What generator type/style is "best"?

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 21 Oct 2006, 18:07

I am think of buying a generator ... "just in case" ...

Should I just buy a ?150 800 watt dinky petrol model just to keep lights & TV going and make me feel that I have at least some sort of backup?

Or should I go for a chunky ?600+ diesel model at say 3Kw or 5kw to power anything I wanted?

I know it's a bit "how long is a piece of string" ... but if YOU have bought any sort of genny to power home/camp please do post your views.

What did you want to power ... but found that the genny was too weak?

Or did you find that in fact a low power genny would have been fine for most things?

Some thoughts ...
1. Like in Baghdad, perhaps power from the bigger genny could be sold to the neighbours in times of gloom?
2. A tiny model could be carried in a car ... could be useful.
3. A diesel model can use cheap "Red" tractor diesel.

XENG · Post by **XENG** » 21 Oct 2006, 18:22

If you can afford it i would invest in a large-ish (say 5 - 10 kVA range) water cooled diesel genset which is designed to run at 1500 RPM or less.
During the lifetime of such a unit you would probably get through many dinky petrol ones as they tend to shake themselves to bits quite quickly.

As you say, with a diesel you can run it on red diesel, biodiesel or veg oil, with a large capacity unit you could share the power with your neighbours and with a water cooled engine you can make use of the waste heat.

XENG · Post by **XENG** » 23 Oct 2006, 11:55

Better still would be to build a genset out of one of these:

Definately on my PO shopping list.

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 23 Oct 2006, 16:57

XENG wrote:Better still would be to build a genset out of one of these:

Definately on my PO shopping list.

Can you import these Lister diesels from India at a good price?

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 23 Oct 2006, 21:42

We've run a 7kVA 1500rpm Lister diesel genny for at least 14hrs a day for 10 years. It does need attention now. That's equivalent to 1.5 million miles. We started off with 3000rpm units but they required rebuilding every 6 months.

We're about to start making biodiesel for the genny and are converting it into a CHP system to provide base load heat for the house. I got a set of submarine batteries which we are going to charge from the genny for two sessions of about 4hrs per day so that the genny is used more efficiently. Diesel genny?s don't like being used at low power for long periods. Ours might have lasted more than 10 years. When you use a diesel for the first time from new it needs to be bedded in by running it at full power for 24 hrs. If you don't, the bores glaze and it leaks oil through the exhaust. Old electic fires are good for this bedding process.

You can run most appliances off 7kVA but you have to be careful about having too much on at the same time. We don't use an electric kettle though. A 7kVA genny is only mobile if you've got a crane. They are noisy and need a good shed of cob or concrete block to live in even if you don't have neighbours.

A new water cooled 7kVA diesel genny will set you back about ?3000.

RevdTess · Post by **RevdTess** » 23 Oct 2006, 23:24

I get a rather cute Vetus M 4.14 diesel engine when I buy my narrowboat, but it's a bit over the top to use purely as a generator. As you say, they don't like running at tickover for any length of time.

Still, I get to play with off-grid tech and I can't wait till January when I move onto the boat.

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 24 Oct 2006, 08:56

kenneal wrote:We've run a 7kVA 1500rpm Lister diesel genny for at least 14hrs a day for 10 years. It does need attention now. That's equivalent to 1.5 million miles. We started off with 3000rpm units but they required rebuilding every 6 months.

We're about to start making biodiesel for the genny and are converting it into a CHP system to provide base load heat for the house. I got a set of submarine batteries which we are going to charge from the genny for two sessions of about 4hrs per day so that the genny is used more efficiently. Diesel genny?s don't like being used at low power for long periods. Ours might have lasted more than 10 years. When you use a diesel for the first time from new it needs to be bedded in by running it at full power for 24 hrs. If you don't, the bores glaze and it leaks oil through the exhaust. Old electic fires are good for this bedding process.

You can run most appliances off 7kVA but you have to be careful about having too much on at the same time. We don't use an electric kettle though. A 7kVA genny is only mobile if you've got a crane. They are noisy and need a good shed of cob or concrete block to live in even if you don't have neighbours.

A new water cooled 7kVA diesel genny will set you back about ?3000.

Excellent feedback - many thanks!

peakprepper · Post by **peakprepper** » 30 Oct 2006, 22:45

Hello everyone

My Listeroid (Indian Lister copy) has recently arrived in the UK - I expect delivery by the end of November. I have ordered a 5kVa genhead to go with it. It will run at 650 rpm - the key to the smooth running at this slow speed is the massive flywheels

That's the easy bit - I then have to bolt the whole thing together, build a steel I beam base, build a cooling system, and rewire part of my house.

All good fun - But like someone else said, I'd rather have one of these than a ?800 Honda EU genny which will die after a couple of years.

If anyone is interested, I can post more here as I go along.

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 30 Oct 2006, 23:43

That's the easy bit - I then have to bolt the whole thing together, build a steel I beam base, build a cooling system, and rewire part of my house.

If you're going to use it for any length of time it would be worth setting it up as a Combined Heat & Power (CHP) system and running the cooling water into your hot water tank. I'm looking at having a heat exchanger made for my exhaust system to capture the heat from that as well. If you're interested, Peakprepper, I could get a quote for two.

Ken

peakprepper · Post by **peakprepper** » 04 Nov 2006, 21:55

Sure why not?

Although initially I will be using a truck rad. and fan to heat the garage/workshop I will be working in.

I was going to concentrate on power first, and heating later, but an idea of cost would be interesting - do you have a design of your own?

pp

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 05 Nov 2006, 03:34

I had one on a precious genny that was basically a pipe with a water jacket. This worked resonably but I am looking at a multiple pipe setup with a water jacket rather like a small train steam boiler. The pipes would have to be accessible for cleaning, though, because you get a lot of soot when the generator starts up. It would be about 1 metre long and 150 to 200 diameter.