Author Topic: Rising electric rates in upstate New York....help!  (Read 5644 times)

dkmc

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Rising electric rates in upstate New York....help!
« on: December 26, 2005, 06:32:42 PM »
Hi,
New to this forum, but have been looking at Listeroids and the idea of co-generation for a while now.  With the now increasing natural gas and electric prices, I am considering taking steps to build a system to provide
Elec. Power and heat for my machine shop.  Located in upstate New York,
our electric rates have been very high for years, and are getting rediculous
now.  With commercial 230V 3 phase plus the demand charges, I’ve been  paying  around .22 to .24 per KWH, and that is going up. On top of that, there is no demand charge if you're below 5KW total demand for a billing cycle, which I’m sure
I have been at times, but the bill always says at least 5.2 or 5.3 KW demand, so they can be sure to get the extra charges on it.
Demand charges ammount to between $75 and 150 per billing cycle.
I’m thinking 10KW would be enough capacity for present needs, and maybe 15 to 20 would be good for future expantion.  Our Natural Gas rates, although predicted to rise 25-35% have increased 80-100% on some peoples bills recently. There may be other people in these parts  interested in the ‘Listeroid solution’ also. I am familiar with Diesel engines, electricity, and mechanics, so I feel comfortable building and installing a system.

Some questions I have…..
Are there any importers near the east coast? Could I get a 12/2 – 24/2 withOUT paint on it? Are 3 phase generator heads available, or might it be a better idea to use a 3 phase motor as an induction generator? Are there any Listeroid enthausiasts in the Southern tier in the Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton area?  I’d like to correspond with anyone that’s also interested
In this subject!

Thanks,
Dan K

DK1machine@yahoo.com
Machinist, fabricator, designer, fixer

Copybell

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Re: Rising electric rates in upstate New York....help!
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2005, 08:11:58 PM »
Dan,
   I am in Virginia and know of two sellers fairly close, one is in Maine -

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-5HP-Slow-Speed-Diesel-Lister-3kW-Generator-Kit-WVO_W0QQitemZ7574904615QQcategoryZ11754QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The other is in North Carolina.  His name is Mike Montieth - I have his E-mail address if you are interested.

Best regards,
Copybell
Omega brand 6/1
Fuking brand 6/1
Satyajeet brand 20/1
Mini Petter

hotater

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Re: Rising electric rates in upstate New York....help!
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2005, 10:36:34 PM »
Dan---

If you're going to buy fuel for the Lister you're probably not going to save anything on your bill.  With fuel $2.75 a gallon my power cost about $.30/Kwh in fuel alone.  When you figure in the capitol cost of the genset and maintenence and PITA factor, you're still better off paying (your breath-takingly expensive) grid power.   You *would* miss out on a lot of fun, though.   ;)

A note of comparison--- two years ago, the last time I had grid power, my electricity cost $.08 Kwh (doubled in 13 years.) and no minimum.  I never paid over $100 a month for power....and THAT was in summertime with a AC running all the time.  My average bill over 13 years was $42.50/mo.    In winter I heated with artesian hot well water and the power bill would sometimes hit $25,  IF I was welding a lot.
7200 hrs on 6-1/5Kw, FuKing Listeroid,
Currently running PS-Kit 6-1/5Kw...and some MPs and Chanfas and diesel snowplows and trucks and stuff.

Joe

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Re: Rising electric rates in upstate New York....help!
« Reply #3 on: December 27, 2005, 03:58:12 PM »
DanK,
   I’m located about a half-hour North of you …just south of Buffalo. I feel your NY kind of pain…but not to worry though… NY politicians will fix everything… >:(  :-[  :'(
        I picked up my 6/1 a few weeks ago.  What you decide on depends on your individual needs…from the size to brand name and whom you get it from.  I did a lot of research before I committed to my set up. I figured in all the variables that were important to me…weighed them and then choose what I was most comfortable with.  It was not the cheapest or the closest to WNY that made the decision.  As it has been noted, it can be a crapshoot for engines even out of the same batch.  Dealing direct with India adds even more variables.  To me the reputation of the dealer carried more weight than the dollars saved in shipping.   
   The very first thing I bought was the CD from George at Utterpower…initially I was impressed with the amount of information it contained.  Now that I know better and have a 6/1 in the garage and can compare what the CD contains to the engine…it is readily apparent that George has written the Bible on Listeroids.  I have carefully reread the CD a number of times and each time more detail sinks in. I down loaded the entire CD to my hard drive and have reorganized it to suit my needs …putting what I feel are pertinent details together and tossing stuff that I have no interest in…. There is so much info there navigating can be a chore.
   I should have everything apart in a few weeks…. Purely for the educational purposes as I have not run into a show stopper yet…the more I dig into it the happier I am…you’re welcome to stop by and inspect the “chitlin’s” if you like or wait until it is up and running…or both for that matter…

Joe

Nothing is easy...if it were...anybody could do it.

2005 Power Solutions  6/1-ST5

dkmc

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Re: Rising electric rates in upstate New York....help!
« Reply #4 on: December 27, 2005, 06:47:09 PM »

Joe,
Where are you exactly?
I'm in Big Flats near Elmira and Corning.....

dan k
DK1machine@yahoo.com
Machinist, fabricator, designer, fixer