Author Topic: Starting over  (Read 1397 times)

Tanman

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Starting over
« on: February 12, 2023, 01:58:38 AM »
I was in the process of collecting all the components needed to build my off grid power system when I ran into a large issue this winter. I had a fire in my shop one night that claimed a lot of my components. I'm still working with insurance to see what I can claim and for how much. So I will be gutting my shop down to the studs and starting over. With this in mind I started thinking about how I want to do my system. Originally I was going to use a unregulated alternator (or two) running off of my 12/2 GM90. Now I'm wondering if I should instead go to AC charging via a inverter charger. The one issue is, I know that some inverter chargers are picky about the power input being "clean". Does anyone have thoughts about what would be the best AC charging setup I could put together with a lister type engine? (this way I could always bypass the inverter charger and send AC current directly to my transfer switch) Or should I stick with the DC charging route directly to my DC load center? Any input is appreciated.

My system was going to be 18kwh lithium battery bank, about 7kw of solar on the roof, make sky blue charger controllers + growatt 6000t inverter charger, 12/2 GM90 running an unregulated alternator (under supervision and using a voltage cutoff device) when needed. All the DC stuff was going to a DC load center and the only AC power would be coming off of the inverter to send to a transfer switch for the house. I was possibly going to put a grid AC input into the inverter charge as a backup when I travel and can't start the engine to charge the batteries on long cloudy weeks in the winter.

I'm pretty much open to any changes and input, because most/all of these components were affected by the fire, smoke, water, or all 3.
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Tanman

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Re: Starting over
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2023, 01:59:54 AM »
What it looks like right now.
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veggie

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Re: Starting over
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2023, 06:30:17 PM »

Wow! Sorry to hear about your fire and the ensuing damage.
Good luck with the rebuild.
- 6/1 GM90 Listeroid - Delco 33si Alternator
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Tanman

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Re: Starting over
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2023, 11:19:26 PM »
Thanks Veggie.
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ajaffa1

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Re: Starting over
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2023, 08:06:24 PM »
Hi Tanman, I know how bad fires can be, having lost our home in the 2019 bushfires in Australia. The damage doesn`t look too bad from your pictures, I hope the insurance comes through soon so you can get on with rebuilding.

Bob

Tanman

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Re: Starting over
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2023, 08:14:50 PM »
Thanks Bob, it could have/should have  been a lot worse. Very thankful
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glassblower

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Re: Starting over
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2023, 01:30:32 AM »
Terrible news tanman, hopefully insurance comes through. Good friend of mine down the road lost his barn last summer with similar toys like we all collect. They figured it was one of those dumb (no safeties or auto off) battery chargers, overheated a battery and caught fire about 2 am. By the time they awoke to the neighbor pounding on the door the barn was gone.
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Tanman

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Re: Starting over
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2023, 05:58:43 PM »
That is terrible, I'm curious how insurance handles something like a listeroid. I know of few places where I could find a legitimate "replacement cost" to send them. They also may want me to repair it, in that case I already talked to Butch about getting in gone through.
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ajaffa1

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Re: Starting over
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2023, 08:37:27 PM »
Hi Tanman, I have tried to fix a couple of fire damaged engines in the past, with mixed success. It really depends on how hot the fire was, any heat treated components like springs, cam gears, cam lobes, valves & etc. may have been annealed back to their soft state and will need to be replaced. As a basic guide I would say that if the fire was hot enough to ignite the oil in the sump the internals are probably history.
38ac would certainly be the man to inspect it and submit a quotation for the repairs. I hope the insurance company don`t ask for three quotes. Finding two more Lister experts like 38ac would be a stretch!

Bob