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Author Topic: Lister engine as a backup generator  (Read 14131 times)

quinnf

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Re: Lister engine as a backup generator
« Reply #15 on: November 18, 2005, 04:38:31 PM »
Stevels, throw a few magnets in the bottom of your oil sump to catch iron/steel particles that your new engine will shed.

RE: genny in the basement, seems we're in violent agreement. 

One of the reasons running any genset inside is illegal is that if there IS an exhaust leak, the CO2 and CO (carbon monoxide) components are heavier than air and will fill an underground basement just like water.  The comparison between the oil burner and a diesel isn't really a fair one.  An oil burner in a heater or boiler is designed to run in confined spaces, its flame is oxygen-rich (blue flame, doesn't make much CO), and it doesn't vibrate.  A diesel is not so designed, burns fuel in a relatively oxygen-poor environment (high CO), and vibrates so badly it has to be bolted down. 

[Yoda Voice: ENABLE]  "Vibration leads to metal fatigue, fatigue leads to cracks, and cracks in an exhaust system lead to death."  [Yoda voice: DISABLE]

I almost bought the farm that way once.  I came in to work early on Monday morning and went into my employer's walk-in -20C (-4F) freezer to retrieve some samples.  A coworker from another lab thought it would be OK to extend the life of her dry ice stash by keeping it in the freezer over the weekend, and didn't bother to tell anybody.  Yes, she was blonde.  Well, I went in there, shut the door behind me and started rooting through boxes looking for the samples I needed.  Within about 15 seconds the sound of the circulating fan began to sound muffled and my sight grew dim.  Just as my lights were going out I turned and fell against the door which opened, admitting some air.  Good thing for me because the floor was aluminum plate, I was all sweaty from my bike ride to work and I wasn't wearing a jacket.   :o

Point being CO2 and CO both kill by the same mechanism.  They compete for the same hemoglobin binding sites as does oxygen, and hemoglobin actually binds CO and CO2 in preference to oxygen, so a little CO or CO2 can displace the oxygen from hemoglobin.  You've heard this before, and it's true:  There is little or no warning.  There's no feeling of suffocation like you get when you hold your breath.  You just pass out. 

Most people don't realize how easy it is to die like that.   :'(   

If you can smell exhaust, you are breathing CO and CO2, both of which can be deadly in in the still air of confined spaces.

Quinn

quinnf

  • Guest
Re: Lister engine as a backup generator
« Reply #16 on: December 05, 2005, 04:58:23 AM »
(Why do I feel like we're being spammed?)