Lov14-1-vs-Jkson14-1
There’s every kind of opinion on public forums, when it comes to Indian Standards, you’ll find all too few. About the time I think there are some standards, an email from down the street or off in some distant jungle tells me different.
Here’s some new knowledge from Jim H.
I sent him a Jkson 14/1 head gasket hoping it would fit his Lovson 14/1, notice the difference. One is slightly larger, and note that fifth stud hole on the JKson.
I remember talking to an Indian Friend about standards in slow speed… he said “we don’t have standards really “We all do as we think best”. The lesson? Never assume, especially when it comes to Indian slow speed. Best to send along a scan of your head gasket unless you ‘know’ it’s the same.
George B.
Hello George i live in the upper peninsula of michigan (gods country) im a 43 year old gearhead,DIY’er i refuse to pay anyone to fix anything i own from my pickup to the toilet. there hasnt been a thing i couldnt figure out yet! the question i have is what 6/1 or 8/1 lister type do you think is the best to get? i have been looking at the GTC brand because it is the easiest for me to get only a 1,000 mile trip. im scared to ship from india since i dont know the protocol for dock agents and alike.. sounds like a bunch of greedy bastards to me. anyway… do you think i should wait a little while before i buy? see what else comes up? or do you feel i should just go for it. i want to build a backup power source for my home. im so very tired of the 3600 rpm screamers. no matter how many mufflers you put on them you can actually hear the explosion inside the block. i have worked on and played with small engines my whole life and its a passion i have. i have fallen in love with the Lister type engine i want one bad!!! i absolutely love your articles and your humor. you must be like god in the cyber world because your site comes up everytime i search the lister type engine. keep up the good work. Bill.
Bill, all good questions,
As tell everyone, I have opinions, you need figure out what they’re worth.
I remember a guy posting on a forum that he’d seen a GTC brand and it was the best there was! He posted he had ordered some, and was nowthe GTC Dealer! It wasn’t long after he had received them he was posting that he’d been ripped off. Well, that was a few years back, but I probably got the story right. Fact is, Brands don’t mean all that much, I’ve seen good and bad in a number of brands, there’s likely some nice GTCs out there too. I’ve mentioned that Jkson was among the brands I’ve seen with higher probability that you will get an engine that can do some work. There are other brands that make an effort to earn repeat business. What’s most important is what the seller is willing to do if you find the engine has problems. The time to get this straight is prior to the sale. Of course distance makes a return harder, most settle for parts replacement if things are wrong. Serious balance problems is an example of a problem harder for the average guy to fix.
As for the time to buy, I think we are in a point ‘in between’ right now, the EPA is out of control, and technology will likely paint them into a corner, they’ll be in court spending your money to defend their positions to ban or not to ban.
I believe there are many legal ways to import and sell Lister types now, there’s natural gas, propane, easy mods, parts kits, cogen, etc. The bio mass gasifier people are even claiming that their power plants (with engines) permanently sequester carbon, and some are thinking they might receive some of your hard earned tax money for sequestering this carbon! 🙂
There’s other ways to enjoy slow speed, did you know that India has long used the slow speed Lister types and Petter Types as air compressors? Did you know the import duty on air compressors is less than on diesel engines?
If there’s a profit to be made, there will be a supplier, at present, it’s reported there’s two Maine dealers and one in Kansas selling stuff. If you look at the EPA’s interest in biomass, I’d be suprised if they dared stop you in building an experimental power plant that burned biofuels, and God knows, some of us have an acre or more of land to trap the emissions. Maybe you buy an old transit buss and pack it full of saw dust for a muffler and particle trap? It may be a fun experiment.. every 10 years you rake out all those trapped carbon particles and bury them.. Isn’t that sequestering carbon? you might call the EPA, and see how long it’ll be before they have a payment plan in place. I’m sure you’ll need weigh the bus when you pack it, and take a humidity reading, this might give you a basis to calculate what you sequestered, and what kind of money you might receive from the Government. Be sure to write your State too..
We should all be calling the EPA to discuss these things, and understand rules can change overnight… so call them at least once a week.
Well, I could be wrong about all of this, but it’s a place to start…
George B
George,
Do you know who and where in Kansas someone might be selling Listeroid engines or air compressors?
Thanks for your reply.
Ralph Fryzelka
Google Diesel Electric