooling air thru the generator enclosure and push it thru the radiator.A duct louver is necessary to keep rain,insects and vermin out
but yet allow cooling air to enter,at the same time preventing a direct path for noise to travel..a duct inside will bounce the cooling air off the rear door yet to
be fabricated to stop transmission of noise outside..so far the Roxul rock wool absorber sheets are working out good..gotta wear a respirator cutting/working with it tho.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]
The damn stainless meter box interfered with installing a full-length louver,i even tried moving it over a bit to allow clearance but it's not going any further because then the latches interfere.Oh well.

the duct louvers are from HVAC Premium,I can't find any better ones on the market, I used to build them myself but they didnt look right..there's a lot to them..this company makes them from heavy aluminum extrusions,
they will make them to your spec,I had one here that fit OK a little short but well within specs for airflow.
It rivets into the enclosure side panel which is removable with stainless flange bolts from the outside should it need to be.

[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

-Im building a air deflector/sound trap to mount to the duct louver inside the enclosure right now..pics later, Im on a lunch break,and its Saturday LOL

Ok so intake air deflector completed..time for a break..installed duct points towards interior rear of enclosure.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

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So your making it as noise free as possible??? ----and still have good airflow? looikn great---- LOTTA work there! --- I always wanted one of them old military sets that had the 3-71 detroit on them---saw one with a 4-71 and straight pipe ----only brought $500. but since it hadnt been ran since forever, I passed it up. -- was kinda short on cash anyway! LOL!!


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some guys build streetrods and racecars, i build generators..go figure..yup trying to keep the noise down on this one,Sonny the first and second generation military units had White,Detroit,Continental and AllisChalm diesels,very noisy,no attention paid to silencing the noise at all..the 3rd generation military units had Yanmar and John Deeres in them with silencing and good mufflers and followed the same rad cooling airflow path I am, airflow thru the radiator,up and past the muffler then out the top..Im following the same design but with more adhesive asphalt pad mass loading of the panels and fireproof insulation for noise deadening..its only got 150hrs on it, basically new..the original housing was trashed so I decided to give it a new life..can't say I haven't done something with my Covid time off

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Ya, the newer units are smaller and lighter --probably a lot quieter too. You will have a great unit when you get it finished like you want it!


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best part about it is there's no DPF or SCR injection emissions crap on it,If you ever saw one of the Tier4 engines you'd be amazed at the amount of tubes and sensors,etc thats on it to make the engine pass emissions..

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ok so did a little bit on the Isuzu generator build today,the fuel filler was relocated on the tank to the radiator end of the base by turning the tank around in the base..lot of work just to accomplish that task,I thought it would work out better in the front on the same side as the engine service door..so I had to breach one panel with a hole for the door frame to mount into..this panel was aluminum as I salvaged it from my bonepile of plate and sheet..I made the door frame from aluminum angle and fitted a small section of aluminum hinge into it to hang the door..worked out easy but took all day..the door rivits into the housing panel with 3/16" rivits,it hasn't been done yet here but makes for a good solid fit.
In the photo there is a welding vise-grip holding it in place until its rivited.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

I had a two micro paddle latches on my bench from a previous project,buried under all the stuff that accumulates on a bench..one was perfect for this little door..I have one left,might use it on the control compartment door.More to come as Im trying to complete this project before spring.

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went the extra mile and set this generator up for remote fuel drafting as well..used a brass marine transfer valve to select between the onboard fuel tank or remote fuel via two hydraulic quick disconnects.
Made a bracket to hold the disconnects inside the fuel door
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

Then mounted the fuel fitting bracket inside the front area, inside the fuel door..plenty of room to insert a hand to make connections.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

A steel front panel will cover all this area..I have some used 1/8"steel sheet back in the barn..haveta get it down off the rack and check dimensions..
Ice storm today this might be hazardous..100 things in the way just to get to that part of the rack..go figure

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outside tank idea is great! That could come in handy down the road.


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so now I start on the engine access door..the engine has one-sided serviceability,or otherwise said everything is on one side of the engine except the starter, so only one door is necessary to check vitals and change filters and lube. So I got the sheetmetal sheared the other day after cutting it to rough dimensions with the Milwaukee metalcutting circular saw. Sheared it at work on a Chicago 1/4"x4ft hydraulic shear,man Id love the have that machine in my shop..so onward to build the door frame and hinges might be a continuous piano type hinge or otherwise..maybe a paddle latch for the door latch.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

Ive been building airflow sound control baffles for inside the housing,most you can't see right now as they are deep inside and control sound as well as direct airflow..the baffles are 1/8"thick steel sheet metal bent and have the mineral wool panels attached to them to absorb sound.The side of the baffles that face the engine is aluminum foil coated,supposed to be good to 1200degF..hope we never get close to that. Its been a bit of a task to design the baffles to allow the airflow required yet control the sound..kinda tricky in spots,wish I had gone wider with the base,only about 4"wider would have made things SOOO much easier with this build. This will probably be the last build I make of this size in my small shop here,fixing to move in a few and will wait for my next shop with more space.It's quite a task to manipulate 4x8 steel sheets in here without knocking things over..very frustrating. More to come on this.

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trimmed some metal from the outer dimensions of the engine panel door,cut and bent up some channels (shown here)for the door inner side edges to reinforce it and add a retainer for the mineral wool sound panel that will attach to the door..with the door being active, or swing up for servicing it needed to have positive retention for the insulation..I bent some channel sections out of scrap 14ga sheet on the box brake..worked out good.here is a pic of the channel welded onto the back side of the door.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

the door hinges are stainless steel 1/4"thick lift off hinges with 3/8"dia pins..didnt exactly work out like I wanted the welds came out a bit sloppy but ground down they dont look too bad..another coat of paint will blend it in.

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That should do the job!----welds look great to me!


"A machine you build yourself is a vote for a different way of life. There are things you have to earn with your hands."
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made the end housing panel up on Thursday, got it in paint and mounted up. then mounted a 12slot SquareD raintight panel to the side for output.This will be backfed from the generator into a 100amp 3pole breaker.
Now the next step is to make the control panel door with polycarbonate clear plastic window before we finally move it outside for the second full-power loadbank test.
[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

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added a 24v DC receptacle for jumping other generators and equipment from this unit..and added a DC disconnect switch in a side-mounted,recessed alcove box..
also reconfigured the grounding scheme to bond the generator to the unit frame and AC output panel ground bar.

[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

Now on to fabricate the instrument door with polycarbonate window to protect the panel and instruments.More to follow


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good ideas there ---- should make a fine unit!


"A machine you build yourself is a vote for a different way of life. There are things you have to earn with your hands."
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so finally finished this build of an Isuzu diesel sound suppressed generator, completed the control panel door as you can see in the last photo,and added a top discharge duct door,nuthin' fancy just a flip-up aluminum door flap that is held up with a steel prop rod..secure and easy..This set run tested and performed well on the load bank at 20KW for over 4hrs..confirmed load test data with a hand-held clamp ammeter. Engine ran well at 180deg coolant temp and 60psi oil pressure. I made a lot of electronic governor adjustments as I went along and got some decent response out of it when changing the load settings..It might need some touch-up later.

[Linked Image from kuhnbros.com]

This Avtron load bank is too big (100kw) to test these smaller generators with precisely, the load steps are in 10KW so I really couldnt get too more than two steps on at once..might have to add a variable section to the load bank in the future to vary some of the applied load..allowing more precise testing..but for now this project is finished and shop cleared..that won't last long tho..

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finished just in time for spring power outages! lol! glad it works good!


"A machine you build yourself is a vote for a different way of life. There are things you have to earn with your hands."

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