Micro CoGen.

Quote from: glort on October 29, 2013, 07:41:50 PM

Manufacturers take, as with most everything else, a very overly protective and conservative approach to Bio.
I'm pretty sure you aren't going to find too many ( maybe only Mercedes) that would have anything in their "directions" about 2T other than to say they don't reccomend/ allow it. 


None of them would " allow" bio over 5-15% to be used however there are thousands of people around the world that have been running 100% for many years without problem. As for Veg oil, well every manufacturer will effectively tell you that your engine won't make it out of your street if you put that stuff in.
Wonder how many million miles have been traveled on it so far?
I'm coming up to 200K myself.

Manufacturers recommendations are more about arse covering and legalities than any actual indication of what is actually good or bad for their engines.

One of the exceptions to this is a modern vehicle with a diesel particulate filter.  Since they use a regen mode to clean it, and bio/dino diesel have different combustion properties, there are problems.  Mostly it ends up being fuel diluting the crankcase oil because of cylinder washdown of the biodiesel.   I haven't heard if they've fixed the problem yet, or just tell you to not use over 5% bio.

Michael

I agree that the alternator becomes similar  to industrial 3 phase motors.  The main difference is the industrial motors use induction, instead of field windings on the armature.  Standard VFD (variable frequency drives) take AC, convert to DC, and then recreate the AC at the needed frequency.  Speed is controlled by the frequency.

To use the alternator as a motor, you would disconnect the diodes, connect a separate wire to each phase, and provide a field current.   The greater the slip (difference between AC frequency and motor rpm/frequency) the greater the current.  If you use one of the RC ESC, I believe they will vary the frequency to accelerate up to speed, so no large startup draw.

I think (haven't seen a manual) that the RC ESC's should have a default mode.  You don't have to tweak the settings if you don't want to.  The problem I see, however, is that you need a servo signal to control the speed.  I may be off  the wall, but since it's RC equipment...

Something I'm wondering about is how fast would a 555-110 turn using 60hz power?  If it was fast enough to start an engine, you could use a static phase converter to make 3 phase out of simple single phase from an inverter, and feed that to the alternator.  Use transformers to get the voltage down to an acceptable level...

Michael

Really nice idea for a starter on the listeroid...

Interesting thread on converting an alternator to power a 2 seat buggy.
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=16328&sid=24adc8e3466209fd76e8f6991ed1a6d6

Michael

L110 spider is 3.31" OD  L225 spider is 4.98" OD.  The jaws will not line up because of the difference in diameters.  You might get some overlap, but who knows what the torque capability will be.  Just go with the L110's.

Michael

Concerning the hand crank:  did you activate the de-compression lever before trying to crank the engine?  Typical starting method for crank starting is to depress the lever, crank the engine to get some speed going, release the lever, and power through  the compression stroke.

At 30hp, I can see it being a problem to start even with the use of the de-compression lever.

Where are you located?  How much was the engine?

Michael

Quote from: bschwartz on December 23, 2012, 04:35:36 PM
I find it funny that it is rated for diesel, but "*not for fuel injected applications* "
Since all diesels are fuel injected............

Sounds funny, but...

Diesel rating is probably for the seals.  Injector rating is for the pressure.  Typical fuel injection system (gas) is 40-80psi.

Michael

Edit for OP:  Who makes the injection pump?  I'm used to VW Bosch systems, and they tend to be rebuildable.  Many times with just a seal kit.  More typical is plugged filters or screen in the tank.  Does your truck have a check valve?  Some times they stick, and you don't get any fuel.

I agree with Ronmar.  Just take a look at this list of shields (daughterboards)  http://playground.arduino.cc/Main/SimilarBoards

You don't have to be an EE or advanced computer user to made a useful system with the arduino.  Want GPS?  there's a shield for that.  Code library is already written, so all you have to do is a little bit of glue code to get what you need.  Motor/servo control?  There's a shield for that as well.  How about cell phone communication for your project?

As for speed, there are several boards out there with varying performance.  If you need more, this is a silly idea: http://arduino.cc/forum/index.php/topic,6915.0.html  Don't know how practical it is, however.  They've also set Arduinos for master/slave as well.  http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/MasterWriter  You could even make a canbus network with the proper shields.  The slaves would be sensors/controllers, while the main arduino would provide overall control.  I don't think the discussion should be why you should use the arduino, but rather, will it work for you.  If it will work, then the various shields make interfacing with the real world very easy.

