Micro CoGen.

I may be wrong, but isn't it the long lines of the grid feeding the transformers/generators that actually collects the energy that damages said equipment?

I know thats how nearby lighten damages equipment.

Quote from: mobile_bob on September 17, 2010, 12:14:46 PM
my thinking is it is time to do a bit of housekeeping, and streamline things a bit.

some of the boards that have had little activity still have some useful information, so my thinking is to take those boards
and move them to an archive section where they can continue to function and save the info they already contain, however
members can simply minimize the archive section and in doing so reduce the size or appearance on the front page.

I don't think archives are a good idea just yet, it would further spread out the info/posts we do have in the less used forums. Some judicious merging however could be useful. (I've got some thoughts I'm putting together on this, if it would be helpful)

Installation took most of the day saturday.. At testing time, it wouldn't start for anything, sounded & smelled (plenty of NG pumped out the exhaust) like no spark.. Digging into the "crank but no fire" diagnostic checklist, found the choke flapper was stuck open / out of position, easy enough to put back in position.. Put mode switch on manual to initiate a start, 1st crank attempt it got one puff, 7sec later it made another attempt & fired right up!

After doing the panel connections we tested the shebang.. Put mode switch on auto & flipped the main breaker, 15sec later it auto started, 15sec after that the transfer switch flipped, but no power, forgot the 45A breaker on the Gen, fixed that & all's lit! The UPS on my equipment table agreed with it after a min, turned on my 5000btu window A/C, all's good. After about 10min he turned on the 2.5ton central A/C, Gen/lights did a big double dip but managed to start the compressor (which surprised the heck out of me considering I noticed he plumbed the damn thing with [at least] 30ft of 1/2" black pipe, which code says can only flow ~96CFH at 1/2psi (residential nominal), which I guestimate as about 4kw on this unit (specs say 1/2 load/4.5kw requires 102CFH & full load/9kw requires 156CFH). I need to get some proper instrumentation & do a real load test, but in the mean time it'll keep my critical equipment running.

Quote from: SHIPCHIEF on September 16, 2010, 05:51:23 AM
Does this have an overload protection feature?
I seem to recall that briggs & stratton has a similar generator package with an optional programmable controller to control the start of some loads when other more important ones are being used. Like preventing 2 air conditioners from starting at the same time, or turn off the water heater when the stove is on if Kw output is getting near the max.
It's a good option for generators that don't quite have enough power for the whole house' load to be on all at the same time. Although the energy monitor you have in mind will help you avoid an overload too.
I've seen similar Generac units for sale at Costco. It's a neat concept that I think my brother in law should have for a back-up. He has natural gas, so I think it would be a 'natural'.  

The EZ Switch this package came with doesn't have any overload protection (other than breakers) or load shedding features.. Upgrading to one of Generac's Nexus Smart Switches adds load management with builtin control of 2 A/Cs, plus ability to automatically manage upto 4 additional loads via add-on DLM modules.

This house is NG heat/hot water/cooking, the main distribution (sub) panel is 220@30A, the central A/C has its own feed, & my room has 2 dedicated 110@20A circuits (for my medical equipment).

Not exactly cogen, but figured ya'll would like to see it.

So my Dad has gotten me a Generac Guardian Series 5871, 10kW LP / 9kW NG, for my backup power needs (I'm ventilator dependent).
It has a Generac designed air-cooled 530cc 18hp 90deg V-twin OHV engine, aluminum block & cylinders w/ iron sleeves, 9.5:1 compression, solid state magneto ignition, electronic governor. Generator is direct drive 2 pole 120/240 60Hz 3600rpm w/AVR

With exception of starter battery, gas line, & 1st stage LP reg (if needed), comes with everything needed for a simple install:
Key locked sound & weather enclosure on a composite pad,
EZ Switch 100A automatic transfer switch / 12 slot load center prewired w/ selection of breakers / 2ft main panel umbilical / 30ft Gen cable,
Gen side connection box prewired to Gen w/ 5ft cable,
1ft 1/2" outdoor rated flexible gas line for vibration isolation + a dandy swivel connector (which you tighten to a o-ring seal separately) negating the need for a union at the gen.

Its fully electronic controlled, with a 2 line LCD display control panel under the hood, it'll display:
Alarm Log (stores up to 100 events), Run Log, Engine Hours, RPM, Gen Frequency, Battery Volts, Hours under load, and debug I/O.
There's also an optional Advanced Wireless Monitor (which he got me as well), which does everything above + Graph out Battery Volts, RPM, & Volts and manually initiate a Normal Start or Start & Transfer (for test purpose), or a Gen Stop command.

