DIESEL GENERATOR, (as your primary power source)

[chosen]

I always wondered about the bio-diesel angle. So, it does work on the generators as well. I was also curious if you can run straight vegetable oil like in cars that have the conversion tanks.

 

[Mr Celsius]

I always wondered about the bio-diesel angle. So, it does work on the generators as well. I was also curious if you can run straight vegetable oil like in cars that have the conversion tanks.

I believe so, if you search for SVO generator, you can find some generators. acquiring enough oil could be an issue. Most places already have services to pick it up.

 

[Guest]

Nice to see this thread come to life again.....I posted several times a few months back.
Good to see you getting your stuff ready Goldustwoman...Nice set-up with the panel.
I,m building a concrete bunker for my 6Kw Kubota.Just enuff room to get in and do the usual maintenance...It,s well insulated and nice quiet exhaust.I,m gonna run 8x600watt ....was gonna do a flip flop but just too much fuel and a lot of other things.
My unit burns about .65 gallons/hour,so I,m puttin in a 500 gallon oil tank which should last about two months which is about right for the strain i,m workin,on.It won,t raise any eyebrows from the delivery guy as the cold weather will be startin,soon and 500 gallons is about normal for my shop for two months.
btw do you have timers on the panels so all the lights don,t come on at once?I figured it would be OK to start the gen up and warm up for 15 min then have about half the lights come on right away then the rest come on in another 5/10 mins.
Nehow good to see some more interest in running generators for our power needs.
Be safe..good luck
jarff

Hey Jarff,
Sounds like you got a good plan there also. I think the setup your building is going to run a nice setup for sure. As for my panel. You will notice two timers. Each timer controls each side, so I'll have one side kick on then the other. After the generator has warmed up. You don't want to place a large load on a generator. Till the unit is warmed up some, but you already know that. Those generator you got "Kubota" are very nice units. Remember, when you fire these units up. They do smoke a little till they get going. Just a warning up front. Can't wait to see your setup. That's if your willing to share some pictures with us. Once I get going and some what settled. I'll take some pics and share. I'm either going with a 265 or 550 gallon oil tank myself, but something tells me. I should get the larger 550 gallon to be safe. I agree with you on the cold weather. There shouldn't be any issues and two months sounds about right. Well, got to run. Take care and here's a picture of the 12kW panel. Notices the two timers. One for each side.
Later,
BG



chosen
Yes, you can run Bio Diesel in these generators. If you know what your doing. You can also run oil motor oil also. You can also run straight vegetable oil also. There are just a few things you need to do. With the unit i bought. It's one of the older units. That once it's warmed up. I can switch over to a thicker oil and burn it. Vegetable oil is one of those. Don't worry, I'm going to do a thread on making Bio Diesel for all to see. I plan on making my own. Once i get all settled and up and running with straight diesel. I'm going to find a source for used fryer oil. Then I'll show everyone how Bio Diesel is done. This will save a lot of money for those. Who are running a large generator, but at a different cost. Time and converting the old oil. I in joy stuff like this, so to me. It's not really work. I'll post a thread with plenty of pictures and info around spring time.
Take care,
BG

Mr Celsius
Nice post and your right. Only problem with SVO. Is that it needs to be heated some and you can't get a good price on oil. Well, I haven't checked really hard, but from what i've seen. The used oil is the way to go. SVO, is alot less pain in the ass. No chemicals and work. Just dump it into tank and make sure it's warm. Some of the systems I've seen. You start the motor on diesel. Get the unit up to temp and switch over to the SVO. They have a different tank and it feeds the motor once up to temp. Big Oil Tanker ships that haul fuel and cargo does something like this. They get going and then switch over to what is called 6 oil. Thick nasty stuff and run there LARGE diesel motors. I'll do this with the old oil from my truck and generator. Since these units have about 8-12 qts each. No need to waste the oil, since I can burn it in the generator. Well, thanks for sharing. Got to work.
Take care,
BG

 

[Guest]

Good luck on signing up enough sources for cooking oils. In the last 1 and a half years it has gotten cutthroat out there and in some areas the bio-freaks are actually paying instead being paid for the used oils to be hauled away.

If you can pull it off great.

A Question, do you have back up power set up to handle lighting while you are servicing the Genset, or if there is a failure?