I think the excitement comes from the fact that the arduino is almost leggo like in its uses and ease of use.  Its a toy/hobby level system that almost anyone can use.  Did I mention cheap as well?

Michael

I thought the search would be easy.  That was harder than I thought...

What you want to look for is Shrouded Right Angle headers.  .100" x .100" or 2.54mm x 2.54mm pitch.


http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/5103308-8/A33170-ND/1114908

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/5103310-8/A33187-ND/1114925

Hopefully this is what you're looking for.

Michael

Couldn't sleep last night, so I was thinking about the conversion of a diesel engine to NG or LP.  What does it take?  You need spark, fuel, and compression.  Compression is fine, whatever it is.  LP will not autodetonate even at diesel compression ratios, so that makes it easy.  Is NG the same?  Spark is not terribly difficult if you re-use the injector hole.  The listeroids could have the sparkplug in the compression changeover plug.  Use a small engine coil or one of the after-market electronic ignition units.  That only leaves controlling the fuel.  You can get an IMPCO propane carb/throttle body for under $200.  Make a linkage to the governor, or get/make one of the electronic ones.

I have no clue if the engine will run at all well, but I don't see why not.  The thing I'm trying to decide is if it makes more sense to get a small honda civic engine, add a large flywheel, and run it slow at 900rpm.

What causes an engine to wear out?  The number of engine strokes?  Un-oiled starting?  Run the engine slow and adding a pre-run oil pump should make it last longer.  The question is:  just how long?  I've heard of a Honda engine running for 13k hours when it wasn't started all that often.  How long would a cheap used Honda Civic engine last?  I see them on ebay or Craigslist for under $500.

Just musing on the many possibilities.

Michael

I had been thinking of two of the ideas that have been brought up:  outboard and cutting the fins off of one of the cheap honda clones.  I don't know anything about outboards, so I don't know how long they would last.  I was thinking that light, high speed, high power/weight ratios  wouldn't make a decent long running engine.  Do they have cast iron bores/inserts?  If they do, then its a matter of getting a larger one and  running it slower with a flywheel.

For the Honda clone, I was looking up the GX200 parts diagrams.  The cylinder/crankase isn't that simple of a part to cast.  I was thinking that machining off the fins and having a bolt-on/clamp-on water jacket would make the most sense.  I like the idea that anyone with a bit of mechanical ability could use a sawzal and grinder to convert a commonly available engine.

For the water cooled motorcycle engine...  the same procedure could be used for the head.  You could then have a totally liquid cooled engine.  Then again, maybe its the selection of engine.  I'm pretty sure that goldwing engines are totally water cooled.  Others probably are as well.  Downside is cost, of course.

Michael


GX200 cylinder casting

This thread is interesting because I've been thinking about how to use the power unit I'm building.  Since its air cooled, I was considering using a Geo Metro radiator to capture some of the waste heat from the engine.  I intend to enclose the engine for noise control anyway, so ducting the air through the radiator is simple.  If the engines fan in the recoil start/flywheel doesn't provide enough air for adequate cooling, I was going to use a lovejoy coupler on the end of the shaft and drive a home built blower rotor.  Size it for adequate air flow, but not so much that it uses excessive fuel to drive it.

The point of this is that the engine I'm using is a 6hp cheap Honda clone for less than $200.  I STILL don't have the listeroid running, and I'm afraid of all the problems it will have when get it running.  Its a 12-2, so broken cam shafts, bad idler... Instead of getting the listeroid going first,  I've decided to go the way Google did with their computer servers:  plan that they'll fail, get backups in place, and buy commodity parts.  They don't get server grade computers at higher cost, they just have a maintenance/backup system that lets servers fail without effecting the system as a whole.  My commodities engine is a Honda clone.

My power unit should cost about $1000 for 1.6kw of pure sine wave power.  Someone mentioned $30k for the marathon unit, which will have 2.5-5kw of power.  I can buy a lot of clone engines, or even real Honda engines for the difference.  Even going to a water cooled ATV/motorcycle/lawnmower engine will be less expensive, and make heat recovery easier.  I have to check out the xls file on fuels to see how gas compares to propane for the off grid farm.  If I install the system at home, with natural gas, and sell back to the electric company, I wonder if they'll notice that the 100w solar panel is putting out 1000w of power, even at night?

