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Author Topic: How'd You Get Here!  (Read 18817 times)

ronmar

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #15 on: January 06, 2008, 01:50:00 AM »
Shifted from woodstove to pellet stove and needed a backup power system to maintain the heat when commercial was unavailable.  Lister was the first diesel I ever worked on back in highschool(been wrenching on machines since I was a kid), Brutally simple and I always loved the sound:)  Didn't want to listen to a 3600 RPM box store screamer and didn't want to store gasoline in enough quantity to be usefull.  I already have a diesel tractor so I thought a common fuel was a good idea.  It was only a natter of time till I stumbled on the roid, the Utterpower site and this one.  Waste heat recovery also allowed me to provide hot water on a 6HP/3KW plant so a few gallons of diesel goes a long way and I have all the comforts still available in a power outage.

Ron
PS 6/1 - ST-5.

dieseldave

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #16 on: January 06, 2008, 02:01:33 AM »

    I got here from a site I read,cant rememberwhich one!   I have always thought of generating heat and power using a low speed engine,but I thought nobody built engines like that anymore!

    Then I stumbled upon this site,that was 4 months ago. I now have a Omega 24/2! And a Lovson 14/1,arriving shortly!

dpollo

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #17 on: January 06, 2008, 04:04:53 AM »
I have been interested in small scale power generation since I was a kid since I had an uncle who was an electrical engineer who grew up in the days when one man could actually do something. He had his own Hydro plant and through his efforts and advice we established and operate a small hydro plant on our farm but it is only 600 watts, 120 volts DC. Useful for lighting, but not much else.
 I have had several gasoline powered plants but when a 2cyl Lister came up, I put the grab on it quick. I have belted it to a Kato single phase 5 kilowatt alternator which I had previously run with a Wisconsin engine. We are on the grid but frequent outages have threatened refrigeration and my domestic water supply so standby AC current is ,to my way of thinking, essential. I needed to know more about my Lister and some surfing brought me to this site which has been very helpful. It is also comforting to know that many other "real" people share my madness.

Bluecometk

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #18 on: January 06, 2008, 04:38:47 AM »
My trip to this sight was a winding one. I was at work one day taking to the guys about some old engines and tractors I had when one of them spoke up and said they had a diesel engine that was mistakenly dropped off at the shop he worked at in the evenings. He had said UPS wouldn’t take it back and had to pay them for the engine they lost. He said it was new and he offered it to me for fifty bucks I told him to bring it over and I bought it. It looked like an air-cooled Briggs on steroids. I went on line to see what I had just bought. I turned up nothing. I cleaned it up and changed the oil and put some fuel in it and tried to start it. It fired off and ran all over the shop floor with me chasing it. Another drag race buddy of mine was there and he took down the only numbers on it and went back to work. Three hours later he emailed me a picture of it and a Chinese sight. I found out it was a Chinese Yanmar clone.
When I got home I looked up Chinese Yanmar clone on the net and found this post of a guy who put one of these engines in a micro car a Chevy I think. Well I explored the sight, which took me to the Utterpower sight. I explored that sight and found a ST head for sale on Ebay in my area Cheap. I went over to purchase the head and when I walked into the place the guy had a Lovson 24/2 and a marine 2cyl water-cooled Petter along with numerous John Deer tractors. We got to talking and I told him about my stuff and he told me about his and four hours later we loaded the ST head into my  car. I got home and couldn’t remember the name of that big green engine but I remembered he called it a Listeriod or something like that. On line I went again and that’s when I still didn’t find this sight. I found the sight that had the that guy that made a museum Quality engine display out of one of those engines and then that sight led me to this sight.
This sight has a world of knowledge on it thanks to the men and women that make it up.

Thank you for all the information you have provided all  usand for all the information you will provide us in the future.
I hope I can return the favor in the future.
Bluecometk

Yanmar 10 hp LA-100 DIY genset
2 MTU 2000 V12's
12 KW 4cyl Kolor Genset
35 KW  4cyl  Cumins Genset
3 cyl  Volvo  bow thruster
Onan DJB 6.0 genset
Waiting for a proven Redstone

oliver90owner

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #19 on: January 06, 2008, 09:46:30 AM »
JohnF13,
You wrote: Ice Storm 10 years ago tonight.

