Why are you here?

[BioHazard]

This is something I find myself wondering more and more about certain members here. What are you doing on this website? What is your interest here, relating to cogeneration? Do you live off grid somewhere power is unavailable or unreliable? Are you trying to "beat the meter" and make energy for cheaper than your utility company? Are you experimenting, and trying to come up with an idea, product, or process that isn't currently available? Just trying to be more efficient in your life? Or are you just overly fascenated by generators of all sorts, like I am?

For me it's about freedom from the grid, you're going to cut off my power because I didn't pay the bill on time? Bring it on!

[playdiesel]

I am what is technicaly known as a "motorhead" Have had my hands inside of engines since they were removed from a bottle by my father. I like all of them, new, old, big and small fueled by whatever.  I found out about off-grid (realy ), cogeneration, and the goofy thongs you guys run for "fuel" when one of the members sent me to the old LEF to learn about ST generator heads so I could build a stand by unit to power with one of me tractors. Unfortunatly this was about the time the big LEF kabang happened and I thought where did everybody go?? Searching for more info on the importnat part of these forums, the engines eventualy lead me here and and I didnt eat drink or make love to the wife until I found a Listeroid to play with. Kinda like the people here so I hung around. I try to help out a bit with engine problems otherwise I just enjoy the banter and try to learn about what you do.

[wrightkiller]

Me to    what he said 

[billswan]

Well
I generate lots of WMO from farming and a small repair shop. After finding out how much a new waste oil burning boiler cost and the fact that most boilers were 250000 btu's and i need smaller I though why not an engine. I knew you could run wmo in diesels and the a farm magazine called farm show had an article on listeroids. From there to the web and to rocketboys web site and then by his recommendation to lef and then here. And along the way first a 10/1 of ebay and the a 16/1 from sam crosby.

Billswan

[Rom]

I started because I found the RA Lister to be amusing. A cousin was working on an outisland and a second homeowner said he could have a VA on a fabricated Lister base if he could carry it.

Needed a new crank and big end bearing, and a couple internet searches led me to LEF, and after reading through nearly all of the old posts, I chose to order parts and a 16/2 from Mr Atul Patel at Anand Enterprise. I thought of getting one of the larger engines, but decided to stay with the models that were built by Lister so I had definate numbers on bump clearance, etc.

My thoughts were orginally wvo, but it wasnt that easy to get in steady supply. Now wmo on the other hand, with 2 boatyards on this one island, and other service places nearby, I have more than I can burn.

I was gonna run the lister as a hobby, couple hours a day, just to offset costs of a Kw/h or 2, which was 45cents then, now they are almost 60cents. With what some doomsayers are saying about the world, it seems like a good idea to have the parts and a generator that can run on anything when/if the fuel supply dries up. Right now they are calling for 8-9$ a gallon this summer, who can afford that?

Rom

[mobile_bob]

jeesh Rom, haven't you heard?  burning waste motor oil will end life as we know it!

just kidding, couldn't help myself

your application is an excellent example that supports the idea that making such a statement is probably not a good idea.

when diesel is 9bucks a gallon, folks will resort to burning dog pee if it is possible even if the engines lifespan is measured
in 100's of hours.

i digress

why am i here?

because i eat, drink and sleep this stuff

i read everything i can get my hands on, on this and a variety of other subjects

i am here because this forum is by design a place where idea's of all sorts can be openly discussed, even if they are not good idea's
(save for overunity, perpetual motion, religion and politics, those best dealt with on other forums)

i am here to learn what i can, teach where it is appropriate to do so, and to share research that i am working on
as well as learn from other work.

got no where else than here i would rather be!

besides i love you guys!




bob g

[mike90045]

This is something I find myself wondering more and more about certain members here. What are you doing on this website? What is your interest here, relating to cogeneration? Do you live off grid somewhere power is unavailable or unreliable? ...

@ BioHazard  - your avatar icon has a typo.  Slow kids are only worth 1 point.  The fast kids are worth 10,000


Back to the topic, I'm building off grid (powerlines are $80K and a monthly bill away) and while looking for backup generation, came across listers and listeroids. I may be able to convince the wife the listeroid was a mistake and try to get a lister from the mythical container.    I've got little engine rebuild experience, but think I have the basics figured out, and will spend next summer (2012) detailing the metro.

[BioHazard]

i am here because this forum is by design a place where idea's of all sorts can be openly discussed, even if they are not good idea's
(save for overunity, perpetual motion, religion and politics, those best dealt with on other forums)

I am really glad you are in charge here bob. There has been more than one forum on the subject of alternative energy that I have been a member of, that frown so much on complete newbies, or people who really think outside the box. I like this forum because I think I will get a respectful, and often quite technical reply to all sorts of things that are outside of common use.

