Replacement 10HP diesel engine (china replica)

[LanceH]

Alright, I bought and received one of these from the guy in Georgia off of ebay. $575 including shipping, great packaging. I put 15w40 in it and am running it about 2 hours each night on low idle to help break it in.
Anyway, for anyone who knows a little about mufflers and diesels, see if you can help me out. I'm trying to position it on my log splitter so that i can access the fuel tank easy, the pull start, the oil drain, etc. The only problem is that my muffler is close to the cylinder and the exhaust outlet points at the cylinder. These pictures show the heat shield removed. I dont have a wire welder, only a stick so i dont think i can weld a new port in this thing. And on top of that, the two halves are crimped together so i can't see what the inside looks like.
I thought about just putting a 90 degree piece of pipe or conduit on the outlet and bring it out the back or upwards, but it would look cleaner if i patched the existing outlet and made a new one facing the back of the splitter/recoil side of the engine. What do you all think?

 

[ThomasH]

If you move the outlet of the muffler in the case, chances are that you will change the characteristics of the muffler. It might increase the backpressure, which will drop the power. I would suggest getting a pre-bent conduit sweep, cutting down the leg going down on the muffler to shorten it, and redirecting the output. This would probably require being welded on unless you don't mind some leakage at the junction.

 

[LanceH]

If you move the outlet of the muffler in the case, chances are that you will change the characteristics of the muffler. It might increase the backpressure, which will drop the power. I would suggest getting a pre-bent conduit sweep, cutting down the leg going down on the muffler to shorten it, and redirecting the output. This would probably require being welded on unless you don't mind some leakage at the junction.

Yeah, i knew i'd jack up the flow and design if i moved it but adding the sweeping elbow would just put that hot exhaust that much closer to my cylinder. I have a conduit bender to i might see what i can do with it today.

Some would say, "just make the frame wider" but my door to my chicken coop limits this. I thought about dropping either the tank or engine closer to the ground but I can't figure out how to do that and still have everything work feasible.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

It has electric start so the whole thing can be rotated 180 degrees and if pull starter access is a little awkward at least you should seldom need it.
Looking at the pics on ebay the muffler port on the cylinder is actually on the shaft end. It may be possible to cut and reweld the header to rotate the whole muffler 90 degrees so it sticks straight up, raising the outlet. It will then probably need some bracketeering to ensure a rigid mount.

 

[Redneck in training]

Cheap indestructible engine is from Honda CX 500 motorcycle. Saw one in a junkyard for about $50. They are water cooled, produce about 25 HP at about 5000 rpm but they come with 5 gear gearbox so it isn't big issue. They are also quiet. Only issue is lack of speed governor.

 

[jinman]

Lance, why don't you build a simple deflector made out of thick sheetmetal or aluminum? All you want is to keep the heat off the cylinder and deflect it upwards. I think the illustration below would work. I've shown brass screws into the bottom of the muffler, but you might find another way to mount the shield that would not require screwing into the muffler itself.

 

[rhett]

Alright, I bought and received one of these from the guy in Georgia off of ebay. $575 including shipping, great packaging. I put 15w40 in it and am running it about 2 hours each night on low idle to help break it in.
Anyway, for anyone who knows a little about mufflers and diesels, see if you can help me out. I'm trying to position it on my log splitter so that i can access the fuel tank easy, the pull start, the oil drain, etc. The only problem is that my muffler is close to the cylinder and the exhaust outlet points at the cylinder. These pictures show the heat shield removed. I dont have a wire welder, only a stick so i dont think i can weld a new port in this thing. And on top of that, the two halves are crimped together so i can't see what the inside looks like.
I thought about just putting a 90 degree piece of pipe or conduit on the outlet and bring it out the back or upwards, but it would look cleaner if i patched the existing outlet and made a new one facing the back of the splitter/recoil side of the engine. What do you all think?

Instead of modifying the muffler, I will suggest changing the components layout. Attached a drawing to help with idea's. In the long run, I'd think you would be happier.

 

[LanceH]

It has electric start so the whole thing can be rotated 180 degrees and if pull starter access is a little awkward at least you should seldom need it.
Looking at the pics on ebay the muffler port on the cylinder is actually on the shaft end. It may be possible to cut and reweld the header to rotate the whole muffler 90 degrees so it sticks straight up, raising the outlet. It will then probably need some bracketeering to ensure a rigid mount.

Brad, I couldn't rotate it because the throttle and oil drain are under the fuel and if turned, they would be inaccessable.

Lance, why don't you build a simple deflector made out of thick sheetmetal or aluminum? All you want is to keep the heat off the cylinder and deflect it upwards. I think the illustration below would work. I've shown brass screws into the bottom of the muffler, but you might find another way to mount the shield that would not require screwing into the muffler itself.

Great idea, i bought a piece of 22 or 26 gauge sheet metal from Lowe's after reading your post, but when building my push plate, found that my cylinder arrangement could move forwards and away from the muffler. I'm still going to construct the deflector plate, but it is not needed as critically now. Thanks for the great idea though!

Instead of modifying the muffler, I will suggest changing the components layout. Attached a drawing to help with idea's. In the long run, I'd think you would be happier.

Thanks for the idea Rhett!

 

[atgreene]

I've got three of these engines. Two have a deflector from the factory. Just a clamp with a 90 degree sweep. You will never get that cylinder hot enough to bother anything.

 

[jinman]

Great idea, i bought a piece of 22 or 26 gauge sheet metal from Lowe's after reading your post, but when building my push plate, found that my cylinder arrangement could move forwards and away from the muffler. I'm still going to construct the deflector plate, but it is not needed as critically now. Thanks for the great idea though!

As usual, I thought this through a little more and came up with what I think is a better idea. I'd cut your sheet metal about 3/4" in so that you can form wings up around the outlet of your muffler. It looks like plenty of tubing there to put on a muffler clamp around the wings and just let that hold the deflector in place. If your metal is strong enough to do that and support itself, that's what I would do. It might weaken with vibration and the buffeting of the exhaust, but I doubt it will be an issue with 22 ga material.