StatCounter

Saturday, April 6, 2013

17,500 Watt Diesel Generator



My buddy called me up to see if I was interested in helping him move a generator. When I converted an ambulance into a motor home, I made sure the bed and tables could easily be removed. It's a good thing too, as this monster generator barely fit.



We did a 270 mile round trip, running the van on waste veggie all the way. Waste vegetable oil jugs are visible in the left side of the photo.


One good thing about such a big heavy generator is that it's too big to even think of moving it by hand. The dealer loaded it up with a fork lift. My buddy was able to unload it with forks attached to the bucket of his loader.


My friends live off grid and solar provides most of their day to day needs. However, they own a commercial pottery kiln, and it takes more than a couple solar panels to power a kiln. This generator can do the job, and won't take much to convert it to run on waste vegetable oil.

I love it when a plan comes together.

-Sixbears

13 comments:

  1. 17.5 kilowatts! 17.5 kilowatts! Great scot!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5cYgRnfFDA

    I have no idea what kind of power requirements a commercial pottery operation has, but I seriously wonder if they wouldn't benefit from a redesign. Waste vegetable oil is a great resource, but it is limited. I wonder if concentrated solar thermal or wood gas wouldn't be more effective.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought the same thing, but they have the big electric kiln and got a great deal on the generator. It's not my operation, I'm just the friendly help.

      Delete
  2. Nice to have a vehicle that can be ulitarian and multi-functional!

    Nice generator!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a workhorse of a vehicle. Generator is great too.

      Delete
  3. If you talk all your friends to converting to veggy oil, you may run dry on sources for yourself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's got other sources, plus he picks up veggie from my source when I'm away. We burned his veggie for the ride down.

      Delete
  4. Are you still off grid when you have a power plant that size? Or are you just a mini grid ?

    ReplyDelete
  5. A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electric energy. Diesel generators are mostly used without connection to the power grid or even as a standby power-supply in case of grid failure. Small portable diesel generators range from about 1kVA to 10kVA, while the larger industrial generators can range from 8kVA - 30kVA for homes, small shops & offices up to 2000kVA used for large office complexes, factories. Sizes up to about 5 MW are used for small power stations and these may use from one to 20 units. These generators are widely used not only for emergency power, but also many have a secondary function of feeding power to utility grids either during peak periods, or periods when there is a shortage of large power generators.

    Diesel generator

    ReplyDelete
  6. You did a good job. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
    You are running your van on vegetable oil how?

    ReplyDelete