Mint 63 Year Old Briggs and Stratton Engine on an RCA Generator
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- I picked up this little unit the other day.
What really drew me to this gen set is the fact that is was sold by RCA (Radio Corporation of America). I have never seen or heard of RCA building or selling a gen set.
Also the fact that the unit is in very good condition for being 63 years old!
Lets get it running!
So relaxed sounding at 1800 rpm vs 3600 that modern stuff runs at... a true testament to more displacement & a heavy iron flywheel. Old Wisconsins are like that, real torque monsters. I bet that thing would last for a century or more with fuel & oil.
Nice find!
I imagine there's increased simplicity with a 2-pole alternator, albeit needing a higher revving engine than the 4-pole to produce the same hz.
I am the Associate Director RCA Heritage Program Museum at Rowan University in Glassboro N.J. What a great Find. I have never seen anything like this.... Amazing! It works Flawlessly.
sounds like it should be in that museum!!
@@royallclark6331 yes Ill take it!
I'm a retired radio tech. Back in the day RCA was very big in building radio transmitters and broadcast sights.
They built transmitters from about 100 watts up to 50,000 watts. My guess would have been that little gen set, might have been a backup generator for such a sight. Maybe 100 watt transmitter.
That grey colour was their standard colour.
Made the same year as me, when I first started watching this video I was not too impressed, and it was the year model that made me stick around. But as I watched, I became more and more interested, especially when you started talking about the flicker points, you see I had never encountered them before, although I was aware of them, which is another story, although my primary job was as a high voltage electrician (lineman splicer) I was asked to assist the generator technician with a problem that he could not figure out. Well as we were working on his problem, he was trying to find out just how much I knew about generators, so he tried to stump me with a question about an old Onan generator that he had encountered a number of years before. The generator he described to me, actually had 2 sets of points, the for the ignition circuit, but the other one went to the generator field, so he asked me why? Well I thought about it for a few minutes, and I then said to him well the only thing that I can think of as to why they would do that is to lower the voltage to the field during the power stroke to reduce or eliminate the flicker of any lights running on the generator, particularly when it is loaded heavily. Well he stopped right in his tracks mouth open for a few minutes before he said anything. Then he said to me, how did you know that, and then he began to explain the hoops that he had to jump through to find out what they were for, keep in mind this was quite a few years ago, long before the internet and goggle, he explained that he had contacted the factory but no one there had any idea what they were for either.
So after a number of phone calls someone at the factory finally put him in contact with one of their retired engineer's who was able to explain to him what they were for. So anyway after that I was his go to guy for anything he didn't understand when it came to generators or anything electrical or electronic. Which a number of years later led to me getting a job with NASA as he had gone to work for them after leaving the place where we had worked together. So when I showed up for the interview as it turns out he was about to become my supervisor, the interview was when can you start? But I must say that generator is a great find, and something I would love to have, I used to have one of those engines when I was a kid, someone gave it to me when I was around 14 year's old, and I used it on many projects over the next few years, and yes the governor on that engine is one of the best I had ever encountered, all around it was one of the best small engines I ever had. Although it's not a high RPM model like the smaller ones, so when I first saw your generator I was thinking man that is really going to be hard on that engine running at 3600 RPM not realizing that, that RCA generator head was an 1800 RPM Model. So after finding that out, I realized that you really had something special there. The RF shielding on that engine is one thing mine didn't have, I believe that was something that was specked by RCA, and as several have already commented about, I believe that it was a purpose-built unit, and not something you could just go out and buy. Knowing that engine and the fact that the generator head is an 1800 RPM 4 pole unit this generator was designed for a long Service life and high fuel efficiency. I would hang on to that unit if I were you. That would be a great unit for someone living off grid, as a supplemental power source, for for times when it's cloudy for extended period of time or they just don't have a big enough solar system to run the big stuff like a washer, AC unit, instapot, or some other high energy use device. Anyway it was a very pleasant video, and made me think about a lot of stuff I hadn't in a long time, and I also never realized that that engine was made when I was, Awesome!!!
Robert Thomas
Enjoyed your comment very much.
God Bless you Mr. Thomas! I wish you were my grandfather....seriously! Lol
That's pretty cool! That manual may be pretty scarce, you should digitize it and upload it online, so it will never be lost to time. This would also give you a way to reference it without more wear to the original
That's a NICE machine! Thanks for putting it through its paces. Pristine condition. That ones a keeper.
