1943 BX-2435 2.5kw genset

[DJ362]

Got this from a local farm equipment auction, the manual was inside the cabinet. Cleaned the carb and it crank starts now. No power … yet.

 

[NDT]

Adorable little unit. Be aware if you plan to actually use it, the grease in the armature end bearing might be no good after 78 years, leading to a failure. The oil pan may be half full of goop as well, leading to oil starvation.

 

[DJ362]

Thanks. I agree - only brief test runs so far. It needs a cleanup inside and out before I troubleshoot the electrical side. Fuel tank is crusty and the bracket for the control panel is cracked so I’ll be into it anyway.

 

[steelypip]

Wow, all that for 2.5 KW. Magneto ignition and a hand crank - must have been meant for operating somewhere very unimproved. How big is the fuel tank?

 

[Chainbreaker]

In civilian duty back in 1943 a 2.5 KW unit like that could very well have managed to run a typical house with some power to spare. They didn't have all the electronic sucking devices in homes that we can't seem to live without (garage door openers, big screen TV's, microwaves, personal computers, AC/Heat pumps etc.) Back then you were lucky if you had a tube radio & CRT B&W TV, a swamp cooler, small refrigerator, toaster & a few incandescent lights in the average home. My Grandparents farm home would have done quite well matched with that genset!

I've seen a several of those units nicely restored & for sale a few years back on eBay and other places. I almost bid on one in Eastern Oregon shown sitting out in a field that was listed on Craigslist. It had many new spare parts in their original boxes tucked inside... fuses, spark plugs, filters, etc. But I didn't really need another project at the time and someone snapped it up.

Those gensets are a fairly simplistic design & are a nostalgic item representing a bygone yet historic era. Hope you get it restored to full operating condition!

 

[Mullaney]

In civilian duty back in 1943 a 2.5 KW unit like that could very well have managed to run a typical house with some power to spare. They didn't have all the electronic sucking devices in homes that we can't seem to live without (garage door openers, big screen TV's, microwaves, personal computers, AC/Heat pumps etc.) Back then you were lucky if you had a tube radio & CRT B&W TV, a swamp cooler, small refrigerator, toaster & a few incandescent lights in the average home. My Grandparents farm home would have done quite well matched with that genset!

I've seen a several of those units nicely restored & for sale a few years back on eBay and other places. I almost bid on one in Eastern Oregon shown sitting out in a field that was listed on Craigslist. It had many new spare parts in their original boxes tucked inside... fuses, spark plugs, filters, etc. But I didn't really need another project at the time and someone snapped it up.

Those gensets are a fairly simplistic design & are a nostalgic item representing a bygone yet historic era. Hope you get it restored to full operating condition!

.
So true @Chainbreaker .

I had a guy who had the first house in the area with electric power in it. Roughly two blocks away from my house... It was two cloth covered wires that ran outside of the walls. A light on the staircase, one in several rooms in the house. There was no light switch either. Those lights still worked until he passed a way about 20 years ago. The wires inside my house were early versions of Romex - covered in cloth with a cloth outer cover. Inside the walls though so great things had been happening in the construction world.

I am sure the numbers were even smaller, but the old house that I bought about 40 years ago had a 60 amp service. Several newer houses in the neighborhood had 90 amp service - so I had "power envy" for a little while. Then when I started rewiring, the standard in 1983 had become 200 amps. Amazing how adding a computer (or several) to all those household appliances "slurped" the juice!