She's A-L-I-V-E !!!!

[jens]

removed

[dpollo]

Congratulations, Jens.   I am just in the process of permanently setting my machine up in an enclosure. The unit is below ground on three sides , I will look forward to seeing your pictures.   dp

[MacGyver]

Sounds like excellent work Jens!

But... ummm... where's the photos?

[rcavictim]

Glad to hear of your progress!  I used the same 2" thick fiberglass insulation panels lining the walls of my VW plant engine room.  Made a huge difference of quieting the machine noise inside the room.  No hearing protection needed working in there.  The room containing the noisy Petter however has no absorber on the walls yet and it is brutal in there! I plan to use rockwool panels in that room with metal mesh screen over the rockwool when I get a round tuit.  Both plants are located inside my shop building.  I can run either plant day or night and not disturb the neighbors.

[MacGyver]

Looks nice!  Sure is tight looking to work on things though... does the box open up easily for service?

Where did you get that nice looking fuel filter/water trap that's on it?
None of my auto parts stores have anything that impresses me.  I found a cute one at the tractor shop but they wanted $129 for it! When I was done coughing and choking I thanked them and left...

Nice heat exchanger on the exhaust.

[rbodell]

Where did you get that nice looking fuel filter/water trap that's on it?

That is a Racor isn't it?

[billswan]

Hello Jens Am very impressed with your setup, could you give us some info on the heat exchanger? Such as was it salvaged or new or homemade ? How about what it cost? Are there more like it out there for sale? Thanks for the education!!!!!!!!!!

[MacGyver]

Ahhh, man I LOVE salvaged equipment (and salvage yards!!)   So.. ummm, If I was gonna go trolling for a heat exchanger like that, what kind of cookies do ya' think I should take along for bait? 

[billswan]

Jens you sure hit it lucky on that exchanger. How many tubes are in it ? and are they mild steel or or something else? What are there inside diameter?  I was thinking of building one similar but am not sure of the sizes of pipe to use i have a 10/1 that i want to harvest ex heat off of. Thanks again!!

[billswan]

Jens, You say the tubes are copper, Won't the condensate off of exhaust gas be somewhat corrosive ?
Have you used the exchanger for enough hours to get a handle on any erosion that may take place?
How are you going to brush out the tubes , will you remove the plastic elbow and the brush out carbon with a bronze or stainless brush?
How often would you suppose that would be necessary?

Questions questions questions!!!
Thanks again Bill Swanson

[rcavictim]

Jens,

We know that approximately one third of the BTU's in your fuel go out the exhaust pipe in a diesel plant.  Capturing a portion of this heat in any CHP system from an efficiency standpoint makes a lot of sense.  That said I fear you may have troubles with trying to take too much heat out of the exhaust bringing it below the condensation temperature.  Maybe there are better ways to capture this heat that will not result in plugged up heat exchangers and piping. 

One idea I have had is to provide a way for the hot exhaust gasses to bubble up through a water bath that subsequently absorbs the exhaust heat.  This heated water is then circulated through a liquid to liquid heat exchanger.  The water would become black with carbon soot and could simply be drained off periodically by opening a ball valve to clean the buildup rather than major disassembly and mechanical scrubbing of an exchanger and exhaust plumbing.  You could pour the black water into a pit in your garden.

[billswan]

Jens try testing the condensate with some litmus paper to try to figure out how acid it is getting, if it is too acid your exchanger it going to fail sooner than later. Sulfur in the diesel fuel is mixing with the condensate water forming sulfuric acid and (my guess ) that is what is turning the water green when it reacts with the naked copper tubes. I am no chemist so i could be way off base!!!!!!

[rbodell]

The bad:
My intention to put a steady load on the engine with a grid tie inverter is, at least for now, not achievable. This means the engine will only be used as an emergency power backup system and it will not be usable for house heating as I had hoped.  I do not wish to turn off the hydro feed but even if I did, the steady state power consumption here is between 1000W and 1500W for the majority of the day and that is (IMHO) insufficient for a load for the engine.  My average daily consumption based on the utility bill is between 40 and 50 kwh. There are also the occasions when using the kitchen or washer/dryer where power requirements exceed generating capacity. To run off grid would require a setup that contains a fair sized battery bank and an inverter that assists the generator when needed. This of course is achievable with the proper injection of cash into the project but I don't feel it will be satisfactory as compared to being hooked up to the grid all the time.