I really think spending time here as a member is worth as much as an expensive college course on a similar subject. (and I never thought learning from one teacher's perspective was any good anyway)

Where else can I vent my frustration of not being able to buy a poorly made 3rd world engine and actually have someone else understand?

[luv2weld]

I'm here for several reasons. The most important one is the power lines are about 27 miles away.
So in order to live almost like a real person, I have to generate everything. We have solar
panels and wind generators, but I have a girl friend that loves TV, internet, and electrical
gadgets. We had a 1800 rpm Onan generator, but I had been wanting a Listeroid for several years.
Got an 8/1, so when the Onan died, we switched to the 'roid.
Been wrenching on things since I was knee high to a duck, so the maintenance is nothing new.
I had converted the Onan to dual fuel (gasoline & propane). Then the cost of propane became
unreal ($3.67) a gallon. So we are saving quite a bit of money by using diesel. We also use
off-road diesel which saves a little more.
One of the other reasons I'm here is, I'm an information junkie. I'm trying to soak up some of the
knowledge that is available here.

So just in case I haven't said it before, thanks to all here for sharing your knowledge and experience!!!

Ralph

[vdubnut62]

Hello everyone, my name is Ron, and I'm an addict.
I first found Rocketboy, he steered me toward LEF, than after "The Crash", JohnF pointed me in this direction. Much better ppl here IMHO.
I'm here to learn, period. So far I've learned not to try to argue politics, how to build a basic genset, and that WMO will completely and irrevocably destroy an engine . Oops sorry, I really cant help myself, I just love a good fight sometimes, but I'm  trying to be better.
I have learned more on this site in a year than I could have learned on my own in 10 years.
I am planning someday, to build a place on some land I own out in the "Deep Weeds" and quarter mile of underground electrical is just too involved,
thus my interest here. At present, I'm playing with my Changfoid, exploring electrical, co-gen and the like.
I'm kinda like BioHazard, all over the place (no disrespect meant Dude, I admire your energetic approach!), I'm just overwhelmed with all the possibilities, and having a hell of a time picking a solid direction.
Thanks to everyone for putting up with me and for all the help. That's from the heart.
Ron

[LowGear]

What I did on Summer vacation this year?

I've learned two, maybe, three things over the years.

I'm hoping for number four this year.

People are fun or is it funny.

Casey

[veggie]

Why am I here.......?
Hmmmmm...I wonder that myself sometimes when I look up at the Milky Way on a clear night.

The love of engines, mechanical things, controls, alternative energy, peak oil preparation, self sufficiency, and of course conversing with like minded fellows such as yourselves.

veggie


Actually, I'm really trying to get a date with mobile_bob's sister and I thought that joining here would get me an "in".  

[wiebe]

Wel ,
I am a boy when he whas little they say what he sees, his hands demolis??
But over time somthings where working again .
And when i see a cilinder block open i must go with my fingers in the cilinder.
later tuning little 50cc motorscycles and then rc boats ,planes,cars ed.
Working for 12 months for a lawnmower/gen/ciansaw shop did the rest.

Yve got 2 knd 3 kubota diesels in my little garage and 3 other gens and run them only for fun.
Hek i cannot even run the kubotas for long time becouse the naburs are to close.
But cranking them to a start is too much fun .
And if the grid goes offline here in the netherlands ive got power.

and on the old lef ,and later here i found gearheads who too loved cranking a handle and starting old stuf .
At work i am maintaining 40 gokarts and 10 bowling lanes.
Gokarts all run on lpg with honda engines.bowling machines are brunswick
And there are 2 mecanics helping with that.

Greetings Wiebe.
ps is loving sniffing diesel exaust fume,s normal??

[bschwartz]

Would Y'all laugh at me if I said I started running WVO in my cars several years ago, and seem to collect more than I can use......
Hey!!! I could get rid of some of it in one of those old looking thumpers.....
Oooooh, I could get some electricity out of it in the process.....
Wow, I can use the waste heat......

You get the idea.


OK, not the whole truth, but a little part of it.

[dieselgman]

I used to live off-grid on an Alaskan mountaintop... ran the old Listers 24-7 and learned to love them. One thing leads to another... pretty soon I've decided to apply this knowledge and operate a business. So, for the past 15 years I have been working on power generation - mostly Lister stuff - in Alaska and in the past 5 years expanded the operation to include warehousing in Kansas for easier distribution. Over that time period I have developed parts sources and quietly built inventory in Alaska and Kansas to the point that we now have some very substantial stocks and capabilities. We buy up old inventories and have purchased a number of Lister dealerships, one of which we maintain and operate in central Kansas. Why this forum? Not just to develop business but mainly to learn as much as possible about good ways to utilize the technology and provide better support for our clients. LEF being down prompted my most recent move to the cogeneration forum. I am all about Lister equipment but share an equal interest in small self-sufficient systems, this is a great place to learn and develop my own ideas.

Gary - dieselgman
Diesel Electric