You are moving on too fast? I only recall the one a couple or three years less than that, or was there two in the last 10 years?

I have not yet known my lady for 10 years (August '98) and we were kept informed of the ice storm by her sister in Ottawa.

Regards, RAB

JohnF13

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #20 on: January 06, 2008, 03:35:11 PM »
The "weather disaster of the Century" started on January 05, 1998 and the rain/freezing rain lasted four days. So much ice formed on everything that a lot of stuff just fell down.  Over 130 main Hydro towers fell over along with thousands of wooden poles.  We were standing looking out and watched Hydro poles topple like dominoes, 1900 feet down the main road then more down a side road. I'll never forget my wife's comment - "guess it'll be a while before we get power back".....Later calculations showed that the weight of ice on wires was equivalent to hanging a Chevvy Lumina every 50 feet or so.  I was out of power for over 3 weeks, phone was out too.  Rab, I ain't making this stuff up, I lived through it out in the Country - it was no picnic.  Millions of people without power in the depths of winter and Hydro, safe in Toronto 300 miles away, wouldn't even answer the phones - if you had one to call them on.

Roads were impassable due to downed trees and live Hydro wires (also 2 inches of ice on them!) and standing on my balcony I could hear trees snapping all around me.  Interesting times.
John F
2 x 6/1 JKSON.  1 x 10/1 JKSON, 1 x 27hp Changfa, 1 x 28hp AG295, 1 genuine 1939 SOM, a couple of others in test mode and a Hercules Multu-fuel still in the box.

Stan

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #21 on: January 06, 2008, 03:40:15 PM »
Yup, RAB, John's dead on!  I'm sitting in Ottawa right now and yesteday there was a big story, feature article whatever you call it on CBC about the anniversary of the big ice storm 10 years ago.  I was in BC at the time but know the story of the amateur radio operators that stepped in to provide communication and were very successful doing it for the few days before the army stepped in.  In many cases the hams had it set up so well the army guys just said "keep on doing what your're doing and if you need help let us know".

Stan

oliver90owner

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #22 on: January 06, 2008, 04:12:28 PM »
That's OK folks.  I was just querying as I only heard of the one a couple of years or so later.  Never heard of that one over here.  But never knew anyone living in Ca. until near 10 years ago.  That ice storm I was told about seemed to be more than  bad enough.  Seems like the utilities never learn - or just have to put up with the damage, as they can't avoid it?  I can fully understand why some of you guys out in the sticks need an alternative. 

I also saw some of the carnage from the tornado damage around  Bancroft a couple years ago.  We were there over a week after and repair gangs were still hard at it, repairing the system.  In the UK we don't have that sort of 'unreliability' - yet.  But that could well change, as we import so much power from France and rely on gas from Russia.  A lot of the utilities are now owned by international firms who only look at the profit line and not the customer satisfaction aspect.  They keep building homes on flood plains and are surprised at what happens when it rains a lot - duh!!

But saying all that, my step daughter had a power failure and a huge portable gen set arrived and just ran into the grid for about a week.  Not sure if their's was the only dwelling affected but they were right pleased with their supplier.  They now have a small generator as a standby, to run a couple lights and the central heating.  That is well up in Scotland.

Regards, RAB

Doug

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #23 on: January 06, 2008, 05:20:57 PM »
Its not entirely the Utilities fault.
No one ever expected that much freezing rain so no one prepared or planned for it.
Quebec hydro also suffered a lot of damage.

Ontario Hydro was also in a bit of decline no one was willing to invest gov money. Too many retired US navy nuclear consultants and US energy company people with no concept how to run a Utility running heavy water reactors but all kinds of great money making ideas for themselves moving in. Tory goverment with no idea how to run anything but lots of ideas like selling off assets and cut backs all lead to the mess.

Look a across the boarder in Quebec where the giant monolithic Quebec hydro was also caught with its pants down. The never saw a day with that much ice hanging from the wires who would.

Its also hard to compare tiny little grid like the UK to what we have in eastern Canada and the US. with lower population densities and a lot more cable on poles.