The result:
I will finish the odds and ends that still need doing but the project is, for all practical purposes, finished until I can figure out how to put a continuous load on the engine that does not involve talking to the utility company or the electrical inspector. At the moment I can't see any solution short of somebody offering me a truckload of slightly used deep cycle batteries for the cost of providing them a good home. I could put a resistive load (heater) on the engine but that just seems wrong.

There are a lot of other projects around the house that have been neglected and it is time to catch up on those.

Jens

It sounds like your engine might be a little big for the load on it. Just a thought, since most of my load is charging batteries and a battery charger automatically shuts down as they charge up, I use a rheostat on an automotive alternator to set the charge at a rate that suits the load on the engine at a constant rate. That way you could set a constant load that coincides with the minimum load. Is that clear as mud?

If the electrical load from the house should go up to the point that you need the full power from the generator, maybe you could put in a relay to cut out the alternator all together. Then when the load from the house drops, the alternator would cut back in. Somebody should be able to come up with some type of sensor that would sense a drop in voltage to activate the relay and turn off the alternator. Of course you could also shut off the alternator manually when you know the load will be big.

I have 6 golf cart batteries and charge about 30 to 35 amps without a regulator. These are enough that the batteries do not overcharge or even heat up. I only add water about every 5 or 6 months.

[carlb23]

A bit of a sad (sort of) ending to the entire Listeroid project .....

The good:
I have a couple of minor things left to do but then I will call the project finished. I have achieved enough of a noise reduction to run the engine during the day without bothering the neighbours. My engine room will be enclosed next spring and that would theoretically enable me to run the engine 24/7 without anyone knowing that it is running.

The bad:
My intention to put a steady load on the engine with a grid tie inverter is, at least for now, not achievable. This means the engine will only be used as an emergency power backup system and it will not be usable for house heating as I had hoped.  I do not wish to turn off the hydro feed but even if I did, the steady state power consumption here is between 1000W and 1500W for the majority of the day and that is (IMHO) insufficient for a load for the engine.  My average daily consumption based on the utility bill is between 40 and 50 kwh. There are also the occasions when using the kitchen or washer/dryer where power requirements exceed generating capacity. To run off grid would require a setup that contains a fair sized battery bank and an inverter that assists the generator when needed. This of course is achievable with the proper injection of cash into the project but I don't feel it will be satisfactory as compared to being hooked up to the grid all the time.

The result:
I will finish the odds and ends that still need doing but the project is, for all practical purposes, finished until I can figure out how to put a continuous load on the engine that does not involve talking to the utility company or the electrical inspector. At the moment I can't see any solution short of somebody offering me a truckload of slightly used deep cycle batteries for the cost of providing them a good home. I could put a resistive load (heater) on the engine but that just seems wrong.

There are a lot of other projects around the house that have been neglected and it is time to catch up on those.

Jens

Jens,

While i haven't given this a try i was considering belting a automotive A/C compressor to my engine and use it as a heat pump by putting the condenser with a fan inside the house and evaporator in the engine room next to the exhaust to help the heat it up.  You should be able to put a constant load on the engine that way.  While some a/c units do cycle the compressor on and off most don't and from a heat standpoint you should be able to capture a lot of heat from a automotive a/c system running as a heat pump.

Carl.

[Tom]

Since you are after heat, why not just run some electric heaters or if you want to store some heat get a big electric water heater and use it for radiant heat?

I plan to use an electric water heater as a dump load for when the batteries are charged up. I'll use Steve's idea and run the element at 120V and 1125 watts. The preheated water will feed the propane water heater and should substantially reduce our propane use. Since the kids have moved out  we seem to have a lot of extra power.