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[BruceM]

"Long term with no end in sight"  If it really is long term with no end in sight, then a generator is of little value since no fuels will be available.  If you were planning massive fuel storage, I'd prefer diesel or a buried propane tank farm.  Either way, running a generator (or lights at night) when no one else has fuel or lights will target you.

A battery bank and PV would look like anyone else's dead GTI and would last for years soundlessly and without fuel.

[Tanman]

Being in MN, I'm not worried about a people threat. 90% of people would leave in a shtf, way to harsh in the winter with no electricity/heat. Not really worried about fuel either, there would be plenty of motor oil, vegetable oil ect. I'm just wondering what would be a good long term reliable genset. Rebuilding a roid sounds like a blast, I don't know anything about the chinese horizontals, I'll do some reading on here about those. Thanks 38ac, I love the couple of youtube vids you have on your engines btw!

[BruceM]

If you'll enjoy the rebuild, the CS single is a sweet engine.  The ultimate in simplicity and ease of service.  If the size and weight isn't a big problem, you'll love it. Pretty much everyone likes the CS "music" which is why they are a popular working engine for off grid living where you must run it regularly...and live with your own engine noise for years and years.  There's no other truly slow speed engine that I know of with complete new parts, support and a following; for a working engine those things are mighty helpful. 

[Tanman]

Sounds like a clone is the way to go for me based off this info. It sounds like auctions are a decent way to go to get one pretty inexpensive. Do you guys have any other suggestions for putting together a system on a budget? I have a Subaru Robin (Hatz) Diesel 5000kw with less than 3 hours on it that I going to sell. As soon as that one sells I'm putting the money towards a listeroid project.

[mikenash]

Hi Tanman

A couple of thoughts for you:

Firstly, you know what it's like using electricity across a 24-hour period:  During the day maybe only the fridge is running; then the kids come home from school and every damn appliance in the place fires up; then you go off to bed later and it's back to the fridge and a couple of night-lights

If you have, say, a 6 or 8HP "Lister" diesel with, maybe, a 5kW generator head making power - it won't like that.  The diesel likes to work, not to idle - and it won't reward you with clean running if it idles lots.  But it's a pain in the ass starting it, running it for a half hour and turning it off - that's no the answer either.

So - a lot of folks have a battery bank + inverter with, normally, a solar array keeping it charged . . .

Then - if you have, say, your Lister with a 110VAC generator head and, maybe a 24VDC alternator both attached to it, you can run it under DC load to charge the battery bank when you are using lots of electricity or if the sun hasn't been shining - good steady loading and it will like that.  Plus, if you want a big AC load that your inverter won't enjoy (maybe you want to use the welder, or the big 9" angle grinder) then you can fire up the Lister and use the 110VAC off it - and it'll probably put a bit of DC into the batteries at the same time, maybe

I'm just generalising here, but you get the idea:

If you have, say, a 6kVA Honda inverter/generator with a little 12HP Honda engine (one of those "silent" thingies) it will run all day and all night - within limits - and it won't care if it's loaded or idling

If you have a "Lister" or a "clone" - it won't like that duty

(most folks here will have a $500 Honda or Chinese Honda clone generator for convenience + backup anyway, I would think)

FWIW I reckon you ought to check out a guy on here called "Starfire".  He's an old dude, an electrical engineer type, who has a solar-plus-Lister setup and has been off grid for decades.  he has already made, and learned from, every mistake you or I will ever make on our journey to "off grid"

Just search for posts from "Starfire" and you will see all sorts of insightful comments around his topics from the other knowledgeable folks on here

Just my $0.02

Cheers, Mike

[ajaffa1]

Hi Tanman. I completely agree with MikeNash. If you are planning  a completely off grid system then solar with a battery bank and invertor is the way to go. A back up generator for days when there is little or no sunshine is essential or for when you want to run high loads.  The problem as always is the cost and life expectancy of the batteries, please don`t make the mistake of buying cheap storage it will come back to bite you in the ar$e, probably when you need it least. Regarding the issue with running a CS on a low load there are two options: one, connect your water heater element to it (hot water is good). Two is to run a water injection system that will reduce/eliminate your carbon build up issue.

An alternative might be to look for a Startomatic Lister which will automatically start when there is a demand for power and then shut down when the demand is gone. I would not recommend this if you are going to run sensitive electronic devices. It works for me but I make sure that it is running and up to voltage before connecting it to my computer, TV and etc.

Bob

[mike90045]

I currently have a Subaru/Robin/Hatz 3kw diesel as a backup and for a simple key start the wife can use.

i have well over 600 hours on a METRO 6/1 Listeroid clone spinning a 5kw 240V alternator

This forum with it's vast amount of knowledge and friendly help, was instrumental in my listeroid decision.