That rope pull though! That gave me a chuckle. I heard Mustie1 cackling off screen...
I follow him also just about to watch this Sunday’s 🤣👍
I though it was funny too
Im on Craigslist everyday lookin for stuff too in Minnesota..it'd be nice to find a treasure like that one 🙂👏
I love the way Mustie1 laughs the first time an engine starts up. Been watching him for years.
Rope Breaks "Now look what you've done. Hehe One of you guys want to get that for me?" - Mustie1
So much nicer sound than the current 3600 rpm "portable" generators
Yeah is that 1200?
@@skuula Should be around 1750.
Definitely does sound better, but you get more power out of a higher revving engine and smaller displacement.
It's kind of interesting that you can buy a portable generator today that makes the same amount of power.
But I seriously doubt any of these new generators would be around 50 years from now and still work. Even if they just sat in a box.
@@kens97sto171 A friend lives off the grid in AZ and has 18,000 hours on a Yamaha. I have 2500 hrs on my Yamaha, runs and looks new.
There's good stuff out there if you don't mind paying for it.
@@TheBandit7613
Thanks for the information.
So far I've had good luck even with my inexpensive generators from harbor freight. They don't get that much hard duty time, however they are getting old at this point and yet they still start every time. I am very careful however to make sure I turn the fuel off and let it run the fuel out of the carb.
The first one I got was one of those little $85 two-stroke models. That thing's going on 10 years old. Still runs fine.
I think if I was going to get something that I was going to use under load for a significant amount of time I would probably get a Honda or Yamaha, Ryobi makes a fuel injected model that I've seen on project farms CZcams site. That would be kind of intriguing because it eliminates a lot of the storage issues with carburetors. Probably decreases fuel consumption I would think too
11:40 a good lesson right here why you always, always inspect before start
Look at the craftsmanship. It's brand new
When I saw RCA mentioned, I immediately thought that the generator could have produced the HV dc for old valve transmitters, instead of making domestic ac voltages. At British Telecoms we used to have some standby sets, and Electric Motor / Generators that would produce the HV for the valves. We also used Mercury Arc Rectifiers... Now there's a sight.. The only place I know still using Mercury Rectifiers is the Isle of Man Manx Electric Railway, where it is still used to generate the 800v Traction Current for it's trains. Thanks for these Gene Videos..
First thumbs up...nice machine, if it wasnt for people like you this kit would be scrapped. well done
I have a similar Briggs engine on my wood splitter...Love where the points and condenser are located.. No pulling the flywheel to work in them...Cheers; Mike in Louisiana
My old 7hp Kohler was on the outside as well. I was young and was going to change them out and pulled the flywheel off...guess what? No points. Followed the wire to the kill switch and found em under that cover...oh well.
This Gen is almost like a Swiss watch: Runs like new after more than 6 decades! I wonder which company offers similar products today.... It is a real treat to see you working on these kind of engines.
@Lorne Johnson I have a 3 HP B & S engine on my edger, it was not started for over 25 years, I changed the points and condenser put gasoline in it one pull and it started.
Definitely way better made but just remember it only has 5 or 6 hours on it
RCA was pretty much the place for any commercial broadcast equipment back in the 50's and early 60's. Like others mention I can see them marketing their "special design sheilded" generator as a back-up source of power to keep their slot as the One Stop for all your broadcast needs.
That was an awesome find Mike. I love the sound of that old Briggs. It runs perfect...
It might have been for small radio stations in case of an emergency. With the RF suppression gear on it and an RCA nameplate.
Without doubt. RCA manufactured fantastic broadcasting equipment. So sad that they just vanished in the late 80s.
There were low power stations all over the Midwest in the 50's and 60's running 2,000 watts daytime power.
@@robertl.fallin7062 a 2000W AM transmitter would be closer to a 6,000W load as AM transmitters are only about 33% efficient. Now it would run something like a 1930's era 300W Collins broadcast transmitter all day long. That being said, this was more likely aimed at an application where the load was constantly fluctuating such as a two-way radio setup where the 1950's had Motorola, General Electric and RCA as the "big three" in the two way industry and 250 W "quarter killowatt" base stations were commonplace (before repeaters were really a thing).
@@greenpedal370 Thomson electronics is what happened to RCA name badge. They ruined them by selling junk and they now call themselves Technicolor which is junk as well. I believe Audiovox owns a division as well. Sony owns the record label.
Made the same year I was born, back when Quality meant something.
