Micro CoGen.

Yes, HughesNet truly sucks...lousy performance and far worse customer support...  After a couple years of landline cable modem, we had Wild Blue for a couple years (it eventually became ViaSat) and then HughesNet for a couple years.  After a month or so of HughesNet service, we couldn't get more than 5M down and HughesNet wouldn't make any effort to fix it...until after you actually cancelled their service.  We have had ViaSat for several years and get 48M down, 5.5M up and 860ms latency...which other than the high latency, is quite good and enables streaming HD.  Even VOIP works okay with this high latency, just not gaming.

Currently free for me.  Normally costs $500 for equipment and $99/month.  It should reach 1G later this year with less latency and they will be launching 10G satellites later this year or early next year.

Just thought I should update this old topic...

We got SpaceX Starlink this past weekend.  Currently seeing 140M down and 20M up with 30ms latency.  Got Starlink connected to our Ubiquity UniFi LAN and it is beyond impressive...especially when I recall how we started out here with a telephone landline cable modem...   

https://www.campingworld.com/alp-1000-watt-propane-powered-generator-122726.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAxp-ABhALEiwAXm6IyeakW1_zb36joWTFFgrynPkIVr8GD3ezI9kUa12N7PnGk-X4OTBUYRoCdIkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

No Mike, I have never attached an O2 sensor to my 6/1...but I have couple laying around and that is what prompted my question...  My 6/1 could only power two 1.5 kW electric heaters when only operated with diesel, but could easily power three 1.5 kW electric heaters when propane was used.  So the 6/1 internal governor was indeed governing.  Analytically it is clear that there is significantly more power that could be obtained from the standard 6/1 configuration, and I was just wondering if anyone has actually explored this to any extent.

Has anyone installed an O2 sensor in the 6/1 exhaust and used it to adjust air/fuel mixture from maximum efficiency to maximum power and carefully documented the results? 

Many years ago I was easily able to get my 6/1 to generate 4.5 kW (or 6 HP) by injecting propane into air inlet.  Doing this essentially moved the engine operating point along the lambda curve, i.e., from a leaner (maximum efficiency regime) to a richer (maximum power regime) air/fuel mixture relative to the diesel Stoichiometric 14.5/1 air/fuel ratio.

If what I wrote is Greek to you, here's a lambda 101 article that may help with understanding:

https://x-engineer.org/automotive-engineering/internal-combustion-engines/performance/air-fuel-ratio-lambda-engine-performance/#:~:text=For%20a%20gasoline%20(petrol)%20engine,AFR%20is%20different%20than%20stoichiometric.

I would suggest Googling "Rent Ground ResistanceTester" with your locality also in the search field.  You can typically rent these for about $50/day.  

Most electrical code inspectors also have these testers and can perform the test if they are coming out your way for some reason.  

Some localities also expressely specify the grounding requirements (e.g., type and depth of ground rods, etc.) based on the average soil conductivity of the locality which may allow you to avoid testing altogether.  

Acceptable grounding tends to become more challenging as the soil becomes more sandy and more drier.  And this is the situation I would personally be more concerned about achieving adequate grounding.  But one could argue that a person is also safer from being electrocuted under these conditions too...unless they also happen to be touching water or something else that provides  better grounding...

Well, only Henry can answer that...  But I would suspect by measuring the impedance to see if it complies with code...typically less than 25 ohms.  I rented one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-1623-Ground-Tester-Kit/dp/B000VRCSDE/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=Fluke+1623-2+GEO+Earth+Ground+Resistance+Meter&qid=1610048883&sr=8-6

Our Ufer ground was about 3 ohms in late Summer with bone dry soil.

I would suggest carefully re-reading what Bruce initially wrote, especially his last paragraph.

If a generator is wired properly and is working properly (i.e., there are no wiring faults) and is connected to building electrical circuits via a proper transfer switch so as to use the building ground system, adding another earth grounding rod for the generator is redundant.  If the generator is not connected to the building ground system, the generator needs to be grounded in some other way.  While redundancy is normally a good thing, when it comes to grounding it can get complicated and confusing and adding this redundancy may not be appropriate.  The primary issue is the potential of creating undesirable grounding loops that conflict with the building grounding system.  And not all buildings use grounding rods.  Some buildings (e.g., like our home), use the building's concrete encased footing rebar to create a capacitive approach (i.e., "Ufer" ground system) that provides a better AC ground where dry soil conditions exist than would be possible by using grounding rods.  And to make things even more confusing, much of the information on the Internet is wrong.

If you are interested in green construction, this is good forum when it isn't being overrun by spammers and AHs:

http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com/Forums.aspx

My wife Gayle frequently tries to help folks there.

I think using OSB in wall primary structure or where it can significantly outgas into a building is a bad idea.  However, OSB does utilize wood scraps in a productive way and using it as exterior wall sheathing makes sense.

PEX has a 25 year warranty, a 50 year design life and a 200-300 year potential actual life if not degraded by chlorine or UV.  As such, it is the perfect solution for slab hydronic radiant floor heating.  It has been used extensively in Europe for about 60 years, but it has only been used in the US for about 30 years.  It was only approved for use in California about 10 years ago.  So it will be a while before we will know if a 200-300 year life is actually achievable, but there are many slabs in Europe that are still being heated with PEX that is now at least 60 years old.

