Diesel rotavator
 

I was given a Howard Gem Hatz 780 24" rotavator. I gave the chap £100
anyway.
It has a Kohler K301T engine.
It is in need of a good overhaul and was wondering if there are any like
minded people here. I will need engine parts though I have had it started.
Of course it looks like a heap of scrap and I am new to diesel engines but
I think I can do it.
If this is the wrong group, which I know it is, can someone point me to the
correct group?

Thanks
Baz

Diesel rotavator
 

"Baz" wrote in message
...
I was given a Howard Gem Hatz 780 24" rotavator. I gave the chap £100
anyway.
It has a Kohler K301T engine.
It is in need of a good overhaul and was wondering if there are any like
minded people here. I will need engine parts though I have had it started.
Of course it looks like a heap of scrap and I am new to diesel engines but
I think I can do it.
If this is the wrong group, which I know it is, can someone point me to
the
correct group?

Thanks
Baz

Can't help you with your questions Baz but can endorse the Howard Gem. Had
one when I had the large garden in Leicester, that was a work horse. (Petrol
though)

2 Blocks of flats now :-)

Mike

--

....................................

I'm an Angel, honest ! The horns are there just to keep the halo straight.

....................................

Diesel rotavator
 

Martin wrote in
:

On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:18:18 GMT, Baz wrote:

I was given a Howard Gem Hatz 780 24" rotavator. I gave the chap £100
anyway.
It has a Kohler K301T engine.
It is in need of a good overhaul and was wondering if there are any
like minded people here. I will need engine parts though I have had it
started. Of course it looks like a heap of scrap and I am new to
diesel engines but I think I can do it.
If this is the wrong group, which I know it is, can someone point me
to the correct group?

The DIY group probably has more experts, but you will probably find
somebody useful here too.

Thankyou, Martin, will post to one or two. Do you know of a specific group
I could try?

Baz

Diesel rotavator
 

Martin wrote in
:

On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:44:59 GMT, Baz wrote:

Martin wrote in
m:

On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:18:18 GMT, Baz wrote:

I was given a Howard Gem Hatz 780 24" rotavator. I gave the chap
£100 anyway.
It has a Kohler K301T engine.
It is in need of a good overhaul and was wondering if there are any
like minded people here. I will need engine parts though I have had
it started. Of course it looks like a heap of scrap and I am new to
diesel engines but I think I can do it.
If this is the wrong group, which I know it is, can someone point me
to the correct group?

The DIY group probably has more experts, but you will probably find
somebody useful here too.

Thankyou, Martin, will post to one or two. Do you know of a specific
group I could try?

uk.d-i-y

there are others under fr.uk containing diy

Thanks, Martin.
Baz

Diesel rotavator
 

Baz wrote:
I was given a Howard Gem Hatz 780 24" rotavator. I gave the chap £100
anyway.
It has a Kohler K301T engine.
It is in need of a good overhaul and was wondering if there are any like
minded people here. I will need engine parts though I have had it started.
Of course it looks like a heap of scrap and I am new to diesel engines but
I think I can do it.

I don't think the Kohler K301T is a diesel is it? I have a rotavator
with a Kohler engine and mine's certainly petrol.

--
Chris Green

Diesel rotavator
 

On Tuesday, 23 October 2012 17:18:18 UTC+1, Baz wrote:
I was given a Howard Gem Hatz 780 24" rotavator. I gave the chap �100

anyway.

It has a Kohler K301T engine.

It is in need of a good overhaul and was wondering if there are any like

minded people here. I will need engine parts though I have had it started..

Of course it looks like a heap of scrap and I am new to diesel engines but

I think I can do it.

If this is the wrong group, which I know it is, can someone point me to the

correct group?



Thanks

Baz

I'm a bit confused about the engine on this one. You say it's a Hatz diesel, then you say it has a Kohler engine.
I only know of Kohlers as petrol engines. The Hatz diesel was a 2 stroke diesel engine, and a good one. So I wonder if it's had an engine transplant at some point, it's often the case with old Gems.
I can tell you a certain amount at least about operation of the Hatz diesel if in fact that's what it is. The Kohler petrol engines as fitted to the Gem were pretty much standard industrial engines that should be self explanatory to anyone experienced with larger petrol driven garden machines.
Try online for facsimile manuals, parts etc.
There used to be a rump of Dowdswell - the company that took over the brand after Howard went bust and you could get some spares from them but I don't know if they're still going.
A local firm that serviced our old Gem always seemed to be able to get bits and Gems are still being used by many landscape firms so you should be OK.

