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Messages - solarguy

Pages: 1 2 [3] 4 5 ... 16
31
Kawamba!

Such a lot of information packed into such a short article.  I'm filing both a hard copy and a digital version.

Guy, you are a treasure trove of goodies.

I would like to poke around through your library some time, were it convenient (as in, not on a different continent).

Finest regards

troy

32
Straight Vegetable Oil / Re: IS AWESOME
« on: May 25, 2006, 05:07:39 PM »
He's right Darren.

Ten minutes on Google will reveal that this has been studied a fair amount by real scientists, and that running unheated SVO is pretty sure to cause long term engine damage, particularly to a direct injection engine.

Finest regards,

troy

33
General Discussion / Re: A moral dilemma
« on: May 24, 2006, 07:13:17 PM »
Well, having a CHP unit in my basement, having run the spread sheet with all the factors I could think of over a year of actual operation, I came to the conclusion that it might almost pencil out to break even before I die.

Even before I made the decision to go ahead, I knew very clearly that it was not about saving money.  I don't think I'm losing a pile of money either, even counting the pittance interest on what I could have made by depositing the whole lot in a certificate of deposit.

But I do like the independence.  I am reducing my personal CO2 footprint.  I am saving real cash running my car on biodiesel, which I can use for both applications.  I do have the option to buy off grid property for cheap and tell the bank, the insurance company and the utility company to all jump in the icy lake together.

Your client is a grown man, and a fairly sophisticated one at that.  Build him  his panel and make him pay a fair price.  Tell him if he can show you a spread sheet with all associated costs for a year that still demonstrate this amazing savings, you'll give him a retroactive 25% discount.  The fair price you quote him should include this additional margin up front as legitimate profit anyway, and maybe, just maybe, he'll prove you wrong.

Finest regards,

troy

34
Listeroid Engines / Re: SPEED CONTROL
« on: May 24, 2006, 04:51:59 PM »
Dear Doug,

We are agreed that the mechanical govenor will do a lot for you if you blueprint it to work as designed.  I suppose some would like an add on electronic gizmo that magically makes up for slop in the linkage and binding and whatnot.  Even if the device were properly designed from a electronics standpoint, slop and binding will still make it less than perfect or even unworkable.

Finest regards,

troy

35
Lister Based Generators / Re: Want to by a listeroid/generator
« on: May 23, 2006, 11:34:09 PM »
There is a section devoted completely to buying and selling.  You might get a nibble over there:

http://listerengine.com/smf/index.php?board=5.0

Part of the problem is the new EPA regs, which you can search for and read all about at your leisure.  The new regs are making it difficult and more risky to import these engines.  So some dealer have just quit, much to our dismay.

Finest regards,

troy

36
Listeroid Engines / Re: SPEED CONTROL
« on: May 22, 2006, 09:10:00 PM »
Dear Doug,

If you know of a reliable, easy to implement, inexpensive way to get this done, we would be eternally greatful.

We'd get you a plaque.

We'd even send you birthday cards.

I'm all ears,

troy

37
Original Lister Cs Engines / Re: 3 1/2 cs bolt question
« on: May 22, 2006, 06:48:04 PM »
You could always buy a 3 foot piece of "Allthread" and eight nuts and take your hack saw along.  Then they'll be exactly as long as you want.

Good luck, have fun and keep us posted!

troy

38
Other Fuels / Re: Crude Oil?
« on: May 20, 2006, 05:55:04 PM »
To make the injection pump and nozzle happy, the fuel should be well filtered (like ten microns or better) and approximately the same viscosity as diesel.  If it is high viscosity ("thicker") then you may have to heat the fuel line and/or the injector line to get that nice low viscosity that atomizes well and doesn't cause coking problems.

Good luck, have fun and keep us posted,

troy

39
Listeroid Engines / Re: Governo advise
« on: May 20, 2006, 05:09:36 PM »
Careful inspection with a flashlight and an inspection mirror (little mirror on a stick) through the crankcase cover will reveal if one of your weights on the cam/gov has come loose inside.

