Engineering heritage, reimagined for today

Planned power outages, unplanned power outages, lines maintenance, gales, flooding, earthquakes. These and more, are the things we face every day in rural New Zealand. Those of us with lifestyle blocks or smaller rural properties tend to try and ‘get through’ without power for however long it takes (hours or days). But it doesn’t have to be this way!

Calling engineers and tinkerers

Those who like to customise things …

You need a generator, for occasional emergency use, but you don’t want a boring grey box with no soul, or a cuboid cage. You want something you can customise to your needs, enhance, modify and tweak if your situation changes. You want a slow-running diesel that sounds good chugging away. You want something that is functional, but is interesting, and maybe even a bit fun.

You would like something that is easily movable, not stuck on a steel frame, that requires a forklift truck to move. You want a diesel because the fuel can be stored for ages without going off. You want fuel that can be stored safely without the risk of explosions or fumes (petrol is unsafe to store near the house and only lasts about 6 months in storage). Inverter-type generators are great until they go wrong; they are not easily repaired.

The powerplant of Southeast Asia – now available in NZ

South East Asia seems to be powered by these simple, reliable diesel engines. Generators, air compressors, cultivators, walking tractors, pumps, milling machines, vehicles. You name it, they power it. They can be seen everywhere in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Africa, Middle East and South America. And now we are making them available in New Zealand.

These machines are tough as old nails, and can run on a variety of fuels including diesel, vegetable oil, biofuels etc. After a lifetime of service they can be renovated and brought back to as-new condition using a wide range of spares available worldwide.

These engines are incredibly versatile, reliable and tough. The basic design dates back the Deutz engines of the 1930s: horizontal single-cylinder, low-rpm, diesel fuel, with large flywheel and water (hopper) cooling. The heritage of these engines goes back to Deutz in Germany, Yanmar and Kubota in Japan – all in the 1930s. Now is your chance to experience a little part of history updated with modern tooling.