I would say that if you have chlorine in your water, you have a much larger health risk issue than by using PEX.  And while people may debate the health benefits/risks of using chlorine versus the risk waterborne disease from not using it, chlorine has been conclusively shown to convert organic material in water in carcinogenetic substances.  So it is better to completely eliminate chlorine from your water and use UV to eliminate the waterborne disease risk.

The study on the effect of human ingestion of plastic has been well underway for at least 40 years now.  There are micro plastic fibers in all water supplies and in all food sources.  It has been estimated that the average person consumes something like the equivalent of a couple plastic credit cards every week.  Like fossil fuel generated global warming and the associated companies that have concealed it for decades because they financially benefit, I suspect the consequences of human plastic ingestion are already well known and will be successfully concealed from the public for a long time by the companies that financially benefit.  As long as there are clueless and ignorant people, these companies will rule to the detriment of public welfare.  Look at how tobacco companies have successfully evolved to vaping and continue to poison and kill many people.  In any event, don't be afraid of PEX because you are already ingesting way more potentially toxic forms of plastic than you will ever get from PEX.

What else to discuss?  How about quantum entanglement...something that keeps me awake many nights...  Or perhaps more germane to this forum, how about helping me build some software that will optimize and kick out all the required design parameters to build PMGs suitable for hydroelectric or wind power at any given site.  I chatted with Bob G about this not too long ago, but haven't found the time to do much about it.

Happy New Year to one and all!

Yes, there are still even places that don't have any building codes at all, but building codes will for the most part keep you from doing something dumb.  Sort of like Mil Specs.  No one really likes them because they can be a PIA to comply, but you can usually find the names of people who were killed or injured that motivated the creation of these regulations.  I recognize some people will never appreciate that reality and they will feel slighted by any regulations because they see this as a restriction of their freedom.  But I see those people as simply ignorant or self serving.  As George Carlin expressed so well, there are no freedoms or rights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9-R8T1SuG4

I don't think many plumbers use copper anymore except maybe for repairing old copper plumbing systems.  PEX is really the only way to go these days and specifically PEX Type A that allows using ProPEX expansion fittings which are far superior to PEX crimp fittings.  This is how I plumbed our place and I would highly recommend it over copper, PVC and CPVC having done those methods years ago too.  PEX Type A doesn't burst if it freezes multiple times and as long as it isn't exposed to UV, it will likely last forever.  The primary advantage of PEX is that it can be easily routed where needed with minimal or no fittings.  My creek/well water system panel shows an example of PEX using ProPEX expansion fittings:

http://www.microcogen.info/index.php?topic=3702.0

Thanks and it was a fun project that kept us in power when we had outages that lasted several days.  No, other projects have prevented me from getting it online at our new place.  I have a portable 12kV propane generator that I can use in the mean time, but I hope to get 6/1 humming again before this Winter is over.

I suspect the reason there isn't anything showing the finished building is because when they received the quote for the electrical/plumbing they had to significantly delay or abandon the project...

Plumbing is way more work even with ICF where at least you have the option to hot knife the interior EPS insulation to create the required horizontal and vertical plumbing channels.  However, you don't have that option with this Lego construction method because similar to SIPs, the OSB is the primary structural element and similar to roof trusses, you can't cut them...  And similar to SIPs, if the adhesive fails over time for any reason (usually because of bad product quality control, heat or moisture issues), the structural integrity of the building is completely lost and it becomes a tear down.  So yes, you would have to place horizontal and vertical fir strips to create the required exterior wall electrical/plumbing channels...and steel plate everyplace the electrical/plumbing lines are less than 1.5" from the drywall...  

If you don't have any exterior hose bibs, you could reduce the number of required exterior wall plumbing channels by just bringing the main cold water line up the interior side of wall and into the ceiling cavity to accomplish the required cold/hot water line runs.  Except for kitchen islands and some other exceptions, most State building codes don't allow running cold/hot water lines under a slab...and when you are allowed, they need to be placed in conduit just like under slab electrical lines.  Waste lines are fine under a slab but they need to have chases wherever they pass through concrete (e.g., footings).

If I were building a 400ish SF place, I would consider using steel SIPs.  This would cost way less, go up way faster and be way more structurally sound than this Lego construction method.  And for a place this small, the risk of adhesive failure can be reasonably accepted and steel doesn't rot or warp.  Most SIP manufactures will pre-cut doors/windows and create the electrical/plumbing channels to your spec for little additional cost.  There have been many OSB SIP failures in recent years and I would strongly recommend avoiding that product for any project needing a 20 year or longer life.  Using SIPs for roofs is less risky because they can be removed and replaced if they fail.

Yes, OSB outgassing is a huge issue and another reason to not use anything that contains OSB within the interior of a building.  I imagine the insulation is EPS and that is relatively inert and a much greener product unlike XPS which does outgas and eventually becomes the same R-value as EPS.  I also imagine this Lego wall has a R-value well in excess of R60 which is well beyond the point of insulation diminishing returns in 95% of where construction is accomplished.

Wow, that's an absolutely terrible construction approach...  Very expensive, electrical/plumbing nightmare, lots of tiny crappy OSB sections to fail, rot and warp,  and very weak structurally.  I didn't think it was possible to get worse than Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), but I guess it is...and another illustration of how clueless and ignorant people can be.  Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) is really the only way to accomplish construction these days IMHO.