Micro CoGen.

Looking forward to it.

Hello everyone! I'm alive and well and I hope your all doing well! Is been sometime and I'm planning making a new thread on this R165 diesel within the next week!  Or maybe continue on this forever lasting thread lol?  Its been put away I think since 2021 with over 2200 hours, i did a tear down and never put it back together! Im planning showing pics of the wear and tear and build it back up with new parts just for the fun of it! I've acquired many new parts over the last few years, even found a valve seat cutter kit for the engine my reason for that purchased will be explained soon! I have some cool gear for the fuel system, a very simple self purging fuel system, many pics of interesting parts and gadgets coming soon! 

Quote from: vdubnut62 on October 15, 2023, 02:19:03 PMDon't get your hopes up for rural Tennessee. I had 28 acres of unimproved land in the middle of nowhere
Tennessee. As I am getting too old to start too many new projects, I offered it to one of the local Mennonites for $229k and he offered me $125K.
Long story short, I hired a realtor and he got $340K for land I could have bought 30 years ago for $600
an acre.
    The world has gone crazy

Sounds like your land prices are not far from ours. I own 53 acres tgat I bought for $35,000 a out 38 years ago, tillable farm ground. Recent selling prices here are averaging $20,000 per acre for large parcels of tillabke land and 2-3 acre buildable lots are fetching just about whatever is asked.

I've been looking at it too. PV panel efficiency on my 21 Sharp 167 watt panels from 2007 is 12%. New panels are now availale >26%.

I have been putting together my solar PV system for use in spring on my off grid property.  Some things have changed, in fact one could say that everything has changed in off grid power since 2014 when I started buying components.

Back in 2014 I bought 6x 275W Canadian solar Mono panels.  They have an open circuit voltage of 39V
I bought a Midnite Solar Classic 200 charge controller, this can accept up to 200V DC from the solar array.

The new stuff I recently bought:
a 24V 4000W Sungoldpower low frequency inverter with 24V DC in, 240V Ac in from generator, 240V split phase AC output and capable of starting loads up to 12kW for 20 seconds.  Thus great for large air compressors or deep well pumps.  This unit was $896+ taxes, free shipping.

I bought 4x 24V LiFePO 75Ah batteries  thus will have 300Ah @ 24V nominal. This cost $1725 including sales tax and shipping to my door.

Finally today I bought a new solar charge controller that can accept up to 450V dc from the solar array.  Apparently I never did the math when I bought the original 200V charge controller  because my string of 6 panels in series comes to 234V and in cold weather this might go up to 250V so out of bounds for the voltage limit on the charge controller.  Now one can connect 3 in series x 2 strings in parallel but it adds complication because one then needs to fuse the individual panels because the array could feed power into a failed solar panel and cause a fire. 

So I went with:https://sungoldpower.com/collections/solar-charger-inverter/products/3000w-24v-solar-inverter-charger?variant=39675861893257
It was $509 + taxes and free shipping.

I have another $380 in 1/0 cable, crimp lugs for the cable, tools to cut cable and crimp the lugs, battery disconnect, solar array disconnect with circuit breaker, 175A fuse for the battery system, red and black busbars and finally an adjustable 0-30V regulated power supply to get the individual batteries to the same state of charge before they get connected.

The mini trucks come on a dedicated vehicle transport, not in containers.
My Son In Law has imported several in the last few months. My Supercharged Subaru was about 1400 bucks to get herea few weeks ago.

Do you have pictures of these units? I have pretty good knowledge of these PMGs. Most likely going to have to spin them in the 2700 - 3600 RPM range to make voltage. Were designed to output 52Vdc in a high wye config while being attached to a small air cooled engine.

-Eric

I had noticed that prices had gone way up and fewer listings because much land has been bought by real estate investment companies.  Same in CO and I guess many other places.

Don't get your hopes up for rural Tennessee. I had 28 acres of unimproved land in the middle of nowhere
Tennessee. As I am getting too old to start too many new projects, I offered it to one of the local Mennonites for $229k and he offered me $125K.
Long story short, I hired a realtor and he got $340K for land I could have bought 30 years ago for $600
an acre.
    The world has gone crazy

The closing went smoothly.  Title insurance this time around was only $76 whereas it was quoted over $750 on the previous purchase which failed.  Closing costs were under $500.   

Knowing that I will be working until mid July before I can relocate, then allowing a month for driving 4 major loads from MI to CO at 2600 miles round trip and about 1 week each, I have had to re-think what I will be building in what is left of the building season, getting started mid August.   I went onto the Menards project center and used their "design a garage" tool and after a few iterations I settled on a 32'x40' configuration.  One can only use "standard" roof trusses in the design tool, but it certainly allows one to get an idea of the material costs that go into the shell of a building.