What makes the Marathon engine so special?  I've heard of Honda engines running for 10,000+ hours.  If you doubled the size you need, and run it half speed, could you get similar life out of the Honda?  Running it on propane or natural gas will help last a long time, and increase the maintenance interval.  I'm just wondering if there's any breakthroughs in technology, or is it just how the set them up?

One question I have about using diesel engines is:  why?  Yes they get better fuel efficiency, but we're talking about CHP, aren't we?  We WANT waste heat.  Diesel was always cheaper than gas, until I bought my VW Jetta TDI.  Now its priced like premium around here.  It makes it hard to justify the extra $6k purchase price.  It used to be that diesels needed a lot less maintenance, as long as you used good fuel.  Now, with electronic ignition and fuel injection, you don't even tune up a car for 100,000 miles.  Don't get me started on the 2006 TDI engines need for a new camshaft after 150,000-250,000 miles.  Diesels last longer, but do the numbers add up?  $200 for a gas engine or $550 for the diesel engine for my power unit.  Add the fact that I can run propane/cheap NG in the gas engine, and the answer isn't as clear as it once was.

I've become less of a fan for really cool engines that do exactly what you want, but are uncommon/unavailable.  I'll settle for a common as dirt engine that does most of what you want with a few modifications.  I'm looking at the 3cly geo metro engines fairly closely.  I wonder how slow it can run with 300#s of flywheel attached?

Michael

I agree with looking at Surplus Center.  Here's a link to their double groove, fixed bore page:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/sort.asp?catname=powerTrans&keyword=PPP2

and here's to the double groove, interchangeable bore/hub pulleys:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/sort.asp?catname=powerTrans&keyword=PPT2

Many of the pulleys are made to use both A and B belts.  The B belt rides higher up in the groove, so larger diameter.

I like the pulleys that use the hubs.  If properly installed, they don't even need a key to transmit power, but I'm a "belts and suspenders" kind of guy, so I still use a key.

Michael

Just came across this document from Balmar, about their alternators.  Not sure if this helps, but its one more data point.

Michael




The paragraph in question is:

*************************************************************************
Pulleys
Most small case alternators rated at 110 amps or less come standard with a single
groove deep vee pulley. The deep vee pulley is designed to provide optimal
power transfer for belts measuring 3/8" (10mm) to 1/2" (13mm), as measured
across the back of the belt. Keep in mind, 3/8" and 7/16" belts may sit low in
the pulley sheave. This will not adversely affect the belt's performance. Higher
output alternators (120+ amps) in small, large and extra-large case series
are equipped standard with 1/2" dual groove pulleys. Some models, including
622-Series alternators may be equipped with multi-groove serpentine
type pulleys. Should your application require a different pulley than that provided
as standard, Balmar may carry an optional pulley more suited to your
needs. For a list of optional pulleys, visit http://www.balmar.net/pulleymatrix.htm,
or call Balmar Customer Service at 360-435-6100.

************************************

According to this document from Delco Remy, the mounting style is different.  The 10SI has a small threaded mounting hole at the top, and a single wider hole at the bottom.  The 22SI has a split bracket on the bottom.  The hole spacing is also different.  6.6" vs 7.8" on the 10SI vs 22SI.

Since both alternators use a swinging top bracket, I don't think the difference in hole spacing will be a problem, as long as the 22SI fits in the space.  The bottom bracket needs to be different, however.

Michael

If I lived in tornado alley, I'd be building a monolithic dome.  There's at least one thats resisted a tornado.  From wikipedia it appears to have been only an F2, but started as a strong F3+.  Still... a direct hit with virtually no damage.  Build it stronger, and it should take the hit from a F4 or F5, as long as it didn't get sucked up into the air.

As for stupid people...  I like the story about the idiot that built his house on stilts in the floodplain, and complains that he just couldn't believe this would ever happen to him, just like last years flooding.

High priced houses on the ocean that slide down the hill, east coast houses that can't take huricane force winds, houses in flood plains that are destroyed when they get flooded...  it makes you wonder.  Except for the "my property has slid into the ocean", most of the damages could be minimized if the buildings were constructed correctly.  Insurance, and the demand that houses are boxes means theres always going to be a lot of rebuilding.

Michael

Edit:  Cool!!!  here's an F3 tornado against a monolithic dome.  And how about the "Tornado Tamer" door.