DIESEL GENERATOR, (as your primary power source)

[NiteTiger]

I know we tend to be Anti-China products, but I've heard some great reviews of Chang Dao (probably not even close to right) Diesel engines. Made for rural Chinese provinces, they're built for simplicity and longevity.

Of course, you'd have to do your own genhead...

 

[Guest]

Skin, looking forward to the pictures. The older units are more solid. Less to go wrong and longer lasting. Your on the right track. Let us know how the units works out for you. Fuel filters, oil filters, and good fuel. Is the key to a long lasting Diesel generator.

NiteTiger, there are a few Chinese companies out there. Making some nice units at a nice price also. I've looked into a couple of units and thought about buying one, but again. We are at the point of the newer units with all that electrical shit on them. I would be curious as to how well they work and last.
Take care,
BG

 

[NiteTiger]

Man, I wish I had those links on this computer, I'll have to see if I can find them. Had guys talking about repairs and parts and stuff. I think it was mentioned in there somewhere that you could by a 'common replacement set' at time of purchase for like $300.

I'll see if I can find them...

 

[Guest]

Hey NT, thanks for the info. Always nice posting new info. I'm sure I know what units your talking about. I gave them a look also. Very nice setups and looks like copies of US made motors. I'll give them a look if you find the link. Man, the unit I have stash in a storage unit. Can run off of about anything. Nasty motor oil, Veggy Oil, diesel, etc. Can't wait to get that sucker hooked up. Going to find a source for used cooking oil and make my own BioDiesel. If I can't find enough. Then I'll do a 50/50 blend or blend in what I can get, but I think I've got a couple good lines on some fryer oil. Either way, I'll be getting farm diesel if I got to buy fuel. Cheaper then road diesel. Well, let us know if you find the link.
Take care,
BG

 

[ScrogHog]

Sweet article good for guerilla growin. You see alot of generator ops in cali with individual watering hoses for thousands of plants. I am sure you all know. Anyway thanks for the info

 

[anonymiss12345]

Who said I thought it was a hassle to make a phone call or that i havent made any phone calls. You talk to a gen set dealer latley? All of them have the best genset for the best price no matter who the dealer is? Oh and I must not have done any other reading either I suppose. Go hang out over someone elses head.

Yes. We were just sitting in here waiting to 'roast' someone. Who said you thought it was a hassle? You did in your first post...lol

Anyways, back on topic...
The only thing the salesmen are good for is confirming info you should already have, verifying stock on the item of your interest, and, unfortunately...you usually have to complete the sale thru them.
I absolutely agree....all you will hear from every salesman is how what they are selling is the best.

 

[skin]

i can confirm i have one of the chinese style gen sets , very highly recomended by a few people i know who use them .
but not very common in my part of the world so i dont really want to be posting brand names .
it was the helpfulness of the salesman that swayed me buy it and the extended guarante , most people in my part of the world couldnt readily accept the fact i wanted the timed start stop feature added ?
the one other company that would do it cost twice as much as this unit as they build specifically for you and your needs , which is nice maybe next time round if it turns out to be a viable project !
skin

 

[Guest]

anonymiss12345, you are correct about most of the sales person. I've noticed when buying goods. I know more then them. Most of the time they only know what's on the sale sheet. Shit, I bought a big diesel truck and knew more about the truck then the sales person. Knew about the recalls, etc. Dummy, had the balls to tell me I was wrong. Lucky I had the info printed out, then told him to find me another sales person. Most of the sales person aren't to bright, but I've ran across some pretty bright ones. Like skin has posted. Some will go out of there way to help you buy the right product you are looking for or need.

Skin, the generator with the auto start is common in my country. We use them for the crazy storms we have on the east coast and winter areas. You can set them up to kick on at any time and kick off at any time. They even start up after 30 seconds when the main feed from the street goes out. If you have them hooked in to the main house panel. Glad to hear you got a good unit. There are a few chinese units I've been looking at. I might buy one of their smaller units and give them a try. If I like them and they work out well for me. I might buy a larger unit for my place in Spain. Going to be moving there next year and want to make sure I have a good unit feeding the house. I hear power in some area's over there isn't to great.

Well, thanks for the info everyone. Nice to see the thread still around. I'll dig up the model numbers I've been looking at. The Chinese units and post them. Give readers a idea of the units I'm talking about.
Take care,
BG

 

[skin]

the generators with the auto transfer switches are pretty common here aswell GDW but i wanted complete stealth and independance so i can run it anywhere anytime and that bit was a bit of hassle with lots of questions to answer lol

i have got a little digital timer like a lighting timer now and i just program when to start and stop , very good feeling hearing the baby start up and stop .
next time i will have a remote stop also for emergency shut down in case of unexpected visits , even with the sound proofing and hidden cellar rooms there is a lot of exhaust coming out of my woodburner chimney with the exhaust smell !
ok for when the burner is working as the wood smoke masks it a bit but when it isnt sometimes you can smell it , depending on the weather of course !

skin

 

[Guest]

Hey Skin,

Auto Transfer switches are nice. Makes life so much easier. The time you have setup sounds like a nice idea. Glad it is working well for you.

