Jeremy: I started with an 8KW china diesel which runs at 2000rpm and consumed .8 gallons per hour. I now do not consider these china diesels capable of 24/7 operation, eventhough I did get 6,200 hours out of one. I am now using a Detroit 2-71 12 KW genset which consumes 1.1 gallons per hour of wvo. I have only been using the Detroit genset for two weeks now but I do like the fact that it revolves at a slow 1200 rpm and does not have a fuel injection pump like most diesel engines. I don't just produce electricity I also use the waste heat from the cooling system as well as the waste heat from the exhaust. The waste heat is used to heat up the vege oil and warm the water on my fish farm so the little rascals don't go into hybernation. If you make use of all of the parasitic heat available from your genset you will have no problem running straight veg oil, I don't care if you live in Alaska. It freezes where I am and I still had to install a swamp cooler to keep the generator room comfortable. Make use of the water jacket heat and exhaust heat to provide your domestic hot water and heat your house. I have not had any fuel system maladies. Most of the problems I was experiencing with the China diesels was with the valve train...they needed valve jobs every 2000 hours. My learning curve is rather long at this point so don't hesitate to pick my brain as you progress. I am now in the process of installing a 20 KW Northern Lights genset which has a similar engine to your Isuzu. It has the Bosh/Kiki fuel injection pump. I do not expect to have any problems with that conversion to wvo. Good luck. Gene Chaffin [EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Jeremy Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 7:52 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Set up help Luke and Gene, Running straight WVO through your genset is great if you life in sunny california, but I would not rely on that in Missoula. WVO in Missoula would require a hefty investment in time and materials to create an environment equal to that of california in a shed. Also, it is very difficult to collect WVO oil in freezing temps, or do anything with WVO in freezing temps. I have a 12k isuzu generator that I am hoping to run with a diesel/biofuel mix. I think the best we could do is Biofuel in the summer and a mix in the winter, something greater than 50/50. I think it would be best to process your fuel in the summer, and store it with diesel for the winter. That would require knowing how much fuel you would need over the winter, probably close to a half gallon an hour for you lister petter. Gene: could you describe your generator, what load you run, how much fuel you burn, how long you run it, how old is it, how often do you maintain the fuel system, any unexpected problems. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gene Chaffin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 8:41 PM Subject: RE: [Biofuel] Set up help > Luke: Don't bother making biodiesel for your stationary genset. Simply > filter the wvo to 5 microns, heat it to 160 degrees and burn it directly in > your genset. I've been doing this for over a year now with my stationary > genset, running it 24/7 with no ill effects. Good luck. Gene, from the wild > beaches of San Diego,CA > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of WM LUKE MATHISEN > Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 11:39 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [Biofuel] Set up help > > > Hello out there in biofuel land! > > I live in Montana near Missoula, off the grid, our primary energy source is > solar and our backup is a recently acquired diesel generator, to be precise > a 7500 watt Lister Petter, prior to that we used a converted propane > generator. We are very happy with the switch to diesel (it reduced our fuel > costs by 2/3rds). Every week I go into Missoula (I am an accountant) and > work at a restaurant. The restaurant pays $25 per month to get rid of their > used waste oil. I could very easily pick up waste oil from that restaurant > (and other restaurants) and bring it back to make biodiesel for my > generator. My concerns are fuel quality so I don't end up damaging my > generator and attracting bears (we had 2 house break-ins last fall). I am > looking at producing 50-100 gals per month in the winter (sometimes we will > go two weeks or more with no direct sunlight, or "no solar-days" as I call > them) and half that in the summer. What will my startup costs be? How much > space will I need, for production and storage? How much time will I need to > spend in production once it is set up? > > I am currently in the process of planning a enclosure for the generator and > it seemed to make since to include space for making and storing the > biodisel. > > Can someone point me in the right direction? > > Luke > >From the wild hills of Montana > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): > http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): > http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