Back when they used real copper winding's and the rated wattage output was continuous not surge.
And a 12hp briggs would actually give 12 hp.
You're a quality built piece of equipment. 👍 I hope you're not falling apart like I am.
Like fillg, glad this is so well preserved I was born at the end of 1955, too bad I'm not running just as well! 8-))
you got that right
I was thinking the same thing. Built solid and for the long run. Now-a-days everything is junk and throw away.
Nice piece and good find!
On the farms model 19s we had better luck with UJ8, which is a series gap spark plug. Good luck. I loved it when the farm bought augers with Kohler motors. They had electric start.
Hello from north east Montana.
Those old briggs engines are awesome that thing would run thousands of hours at that speed. Awesome little gen!
Nice piece Mike. Thanks for the video.
I like that gen set. It's so much better than those new ones that scream at 3600 rpm. That one just idles along.
I briefly had a Military generator with a Briggs Model 23 on it, I loved that thing! Took me very little to get it going. It had wooden posts you could stick in the base and soldiers would carry it to their campsite to provide power to the site. It was really cool! They guy who bought it from me was sending it to Africa to his home village for them to work on and use in their village!
Man I want that set
That thing is so cool! 63 years wow!
Very cool "R2D2" spark plug cover. That old Briggs started easier than new ones made today!
I've been waiting for this video :) I was happy to see that the mice didn't damage it too severely! Now I look forward to watching the video on that Detroit Diesel-powered generator ;)
Ownwers manual with drawings with hand written lettering .. nice touch. Back in the day, I was an old school draftsman (early in my career).
Good find, even with the mouse nest
I have a Winco 3.5 KW service factor of one with the same engine except it is a high rpm 3600 RPM unit. Look forward to get it running soon. A real nice specimen from an era that many manufacturers made gensets. Made to last too. VF
.
Wow, Faraday cage around the spark plug. Never seen that before, as you said everything looks to be shielded for radio or comms
New subscriber. Excellent video.
Great find .It sure runs great .You are a master at generation .
That’s a great find. Fired on the second pull ran smooth and very quiet. Best of all, Made in the USA 🇺🇸 👍
Great find! Great video! Thank you very much!
What an awesome find Mike! That thing is pretty sweet! I don't think I have ever seen something that old in that good of shape! Honestly wasn't surprised with how well it runs given the condition the rest of the unit was in. It was pretty funny when tat rope broke though! :) If I were you I would scan those original booklets so you can preserve them digitally as well! This thing will definitely make a nice show display! Now I just have to get my generators running that well... :) Nice Video!
Great videos! You have some old generators just like ones I have owned and worked on, back in the 70's and 80's. Really like the old 1 cylinder Onan 1000 watt with an updraft carb, mine came From Minnesota Power & Light as our power supplier used to be called. Thanks for taking the time, really enjoy your stuff!
Awesome gen set !
Robert Paxton McCulloch, McCulloch Chainsaws, go karts etc, married Barbra Ann Briggs daughter of Stephen Foster Briggs. Always thought that was real interesting that they definitely shared cigars over some whiskey talking engineering and engines
Back then, RCA sold many things that they did not directly manufacture. They were often a “turnkey provider” of radio and communications systems for broadcasters and the military. It’s possible that genset was produced as a system component for a two way radio site , PA system or similar. Or possibly for some type of mobile equipment.
I would doubt RCA made the generator itself. More likely they contracted with another manufacturer to produce them to RCA’s specifications.
The Champion J-8 spark-plug was pretty much ubiquitous in the 50’s and 60’s on small engines.
It’s cool that’s an 1800 rpm generator. Not a 3600 rpm “screamer” like they make today.
Thank you again.
"When Rope breaks, Warranty is Void"
(good video!)
I use to be a RCA engineer. This is probably for a remote communication facility
Back in the mid to late 60's my dad would take hunting up in the Bald Hills in the Eatonville area of Washington state. I remember we came up to a repeater station on top of one of the mountains. Small building for sure but I could hear the engine just purring away inside... did sound a bit like a lawnmower back then! Good memories
I've got a 16 horsepower that looks just like that one...starts right up..it uses a starter/generator..makes about 2 turns to start...I'd like to find a generator for it to turn..I've had it 30 years...I guess it'll pull an 8 kwH easy enough or I might just use a 5 and leave the 6 inch pulley on it and let it run slower..if you take care it'll last forever...these motors don't wear out...I've had probably 10 of them...you're right about people and common sense lol that was funny
What a great gen set Mike. Back in the 70's were stocked, sold, service the Pincor generator line,...memory tells me we have some fields that failed on a regular basis with a lot of those,.
