useful technical books

[mobile_bob]

thought i would start a thread of some of the most useful books i have come across
that relate to offgrid power production

How to make home electicity from wind, water and sunshine
by john a. kuecken
tab books inc. ca 1979

a nice book that comes up on ebay from time to time, full of useful if not a bit dated info
ranging from solar, wind, hydro, steam basically you name it, with examples of automation
and control schemes. i would rate this book very good for the price.

the home power producer's guide to electrical reality
by Bill  Rogers
utterpower.com ca 2006

Bill is one of us, as well as being an EE, so he knows his stuff and can break it down for the rest
of us in a way that makes electicity understandable to just about anyone that is even remotely
serious about learning.  i would rate this book excellent and should be in every diy'ers library

Dynamo-Electric Machinery a manual for students of electrotechnics
by Silvanus P. Thompson
available on ebay, amazon etc.
ca ~1888 to 2005 reprints

if ever there was a book that outlines the inner workings of generators and alternators this is it
as far as i am concerned if not the new testament on the subject certainly the old testament.
loaded with very useful info, theory and history, very readable for those that are interested.
i would rate this a must have for any serious diy'er or experimenter.

there is a few to start with, perhaps others have favorite texts they would like to tell us about

bob g

[highwater]

This was one of the first threads I read, either before I joined or shortly thereafter, and am a sucker for a good tech/ref book, evidenced by the pile behind me, including every college test book I ever purchased. Why get rid of them?

I found both the Kuecken book and the Thompson book on Amazon.

Just finished the "How to make...." by Kuecken. Tried very hard to read all the way through it, but started skipping forward after the halfway mark. My needles point more toward the KISS principal. The author uses a great deal of the part I read, talking about the automation stuff; that being the request-to start, and permission-to-start control, and circuit design of such. And I agree with Bob, that most of the book is a bit dated. I don't recall the author ever stating, "this is how I did it". If he did build some of the solar collector/concentrator stuff that he describes, it likely is still trying to pay for itself, and the book is dated 1979. Huge infrastructure for the base foundation, and the "find a surplus 5 inch gun turret mount off a decommissioned battle ship, for the azimuth and elevation tracking"...dated for sure. Drawings only, no pics in this book.

Just MHO.

I got a 2nd edition reprint of the Thompson dynamo book, it still has my attention.

Randall

[mobile_bob]

Randall:

sorry i missed your post on the two books

kuekens, how to make home electricity is quite dated, but damn
there just isn't anything written more current today that compares in the scope of what he covers.

while much of it might be theory, and i have no idea if he built all he describes, it does provide much food for thought
in my opinion.

i wish there were more books like it to compare it too, maybe there will be down the road.

thompsons book, is just too cool not to have in my opinion.

did your copy come with the fold out plates in the back?  mine have been folded and refolded a jillion times because
it is very old library copy that has been rebound, the plates have been folded wrong, and many are loose and torn
i am considering removing them and having them copied at kinkos, and reinserting new ones.

some of the old plates i am thinking of framing or mounting on panels to hang on the wall.

very cool from a time when form followed function, and if you were going to make something you made it look good too.

bob g

[highwater]

Hi Bob,

The copy of Thompson's book that I got, is a new reprint of the second edition printing of the year 1886. According the the preface the first printing was in 1884. There are no foldouts...darn. If they look anything like the illustrations, they would indeed look very cool hanging on the wall. Wish this printing had them. My bookmark is at the midpoint currently.

If you have a first edition, those things were listed in the 200USD range on Amazon, when I ordered mine. Looks like you have a treasure.

On Kuecken.... I was just a bit lacking in the applause due to the lack of ......shall we say "dirty hands".
And I will say, that without the engineering, we would all be screwed. His book seems to me to be short on, for instance, what we are getting in your- high cyclic automotive alt mod- thread and whitepaper. Just seems he never got to say "Ouch, that motor is hot."

Since we are getting a new winter storm, every freekin' weekend. I will likely get to go back and go through it again.
I'm to cheap to burn the NG to heat the shop, so I may be suffering from cabin fever this winter.

Was just loading up on info, before asking questions on my project. Glad I found you guys.

Randall

[highwater]

Just had to look up a second word in the dictionary whilst reading Thompson.
First word was deleterious. Second was indefatigable.
Gotta love the old English.
Randall

My dictionary: 1947 Funk and Wagnalls

[highwater]

Sorry, looks like I turn the thread into a book review instead of posting new stuff.

Well, here's a neat little book that I found.
It was listed in the credits on a white paper that I was reading, and I didn't get a copy-nor remember-just what the paper was about.

Motors as Generators for Micro-hydro Power
By Nigel Smith
Practical Action Publishing
ISBN 978-1-85339-645-8

Basically the nuts and bolts of putting a 3ph induction motor into service as a generator, although the author is using hydro as the prime mover. The author is installing these systems in 3rd world settings.

Very similar in size and written in much the same style as Bill Rogers excellent little book.

Skips the generic introduction of electricity.
Quote from the introduction......"It is assumed that the reader has a basic understanding of single- and three-phase circuits and induction motors. Those without the necessary background knowledge should read the relevant chapters of standard diploma/certificate level electrical engineering books."

Back cover by Hugh Piggott.

Randall