THE 6 HP DIESEL GENERATOR
A step towards getting off the grid on veggie power
A step towards getting off the grid on veggie power
In our quest to get off the grid we ran into a few possibilities of how we can do this: solar, wind, hydro, internal combustion generator, or no power at all. Well obviously the latter isn't an option for us 21st century folks, well not totally. Anyhoo, hydro ain't an option since we're not near a moving stream. Wind isn't an option since we're not in a good wind zone. So that leaves solar and IC power. Now solar is definately going into the mix, but due to the cost of solar panels, its something thats going to have to be built up a little at a time. Even then, unless we custom tailor our energy use to be low enough that a small solar array would be enough to run most of everything and recharge the batteries, we're going to have to have something else to help take up the slack when the sun sets and the batteries are still yearning for juice. This is where the diesel generator comes in.
I chose a diesel generator for several reasons. A gasoline generator uses more fuel to produce the same power that a diesel engine can. Gas engines don't last as long as diesel engines. And there's one thing a diesel can do that a gas engine can't, thats run on vegetable oil! The goal of this project is to make a generator that can run on waste veggie oil thats stored in bulk in a hopper. The oil will obviously be acquired from restaurants.
After past attempts at making generators using car alternators, which had their limited use as really nothing more than oversized battery chargers that required power inverters in order to provide the 110vac power we would need for normal use, we decided to just use a standard generator head that delivers 110vac.
In comes the 5kw generator head. This shaft driven generator head was picked up off of Ebay for a couple hundred bucks and has two onboard outlets and a power cable for hard wiring into a breaker box.
The next thing was to make a sturdy platform to support the heavy diesel engine and the generator head and whatever associated hardware.
We had a complete bed frame that we received from a friend who was moving and was going to throw the thing away anyway. This would be the basis of the generator. With some cutting and welding I fabricated a framework with the holes, many which were already there, lined up in the right places to mount the engine and generator head. I welded on an axle made with a 1/2" threaded rod and stand made from scrape angle iron, along with a tow handle which was actually a section of conduit from the old frame. I even welded a couple of pieces of angle iron to accomodate a battery in the remaining space on the other side of the generator head.
With the framework made, I was able to mount the diesel engine in place along with the generator head. I had to fabricate a bracket to hold an old V-belt idler pulley removed from an old car at the junkyard to put tension on the drive belt using a spring that's anchored to the generator frame. Along with a battery to power the diesel engine's starter motor, I welded a piece of metal to the frame to hold the starter key switch for the engine as well. Wiring up the battery to the engine and its charging module, the machine was ready to go.
I can either pull my shoulder by yanking the pull cord to start the engine, after depressing the decompression lever, or just crank the key and more quickly fire the engine. Once started the thing farts to life, I throttle the engine up to get it to the RPM's necessary to get the genny spinning to generate the AC power, then just plug up the loads.
This generator has served its duty on a few occasions powering heavy loads in the house during extended power outages, lasting for several hours, only sipping fuel from its relatively small fuel tank compared to its guzzling gasoline counterparts. Along with the means to process waste veggie oil, we can generate power for near free if need be.
I chose a diesel generator for several reasons. A gasoline generator uses more fuel to produce the same power that a diesel engine can. Gas engines don't last as long as diesel engines. And there's one thing a diesel can do that a gas engine can't, thats run on vegetable oil! The goal of this project is to make a generator that can run on waste veggie oil thats stored in bulk in a hopper. The oil will obviously be acquired from restaurants.
After past attempts at making generators using car alternators, which had their limited use as really nothing more than oversized battery chargers that required power inverters in order to provide the 110vac power we would need for normal use, we decided to just use a standard generator head that delivers 110vac.
In comes the 5kw generator head. This shaft driven generator head was picked up off of Ebay for a couple hundred bucks and has two onboard outlets and a power cable for hard wiring into a breaker box.
The next thing was to make a sturdy platform to support the heavy diesel engine and the generator head and whatever associated hardware.
We had a complete bed frame that we received from a friend who was moving and was going to throw the thing away anyway. This would be the basis of the generator. With some cutting and welding I fabricated a framework with the holes, many which were already there, lined up in the right places to mount the engine and generator head. I welded on an axle made with a 1/2" threaded rod and stand made from scrape angle iron, along with a tow handle which was actually a section of conduit from the old frame. I even welded a couple of pieces of angle iron to accomodate a battery in the remaining space on the other side of the generator head.
With the framework made, I was able to mount the diesel engine in place along with the generator head. I had to fabricate a bracket to hold an old V-belt idler pulley removed from an old car at the junkyard to put tension on the drive belt using a spring that's anchored to the generator frame. Along with a battery to power the diesel engine's starter motor, I welded a piece of metal to the frame to hold the starter key switch for the engine as well. Wiring up the battery to the engine and its charging module, the machine was ready to go.
I can either pull my shoulder by yanking the pull cord to start the engine, after depressing the decompression lever, or just crank the key and more quickly fire the engine. Once started the thing farts to life, I throttle the engine up to get it to the RPM's necessary to get the genny spinning to generate the AC power, then just plug up the loads.
This generator has served its duty on a few occasions powering heavy loads in the house during extended power outages, lasting for several hours, only sipping fuel from its relatively small fuel tank compared to its guzzling gasoline counterparts. Along with the means to process waste veggie oil, we can generate power for near free if need be.
To keep up with our quest to promote self sufficiency and help the laymen out there further achieve their goals of self sufficiency, we will list items related to our showcase projects that can be purchased from Amazon.com. Many of these items can be used to build a similar device to what we've built or otherwise used for related purposes.
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