Micro CoGen.

Can anyone help me with a recommendation for a device that can limit DC current from a battery bank to a device?
In this case the 24 volt battery bank is connected to a 1000 watt grid tie inverter.
When connected, the inverter immediately draws the full 1000 rated watts and runs at it's maximum capacity (and heat) with no restrictions for longer life or safety.
My goal is to restrict the supply current to 800 watts (33.3 amps) by installing some device between the battery and the inverter.
For low wattage circuits a light bulb can sometimes suffice, but for 800 watts, I have no idea what would work.

If a big resistor is a possible solution, I need some help sizing it.

Any recommendations or instruction ?

Thanks

Very nice system this fellow built.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PekTV2PQVQg

BobG, one of these outside your Tiny House (R175 engine) would do the job, and nobody would know it exists.

I lost my paper manual for the R175 diesel.
Does anyone have a PDF version for the R175 or R180 engines?

Cheers,
Veggie

What's the most efficient way to convert 1000 watts, 120VAC to 120 VDC ?
(I have a 1kw DC device which can accept 90V to 150V)

My 120VAC generator will be providing the AC power.

Does anyone speak (or read) Manderin?
The flywheel on my Changfa 195 has 3 markings.
I would like to know what the markings mean so that I can confirm the injector timing.
The manual says to rotate the engine on the compression cycle until the "mark"  (does not say which mark) lines with the notch in the water hopper and that will equal the required 18 deg. BTC.

Well ... mine has 3 marks, and mine does not have a hopper cooler, it has a factory radiator with no notches or markings. 

I have attached these pictures in case anyone can help identify the rotational degree values of these symbols.

<Click on the pictures to enlarge>

For those in urban locations, the double-tank muffler design can be a very effective way of running your noisy Chinese diesel in a stealthy way.
I designed this one using two 15 gallon air compressor tanks.
It was designed for my 6/1 Listeroid but here I am testing it on the Changfa generator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EefDlxHy1uU

Anyone running a 1HP motor on a standard 15 amp wall outlet?

In my case its a basic 120 volt, 1800 rpm cap start motor.
I have not bought it yet, and I'm wondering if my wall outlet can start it.
Running amps is fine ( 9.7A) but I'm not sure if the capacitor start will suffice to get it going.

Whats the most HP you have started (under no load) with a wall outlet.?

Does anyone know what the average efficiency is for the ST style generators when running in the "sweet spot". The ST-3 in particular.
As I understand it, the newer design brushless 3600 rpm heads used on today's "screamers" are about 92%.
I was wondering if the ST heads fall in the same efficiency range.

veggie

I am planning to encase a Changfa 175 inside a sound enclosure so that the unit can run 8 hrs per day without the neighbors hearing it. (Inside the garage).
The Changfa will be driving a 24 volt alternator.
One concern is heat buildup inside the cabinet.
The heat from the engine can easily be removed through an external radiator, but in order to keep noise levels down there can only be minimal air flow through the cabinet.
Does anyone know the upper limits of automotive alternator temperatures?
The alternator will be running at 1/2 of it's full amperage capacity which should help somewhat.

Hi All,

I have seen others make modifications to an ST head in order to get a wild AC current which can then be rectified to DC. I have also seen things like big teroidal coils screwed to the wall to assist in the conversion. I don't know what they do and I don't have access to those kind of coils.

So my question is...
How difficult is it to convert an ST-3 head into a variable speed DC battery charger?
A dc generator that does not care bout synchronous speeds.

Step one: How to convert the ST to a wild 3 phase AC output
Step two: How to tame the wild AC current. What rectifier to use?
Step three: Can this power then be fed straight into a DC solar charge controller ?

I have an ST-3 in storage and it would be nice to convert it to a heavy duty DC alternator system.
Of course the usual ST mods will have to be done for reliability. Cleaning, new bearings etc...

Basically, whats the process for converting?

For years I have dismissed wood gasifiers. Mostly because my attention was with diesels and alternative fuels. A recent dive into gasifiers has me intrigued.
I have begun to assemble documents and videos on building these units for gas production to drive a small generator.
I can get a good supply of wood chips.
One obstacle with wood gas powered generators seems to be the modulating of the air/gas ratio under varying engine loads.
This can be overcome using a Lambda exhaust gas sensor tied to a microprocessor and a throttle servo valve which constantly adjusts the mix based on exhaust oxygen.
Is anyone here operating a wood gasifier ?

At the 14 second point in this video the fellow seems to be adjusting the injector pressure while the engine is running. Like playing with a carburetor mixture screw.
Is this really a "thing" with diesels.
If so, what is he trying to achieve? How does one know when it's "right" ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQTkSelkXP0

Here's an unusual application.
I have a 1200 watt grid tie inverter which requires 28 to 40 volts to operate.
It is left over from a system that used to be powered by my 35 volt solar array.
I want to drive it with a 36 volt battery/alternator instead of solar panels.
The inverter would drain the small 36 volt batteries quite quickly unless they were being constantly charged by 1200 watts of energy from an alternator.
So ... how do I get an alternator to put out a regulated 36 volts ?
I have 2 X 24 volt alternators to play with.
One is a Delco 10Si style 1 wire rated at 40 amps.
One is a Delco 22Si heavy duty.
Both have internal regulators.
This project cannot afford a $500 Balmer Regulator (although I don't think they can be set to 36 volts anyway).