.these would be in the 1500 watt to 8000 watt range models.We changed over to Winpower sets after these.
This Genset was probably marketed to the "Bomb shelter" builders or others that were concerned with power interruption due to possible attack - based on the cold war. -- which were rampant in the late 50s. You mentioned that many were building them in that time period - makes sense given the time period.
Plus the lack of electronics inside says a lot too. They were just becoming aware of EMP, and transistors in the day were being knocked silly by atmospheric testing. So they kept things simple, using points, condenser, and relay setup. They didn't have much in the way of delicate electronics in the day, so the power/frequency variances were well within limits. They were expecting to operate lights, fans, and maybe a tube radio in their bomb shelter, no air conditioning or fancy stuff. Maybe a hot plate or a coffee pot if they were set up well enough.
About 4 years ago we were still able to get some parts NIB from Briggs & Stratton via distributors for mid to late 1950's Briggs engines.
I love that you sounded surprised at how well that Briggs runs lol. You should know by now....they're bullet proof engines! Congratulations on this rare Genny Mikey! Cheers! Zippy~
I'd remove the mixture screws, idle & high speed, keep track of turns. Spray a shot of carb cleaner in there, and it might smooth out even more, especially under full load. Lean it out slightly, it fouled the plug before. What a super-nice generator set! Well played!
Amazing Mouse nest! What a great acquisition, Mike - that started up and ran amazingly sweetly and barely a stutter as you increased the load - great governor! Thanks for sharing - well done.
So u bought a big-ass mouse nest and got a free generator! Thumbs up!
Man, that thing is like brand new inside! What a nice find, and we probably both know why it was sold... someone cranked it up and it wouldn't make any power, and they were too lazy to take the generator cover off and investigate.😁 Really nice that it's a 4 pole generator and only runs at 1800. It wouldn't take much at all to make it electric start with an old Ford starter solenoid and a couple switches on the control box. I wonder if it's 6 or 12 v. start though? That's a pretty beefy cable for the start circuit, even for a starter/generator setup for 12 vdc. 😉 On the surging there near the end, you might want to go through that carb and make sure the idle circuit is working well. Those old 'Flojet' carbs are notorious for the idle circuit clogging up and making them surge under light load. (Don't forget to take the main jet emulsion tube out before pulling the top off!!)😁👍
I just pulled a nest out of the blower housing of a 12hp Briggs. Very common place for those pesky mice to invade, so I was surprised there wasn't one there!!! Good catch on the generator side! Catch you on the next one Buddy! Zip~
Nice. I remember those carbs. All you need now from the 1950's is a "Smudge pot" that they put at the end of a road so you will not run into construction at night. Engine has a smooth sound.
What a ripper - lovely old piece of kit
Nice find Mike
Wow runs like new. I would ask if it was for sale but no way I would sell it if it was mine. A very rare gem to find!!!!!
Now that is a big Flow Jet carb. Nice beastie, she is really clean. Love the oil bath air cleaner.
Nice Score on the Gen. Nice work there, too.
I like that vintage electric fan @21:46
She's built like a frigging tank.
What a Trooper ! 👌😎👍
That's a new excuse for not starting first pull - "60 year old rope broke".
Sounds really nice :-)
Very nice score you don’t see too many of these model of Briggs & Stratton’s with this style of rope pole set up This generator set up looks to be pretty good condition for its age looks like it has been stored in a well stored environment and has been taken care of somewhat As much as you can ever really take care of something like this
Neat as can be and that motor I'm sure is ball bearing mains made to last for ever what a great time piece made to last. .
Very cool unit. Thank You for showing it.
Jim
have the same engine on my yard mower, pull tractor unit, large blades ~3ft Radius. Cleaned the points and ground. It fired up and runs great. Smokes on startup. Pull the float the bowl also, Starting fluid for first start
RCA built Motor/Generators to power arc rod movie projectors. Each projector had one attached to provide the high current to cast the arc light through the lens.
Wow!! Didn't think it was THAT old 😳 I have 1 that's hooked to a homelite 2' semi-trash pump, we drained a dirt tank with it 2 years in row, ran 8 hrs a day for 2 wks, didn't miss a beat, just had to clean points now n then, nice find, heard those engines are almost hard hard to find now as wisconsin engines of same hp. 😬🤑🤑💪👍😃
Four legged engineer has insulated it ;-)
a good old high quality machine .