Rod

Diesel rotavator
 

On 23/10/2012 17:22, 'Mike' wrote:


"Baz" wrote in message
...
I was given a Howard Gem Hatz 780 24" rotavator. I gave the chap £100
anyway.
It has a Kohler K301T engine.
It is in need of a good overhaul and was wondering if there are any like
minded people here. I will need engine parts though I have had it
started.
Of course it looks like a heap of scrap and I am new to diesel engines
but
I think I can do it.
If this is the wrong group, which I know it is, can someone point me
to the
correct group?

Thanks
Baz

Can't help you with your questions Baz but can endorse the Howard Gem.
Had one when I had the large garden in Leicester, that was a work horse.
(Petrol though)

2 Blocks of flats now :-)

Mike

I never thought of converting my old Howard Gem into flats. I'd have
thought they would be a little cramped even if it is a fairly large
rotavator

Diesel rotavator
 

On 23/10/2012 19:31, Martin wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:02:38 -0700 (PDT), Rod
wrote:

On Tuesday, 23 October 2012 17:18:18 UTC+1, Baz wrote:
I was given a Howard Gem Hatz 780 24" rotavator. I gave the chap ?100

anyway.

It has a Kohler K301T engine.

It is in need of a good overhaul and was wondering if there are any like

minded people here. I will need engine parts though I have had it started.

Of course it looks like a heap of scrap and I am new to diesel engines but

I think I can do it.

If this is the wrong group, which I know it is, can someone point me to the

correct group?



Thanks

Baz

I'm a bit confused about the engine on this one. You say it's a Hatz diesel, then you say it has a Kohler engine.

He said a Hatz mower. Baz is right see, except it is a petrol engine.
http://www.rescuingthepast.co.uk/Howard_Gem.html

I only know of Kohlers as petrol engines. The Hatz diesel was a 2 stroke diesel engine, and a good one. So I wonder if it's had an engine transplant at some point, it's often the case with old Gems.
I can tell you a certain amount at least about operation of the Hatz diesel if in fact that's what it is. The Kohler petrol engines as fitted to the Gem were pretty much standard industrial engines that should be self explanatory to anyone experienced with larger petrol driven garden machines.
Try online for facsimile manuals, parts etc.
There used to be a rump of Dowdswell - the company that took over the brand after Howard went bust and you could get some spares from them but I don't know if they're still going.
A local firm that serviced our old Gem always seemed to be able to get bits and Gems are still being used by many landscape firms so you should be OK.

Rod


I don't know if I am missing posts but Baz said it has a Kohler K301T
engine.
No mention of Hatz engine, He also said he has had it running.
I am sure that he can tell the difference between petrol and diesel, and
can tell if the engine has a spark plug or not.

Diesel rotavator
 

On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 20:27:44 +0200, Martin wrote:

It has a Kohler K301T engine.

I don't think the Kohler K301T is a diesel is it? I have a rotavator
with a Kohler engine and mine's certainly petrol.

It's a 4 stroke single cylinder air cooled 12 hp engine, that runs on
unleaded petrol ...

Depends what is fitted to Baz's particular rotovator. Seems as if various
petrol or diesel engines have been fitted (but perhaps not to his
particular model):

http://www.howardgem.webs.com/

Baz say's he has had it started, the procedure for that would be a give
away. It's a pretty damn well near impossible to pull start a diesel
without releasing the compression, spinning it up, dropping in the
compression and hoping the flywheel has enough inertia to take it through
compression and for it to fire. The presence, or not, of a spark plug is
also a big hint...

On parts and advice another place to ask might be
uk.rec.engines.stationary but it's very quiet in there.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Diesel rotavator
 

On Tuesday, October 23, 2012 8:28:03 PM UTC+1, Dave Liquorice wrote:

Baz say's he has had it started, the procedure for that would be a give
away. It's a pretty damn well near impossible to pull start a diesel
without releasing the compression, spinning it up, dropping in the
compression and hoping the flywheel has enough inertia to take it through
compression and for it to fire.