Slop and binding are the two big enemies in any multi-element linkage.  Mine was pretty bad.  I removed all the factory pins, drilled all the holes out to the next size larger so they were all consistent, made new pins on the lathe, made a new sliding clevis and put on a longer "softer" spring.

It was 3 or 4 hours of pretty satisfying work on the lathe, drill press, etc.

Worked a charm.  No hunting, 2-3% sag with full load, no overspeeding.

Good luck, have fun and keep us posted how you make out.

troy

40
The surface finish on both mating surfaces was underwhelming.  The head was also a few thou warped as indicated by a straight edge and feeler gauges.

I took a few light passes with the milling machine to make the head flat, then I used sandpaper (up through 400 grit) on a glass flat to make the surface finish relatively smooth.

I wire brush the head bolts and lube with a drop of engine oil.  I go up in 20 pound increments with a beam type torque wrench in a cross pattern. I think I went up to 170 ftlbs.

All three (or was it four???) head gaskets have leaked.  That includes the original prior to the improvements for the quicky break in of 10 or 15 hours.  The leaks are just as Hotater described.  When it's hot, you see very little, as it evaporates about as fast as it weeps.  Overnight it runs down the outside of the cylinder and weeps up around the headbolts and leaks into the valve gear space.  Never enough to make a big mess, but enough that I had to sop it up with a paper towel prior to startup.  Never had oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil. It would take 1-2 quarts of 50/50 coolant per month.  I use an overflow tank so the engine was never shorted on coolant.

I typically run 4-6 hours per day during the week and lots over the weekend when we're around more.  It would have an average load of 2,000 watts between the house the the battery charger for the 24V bank.  I run a 190F thermostat, as thermosyphon by itself was "too" effective and made warm up very slow.  With the thermostat, it would be up to operating temps in ten or fifteen minutes.

Finest regards,

troy


41
Listeroid Engines / Re: petter timing
« on: May 16, 2006, 10:28:11 PM »
I thought there were no timing/TDC marks on my FuKing 6-1 flywheels either.  Until I cleaned them up for paint.  There were two marks and they matched up pretty nicely with my marks.

Good luck and have fun!

troy

42
Other Fuels / Re: Syntroleum
« on: May 13, 2006, 06:51:35 PM »
You can make any petro substance out of coal, it's just harder and more expensive than getting it straight from petro, at least until recently.

The germans got real good at it during ww2.  A google search for Fischer Trope process will tell you all about it.

This fact is the single greatest hope I have for avoiding a societal melt down through Peak Oil because we do have some coal left!

Finest regards,

troy

43
Other Fuels / Re: Joe cell free gas ?
« on: May 12, 2006, 04:10:55 PM »
If you define the system neatly and appropriately like a physicist would, you can never get more energy out than you put in.  You just can't.  It's those pesky laws of thermodynamics.

If it were true, you could probably rig some engine to burn it, but all that "free energy" would end all of our problems anyway.

Finest regards,

troy

44
Listeroid Engines / Re: Anyone have a cylinder mysteriously rust?
« on: May 12, 2006, 02:37:12 PM »
Dear Dirtbike,

What were you running for coolant???  Proper concentration of ethyl or proply glycol shouldn't really make it rust, should it??

Yeah, we gotta fix this whole weepy gasket thing.  My next attempt, as described on another post, will have the fiber part of the head gasket doped with sodium silicate based antifreeze stop leak.

The permatex thing also sounds promising.

Everybody keep everybody posted.

Finest regards,

troy

45
Listeroid Engines / Re: 20 Hr Run in. Partial teardown
« on: May 12, 2006, 02:27:12 PM »

My Listeroid had lint inside, mostly blocking the oil suction strainer, along with the asphalt that was used as break in oil.... ;) Plus sand, mud, paint chips....
Scott E

No Scott, those are Indian lubricity and viscoscity enhancing additives...

troy

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