Lister Petter

Lister-Petter is a British company that manufactures internal combustion engines for industry.

It was formed in 1986 from the merger of Petters Limited and R A Lister and Company. At that time the company was part of the Hawker Siddeley group, but today L-P is independent. Its products are in the smaller end of the diesel engine market, ranging from single-cylinder air-cooled engines of 2.7 horsepower (the 'Zeta' series) up to the convert|64|hp 'Delta' engine. One higher-power engine of up to convert|335|hp, the 'Omega' is also produced. The engine designs range from modern high-speed turbodiesels (such as the 'Gamma' or 'Omega' engines) to traditional single-cylinder medium-speed types such as the 'A-Series' and 'Phi' types.

Lister-Petter engines are generally used in stationary industrial applications such as pumping and electricity generation- indeed, the company produces a range of complete generator sets, units equipped for welding and in-house pumping sets, as well as supplying engines to other equipment manufacturers. L-P engines are widely exported, especially for use in irrigation projects. The company also maintains the long tradition of both its founder companies in supplying engines for marine applications both as prime mover engines for small vessels and as auxiliary power units in larger ones.

Lister-Petter's main product, the 'Alpha' series of sub-2-litre engines, is also available in spark ignition forms for running on natural gas or propane. L-P also manufactures and sells biodiesel plants, allowing customers to produce their own fuel for diesel engines.

Lister & Petter engines were workhorses of the British Commonwealth, many of these engines are still in use today in dump trucks, generators and water pumps. They are very distinctive in there Mid Brunswick Green colouring. One of the most popular early Petter engines was the AVA series, AVA1 and AVA2 (1 and 2 cylinder engines respectively), and the Lister D. The majority of these engines were hand crank start, not a single electric wire in sight. Engines like this, if not still working are now considered collectors pieces. With the AVA1 and Lister D weighing in at just above 200Kg they are fairly heavy collectors items.

The company's head quarters and manufacturing facility are in Dursley, Gloucestershire, formerly the headquarters of R A Lister and Company. Lister Petter have agents in France, the USA, China and India, which market their products and carry out final assembly of larger items such as generating sets from imported parts.

Starting an engine like this involved switching the Bryce Berger injection pump to excess fuel mode and lifting the decompressor (this held exhaust valve open) to allow the engine to turn over without compression. The engine was then turned over at a steady pace until 10/15 clicks from the injector were heard; these clicks were a result of the spring & needle of the injector jumping with each injection of diesel at a relatively slow speed as the engine may only be doing 60-70rpm. This would now mean there was 10/15 injections of diesel sitting in the combustion bowl on top of the piston. The engine was then turned over much faster and when the engine had lots of momentum the decompressor was flung down, this would mean on the next compression stage the pressure in the cylinder would become so great that the temperature would rise to a point that the diesel would burst into flames. Once the first combustion cycle took place this gave the engine more momentum until it was over revving at which point the excess fuel lever would automatically drop off and the engine sit at its governed idle speed.

External links

* [http://www.lister-petter.co.uk/ Lister Petter website]