KURZ & ROOT GENERATOR

another id like to find out about.id like to know when it was made and if anyone has others of the same make.its tag reads direct current generator,type a ,f.r.458,no.203696,volts 12.5,amp.68,r.p.m.3100, .85 kw or 850 watts,winding COMP,%load 100, time CONT,temp rise celsius 40,KURZ & ROOT CO.appleton,wis.,established 1899 made in u.s.a.

the engines tag reads-electric plant,united states motors corp.,ser.# 694118,mod.#AP M1,oshkosh,wis. u.s.a. thanks in advance for your help and for looking.also email me if you have one or used one before and how they perform.good night.

What kind of engine is on it? Sometimes it's easier to date from engine serial numbers.

gus,thanks for responding.the engine is made by UNITED STATES MOTORS CORP., serial# 694118, mod.# AP M1,

UNITED STATES MOTORS CORP. OSHKOSH,WIS. U.S.A.

i have a briggs engine model ZZ that this looks similar to. the gen engine is only about 60% the size of the ZZ but it looks the same in that the head is flat on top (no fins) and the spark plug comes out of the side instead of the top,and if you look at the underside of the head the spark comes through a small hole instead of being close to the piston. the guy i bought it from said they did that as an anti fouling feature. if theres anything else that will help you in identifying this please let me know.

thanks again

Your engine may be a Briggs Mod. A, B, K or Z, which narrows the date from the mid thirties to the late forties, not much help. Judging by the rather small output, I'd guess it to be a model B. Kohler offered an 800 watt unit with a B. Too bad the engine ID tag isn't there.

gus,that last information was from the engine id tag,not from the generator. it is serial# 694118 , mod# AP M1. perhaps the AP means it's some form of a model A briggs and the M1 means something MILITARY.it appears to be be the original color and it's painted a dark shade of green.i heard that theres a way to find out dates by serial #'s of old briggs but i dont know it.i heard that it can be narrowed down to the exact day,month and year it was made.

have you ever heard of united states motors corp? ive never heard of them. i wonder if they bought a bunch of engines from briggs and generators from KURZ AND ROOT and put them together and sold them under their name (u.s. motors). do you know how to tell dates made by serial #'s for old briggs engines? the serial # 694118 looks to have the same amount of #'s as the old briggs did and i think AP M1 is possibly some MILITARY variation of the A model briggs. what do you think? thanks again for replying.

Mo, You hit the jackpot, the SN for a Briggs Mod AP checks out to be early in the production run for 1941. Yes I have heard of U.S. Motors. I have a four cylinder 2.5 KVA Military Standard, it was made in 1936. Alan King's Monograph # 9, shows 4 ads from the mid thirties, one of which could be the plant you have.

I have a 3,680 lbs Kurz & Root Co Motor Generator on a small mule trailer, tagged Type MD-4 Stock #81-2261 N 155, P/N 18889, that shows AC input three phase 220v/440v 60 cycle and AC putput three phase 120v/208v 175A 400 cycle 62.5 KVA, 400 cycle 0.8pf; single phase load - delta connected 120v, 520 amps, 62.5 kva, 400 cycle 0.8pf.

From all appearances there is no external connection for outside power. A retired fireman from the Fallon Naval Air Station, Nevada tells me that his is a large version of what they have as self generating power on their trucks. Is it possible this it's own self generator without an engine or external power source? How would one get this to start generating and is there anyplace to get manuals etc. on this equipment.

What you have is a motor generator set, built to power aircraft systems. It converts 60 cycle AC power to 400 cycle AC power. Since aircraft systems are 400 cycle, they could not simply be plugged in to ground power, so your unit was built to provide electricity to aorcraft on the ground without having to run the engine.