Here is the spec in the quote:
Picture


 Building Info
Building Location Zip Code:   49201
Building Width:   32'
Estimate includes selection of prebuilt trusses with overhangs to trim to size.
Building Length:   40'
Building Height:   8'
Curb:   Poured Curb
Curb Height:   4"
Foundation Type:   Thickened Slab
Wall Framing Stud:   2 x 6
Roof Framing:   Truss Construction
Truss Type:   Common
Roof Pitch:   4/12 Pitch
Eave Overhang:   18"
Gable Overhang:   24"
Custom Garage Plan:   No I do not need a custom building plan
Wall Info
Siding Material Types:   Through Fastener Steel Panel (Pro-Rib)
Through Fastener Steel Siding:   Cut to Length Pro-Rib® Steel Panel, Color: Beige
Steel Corner Trim Color:   Beige
Accent Material Type:   Through Fastener Steel Panel (Pro-Rib)
Through Fastener Accent:   Cut to Length Pro-Rib® Steel Panel, Color: Beige
Endwall A Accent:   yes add gable accent
Endwall B Accent:   yes add gable accent
Wainscot Material Type:   None
Wall Sheathing:   5/8 x 4 x 8 Plywood
House Wrap:   Typar House Wrap 9' x 100'
Gable Vents:   None
Roof Info
Roof Sheathing:   5/8 x 4 x 8 Plywood
Roofing Material Type:   Through Fastener Steel Panel
Through Fastener Steel Roofing:   Cut to Length Pro-Rib® Steel Panel, Color: Beige
SnowBar Trim:   None
Roof Underlayment:   #30 Felt Roofing Underlayment 3' x 72' (216 sq. ft.)
Ice and Water Barrier:   Hydraguard Dual Pro High Temperature Ice & Water Barrier 39-3/8" x 61' (200 sq. ft.)
Fascia Material Type:   Steel Fascia
Fascia:   12' Steel L-6 Fascia, Color: Beige
Soffit Material Type:   Steel Soffit
Soffit:   Steel Vented Soffit Panel, Color: Beige
Gutter Material Type:   Heavy Duty Aluminum
Gutter:   Spectra Metals 5" x 16' K-Style Heavy-Duty Aluminum Gutter, Color: White
Openings
Service Door:   Mastercraft® 36W x 80H White Smooth Fiberglass 6-Panel Composite Frame
Service Door:   Mastercraft® 36W x 80H White Smooth Fiberglass 6-Panel Composite Frame
Windows:   34"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Double Hung
Windows:   34"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Double Hung
Windows:   60"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Slider
Windows:   60"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Slider
Windows:   60"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Slider
Windows:   48"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Slider
Windows:   48"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Slider
Additional Options
Ceiling Insulation:   Blow-in Fiberglass
Ceiling Insulation R Value:   R49 EcoFill WX Fiberglass Blown-in Insulation
Wall Insulation:   None
Ceiling Finish:   5/8 x 4 x 8 Type X Fire-Rated Drywall
Wall Finish:   5/8 x 4 x 8 Type X Fire-Rated Drywall
Mounting Blocks:   No
Hydronic Radiant Heat:   Yes
Heat Source:   None
Anchor bolt:   Grip Fast® 1/2 x 10 HDG Anchor Bolt w/ Nut & Washer
Framing Fasteners:   Grip Fast® 3-1/4 16D Vinyl-Coated Smooth Shank Sinker Nail - 5 lb. Box
Sheathing Fasteners:   Grip Fast® 2-1/2 8D Vinyl-Coated Smooth Shank Sinker Nail - 5 lb. Box
Truss Fastener:   FastenMaster® TimberLOK® 5/16 x 6 Hex Drive Black Hex Head Timber Screw - 50 Count

Seems a pretty modest package price for a 1280 sq foot building shell.  Internal framing, concrete slab and all the rest will have to be added.  But this represents the point that Im trying to reach before snow flies next winter...  I will not be using the conventional trusses as shown, it will be a modified mono truss.  In other words a shed style roof sloping to one side.  Instead of the high side being vertical, it will incline back at 30 degrees off the vertical and provide a surface to mount the solar panels at an angle ideal for winter sun.  Usually on summer days one has a surplus of solar power and cant do anything with it whereas in winter one needs all the power one can get and then some.   The single slope means a single gutter, feeding a 5000 gal buried cistern which at a later date will be connected to the well, once I can afford that $30k expense.

Concrete in Custer County is about 60% more expensive than the national average at $211/yard so it would be about $3000 for the slab + labor for pouring and finishing which I have no local quote for at this stage.  I will be using rockwool insulation in the wall cavities since it has superior fire resistance, but the roof insulation will be R50 blown in fiberglass.  The attic insulation is already in the quote, the wall insulation not.  I will be sheathing the interior walls with 5/8" plywood prior to drywall and all sheathing will be glued and screwed for a very strong structure.  The same with the roof sheathing which will be 3/4" plywood.   In the kitchen area I am likely to do 3/4" ply sheathing under the drywall for ease in mounting kitchen cabinets.  One can basically put a screw anywhere and it will hold.   My pet peeve trying to hang kitchen cabinets when there is 24" center to center of the studs...  The same applies to shelves and anything else one might want to to attach to walls later...  Elk antlers and the like...