Power Generation General

[Whoopsie Daisy]

Wut. Trees slow wind. Dafuq u talkin bout, Willis?

It's one of those things that sounds mental but it's true. On a calm, sunny day, a copse of trees will generate a slight breeze, probably not enough to blow a candle out, but there is one there.
When it hits 40 at my summer home, I sit in the outdoor kitchen that's shaded by trees and there's always a breeze. I looked it up and apparently the breeze blows from the trees.

 

[Cirrhosis_of_Liver]

Oh yeah Ok. Standing next to live oaks on a hot day feels like air conditioner. Some sort of effect of evapotranspiration?

 

[IdiotPlusPlus]

Speaking of Wind Energy, Great Scott recently put up a Video on using it for the home lol

 

[Oxyjen]

A lot of youtube renewable energy content is pretty poor. “Makers” and the like trying to brainiac or buy from alibaba their way to free energy without bothering to learn 40 odd years of wind power development, found out the hard way.
The principles haven’t and will never change. Fitting turbines to houses and sheds will never work, no matter what elaborate AI generated shape or topology the blades are.
Turbines that you can pick up by hand will never make more than 100W. Height above terrain, diameter and prevailing wind speed is more important than any clever design.

They will never beat solar for cost, due to the tower needed.

All that said, if you have the right site, it’s still vital to do for power in winter, unless you have a reliable hydro source.

if you want to do something innovative these days, nobody has cracked domestic scale kite turbines yet…

 

[Sperg_rancher]

domestic scale kite turbines

could you imagine having to go outside at 7 am every day in order to go untangle your kite from your neighbors? lmao.
Also the thing about kites is you only have the right to fly it over your own property, and public property ofc. If your kite flies over your neighbors yard, most states will allow that neighbor to trespass you and your kite.
A really fun idea, but a nightmare to execute.

 

[Oxyjen]

could you imagine having to go outside at 7 am every day in order to go untangle your kite from your neighbors? lmao.
Also the thing about kites is you only have the right to fly it over your own property, and public property ofc. If your kite flies over your neighbors yard, most states will allow that neighbor to trespass you and your kite.
A really fun idea, but a nightmare to execute.

Oh, totally, it’s not going to be a magic bullet, it’s only relevant if you have the right circumstances and like an experiment. Like real wind, or hydro, or even solar you need to own some roof space or land.
Suburbanites who have a reliable grid connection anyway are best sticking with solar and battery.

 

[indomitable snowman]

I recently saw a interesting windmill design. It was low to the ground and horizontal. It looked like a manual grass mower tbh. It was about the same dimension of a semi trailer (probably is the trailer and just gets dropped off). It was by the coast so there is usually going to be some wind.

 

[King Vidiot]

I mean, if I mount them on posts so they're angled for local noon ideal angle, sort of like how solar farms work, I could maybe see it. I have space, but that sounds expensive, even if I double up the use as shades for livestock. Maybe Uncle Sam would give me a grant for "green energy?"

In the US you should be able to get at least 30% of the cost of a solar system back as a tax credit. To quote my post from the solar generator thread:

When the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in the US earlier this year, the federal tax credit for installing new solar systems and energy storage devices was increased to 30% through 2032. Keep in mind this is a tax credit and not a rebate, so you only save money if you have a tax bill that can be offset by the credit. Check out the energy.gov website (archive) for more details. With utility companies everywhere raising rates this has me wondering if going full solar could be the best long term option to save money on electricity.

You may be able to get more than 30% of the cost of a solar/battery system back if your state or local government also has rebates that stack with the federal tax credit.

