Electrical Power TA

From Adam Colton
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Sources

Solar Panels
The most obvious and conventional source of power. While they provide a known path, they have several major drawbacks. Their cost is of significant concern and so is their environmental impact. Their lifespan is somewhat limited (20 yrs) and I will get very little power in the winter. A major factor here however, is that the price, lifespan and manufacturing techniques may change significantly in the next 2-4 years.
Wood Gas Generator
This would be a good backup.
Grid
Reliability and if I reach a point that I'm producing excess power, I can sell it back to the grid (I think).
Wind
It probably won't contribute a lot, but there's a good chance it will help even things out and contribute energy when it's needed most. There are some simple designs using PVC and a car alternator.
Methane digester
Produce methane which can be used. Can also be run into the generator.

Hybrid

Closely related to power is heat and water. Especially during the winter when heat is valueable, transfer heat into water and pass that through radiators.

Solar

Panels come in units of 12v @ 100w. Realistically, on a sunny day, I'll get 75w. For reference, a tablesaw is going to draw around 1000w.

Six panels cost around $600. A 40A charge controller is $20. I may be able to get a charger and inverter in one. Otherwise an inverter is at least $80. A 100AH battery is $175.

So for about $1670 I'll have access to 900w and the ability store 200AH. That should be enough to run the table saw for at least 15 minutes every hour.

This is going to be a good thing to try setting up once and running tools off it before moving it to the site. This will also be the initial source of power.

It looks like LiFePO4 is a better option for the batteries. The upfront cost is higher, but I think I can use more of the power and they have a longer life cycle.

Wood Gas

This will be good for when I'm on site to run a generator.

In this video he runs a 7.8HP generator on a 4" fire tube in a 30gal drum. I could maybe do a 5" in a 55gal to reach 10A.

Flash - ok, this guy is crazy, but it's a really good build

Design and Construction

  1. Burner
  2. Cooling manifold
  3. Cyclone separator
  4. Filter
  5. Starter pump

This can be built in stages. First build just the burner and connect a pump right to that and confirm that the output burns. Make sure the shaker, lighter and clean out are functional. Then Add the manifold and cyclone and check that they work. Finally add the filter. Then start getting it to work with a generator.

Not sure if the Cyclone should come before or after the manifold.

Need to be able to break everything down for cleaning.

Burner

Built from 55gal steel drum. 4" burn tube. The tube will have a plate that bolts to the top of the drum. This will allow it to be disassembled if I really need to get inside. The grate will hang from the tube. The knocker will be positioned to clear the grate.

At the bottom of the burner I need a bolted on access to clean out the ash.

Manifold

I haven't seen this on any, but I feel like a forced air cooling manifold could really cool the air down. 7 pipes (1 center, 6 ring) inside a larger tube. Force cold air in at the bottom with a pump. I might also be able to use this air to feed into the burner as a preheater. If the manifold is getting the gas cold enough, I can use plastic parts downstream.

Automation

Temperature sensors. Servo to engage the knocker regularly. Fuel level monitor.

While an auto-start would be great, that might be too hard. But a safe shut down should not be too hard and would be useful.

From the temperature I can get hours of operation (and possible number of startups and hours of clean operation) and schedule maintenance off that.

There needs to be a system in place to allocate resources. This handles either end of the spectrum - too much or too little power.

  1. Critical Systems
  2. Primary grid
  3. Power Storage
  4. Optional (pumping water to reservoirs)
  5. Wasteful

Storage

Battery

  • Li-Ion: build packs
  • Zinc Bromide: full DIY
  • iron flow battery : also DIY

Zinc Bromide

This describes creating the zinc bromide. The by product is sodium sulfate. Sodium sulfate decahydrate with NaCl has a phase change at 64°. This is like the hand warmer thing. A highly concentrated solution of Sodium sulfate will change how much is dissolved with temperature. I need to find the right ratio for the NaCl but make up a dry powder and disolve it in water bellow 64° then raise the temperature to just above and keep adding until no more will dissolve.

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