Micro CoGen.

Hi Fellas, here in southern Australia we get hammered for electricity , $0.37 for daytime $0.20 for nighttime( 11pm-7am) and $1.30 a day just to have the wire on the house !! so solar and battery work well and battery is easy to charge from any source. also one GTI inverter we have access to can be set to peak shave thou only used for commercial at the moment, how long before they do the same for domestic use.
 

Hi all,
     not been here for a long time as life got in my way. I have a question that I'd like answered if possible. I've looked everywhere I could think of on google but no  success.
     I have a tractorpac 225amp welder gen, powered by a Yamaha E1400 2cyl diesel, best I can find is its a rebadged Kabota ?? The welder puts out 60v open circuit . I have a 750ah @ 48v battery bank that needs to be charged. can/should I just hook the leads up and see what happens ?? I can turn it down and run it through a 60a solar charge controller if you think that may help ?? Any ideas or comments are most welcome,
    Thanks
           Ian

Sorry all, but I saw nothing wrong with anything that was writen.
Instructions where clear and safe IMO option
I did do it here after consulting a EE, the main problem I did have was that the gen seemed to upset the solar inverters enough to take them offline, that was the only reason I stopped going in that direction
Now setting up useing a 50 amp DC gen to charge batts, when they get to 54v then a couple GTI's kick in and feeds back to grid safely and almost legal 


       Ian

Hello foco,
        Don't let everyones coments put you off, just pointing out the pitfalls , and there are many!!! As a suggestion read veggie's thread on a slow speed changfa , a very good read indeed if all you need is a modist output. All I'm after is about the same 1 - 1.5kw but constant and I'm curently trying a 165 same as glort.
        If you continue on this path you have my vote, as long as you keep us  updated with the good, bad and ugly.
        Lastly you are right, if we took our time into account $$$$$ just goto work and pay the power bill.
       Ian

Glort,
          Read your PM's, I think I may habe what your chasing. And Im in Oz :-)

way to go Bob,
        love it when people think outside the box, and in such a simple way. That way of coupling would make life so much easier in so many ways
            Ian

Veg the power supply I use/used is from those 12v hellagin  lights that sit flush with the ceiling, everyone here knows them as "down lights" cause they only point down, very little light spread so you need at least 4 to a room .
     I will save my rant about the stupidment for another day although we do all seem to think the same,and yes I'm in OZ as well ( central Vic )

FWIW, when I was running a line heater I just ran it off an old down light power supply 12v 100w, never missed a beat

  uber39

I'm the type that has a thought and runs with it, most things work - some should never have been started.
wind gen works a treat ( very old commercial model though )
solar trackers, see whats in the junk piles, a couple of universal beams - trailer axles - half a day with angle grinder and welder. Jobs done, didn't take twist into acc. and had to add a couple of rear legs, that problem solved, a week ago had a bad wind storm that took out one actuator, I'll repair soon as it pulled out the bearing that holds the whole thing together.
cogen ?? another story, but gett'in there   

The units can be purchased from their web site $130 USD
speed is calced from wheel diameter so you should be able to work it to tell RPM. I'll have a think about the maths and see how I go ??
I must admit its much more fun then the golf cart gauge I had before.
     

        Ian

this is the gauge that I now use on my EV, it takes all its measures off an external shunt.
http://www.ebikes.ca/drainbrain.shtml
You know how many Amps you start with, and this tells you how many Amps you've taken out
Also tells Volts and speed and distance and Watts per mile the list goes on.
   


      Ian

Hi Guy's     
    don't forget some of us still use some 32v stuff and 4x8v still works for us. In my EV the 12v acc batt died while shopping so needed a new batt there and then ( controller works off the 12v batt ) so went beck into dept store and could only get standard auto batt, so bought the cheapest one I could $79.00 later , get home and order another deep cycle batt but also put 12v desulfator on the little one I just put in there. That was 4yrs ago and the little batts still in there and going fine it gets charged when the main pack is charged and runs all 12v items in the car, lights wipers radio etc. I do sometimes get home in the dark with dim lights and a buzzing instead of a radio- so a very run down batt but it charges back up again and still seems happy.
    Just saying that I to do like the desulfators and run them on all lead acid batts here   
Out of curiosity what are you guys paying for Trojan T104's $360.00 each here.
         Ian

most EV controllers that have regen get their signal from the brake light switch,Kelly Controllers do a regen controller, not recommending Kelly although I do use them I don't really like them, but if you want regen their a lot cheaper then most.
        Ian

1. what prime mover are you using or planning to use?
     
2. what hp or kwatt (mechanical) output is the prime mover?
      4hp@3000 rpm

3. what generator are you using? AC only? DC only? or both?
      DC only

4. how long have you had the unit?
      This one- still under construction-6 months

5. how long does it run or are you planning to run,  per day, week, month or year?
      8 ish hours a day( heating season only ) I hope

6. is the unit used for primary power, backup, emergency, or?
     Setting up as heater with benefits

7. do you harvest the waste heat and use that heat?  if so for what purpose? domestic hot water
production, space heating or both?
     All heat to be harvested- space and domestic

8. if you are not harvesting the waste heat, are you planning to do so?  do you have any interest in doing so?
     
9. do you use any form of automation, such as autostart?
     As simple as possable, check oil & water then hit the big green button

10. if you do not use automation, would you do so if it were commonly available and reasonable in price?
       YES, all that stuff is beyond me

11. how would you rank fuel efficiency of a unit, not very important, somewhat important, moderately important, very important, or most important.
       For me I would say fairly important

now a couple of other questions

12. where do you find the information you rely on to make decisions about your genset designs?
         Mostly here- Thank you all

13. do you feel that there is enough information available to you to make good decisions regarding design?
         !00 diff engines = almost 100 diff designs. What I think will be simple takes me forever,

14. if you are frustrated or find it difficult to find information, what sorts of information would you like to find?
          All of it , but in simple english

15. if there was a book available on some facet or facets of power generation for offgrid applications such as what is typical on this forum, what would you find as being a must have or rather what would you like to see in such a book?
       As above
16. please feel free to add other comments that you might have an interest in sharing.
       When you write the book, please use similar style to your white paper, and let me know where to bye it 

When I bought my 160 it came with a wrench to undo the flywheel nut, in the handle are two holes that line up with the threaded holes in the flywheel, insert two bolts that hold the pulley on through the holes across the crank and it pulls the flywheel. At least thats how mine works ?
      uber39