custom made generator thread

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IMHO, This is one of those things where, if you really now how to do it, not DIY make it work, Git-R-Done style, I mean an Electrical Engineer who has knowledge and experience doing it, it can be done safely.

That being said, if you have to ask, you don't know enough to do it!

Notice, I left out the part about being able to do it cheaper...:grin: ;)
 
coulter said:
Let's make a risk comparison: Say you are closing at 176 fps, on 65k lbs of highly flammable liquid in a fairly easily ruptured container. The clearance is maybe 8 feet. If you screw this up, and hit the tank, the energy of the impact, not counting the flammable liquid blast, is around 8 x 10^6 ft-lbs - yes, 8 million. Would anyone think this is dangerous? We don?t seem to - we likely do this every day driving to work.
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If I am driving at 60 mph, and if a tank truck is driving in the opposite direction at 60 mph, there are controls, experiences, habits, laws, and a host of other things that provide a margin of safety in the encounter. There will be, just as one example, that 8 foot area of grass (with or without a barrier in place) that separates the two lanes. Also, both drivers will have been trained and experienced in the art of staying in their own lane of traffic, and not crossing into the opposing lanes. So the risk is less, IMHO, than the risk of putting together a set of components, and expecting them to supply electrical energy safely.
coulter said:
However, I would have been more comfortable if you had said, "Per M.H direction, the members of this forum shall not participate in a home-design project."
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Let?s try this: Per M.H direction, the members of this forum shall not assist a DIY. Per my judgment, this is a DIY situation. Feel free to email M.H., if you think I made an error in judgment.
 
warning: paob:smile:

charlie b said:
If I am driving at 60 mph, and if a tank truck is driving in the opposite direction at 60 mph, there are controls, experiences, habits, laws, and a host of other things that provide a margin of safety in the encounter. There will be, just as one example, that 8 foot area of grass (with or without a barrier in place) that separates the two lanes. Also, both drivers will have been trained and experienced in the art of staying in their own lane of traffic, and not crossing into the opposing lanes. ...
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Okay, I would consider this mittigation of the risk to where you are comfortable. Same thing I would do if I wanted to build a generator set. BTW, very few medians or barriers here - mostly just two lanes, 55 or 65mph

charlie b said:
... Let?s try this: Per M.H direction, the members of this forum shall not assist a DIY. Per my judgment, this is a DIY situation. Feel free to email M.H., if you think I made an error in judgment.
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That's a good response. If you had left off the last sentence it would have been a great response.

I am not in charge of watching your judgement and that's absolutely okay with me. Really, it is okay. And, I also think you made a good choice in shutting off the thread - not because it is dangerous, but because the discussion does not fit your (plural) interpretation of the owner's guidelines. And you(all) are the ones charged with the interpretation.

Separate issue from shutting off the thread (danger of building a generator): I don't happen to think that building a generator is any more dangerous than building, say, my own airplane or an airboat - probably a lot less. Anyone that thinks building a generator is dangerous means they shouldn't build one. But that doesn't mean that someone else can't mittigate the risk to where they feel comfortable.

carl
 
LarryFine said:
Air- or water-cooled? I picture Everglade fan boats when I think about air-cooled VW engines. Then, there are Corvair engines, too. :smile:

If I were going to construct my own genny, I'd use a water-cooled engine and use the engine cooling system to heat water, and the house itself in winter.
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a fair number of these kind of installs do exactly that.
 
iwire said:
So you continue to type about it why? :grin:
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No more complicated than: Because charlie answered with "Feel free to email M.H., if you think I made an error in judgment."

And if you are thinking about asking why I am continuing to type about it in this post, well, that's easy pilgrim, it's because ----- (Drum Roll) You asked:grin: :grin:

carl
 
LarryFine said:
... If I were going to construct my own genny, I'd use a water-cooled engine and use the engine cooling system to heat water, and the house itself in winter.
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petersonra said:
a fair number of these kind of installs do exactly that.
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In 1980 I looked at that for my Dad's shop - a pair of 50kw cats, no paralleling, with auto-start on dead bus, heat recovery (coolant and exhaust) for the building. In that case, as I recall, the cost recovery over putting in the poles was 5 years - and then you would be sitting there with two worn out engines to major. Economics just weren't there. Now if I could have found some 40k hour drivers - maybe 900rpm, it might have worked. Don't know - couldn't find any in the time I had available.

Still, great concept.

carl
 
coulter said:
I don't happen to think that building a generator is any more dangerous than building, say, my own airplane or an airboat - probably a lot less.
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We're not allowed to give advice on how to build those, either. ;)
 
LarryFine said:
We're not allowed to give advice on how to build those, either. ;)
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iwire said:
I was thinking the same thing. :grin:
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No complaints here. I agree completely.

I would not agree with anyone that thinks any of these are inherently dangerous.;) :D

edit: I'm having trouble phrasing this right: I do agree that if someone thinks these things are inherently dangerous - then they absolutely shouldn't build one.

carl
 
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SEO said:
I think that if a person wanted to make his own generation equipment that would be ok but have a third party such as UL come out and make a field evaluation and seal it. Very pricey!
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Devil's advocate: Is that required? :)
 
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