Sad truth is you just can't rely on politicians and companies when the fecal matter flies
It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken

lowspeedlife

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #24 on: January 06, 2008, 05:32:49 PM »
Quote
how true Doug!! self reliant people have know this forever.
I used to work on these engines 25 years ago when i worked for a rental company, they were the original lister petter dealer in the washington d.c. area so i knew they were not being made anymore. then i stumbled on rocket-boys site after hurricane Isabell came thru a few years back. we were without power for 5 days in june i think. seems pretty trivial when i thnk about these guys in canada, in the winter, without power for 3 weeks.  so i figured i should do something before it happened to me in the winter.  scott r.
Scott R.

5.7 liter diesel k-5 blazer. converting to wvo.
omega 20/2 listeroid

oliver90owner

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #25 on: January 06, 2008, 05:35:29 PM »
S'pose I could add my 2 penny worth here and bring the thread back on topic.

Always tinkered with something since I was about 4 or 5.  First my bike, later motorbikes (all sorts but mainly Honda), cars, tractors, stationary engines, the lorry.

Bought a CS at a farm sale several moons ago.  It was in a sorry state.  Cracked (water jacket), rod bearing melted (no dipper), no compression (valves, head gasket), no infection (i.p. solid), but repairable.  So I finally got round to fixing it this last year.  Needed info on i.p. as it would not come apart without considerable persuasion.  So to the net.  Grattitude to Liserdiesel).  Here via google I suppose. Just browsing on renewables, sustainables, generation and saw Eadie with a problem that was not being addressed, so joined in after hassle of trying to register.  

I am also into renewables.  Vacuum tube solar collector for domestic hot water, looking at several (including Homebrew, otherpower) designs for wind power.  Just need a few hectares to move to.  Unfortunately have to earn a living as well, at present.  Also collect circular sock machines, so home-made socks as well (soooo much nicer than shop-bought).

RAB

rl71459

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #26 on: January 06, 2008, 05:56:01 PM »
Ive Always been a gear head also.

After buying a house (my previous house) in an area where the power frequently failed I bought a generator (Gas 10kw Screamer) that Ive now had for about 15 years.

Its great to not have to worry about power failures!

Now I am very interested in going Off Grid (Reduce Electric & Heating Cost's) and I am currently putting together a system based on a Isuzu C-201 (ThermoKing) and a ST-12 Gen Head.
currently I am working on silencing.... Its going good so far... I have run it on SVO, WVO, WMO & Diesel. My first alternate fuel was SVO blended with RUG. Found the info here... Worked and smelled good.

Someday I'll have a LISTEROID! but for now im working with what I have available to me. I am having a Blast doing this stuff  ;D and this forum has been a real inspiration
for me. I frequent this place!

Rob L

sid

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #27 on: January 06, 2008, 09:42:50 PM »
Rab// if you can/ post a picture of your circular sock making machine//in my travels I run across a lot of unusual machines and I think you have what I see from time to time//I see more machines that make multi colored braid// usually have about 12 bobbins on them//sid
15 hp fairbanks morris1932/1923 meadows mill
8 hp stover 1923
8 hp lg lister
1932 c.s bell hammer mill
4 hp witte 1917
5 hp des jardin 1926
3 hp mini petters
2hp hercules 1924
1 1/2 briggs.etc

Grael

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #28 on: January 06, 2008, 10:15:03 PM »
Lets see, how'd I get here... Well, I've been messing with engines since I was just a kid; watching a good friend of ours work on our '71 VW bus... Then my parents divorce forced my dad and I to move to our hunting lodge about 250KM north of Edmonton. The nearest power pole is around 1 mile away, the power co. wants $24,000 to put in power. So we got generators, the first ones burnt out too fast, so I started to look for something reliable and cheap to run. I came across Listeroids, studied them for a while and decided that was our best ticket. So I started the search for one, nothing close to us came up, then I found this site, asked a question to where the nearest place would be, someone quickly posted a link to a place relatively close to me. So now we're going to get a Listeroid.  ;D
GTC 8-1

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Doug

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Re: How'd You Get Here!
« Reply #29 on: January 06, 2008, 10:48:09 PM »
Cooll heh heh.....

He's 16, thinking localy and is doing something with his dad.
Good on ya first teen I've heard from in a long time that didn't make me shake my head and say poor Canada
It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken