Green-Trust.Org » chp

Making Steam from Solar Energy – redux

Steve Spence — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:41:46 +0000

A while back, Robert Saunders sent us an article on a steam turbine he was working on. Then he sent another on solar energy steam electric. Well, here is his third chapter in this continuing quest. Hope you enjoy:

http://www.green-trust.org/wordpress/2008/12/07/solar-powered-steam-generators/

Our vegetable oil burner has arrived

Steve Spence — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:56:40 +0000

We drove to Massachusetts yesterday to visit Tom Leue from http://yellowbiodiesel.com/, and brought back one of his Recycled Vegetable Oil (RVO) burners. This is designed to replace a standard 4″ Beckett burner in a boiler or furnace, can be installed in a drum for a shop heater, used to heat water, or even create steam for a steam engine powered heat and electric application (Combined heat and power, or CHP). We talked a bit a few days ago about this burner in a previous blog article, which gives more info on the burner itself. This design is based on a Babington burner that injects air through a tiny jet in a ball, and pumps oil over the ball, forming a ignitable vapor when the oil covers the jet of air, similar to a whale’s blowhole. Discussions of the Babington principle are commonly held at http://group.wastewatts.org.

New Listeroid Veggie-Gen Arriving

Steve Spence — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 01:03:00 +0000

DJ MacIntyre from Leboise.com donated an 6/1 listeroid diesel engine to us. Jim Juczak from Woodhenge and I will be traveling to Belleghuan to pick it up in a couple of weeks. We will be building a 3kw Axial Flux permanent magnet alternator for the engine, which will charge our battery bank. This engine will also heat our hot domestic water. Fuel usage will be approximately 1/4 gallon per hour of used fryer oil.

Retiring the VeggieGen, Version 1

Steve Spence — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 22:06:00 +0000

Today we took steps towards the retirement of our Detroit Diesel VeggieGen. While looking for it’s replacement, a Lister 6/1 (VeggieGen Version 2), we heard that our friends at the St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum were having the ribbon cutting ceremony at their new, and first, permanent home in Madrid, NY. The museum has ambitious plans for working farm villages spanning the 200 years of the north country. We have donated the Detroit to the museum as a working display piece, and the power source for their community.

Additional note:

Saturday, September 2, 2006 – Saturday and Sunday. 16th Annual Old Fashioned Harvest Days, by the St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum. At the Hutchinson Farm, Route 15 between Heuvelton and Rensselaer Falls, NY. Field harvesting demonstrations; antique gas and steam engines, tractors, trucks, and cars; sawmilling; flea market; Bluegrass music; super food. Saturday antique tractor games. Sunday tractor pull. Exhibitors welcome. Contact Roger Austin, 315-344-7470, email rsaustin123@earthlink.net or visit www.slpowermuseum.com.

Utterpower CD – Listeroid Engine Prep

Steve Spence — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 21:23:00 +0000

We received the CD from George at Utterpower.com. This is an excellent reference for those who are looking to build a cogen (Heat & Electric) power source for the off-grid home. The lister type engines are designed for continuous duty for many years, and use a lot less fuel (used fryer oil, diesel, kerosene, used motor oil, etc.) than our Detroit.

Green-Trust and Lister CSOG JoinForces

Steve Spence — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 10:42:00 +0000

The Lister CS Owners Group and the Green-Trust Lister group have joined forces. The combined group can be found at Lister_CSOG at Yahoo groups. We discuss Lister powered generators, cogen (CHP) applications, general engine maintenance issues, as well as biodiesel and used fryer oil fuel. The group description is as follows:

An Owners Group for Lister CS slow speed diesel engines, Startomatic generator sets and Indian built Listeroid engines.

This group is for all Lister CS and Listeroid enthusiasts in the UK and elsewhere.

It is aimed squarely at the enthusiast who wants to put these engines to work making power and useful heat.

Topics for Discussion.

Obtaining new and second hand engines
Restoring original engines to working condition
Using a Lister CS in a home heat and power system
Lister Startomatic generator sets
Running a Lister engine on vegetable oil and other fuels
Obtaining spare parts, alternators and accessories
Imported engines
Instruction manuals
Useful contacts in UK and elsewhere
Transporting Lister CS engines safely

The Lister CS Story

Steve Spence — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 00:17:00 +0000

Today I received the Book “The Lister CS Story”, by David Eddington. An excellent history of the Lister company, and the Lister CS engine specifically. If you are interested in building a Lister Diesel cogen set, this is a very good reference.