 

[Sargon's wife's son]

As soon as I buy some land I'm gonna build something like this is an electric turbine so when civil war happens and I get all of my enslaved Africans and other non whites I will use them to power all of my electricity

 

[McLean Deluxe]

http://www.driveonwood.com/library/basics-of-woodgas/

Wood and charcoal gasification are almost never brought up as an alternative power source, even though they are much more capable than solar, and if you have access to a steady supply of wood, can provide off-grid power almost indefinitely. A charcoal gasifier can be built with parts bought from Home Depot for under $100 and power most gasoline generators with little modification. I built one myself in 2021 following this exact guide: https://www.instructables.com/Charcoal-Fire-Powered-Generator/

There is also the FEMA design for a dual wood / charcoal stratified downdraft gasifier.

https://www.driveonwood.com/library/fema-gasifier/

Wood and charcoal gas can also power diesel vehicles. DriveOnWood has some great resources for this https://driveonwood.com/

This is a true off-grid power source, because the average person cannot manufacture a solar panel themselves. Solar panels also have a set lifespan of only 5 to 10 years.

My winter project this year is going to be to build a wood gasifier that I can load with firewood I cut down myself. These instructions are great. I see a lot of gasifier examples that use premade wood pellets, but I feel like to be truly off the grid you need to build something that can eat up almost any biomass you can find. If anyone has any recommendations for the heat chamber, I think I'm going to need something bigger than a 55 gallon drum.

 

[Badungus Kabungus]

My winter project this year is going to be to build a wood gasifier that I can load with firewood I cut down myself. These instructions are great. I see a lot of gasifier examples that use premade wood pellets, but I feel like to be truly off the grid you need to build something that can eat up almost any biomass you can find. If anyone has any recommendations for the heat chamber, I think I'm going to need something bigger than a 55 gallon drum.

Problem with wood gas is that it can really eat away at some metals such as aluminum. Even on iron corrosion can be a bitch. From what I saw those generators do not tend to last long.

 

[mr_negativity]

If you are into small engines and generators I recommend looking into James Cordon Youtube Channel. Watch his channel enough and you'll gain enough knowledge in repairing small engines as a hobby or small business.

Most busted non running small engines are simply due to fuel issues caused by clogged up carburetors and bad fuel tanks. Unfortunately if the power head of the generator is fucked then things get bad in a hurry. He's able to maintain his own graveyard of generator parts and mix and match to get practically anything going again.

With basic hand tools, you'll be able to fix carburetor, valve clearance, ignition, automatic voltage regulator, wiring, and bad brushes of gasoline powered generators.

 

[888Flux]

My winter project this year is going to be to build a wood gasifier that I can load with firewood I cut down myself. These instructions are great. I see a lot of gasifier examples that use premade wood pellets, but I feel like to be truly off the grid you need to build something that can eat up almost any biomass you can find. If anyone has any recommendations for the heat chamber, I think I'm going to need something bigger than a 55 gallon drum.

I would recommend building a charcoal gasifier first. When wood is pyrolyzed it creates tar which complicates the design and operation.

Charcoal gasification on the other hand is much easier and the driving principle is so simple it takes next to nothing to build one. The most basic design is a downdraft or updraft gasifier. Air is sucked in from either the bottom or the top and the carbon monoxide gas product exits out the opposite direction, which can then be used directly for combustion with no further steps needed besides passing it through a filter (which can be something as simple as a HEPA furnace filter) or a cyclone like one you would find for a shopvac to filter out the charcoal dust.

Check out this design from Instructables:

https://www.instructables.com/Charcoal-Fire-Powered-Generator/

And also the "Simple Fire" design by Gary Gilmore.

If you've got a 55 gallon drum already, you're 70% of the way complete with building one. Get a harbor freight welder or some JB-Weld if you are feeling redneck enough and you should be good to go.

Here's some pictures of mine I built a while back. It worked almost flawlessly after a "starting process" which just was me blasting a shopvac through the gas outtake pipe to draw in air quickly to get the process going.

Hopefully in the future I will have some more time to experiment with this because I'd like to do a proper write up on how to build one.

 

[McLean Deluxe]

Check out this design from Instructables:
https://www.instructables.com/Charcoal-Fire-Powered-Generator/

Read through that and it convinced me. I just went out and got some black iron pipe components, and hopefully a 5 gallon metal bucket will be in the way. I've got two questions from your experience.

1: The ball valves I've found all have plastic or rubber gaskets in them. Will these get hot enough to melt, especially on the outlet?

