Use Yaris to make power

[bronsin]

It says on the news people without power in the NE from the hurricane are idleing thier engines with power inverters attached.

They run cables into the house and run lights, cell phone chargers etc.

[CTScott]

After last years two storms, each of which left us without power for a week, I started looking into much larger generator options (in the 15 - 20 KW range, where everything in my house could be run).

One of my ideas was to turn Crashy into a generator. I figured that with the 98 HP engine and nice quiet exhaust system, that she would be a perfect generator. I ended up buying a 15 KW gas generator, but listening to it for 4 days with this year's storm, I am once again considering the Crashy route.

I can purchase a 20 KW generator head for about $1000. My thought was that I would mount it to a dolly that will dock to Crashy's plow mount. (the generator head weighs over 200 lbs). I would then run the generator off Crashy's crank, by use of a custom crank pulley (which I actually have already fabricated). The custom pulley is a standard pulley with a triple V-belt pulley welded to it. The engine speed will then need to be regulated, relative to the load on the generator, but in my case that would be the easiest part, as I can do it via CAN bus messaging to the ECM.

I built a custom crank pulley

[bronsin]

How much gas would one of those things go through?

People who depend on generators usually have ones that run on natural gas which usually comes into the house in an unlimited supply even in major disasters, it being diffult to get 100 gallons of gas a week these things might go through when theres no electricity.

But I was thinking running a house on a 300 watt poer inveerter is low budget!

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by bronsin

How much gas would one of those things go through?

People who depend on generators usually have ones that run on natural gas which usually comes into the house in an unlimited supply even in major disasters, it being diffult to get 100 gallons of gas a week these things might go through when theres no electricity.

But I was thinking running a house on a 300 watt poer inveerter is low budget!

My current generator burns almost 1 gal per hour, and during the outage we ran it 15 hours per day (killing it overnight to let us and the neighbors have a rest from listening to it). As for supply, our gas stations here were up an running with not lines, so this time that was not an issue, but there is always the potential.

We're too rural for natural gas. The ideal for me would be a diesel one, since I could then use my 275 fuel oil tank as the supply. If I ever get around to importing a Yaris 1NDTV D4D engine, then that would be the perfect engine for it.

As for the inverter idea, they are fine for running a small TV, a light or two, etc, but they can not power the most important items, which are the refrigerator, and in my case, the well pump.

During the outage I did use a couple of large UPSs as inverters, where I would charge them by day with the generator and then use them at night, after killing the generator, to watch TV, charge cell phones, etc.

[Idahotom]

Right up my alley, as a veteran of 28 years off grid (expensive, but better then NO power), and now 6 years grid tied (on different property now, that had grid power there already,but solar, wind and hydro still make all my power with the grid taking the excess 9 months out of the year and storing it for me until I need it in the winter) , plus have a sideline of selling and installing the gear. I have watched with interest the situation on the east coast, damn, people are screwed back there! I can imagine the horror show/dangerous generator lashups, and the gross inefficiencies of a steady output gen set roaring away at high GPH fuel burns and either being over loaded or underloaded.

The nut of the problem is, while it is no problem to set up a large battery bank and inverter (one capable of 240 VAC output for well pump use are now available) so one could cruise right through such a crisis, it isn't cheap or frankly practical for most. The best solution, and one that pays year round, is to really focus on reducing ones power consumption. I have a 700 gallon water tank in my shop, with a small pressure pump, that can be run for days with a small inverter, my 240 well pump keeps it full for emergency use and irrigating. A wood stove backup for heat is a no brainer. We who live in the sticks have it made, in a dense urban enviro, it has to be pure hell when the power goes down. I can just imagine the people who get a small generator thinking their problem is licked, and then finding it can't power their loads, is noisey and burns a lot of hard to get fuel, and on and on. Hardly a long term solution.

I do see an increasing number of smaller diesel generators, Northern Hydraulics has several listed, with fuel burns half of what a gasser uses. They also list separate generator heads, designed to be PTO driven, that someone ingenious enough to graft a snowplow onto a Yaris should be able to make spin with Crashy as the main prime mover! You HAVE to make Crashy into a backup generator, you are locked into it, we expect it of you!!

Something involving a jacked up front end, with one wheel removed and replace by a pulley/belt setup possibly. Even better, a roller type setup, like a dynometer, that you simply drive up on, secure the rig, and the existing tires turn the rollers which is then geared up or down to turn the generator. Much easier to say then do of course! A great outfit named Surplus Center in Omaha NB, sells brand new small diesels cheap, Kubotas and Yanmars, along with generator/alternator heads. The problem still is how often to you need it, to be able to justify the initial setup?

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by CTScott

My current generator burns almost 1 gal per hour, and during the outage we ran it 15 hours per day (killing it overnight to let us and the neighbors have a rest from listening to it). As for supply, our gas stations here were up an running with not lines, so this time that was not an issue, but there is always the potential.

We're too rural for natural gas. The ideal for me would be a diesel one, since I could then use my 275 fuel oil tank as the supply. If I ever get around to importing a Yaris 1NDTV D4D engine, then that would be the perfect engine for it.

As for the inverter idea, they are fine for running a small TV, a light or two, etc, but they can not power the most important items, which are the refrigerator, and in my case, the well pump.

During the outage I did use a couple of large UPSs as inverters, where I would charge them by day with the generator and then use them at night, after killing the generator, to watch TV, charge cell phones, etc.

Good for you for giving the neighbors a break re the sound. All of the families in my neighborhood (but not we single homeowners...who decided not to buy generators) failed to turn their generators off at night for 3 weeks after Hurricane Ike. The sound was quite irritating.

A friend of mine is in the same boat you are re natural gas...too rural. He found an estate lot he liked near Lake Conroe, but it was far enough away that it didn't have any gas service. He contacted the gas company, was told a line was coming out to his specific area, and they gave him a date they thought service would be available. He built the house, but during the process the gas company changed their mind --- too large a capital outlay for too few customers. They told him they'd be glad to run the line if he paid for it........$378,000 dollars. He said no.

[bronsin]

HOw about hooking the cooling system of Crashy into your hot water boiler?

[Idahotom]

Excellent idea, though like mine easier to say then do. I understand that when you have a real serious generator, like in some remote Alaska village (Alaska, in the winter, solar won't help!) that is the prime and only source of power, they DO tap into the hot water coolant and use it for space heating. If a plate heat exchanger was used and the appropiate mixing valves, the engine could continue to have the temps it required, I wouldn't want to suck all the heat into the house and have the engine running at 80 degrees, not as efficient combustion wise, maybe shoot for 150 or so. Baseboard hot water heat needs 180 degree though, radiant floor can use much lower. Problem there is, with the little Yaris powerplant, you really don't have much waste heat to play with it, though it would be fun to find out exactly how much could be put to use.

[bronsin]

Should be easy enough to figure out roughly:

125k btu per gallon of gas.

efficiency of engine converting gas to electricity.

the rest is heat?

[cali yaris]

^ But not all coolant heat, maybe not even most of it. Try touching a hot motor.

Might be interesting to pull heat off the exhaust system instead (not the tip, the piping), since you have to run the motor to make power.

[bronsin]

Yes exhaust and cooling system.

You might say water cool the exhaust!

The more heat you capture the more efficient.