Happy Growing and Peace

 

[NiteTiger]

Hey GDW, you really got into in our earlier discussion of this thread! Cool to see you providing the new guys to the thread all the great info you've collected!

Have you gotten your setup running yet, or are we just running up to first use?

 

[NiteTiger]

Oh, and a little research off that link in GDW's sig shows me that you can buy WVO in as little as 55 gallon drums for about $.88 per gallon. So, collect your own or buy it, biodiesel is a very viable option for reducing or possibly eliminating fuel costs.

 

[Guest]

Good luck on signing up enough sources for cooking oils. In the last 1 and a half years it has gotten cutthroat out there and in some areas the bio-freaks are actually paying instead being paid for the used oils to be hauled away.

If you can pull it off great.

A Question, do you have back up power set up to handle lighting while you are servicing the Genset, or if there is a failure?

Happy Growing and Peace

Afternoon,
I've talked to a manager at a local Burger King and it isn't a problem. Only issue with them. I would have to sign a one year contract. Which would work out very nice, but I'm going to see what i can handle and if i can land some small local business before even trying a large one. Or, I just might go with SVO and farm Diesel. Which is un road taxed. Will see once i get all the gear together and test fired first.

Back up issue
Yes, since I'm running split timers. I can run have the load at day time and the other half at night. We will use either a automatic transfer switch or a cheap one arm bandit. When power goes out. Street power kicks in or we manual switch over. Since I'm running 3600 watts per a side. Shouldn't be a issue till generator comes back online. I've got almost every angle covered. Wait till I do a thread. Members will get all the angles.

 

[Guest]

Hey GDW, you really got into in our earlier discussion of this thread! Cool to see you providing the new guys to the thread all the great info you've collected!

Have you gotten your setup running yet, or are we just running up to first use?

Thanks,

Been searching and reading a lot.

No, been buying everything i need for the new setup. I should have all the gear together around Jan. and hopefully test fired. If all goes well. Clones will be ready to roll then. I think everything should be fine. Generator is sitting in a warehouse, and just got to get all my light together next. Then shipping everything to location. No worries, I'll link my thread so member can follow over there.

As for the SVO. I might go that route and buy by the drum. I might see if i can get a larger discount by 550 gallons per a purchase. If i can get even a better deal. Then I'll go that route. I'll make sure to do a full thread. Who knows, you might see a article in one of the major magazines. You never know
Take care,
BG

 

[NiteTiger]

As for the SVO. I might go that route and buy by the drum. I might see if i can get a larger discount by 550 gallons per a purchase. If i can get even a better deal. Then I'll go that route. I'll make sure to do a full thread. Who knows, you might see a article in one of the major magazines. You never know
Take care,
BG

That was actually WVO by the barrel. And they did have it available up to like tanker car size LOL

 

[Guest]

That was actually WVO by the barrel. And they did have it available up to like tanker car size LOL

See, I learned something new today. I must have missed that. I'm going to have to go back and check. At .88 cents a gallon. You can't beat that and it's better for the earth then fossil fuel. Will see, but one thing members must know about SVO. It's thick and in the winter months. You will need to heat it some. I might have to heat it before using it also, but that easy. They have kits you can buy for your oil tanks. They keep them at the right temp. with out any issues.

Thanks NiteTiger for telling me that. I miss that one. lolol
Later,
BG

 

[anonymiss12345]

Running a gen at 80% of it's rated max continuous is considered the 'real world' max btw folks.
So something like this 21K Izuzu at a rated 20K cont....16K is the reality. And even then...

BUT!...if the setup is for profit...max the sucker out and consider the gen disposable. I mean really.
Fire up 16-20lights on a flip/flop (32-40light total)...do what you gotta do to feed it fuel and burn that gennie to the ground! lol...It only has to last one crop really....with a 10week total turn around on the crop (2wk veg, 8flower), 40lights worth...geeze, do the math ...when you consider what 50lbs adds to the pocket book...buy disposable gennies or run them at max and burn them out if you want to ...lol

If it's a somewhat more permanent setup then of course it is worthwhile to invest in a gennie that you will only use at 80% or less of it's rating.

 

[Guest]

Running a gen at 80% of it's rated max continuous is considered the 'real world' max btw folks.
So something like this 21K Izuzu at a rated 20K cont....16K is the reality. And even then...