That generator runs great. You picked up a good one.
Dear SEM. Sometimes dating these engines or generators is possible by looking at date signs on the back of the manual. Eg 453 is April 1953. Small characters. Also capacitors have a date stamp to determine a period of manufacturing. I think I have an B&S engine from that period but not so lovely shining as yours! Good luck!
Another great find! Thks for sharing with everyone.
Thanks for sharing Mike. I think you have one awesome gen set there seems to be running like the day it was built. It maybe 63 years old but its running like a new one.
Absolutely beautiful machine. The 20W recommendation is not surprising for that era. In fact, if I remember correctly it was called 20W-20. It was not unusual for a car, truck, or whatever; to recommend 30W for summer and 20W-20 for winter back in those days before multi-viscosity came along. Nevertheless, I'm glad someone now has this machine who realizes what it is and what it can do. Glad to have seen it.
Great find there. Those BIG cast iron Briggs are my favorite. A 23AFB was my first big Briggs. I now have about 15 of them now. Model 9s, up to 320000 series. My only cast iron Briggs with a generator is a model B with a 800 watt Kohler generator bolted to it. All my other generators are bolted to aluminum Briggs engines. Keep up the good work.
don't build them like that no more! I'm not a generator guy. I'm an engine guy. I did read some folks talking about the flicker points. Lots of generators will require the coils to be re polarized if they haven't been run in a long time. I can see this as being a good option to prevent the user from having to do this. Maybe I am wrong. But anyway, most of all glad to see that old briggs and gen running like a champ!!!
I had an army Gen way back leland
& Faraday 2500 watt. Slip rings for a.c. and a commutator to energize the field coils. I wish I kept it.
Very nice piece of history, you scored, hope the price was right. Congratulations
Runs like a top. Nice pickup!
NICE VIDEO.
I like how you check things b4 you full tilt send it lol
Tough old cast iron Briggs still pound out the power after all these years
I saw the spark, this engine has a hell of a mag under the flywheel, looks like a horseshoe crab.
However, I have never seen a Briggs with the magneto inside the flywheel. Not here anyway.
I love your videos! I am obsessed with new and old generators!
Could have been for a mobile TV or radio truck, or a number of uses for AC in the field, so to speak. I would guess that someone made it for RCA. Depends on the cost to buy vs. tooling up to make a small number. I worked for Bell and some of the Western Electric stuff was contracted out but has W.E KS numbers on it. Nice Gen.
Its amazing that sediment bowl gasket didn't leak. I keep 4 in stock for all of my IH Cub Cadet's
my age 63 years ago .. nice video & rope from 57 more rare !
What would be nice (for newer things obviously) is two off modes, off and emergency off, where regular off brings it to a low idle and disabled the output and cools it down before shutting off, maybe including running rich for the last portion before it shuts off, and emergency off just shuts it right down and maybe presses a brake type material wedge under a disk front and rear to both stop it once the rpm slows a little (to reduce load and wear on those parts) and lifts the rotating assembly upward to keep from hot soak wear to the bearing surfaces (vertical shaft types may need three wedges and a lower wedge to lift the thrust load off)
I am going to buy a back-up generator and I have to buy a screaming 3000 rpm Chinese unit, because that what you get nowadays. I wouldn't mind this kind of generator, even if it less fuel efficient. and harder to start, but it is so damn nice to look at and to hear it running in the harmonic 1800 rpm. A really good buy!
Western Electric built most of the radio components for RCA and I would not be surprised that Western Electric built the genset end of the unit.
it is good find, also it has good value because of all manuals you got with it..good video , keep up the good work and be safe..
What an absolutely gorgeous little gen set. I'd love to find something like that is this condition.
Well another one for gen set doctor to get back up & running like it did when she was new love the color that is on that classic gen set
Sounded like that beauty would run at full load all day!
I love all your videos. There is something very relaxing about listening to someone talk about what they are passionate about and know a lot about. If I had one suggestion it might be a lav mic to help with the background noise. You've earned my subscription, keep it up!
Looks like Mustie1 sent you some of his New England field mice friends! LOL!
Love those old cast iron Briggs. Great old beasts.
Awesome start video
Nice reliable well built generator!
On engines back then they use to do brake in oil. Lighter weight oil that you allow the rough parts to wear off the engine. Then use normal SAE30 oil. Even Car manufacture's called for it.