As, for the exhaust and the smell. I wasn't going to say anything till I tested this idea, but if you every ran a RADIANT KEROSENE HEATER. You will know there is a product uses to change the smell of the fuel odor. I liked the vanilla essence additive you can find at Lowes, Wally World, and other places. I was thinking about finding this stuff on a large scale. Since it is only sold in small amounts at these stores. I think if I can find it in one gallon jugs. I will add some to the fuel tank and see how well it works. It should mask the diesel smell just like the K-1 fuel. It was a idea and I'll test it when I get up and running.

One thing different from me and others. I will be running my unit 24 hours a day. This helps with keeping the unit up to temp at all times. I don't get that BIG black smoke cloud when the unit fires up. Which is a big sign that someone fired up a diesel generator and being at normal running temp. No smoke, once unit it up to temp. As long as the rings aren't bad. I'll make sure to do a full thread once i get going. Everything from building the sounds proof run. To adding a fuel storage tank and wiring. I'll make sure to go over everyhing. Would love to see some pictures of anyone's setup. Help give me some idea's. Well, thanks and have a nice weekend.
Later,
BG

 

[C#1]

Best thread I seen on IC so far! I plan on operation a gen-set in the future..I need more info on storing power in deep cycle batteries is the only thing i couldnt find more info on?

 

[Guest]

Best thread I seen on IC so far! I plan on operation a gen-set in the future..I need more info on storing power in deep cycle batteries is the only thing i couldnt find more info on?

Morning,

I've got one of the cannabis magazine that did a nice article on what your looking for. Give me a few days and I'll dig it up. It was done by a Co-Op and they also did solar. They would charge and store in deep cycle energy banks. I'll try to find the magazine and list the article. I'm sure it's listed online by now. Just got to find the issue. Take care and good luck with your project.
Take care,
BG

 

[C#1]

Bump...

 

[Guest]

Since you bump the thread up. I will post something new. lolol

I heard from a buddy that live down on the Bayou. He runs a new GM pickup with the duramax diesel motor in it. Well, from what he told me over th phone. He's found a burger joint. That is giving him all the used oil he wants. What he's doing, is filtering the particles out with a 10 or so micron filter and mixing it up with some Kerosene to a 50/50 ratio. He's running his truck all week long with no bad effects. He's also running the same mixture in a diesel generator at his fishing camp. He uses a small 5-6Kw generator to run his lights, and fridge. Says it works just great. Just thought I would share that info.

Remember, this is unprocessed oil. This is not BioDiesel. Just plain used fryer oil filtered for particles and then mixed with Kerosene.

Take care,
BG

 

[C#1]

Thats great I hope it dosent affect his engine in anyway! I would be scared shitless to try that out LOL,So i guess there was no luck finding that article I been doing some searching and found some info but still diggin for more! There some good links in here to some good generators but there in the states and Im in canada..I like the looks of this one here http://www.generatorsales.com/order/2100GM.asp?page=2100GM Hopefully our candian dollar keeps going up I Might just cross the line and buy one!

 

[C#1]

Heres a good link they got some quality built silent running gen sets!

http://www.powerkingenergy.com/indx-Mobile%20Silent%20Generating%20Set%20(20-500kW).html

 

[yamaha_1fan]

Thats a good link. I thought those 50k generators were alot more money. Will those generators run non stop or are they designed for job site use where they may run a few hours a day?

Also what is the 2 wire start? I assume it means it can be started by a timer? But I would imagine a generators most efficient usage would be running full time in a flip flop scenario.

Important question: Can all the maintenance be performed by the end user? Oil changes every 100 hours (every 4-5 days), valve adjustments every 500 hours (every 3 weeks)?

 

[C#1]

Yes the service can be done by end user...Thats what im studying right now the deep cycle batteries So you dont have to run the gen all day long 24/7 they will take the power and store it restart the gen when the are running low...I been compiling info on it and will share once I finish putting it together in easier to read and comprehend format

 

[pico]

seems like you would waste a lot of energy charging the batteries, then going through a transformer to get up to the right voltage again. I am guessing you would lose 30% power or more.

Most efficient way I would think is to run the generator nonstop and do a flip flop setup. Only shut her down for oil changes and routine maintenance.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

I agree with PICO about the batteries. I think batteries are meant for solar panels, windmills etc where excess energy can be stored for times when resources are low, (cloudy days, night timer, etc) If using a generator, I would skip the batteries.

If completely anal, you could keep a smaller genny on backup to run some floros in case the big genny went down or just to run the fluros when the genny is down for maintenance