BUT!...if the setup is for profit...max the sucker out and consider the gen disposable. I mean really.
Fire up 16-20lights on a flip/flop (32-40light total)...do what you gotta do to feed it fuel and burn that gennie to the ground! lol...It only has to last one crop really....with a 10week total turn around on the crop (2wk veg, 8flower), 40lights worth...geeze, do the math ...when you consider what 50lbs adds to the pocket book...buy disposable gennies or run them at max and burn them out if you want to ...lol

If it's a somewhat more permanent setup then of course it is worthwhile to invest in a gennie that you will only use at 80% or less of it's rating.

Morning,

Your totally right about loads. I sure a lot of people here already know this. Me, I'm only going to use my generator at about 75% load. Don't want to cook it. If I was to need more load. I would just up grade to a larger unit. There are all types of sweet deals on large diesel generators on ebay. Thanks for sharing your info. Nice to see the thread still alive. The unit i got now. Is a 12kW and Ill only be using about 7200kW's max, so I should be good.
Take care,
BG

 

[Guest]

Bump for some more info. what a hassle to pic the right one!

 

[anonymiss12345]

Bump for some more info. what a hassle to pic the right one!

If you consider a few hrs of reading and research online, maybe a phone call or two to be a 'hassle'....I think you might be gettin' in over your head....LOL

 

[NiteTiger]

If you consider a few hrs of reading and research online, maybe a phone call or two to be a 'hassle'....I think you might be gettin' in over your head....LOL

I can't disagree with that...

 

[Guest]

I was just hoping to see if anyone wanted to update or add some info to a great thread not get roasted for searching this site.

If you consider a few hrs of reading and research online, maybe a phone call or two to be a 'hassle'....I think you might be gettin' in over your head....LOL

Well thanks for the welcome. Who said I thought it was a hassle to make a phone call or that i havent made any phone calls. You talk to a gen set dealer latley? All of them have the best genset for the best price no matter who the dealer is? Oh and I must not have done any other reading either I suppose. Go hang out over someone elses head.

 

[Guest]

What info are you looking for? We don't read minds here. I would be more then happy to help out, but me and others. Need to know what your looking for? What type of load are you going to need to handle? What type of fuel are you looking to run? How much do you have to spend? These are just a few answers we need to know. If you want some help. Ask some direct questions and I'm sure members like me and the others. Will do our best to help out.
Take care,
BG

 

[skin]

also find out how much and what your service filters and oil are, my genny uses some bloody expensive oil and the filters are not cheap either !
i have to take the filters off and around a few places to find a match now as i refuse to pay that amount of money for a pair of filters from the dealer !

 

[Guest]

Very good point Skin. Changing the oil and fuel filter is very important with a generator. When using a diesel unit. You always want to make sure you change that fuel filter every so many hours. Always good to follow the direction the the manual. I like to change mine a little earlier. Like with my trucks. They say to change every other oil change. Well, working on remote job signs sometime. We get some nasty fuel. Well, i try to filter before going into trucks and then change filter every oil change. Skin is right and some filters and oils can cost more. Some of the newer generator use synthetic oil. This stuff is not cheap, but if you check the manual. You might be able to switch over to a normal petroleum oil. Filters are best bought off the internet. If your changes on a regular bases. Can find them allot cheaper by the case cost.

As for me, I like the older generator units. They cost allot less when it comes to parts and they are stronger lasting in my option. A lot less cheaper to work on. I'm talking about units like the detroit 2-71, 3-71 motors with AC Delco generator heads. These units are rock solid and can burn just about anything. Old use motor oil. Waste Veggie oil, Bio Diesel, and other blends. One thing bad about these older units. They can be "LOUD", so sound proofing is needed. Well, just my thoughts.
Take care,
BG

 

[skin]

i know where your coming from GDW i bought a new fancy complicated genny and i have been regretting it ever since ! it looked good on paper , what it can and cant do but the reality is the more complicated it is the more there is to go wrong !
i plan on using it for a few runs then if all goes well get myself a slightly more basic solid model that i have since found , before this one has chance to cause me any problems lol

even the timed start stop feature ended up being a pain in the arse and i have only just got the situation resolved !

now to source my filters and i am about ready , been working on my new room today and i will hopefully get some pics up soon for any input from you all .

skin