He's a HVAC installation & service contractor (residential & commercial) of 25yrs, so is doing the install himself.
Installation tomorrow

Things I would like to add later:
An energy monitor (Open Energy Monitor based) for volts/hz monitoring / load management / overload warning / fuel use prediction.
Propane backup via 3way switchover valve & manual choke cable attached to carburetor's fuel selector switch.
An Arduino based sensor package, thinking ambient enclosure & engine temp sensors, maybe an exhaust K type thermo down the road, oil pressure transducer, oil level sensor.

So, whats the verdict on the Open Energy Monitor? Is the burden resistor + voltage divider + filter way of connecting CTs & an AC transformer to Arduino inputs safe / durable?

Much appreciated!
David

Sorry I dropped off the project guys.. Right after the water test, my supply company decided to go assain & hold my next shipment of formula (which we had a surplus of) & feed bags (which is impossible to form much of a surplus due to various issues with said company) hostage for 2 weeks over a billing issue that was their fault (they decided to forgo properly filling out claims to my 2 insurances, build up a bill & then ask for a CC#)... So hadda use that last old style bag (the kind w/ drip chamber) when the last new style bag (read cheap) sprung a leak after 3-4 days reuse.

1st test with water done!
At fastest drip rate (that was quite visible), it flowed 100ml in 3:30, which by my math is 28ml a min. Visible estimate of drip rate, ~4 a sec.

Quote from: dubbleUJay on November 23, 2009, 09:49:44 PM
David, this IV seems to be 10drops = 1 milliliter (1cm3) of fluid, but I cannot see the flow-rate anywhere

Ya, unfortunately I haven't found that spec anywhere, for any such device. But I think 3 drops a sec is doable

Quote from: dubbleUJay on November 23, 2009, 09:49:44 PMHow did the experiment go with the tube? I hope you didn't use your own one!

Haven't gotten to do it yet, maybe tomorrow! No, it won't be connected to me, lol. 
I plan to use a plain bag, hook it up to a suction pump with a reservoir to simulate an engine's fuel pump, & adjust the bag's flow clamp to find where drips become a stream. Then adjust back to max drip rate and time a 100ml via tick marks on the bag (don't know the drops per ml on these).

Did some google research on IV drip chambers, check this out:
IV Administration Set 10 Drops/ml 72" Long
Not only dirt cheap, but at 10 drops/ml, thats 3.3 drops/sec at 20ml/mins. Looks doable.

Water & Veg oil, good idea, I'll see what we can do.

ETS: looks like they'll ship to practically any country.

Found an Arduino based diesel engine governor project:
Michael McKGyver McKinley / Firewood Processor Governor

I have whats called a g-tube style feeding tube, for my primary nutrition (due to my Duchenne MD, I can't swallow enough to maintain weight).. The food pump I'm referring to pumps formula from a refillable bag, and through the g-tube at a user set rate, much like an IV pump.
Kangaroo Feeding Pumps, the 2100 looks my old one (recently got switched to a different style pump).
The Kangaroo pump uses a drip meter to watch its own flow rate & detect a plugged line or closed valve.

If I still have a bag for my old food pump, I'll see how fast it can flow while maintaining drops, by this weekend.

The air (or a purge gas) in the top half is a critical part of the system... As the pump draws the level of the fluid in the lower half down, the air pressure inside reduces, inducing another drip to replenish.

These are passive devices actually, the natural flow to the fuel pump causes the drip rate. Being sealed, fuel flow stops = drips stop, low flow = slow drips, high flow = fast drips. But at some point drips can't keep up and it become a stream.

WildA$$IdeaTime

What about a drip meter like an IV?
Murphy Drip Meter (pic) + a LED/photodetecter setup to count the drops.
Don't know the max flow rate or if they can be paralleled. Though IIRC my old food pump that used a drip chamber, was at least capable of 400ml/hr.
Viscosity will prolly affect drop volume, so thinking it would require a one time calibration against weight for different fuels.

Murphy drip meter - retail

Couple projects you might find interesting:

Edward Cheung's HA Power Monitor Node
I've been fascinated by this guys work for years. PIC software, schematic, and info about his DIY CTs provided.

And my own small foray into CTs, though I haven't done anything with it yet.
Whole-house power monitoring, need op-amp help
(The Ocelot is a consumer version of an Industrial PLC controller running Ladder Logic programing, for Home Automation / SECU-16 is an I/O expansion module for the Ocelot)