My Backup Power Projects...

[ynotshi]

love these engines and might be a future project but just been to maplins to get some solar panels as they were half price,they are meant for caravans but i have a couple of gel batteries in the shed and led lights and tiny electric heater that i plan to run of them

[Bodhihermit]

Some nice projects in this thread, but what about a stirling engine you can scale them up to whatever size you want and you only need a heat source like an open fire, or a parabolic reflector to run it

[newtonweir]

Thanks for the continued interest on this subject guys.

Sq200sx... Well, I want 50Hz on the output, and to this end I calculated what size pulleys would be required, give that the engine is more or less fixed at 1600rpm (that's what I was checking with the infra red RPM meter at the beginning), I managed to tweak it down to about 1540rpm or something. To get it any slower would've meant replacing the fuel pump - and I just couldn't be bothered. Knowing the speed of the flywheel, the speed I needed the alternator to run at (3000rpm), and the diameter of one or other pulley, you can the calculate the required diameter of the second pulley. I got to 3100rpm at the alternator, which is an error of 3.3%, I can live with that.
I have only powered tools and lights from it, I haven't yet tried anything 'time critical', but I'm sure it would be fine.

ynotshi... Heaters drain a lot of juice, as I'm sure you know. I'd be looking at building a solar tracker. I know people buy broken or slightly imperfect solar panels at big discounts on ebay. Sometimes the sell them in 'bricks' - i.e. a load of panels stacked and dipped in wax to keep them together in transit.

Bodhihermit... Yeah, Stirling cycle engines never really made it big did they? They address the problem of noise rather well, that's for sure! The thing with Stirling engines is they take time to warm up, and they take time to changing power demands. If I had paraffin to heat a hot bulb on a Stirling cycle engine, I think I would choose to run a heater with it instead, or convert one of my Lister or Wolseley engines to run on it by fitting a second fuel tank (start on petrol, then switch to paraffin) and fit a heat exchanger between the exhaust stub and the carb air intake - probably get more power from one of those over a Stirling.

Regards,

S.

[Sg200sx]

I've got a single cylinder Diesel engine I'm repairing at moment need a new alternator but good for 3 kW at 50 hz and as my house heating is oil I have a good supply of back up fuel 1200 litres at moment

[newtonweir]

Hi,

Just out of curiosity, what sort of engine is it, and what sort of alternator?

You'd need 300A at 12V for 3kW if my maths is right, which it probably isn't.

Before I got a super cheap 2.2kVA on fleabay, I was going to go for the 3kW job sold by stationaryengineparts, who I buy stuff from for my other vintage engines.
Something like this : http://www.stationaryengineparts.com/ST ... W-8KW.html

Regards,

S.

[Sg200sx]

It's a hatz1b20 engine

[newtonweir]

Hi all,

Well, look what came through the door the other day.... Seems my little penchant for building generators is going to be useful sooner than I expected...



So, I've given the diesel SR1 2.2kVA genny a turn over to get the oil around the thing, and I've topped up my diesel can. I have dumped what little petrol remained in the petrol can into the lawnmower, now I can fill that with new petrol for the lawnmower generator and the two Listers... I reckon I can light and heat a couple of rooms in my house, and provide some for a couple of neighbours too....

[DundeePrepper]

Hi all,

My first proper post here, I hope you find it interesting. I've included several videos to illustrate what I'm up to.

One of the things I'm into is restoring old stationary engines, you may have seen the sort of thing at village shows, agricultural events, steam rallies and such like. Usually they are laid out in a line with their proud owners stood behind them, while the engine dutifully drives a pump shifting water from one bucket to another all day long.

That's not really what I do, I just like working on engines.

If recent headlines are to be believed, and I think they should be, the lights are going to go out in three years time. Im sure everyone here is well aware of these news reports. We are heading towards a power shortage, it cant be denied.

So, to do something with my little engine fleet, I've been working on producing electricity.
This first video shows a 1937 Lister D which I restored, in this video I show how I reconditioned an old Lucas C40 dynamo, and lo and behold, I managed to light a headlight bulb with it :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j63fTSVHA8o

So the thing worked, but I wanted to do something a bit more useful than lighting one bulb!
In this next video, with the addition of a motorcycle battery and a 500W inverter, the set up runs a TV :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih59RC_HaOs

These little Lister Ds are fantastic, they will run all day long - provided there is water in the hopper (cooled by evaporation), and fuel in the tank (they use hardly anything). This engine spent its life running a root cutter, its already done an awful lot of work, and now if the power goes off, it will light my garage.