Its funny when I hear people say that, I used to do it daily. I daresay its true for car sized engines.


NT

Diesel rotavator
 

"Baz" wrote in message
...
I was given a Howard Gem Hatz 780 24" rotavator. I gave the chap £100
anyway.
It has a Kohler K301T engine.
It is in need of a good overhaul and was wondering if there are any like
minded people here. I will need engine parts though I have had it started.
Of course it looks like a heap of scrap and I am new to diesel engines but
I think I can do it.
If this is the wrong group, which I know it is, can someone point me to
the
correct group?


Baz, have a look here....
http://chat.allotment.org.uk/
scroll down to 'equipment shed'......might get some advice there.
HTH
Pete C

Diesel rotavator
 

On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:49:53 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

It's a pretty damn well near impossible to pull start a diesel
without releasing the compression, spinning it up, dropping in the
compression and hoping the flywheel has enough inertia to take it
through compression and for it to fire.

Its funny when I hear people say that, I used to do it daily. I daresay
its true for car sized engines.

My little (300cc) single cylinder diesel genset is almost impossible to
pull through compression. It can be done but it's not very pleasant on
the fingers and more than two or three pulls hurts the arm. Because it's
so hard to pull it might not fire as it's not going fast enough and the
cylinder/block is cold. *Much* easier to operate the decompression
lever... Some engines have cunning automatic decompression mechanisiums.

By comparison a petrol engine has very little compression. Think about
the effort needed to half push in a bicycle pump with the end blocked and
the effort required to push it in to within the last inch of the end.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Diesel rotavator
 

On Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:16:41 +0200, Martin wrote:

It's a pretty damn well near impossible to pull start a diesel
without releasing the compression, ...

Its funny when I hear people say that, I used to do it daily. I
daresay its true for car sized engines.

My little (300cc) single cylinder diesel genset is almost impossible
to pull through compression.

I suggest you read or re-read what Baz posted, ...

New to usenet? Not heard of thread drift? This bit of the thread has
wandered off into starting small diesels...

... he clearly identified which engine is in his mower. The engine he
identified is a four stroke petrol engine.

I suggest *you* read what Baz wrote, it's inconsistent. He never
mentioned "mower" only a rotavator and a Hatz variation of the Howard
Gem, Hatz are diesels. Yes he does say "It has a Kohler K301T engine."
which does indeed appear to be petrol but that doesn't fit with his
statement further on "I am new to diesel engines" or the earlier
reference to Hatz.

We need clarification as to what type of engine really is fitted to his
rotatvator. If it is a Hatz they appear to be still in business so spares
might be very easy to come by.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Diesel rotavator
 

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 9:13:04 AM UTC+1, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:49:53 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

It's a pretty damn well near impossible to pull start a diesel
without releasing the compression, spinning it up, dropping in the
compression and hoping the flywheel has enough inertia to take it
through compression and for it to fire.

Its funny when I hear people say that, I used to do it daily. I daresay
its true for car sized engines.

My little (300cc) single cylinder diesel genset is almost impossible to
pull through compression. It can be done but it's not very pleasant on
the fingers and more than two or three pulls hurts the arm. Because it's
so hard to pull it might not fire as it's not going fast enough and the
cylinder/block is cold. *Much* easier to operate the decompression
lever... Some engines have cunning automatic decompression mechanisiums.
By comparison a petrol engine has very little compression.

I've no idea what engine size the 7kVA generator was, but it started on the handle ok. Too much force required for a pullcord. I expect less than 300cc.


NT

Diesel rotavator
 

On Wed, 24 Oct 2012 04:37:07 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

My little (300cc) single cylinder diesel genset ...

I've no idea what engine size the 7kVA generator was, but it started on
the handle ok. Too much force required for a pullcord. I expect less
than 300cc.

My genset is only 2kVA... For a 7kVA set I'd expect an engine over over
1000cc. You can get a lot more umph into a handle than you can a
pullcord, just keep your thumbs out of the way. B-)

--
Cheers
Dave.