waterloo 1 Posted February 10 Guys anyone got any info on gas turbines that where made by Solar and IH. Was looking at one yesterday. Think that all drove generators. The cabinets had IH all over them. I found it very interesting to find the connection with IH. I think the vintage would be 70's. Waterloo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1967806 52 Posted February 10 We had some when I worked at ANR. They were natural gas compressors. I was pretty sure I had some pictures but cant find them right now. Reason I remember them was a guy that worked on our crew knew I was an IH guy and showed me a picture of the IH emblem on the frame of one. I would sure have like to have one of them if they ever got scrapped. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Randy Sohn 90 Posted February 10 40 minutes ago, waterloo said: Guys anyone got any info on gas turbines that where made by Solar and IH No more info here but I sure do recall seeing photos of that Solar gas turbine unit with the IH logo . Was back in the 70s time-period. best, randy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AKwelder 316 Posted February 10 They have them along the pipe line for powering a few pumps, and generators. They had a power pack set up for pumps and compressors and then they had a generator set up. Some were in enough of an enclosure that they could set outside and you could order an arctic package for them. The ones we see they still get parts for and order them from Cat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oleman 95 Posted February 10 We had one as an emergency generator on the USS Sterret (CG-31). It was about 250KW and didn't like to start (it started on 3500# air pressure) but once running it screamed like a kitten under full load. Ship also had a dual 8V71 emergency genset. It always started immediately and we ran it to recharge the HP air flasks after the initial start failure of the Solar. Looking back I believe it was a maintenance issue, the old techs in the A-gang knew the Detroit Diesel well and they paid little attention to the GT, starting batteries and such. Solar was in San Diego, it was sold to CAT in the late 70's. I was there when the name changed at the facility. Appears CAT also couldnot get into the gas turbine business. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterloo 1 Posted February 10 Solar is still around. By Cat. But looks like most units are large Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AKwelder 316 Posted February 11 8 hours ago, waterloo said: Solar is still around. By Cat. But looks like most units are large The smaller units are not cost effective to run, the 800 Kw generator unit runs thru 2000 gallons of diesel a day, a piston unit would be less than half of that. Piston units have been getting better fuel economy, running longer, and cheaper since the heyday of turbines. If on the other hand you can tie it into a natural gas feed, you can run a long time between maintenance shutdowns. Like 9 to 12 months without stopping, or more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkG 75 Posted February 11 37 minutes ago, AKwelder said: The smaller units are not cost effective to run, the 800 Kw generator unit runs thru 2000 gallons of diesel a day, a piston unit would be less than half of that. Piston units have been getting better fuel economy, running longer, and cheaper since the heyday of turbines. If on the other hand you can tie it into a natural gas feed, you can run a long time between maintenance shutdowns. Like 9 to 12 months without stopping, or more. The larger units are not as efficient as piston engines either. To increase efficiency they take the exhaust off a turbine and boil water to produce steam. The steam is then sent to another turbine on the same shaft. They call this combined cycle generation. It's the new game plan for electric companies because of natural gas prices. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesW 9 Posted February 11 No much around on the topic... but there is a video on youtube. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
New Englander 113 Posted February 11 Solar made a tiny gas turbine APU that was used in some Dassault Falcon 20 airplanes. I flew one with that APU and it worked OK but was a little short on bleed air for cooling the plane in the summer. It, and probably most, was/were replaced with a Honeywell unit. For those who are wondering what a Falcon 20 is, it was the launch plane for FedEx. Fred Smith bought and converted 30 something of the business jets to start his small package airline. Wow! It sure worked. Those planes had no APU to save weight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Randy Sohn 90 Posted February 12 19 hours ago, New Englander said: Solar made a tiny gas turbine APU that was used in some Dassault Falcon 20 airplanes Your response triggered a memory here! The Solar gas turbines were used as APUs (Aux. Power Units) in our C-97Gs in the MN ANG. Flew that airplane several thousand hours. Before getting those G models we'd earlier had the C-97A models in our transport squadron (109th ATS) here in MSP. Those earlier airplanes had used 2 cylinder "putt-putt" engines on their APUs. best, randy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
New Englander 113 Posted February 12 11 hours ago, Randy Sohn said: Your response triggered a memory here! The Solar gas turbines were used as APUs (Aux. Power Units) in our C-97Gs in the MN ANG. Flew that airplane several thousand hours. Before getting those G models we'd earlier had the C-97A models in our transport squadron (109th ATS) here in MSP. Those earlier airplanes had used 2 cylinder "putt-putt" engines on their APUs. best, randy Running off gasoline or jet fuel? Most turbines don't like leaded avgas but I would imagine the jet tanks were sometimes dry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete23 33 Posted February 12 IH gas turbine tractor with hydrostatic drive rear wheels in Smithsonian. Model 340 I think. Never went into production. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Randy Sohn 90 Posted February 12 2 hours ago, New Englander said: Running off gasoline or jet fuel? Chuckle, "read it again, Sam". Those were C-97s, P&W R-4360s, purple 115/145 Av-Gas. Never flew jets until I came to the airline. best, randy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
New Englander 113 Posted February 12 1 hour ago, Randy Sohn said: Chuckle, "read it again, Sam". Those were C-97s, P&W R-4360s, purple 115/145 Av-Gas. Never flew jets until I came to the airline. best, randy Ha! Somehow I read KC97 instead of C97, which of course would only have Avgas. They had them at PSM, my backyard, and that's what comes immediately to mind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Randy Sohn 90 Posted February 13 Chuckle, yup, figured so! When we got the KC-97G models to replace the C-97A models we originally had (they'd replaced the F-89 "Scorpions" in 1960 in the MN ANG) we took out all the tanks/booms/other refueling stuff and dumped all that stuff our in the "north forty" junkyard. So, never flew anything other than MATS/MAC in the MN ANG. Tho, in 1961 when we'd been called to active duty during the "Berlin Crisis" I was sent down to the GA ANGuard unit on the Georgia eastcoast to instruct them during their conversion from F-86s to C-97s. Those airplanes had also been tankers but we s - - - canned all that stuff down there also. IIRC, it was at Savannah Muny (not Turner AFB). best, randy (and yes, been to Pease many years ago - but that was back when I was flying VC-54s at Offutt AFB) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