2: How exactly does the charcoal both combust and give off gas at the same time? Is the idea you feed it just enough air to heat up, and then it gives off more gas that flows out and to the generator? My understanding of gasification is that you just heated up the biomass by having a fire on the outside of a chamber, and don't allow combustion to happen inside of the chamber holding the biomass.

 

[888Flux]

Will these get hot enough to melt, especially on the outlet?

Most gaskets are not made of plastic / rubber but are instead made of either PTFE (Teflon) or some type of silicone, which are materials rated for very high temperatures. It could depend though. If you have the product description that should tell you. If you really want to test it get a propane torch and try melting it.

How exactly does the charcoal both combust and give off gas at the same time?

"Down stratified" means exactly that, there are different processes occurring simultaneously in the gasifier in different layers.

The oxygen that enters reacts with the charcoal (or any biomass like wood) to create a partial combustion process which forms the product gas carbon monoxide as the gases and heat move downward in the reduction process. In a down-stratified design the top part has oxygen, while the lower doesn't. And remember that combustion can only take place where oxygen is present. So what you end up with is several different layers and there is a temperature gradient between them and a slight negative pressure in the chamber. This happens on its own when there is the biomass present.



* Note that these diagrams use two air intake points, it is possible to get away with only one like the Instructables link has.

http://biofuelsacademy.org/index.html?p=200.html ( https://archive.is/IjhAB )
http://www.femagasifier.com/stratified-downdraft-gasifier/ ( https://archive.is/psDnq )
https://www.driveonwood.com/library/fema-gasifier/ ( https://archive.is/udShq )

 

[McLean Deluxe]

Most gaskets are not made of plastic / rubber but are instead made of either PTFE (Teflon) or some type of silicone, which are materials rated for very high temperatures. It could depend though. If you have the product description that should tell you. If you really want to test it get a propane torch and try melting it.

"Down stratified" means exactly that, there are different processes occurring simultaneously in the gasifier in different layers.

Ok, that all makes sense. Amazing how simple the process really is. These pictures are amazing btw, thanks.

 

[Oxyjen]

Most gaskets are not made of plastic / rubber but are instead made of either PTFE (Teflon) or some type of silicone, which are materials rated for very high temperatures. It could depend though. If you have the product description that should tell you. If you really want to test it get a propane torch and try melting it.

Avoid putting a propane torch to PTFE or unknown plastic.
Anything fluorinated (which PTFE is) can form hydroflouric acid which will irreversibly fuck up your lungs if inhaled.

I built a gasifier once, it was all ceramic construction and used a crossflow design so that the outgoing gas was cooled by the incoming air (which was then further pre heated by the combustion chamber walls).
Worked very well, and even had computerized controls to manage the air flow based on temperatures and o2 sensor.

 

[teriyakiburns]

I was about to post a thread until I saw this one. There go my imaginary internet points again.

Has anyone else looked into whole-house UPS-style systems or cost time-shifting using batteries? My brother, my dad, and myself are looking into home battery storage for time-shift, but also to deal with the shortages that are inevitably coming in the next few years as the government continues to fuck with the grid. The idea is to be able to store enough energy for a bit over day of normal operation, which can probably be stretched to two or three days with rationing.

We're starting with a test rig at my dad's place, since he has both the time and the money to actually work on it. The initial plan is to start with time-shifting, then upgrade to some form of real-time rate management if possible (using a home assistant integration because home assistant is awesome), and then finally add solar for that fully off-grid lifestyle. We don't want to do some shitty all-in-one contractor installation, or use some tightly integrated system like Powerwall. Instead we're going start with a system that can be expanded over time. To that end, we're investigating the Victron EasySolar II inverter/charger, which has a wide range of compatible batteries and can have its capacity expanded with parallel units. If it works, we're going to pool money to upgrade our homes with the same system. I won't be having solar though. No suitable roof for it. All things being equal, we're probably setting it up within the next month.

 

[THE SUPREME ONION]

Infinite and free energy isn't real retards.

how about that you dumb nigger

 

[Jotch]

how about that you dumb nigger

View attachment 6870263

You fool! Unplug that right now! You are completely unprepared for the kind of power you're dealing with!!!