This is basically just filler for now. I may have some new news tomorrow and if so I'll Do another subject. The two pictures are projects I was thinking about long before I left Plano and one of them I'd still be interested in doing. Not the storage of hydrogen though. On that one I'd thought I could use automotive HO sensors as relays, but unfortunately they have to be very hot to work so I'd have to come up with something else. At the time I did that drawing I did have a hydrogen booster hooked up to my wind generator just for the heck of it. About all that did was turn a 2 liter coke bottle in to a rocket and nearly fried my hand. Hydrogen doesn't require much pressure to be liquefied, but it takes a VERY cold temperature. Just so happens that liquid nitrogen is plenty cold enough and cheap to so this could happen pretty easy.
The other idea that I do want to try can be read below.
The gasoline engine is not very efficient for several reasons, but the main two are because 1/3 of the energy produced by them is given off as heat and lost through the radiator. The second is 1/3 rd is heat lost through the exhaust. Both of those account for a 2/3rd loss of efficiency. The power that is actually made by a gasoline engine only accounts for 1/3 from the gasoline burned. Note the picture where I've shown where the other power could be reclaimed for useful purposes to raise the efficiency of the engine. My idea is to wring as much efficiency as possible out of a small car engine by capturing the lost heat and using it for other things. In this way a small wrecked car could be bought for beans and only the engine and transmission used to provide electrical power (both directly and for charging banks of batteries when it wasn't running.) Large quantities of hot water could also be saved while it was running and then used for home heating or other things when it isn't running. The heat from the exhaust could also be used to power a steam turbine to provide more electricity instead of making hot water when that wasn't needed. I do have a common law patent/copyright on it.
The trick would be to get as efficient an engine as you could find and possibly even turbo charge it to raise that efficiency as much as possible. A few more benefits would be gained as apposed to using the engine to push a car down the highway and those are this. The engine would be using its full potential for making electricity instead of having to force a car through wind (Drag) and overcome the friction of tires against the road. It would also not be having to carry the weight of the vehicle and passengers. It would just be doing one thing. Creating useful power. Some day I hope to have such a system set up on my land and might even have it setup to run on propane instead of gasoline which would cut down on maintenance by about 2/3 because of the propane burning much cleaner. Oil changes could be cut by 2/3rd.
Engines you want to look at would not be gas but diesel. They are much more efficent and you could also burn waste vegitable oil and other stuff like waste oil. In particular I would suggest looking into the early VW rabbit 4 cly OHC engine and some are also turbo. If your looking for a cheap diesel to aquire maybe an early olds 5.7 like from a cadillac or suburban. Those motors had problems from the factory so they have a bad rap and are plentiful but for a handy guy as yourself I am sure you would do your homework and you could fix one right for not alot of money.
ReplyDeleteOnce you have your power generated really the biggest issue is power storage. In reality you will need power during the day to run power tools or maybe a welder but at night you will need minimal power except when it is hot outside and you need the AC on to sleep. I would guess the VW 4 cylender would generate maybe a 10K generator. So you have ask yourself, how much power do you really need?
Scavenger, the reason a diesel is more efficient is because it generates about 1/3 less heat than a gasoline engine and that savings in heat equates to power. I think the less heat is actually split between the exhaust and cooling system. A diesel generates very little heat at idle. The thing is that you would be making a gasoline engine more efficient than a diesel IF you could process all of the extra heat and use it to do useful work. You would also pollute less using a propane powered engine and running a couple of high output alternators could charge two large battery banks for when you weren't running the engine. More than likely the only time you would be running the engine would when you needed to heat your house or water to heat your house when you weren't running the engine. Some times when you need to run a high amp tool like a welder you could do that and also use the other forms of energy at the same time.
ReplyDeleteOh... and sell energy back to the grid when you are heating your house or doing something that you don't need that much electricity.
ReplyDeleteTFFN I think you are trying to reinvent the wheel. Your plan will work, but at what cost. The price of fuel will doom the project to failure.
ReplyDeleteWhat you will need is a large bank of 6V golf cart batteries (6 of them) and a small generator to charge them or to provide power to run a big battery charger.you can build a small charger from a 3-5 hp lawn mower motor and a 60 amp GM single wire Alt.
With some mway to charge the battery bank you can run most all of the items you want.
Solar and wind is a good charging option,but $$$
I've already got a 500 watt wind generator, but of course that's pretty small. I'll probably build a few of my on also. I have an 11.5 horse motor in Odessa and several 130 amp alternators which I plan to use to charge batteries with. This contraption is just something I think could work when all else fails. Like when there isn't any wind and its cloudy. (once I get more solar) You can also get propane delivered, but getting gas or diesel delivered is a different story.
ReplyDeleteUsing propane and solar power -- Solar Cabin's Channel on YouTube
ReplyDeleteGood video. I had to wait for ever for it to download with this connection though.
ReplyDeleteFor the engine design - don't forget to include the cruise control that keeps the rpm steady for a steady power output from the high voltage generator; and plan to use this thing only when you need that high voltage with plenty of current. If you plan on using a welder frequently, it looks like it might be a good idea as long as you use an engine that doesn't produce more power than what the generator head needs. I've got a 500cc motorcycle engine with aftermarket cruise control mounted with a 12 kW generator head that outputs to a 50A 240V circuit for a Lincoln welder. No heat recapture on mine, but it's small enough to be mounted on a tiny little trailer for portability.
ReplyDeleteIf you're also planning alternator output to battery banks, don't forget to use a charge controller capable of handling a diversion load. 12V water heater element makes a great diversion load and would seem to work well in your design with the water tanks.
I'm glad you've decided against the hydrogen system. You're missing something to keep the hydrogen separate from the air/oxygen. You would need an elastic bladder or a floating seal of some sort if you wanted to keep them separate. A more common short term storage of hydrogen would be to keep it over water rather than over air.
I'll probably settle with using the 11.5 and a 130 amp alt for a gen and keeping batteries up. If I ever get that far. After I check what I emailed you about tomorrow I may not have to worry about a generator for the welder.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd have to worry about the hydrogen and oxygen being sepaated because the hydrogen would rise and displace the air and oxygen downward and out the vent in the bottom. Of course a lightning strike or something like that would probably make sure I didn't ever come up with any other goofy ideas.
you brainiacs are talking a foreign language to me. my big idea is to harness the power of mother inn laws with treadmills. But I think your idea wont end up with a frying pan on the head.
ReplyDeleteIts always good to have a motorcycle helmet on when dealing with mother in laws.
ReplyDeleteOGT - the primary flaw in your idea is that for there to be mother in laws that means somebody had to get married; certainly not something I'd be willing to do just to get a little electricity
ReplyDeletelol, you are right Just me. If one is stupid enough to get married and try to use the mother in law for electricity , I guess they deserve what they get.
ReplyDeleteI guess I got lucky this time around on the wife/mother-in-law issue. This set is great. The first set was a disaster, though.
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed this discussion on power generation. It all sounds so fascinating, and full of potential. I admit that I know next to nothing about all of this.
Can't wait to see your next developments. Good luck with it all.