Setup would be:  Engine-->Alternator-->battery-->Grid Tie Inverter

Supply to the invert must be approx 36 volts, 1000w. (28 amps @ 36 volts)

Any ideas ??

I'm looking for ideas.
I can only heat stored water to 212f, but sand can be heated to to 800 degrees and used as a thermal battery.
I don't want to go as high as 800 yet, but I would like to fill a steel tank (maybe 50 gallon size) an try to heat it to 400f.
Then insulate it just enough to still allow for heat to radiate for X number of hours.

Application: Run the lister for x hours to electrically heat up the sand to 400f.
Observe the system to see how long the system can heat the garage in winter.
Start engine .... heat sand ..... Start engine .... heat sand .....Start engine .... heat sand .....
Automate later.
Power the engine with waste oil.

Problem:
How to electrically heat the sand to 400f ?
Basic water heating elements will probably burn up.
I can provide 2kw to 3kw of electricity at 120 volts or 240 volts.

Any ideas for an electrical device to heat fully heat several hundred pounds of sand ?   

The majority of CHP systems that we discuss here are water cooled.
Most web searches find systems that route cooling water to remote locations from the CHP unit.
Locations such as wall radiators, in-floor heating loops, and hot water storage are employed.
However, don't let the fact that your engine is air cooled dissuade you from pursuing your hobby/project.
If the CHP engine/Generator is to be used to heat the same space where the system resides, there may be no need for a water cooled engine. (EG: Garage or shop)
Let's face it, many systems are using the hot coolant water to eventually heat air in a building.
Most air cooled engines have a powerful cooling fan on the flywheel and this cooling air can be a great source of heat for a garage or shop.
This combined with electric resistance heat from the generator and thermal heat from the exhaust system can provide a very efficient CHP unit.
If the unit can be run on alternative or cheaper fuels, that's even better.

To take it a step further, some fancy ducting can be used to distribute the hot air around the space.

Of course, one drawback is that the heat generated by the cooling system cannot be stored in the same way that a water loop can heat a storage reservoir for future use.
But a resistance element powered by the generator along with an exhaust heat exchanger can certainly heat water if needed.
So the engine can heat the space, and the Gen head can provide power, and the exhaust can heat water.

What got me thinking about this is the 3 small air cooled diesels sitting in my garage 

food for thought!

Does anyone know of a car (or other vehicle) that uses and "Inline" coolant thermostat?
Something that does not fit into the engine block, but instead mounts inline with the hoses.
The water jacket blanking plate on my R175 does not have the room to machine a port and flange connection for a conventional automotive thermostat/housing.

My other option would be to use a solenoid valve connected to a temperature switch/sensor.

Well this looks interesting.
I can imagine a small changfa or listeroid running on waste oils charging up this type of system.

https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2018/05/ditch-the-batteries-off-the-grid-compressed-air-energy-storage.html

This part cough my eye ...

"By discharging the cylinders sequentially, the discharge time can be greatly increased, making the system comparable to lead-acid batteries in terms of energy density. Based on their experimental set-up, the researchers calculated the efficiencies for different starting pressures and numbers of cylinders. They found that 57 interconnected cylinders of 10 litre each, operating at 5 bar, could fulfill the job of four 24V batteries for 20 consecutive hours, all while having a surprisingly small footprint of just 0.6 m3.

Asian diesel CHP system heating the house and charging batteries.
Runs on waste engine oil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx0ODuaoWwE

So, I started to clean up and inspect my recently re-acquired S195 which has been sitting dormant for 8 years. (The engine only has 3 hours on it 
I noted an adjustment screw right near the injector pump. My smaller Changfa does not have one.
What is this adjustment, and how does one set it?
See picture

My R195 has a factory evaporator radiator.
I am wondering if this is optimal for best performance.
The setup seems like it would over cool the engine.
With the fan blowing all time (Both on the stock version and on my electric fan version), the system looks like it would provide too much thermal transfer if the engine is running any anything but full load.
If the system can cool the engine at full load, then would it be over cooled at 1/2 load or 3/4 load.?
I suspect they wanted a simple system that would work in any situation, but if I plan to run the engine at 3/4 load on an alternate fuel, I want to keep temperatures near optimal for clean combustion.

Now, some say to fill it half way and let the steam condense in the rad tubes, others say fill it all the way and allow therosyphon to work.
To me it looks like it should be filled all the way. Because if not filled all the way, there is no way to know how much water is in there.

Anyway, do you think it would be better to remove the rad and go with a plate/thermostat setup ?