Now, just after I finished this project I resurrected a lawnmower from the back of the garage. I had a spare Lucas 17ACR alternator (alternators are better than dynamos), so I decided that after restoring the alternator (new electrics), that I would drive the alternator from the lawnmower. I did this using all scrap-box items, and the only thing I had to actually buy was the alternator refurb kit.
You will see in this video of the project that although we're only using the same 500W inverter and the same little motorcycle battery, that there is plenty of room beneath the engine to fit two car batteries and a larger inverter. Here is the video :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozUwXoIovV0

So, that's a more useful power source. But I need more juice! Fortunately I found (yes, I really did FIND this) a Lister SR1 single cylinder air cooled diesel. After a negotiation with the farmer, he delivered it to me for £120. This sort of engine can run on filtered used vegetable oil, and to this end, I have purchased a 200l tank which will become the fuel tank.
Anyway, here is the work it took to get the engine running :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLSZv-tdmOk
Its a very reliable engine. I have acquired through an auction site a 2.2kVA alternator which is basically brand new, and todays project is to weld up a box steel engine trolley to mount the two things on. I have had pulleys machined by a friend to give the right 'gearing' to translate the engines default 1600rpm to the alternators required 3000rpm to ensure we get a nice 50Hz mains output. This will yield 9A at 240V or 20A at 110V.
Here is the engine on its temporary trolley, and the alternator in front on the beginnings of its mounting framework :



My mind has now turned to noise. Obviously we don't want people turning up in a blackout asking for power. I have no problem helping out our elderly neighbours. Everyone down our road is either retired or octogenarian, and I don't mind lighting or heating one room from my projects for them. But, how to conceal the generators? My garages is well secure, but the problem is noise and fumes. I need to get the fumes out of the garage and keep the noise in. I have ideas about this, but I'll save that for another day.

I hope someone, somewhere found this interesting in some way.

Regards all,

Steven.

This is fantastic.. prepping from a different angle... If you don't mind me asking... are you prepping simply for blackouts/energy shortages and will you be going the step further to prep for society issues after the masses panic because they cant survive without Eastenders and a Microwave?

[newtonweir]

Hiya,

Well, I don't think you can account for all eventualities, so I'm just prepping for what I see as a the most likely threat. One of my hobbies was tinkering with vintage petrol engines anyway, and I just got the bug for making power with them. The likelihood of power outages has been rumbling on in the media for a while now, and I can still remember the power cuts of the '70s, and this time I can do something to be prepared.

Its not about keeping the beer cold and the TV running, the fact is we have a lot of immediate neighbours in their seventies and eighties, they wont like being cold in the dark, and nor would I! I'm in a position where I will be able to loan out three electricity producing engines (two Lister D types, and one based on an old lawnmower Briggs and Stratton), using 500W inverters these will power a fan heater and a couple of lamps. The I have my diesel, which will run a few heaters and several lamps.

What I would like is an old taxi or bus engine, they run forever, and will yield a good power output - hence they used to turn up in canal boats years ago. If I can run a mobile genny with 7kVA output, then that will be my goal. And yes, this is enjoyable for me, I would call it a hobby too.

You may have seen that drama on tele about the country falling to bits in nationwide power cut, and a guy with a little genny getting done over and his power source stolen by envious neighbours.... Well, Im not that paranoid, I'd be prepared to share power with the whole street in return for diesel/WVO contributions. But I would like to do some work on running things as silently as possible, and I have my eye on some steel ducting and things to enable 'silent running'.

Cheers,

S.

[newtonweir]

Hi,

I've just sold my vintage engines, and Im going diesel. As part of a deal on one of my engines, I acquired a Lister LR1 - very similar to the SR1 I posted before, but less powerful, lower revving and quieter. The piston and fuel system were all seized solid when I got her last week, but now she runs like she should. 40 years on a cement mixer hasn't killed her off.

I'll get a car alternator on her when I can, and I now have two backup power diesel engines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmY6FYNylf0

Just need to start reading about processing oil.

Regards,
Steven.