Diesel Generator suggestions - 10kw

[SquareDIESEL]

I'm contemplating supplementing my load by adding a shed to my yard which will contain 4Kw. The room/shed will be built large enough to eventually run 6kw, however, im gonna start with 4Kw. My current grow contains 2 rooms totaling 8kw. This is run off the houses electrical supply. I am not trying to run 12-14 kw through PGE. I know I can, however I'm not trying to.

My hopes are, to run this new shed/room from a generator. I've been told for 1kw of lights running have 1.5kw of generator space. A 6kw (closed system), 35k BTU ac, fans, pumps, etc.. should be able to be run off of a 10 - 12kw generator. The room will be a flower room so only 12 major hours of electric will be used per day. I would like to buy a generator large enough to run this room for 7+ days with out re-fueling, or hook some sort of mechanism that fuels the machine without it being done manually.

I've never ran a room off a generator before and would appreciate any suggestions.

Are my goals realistic?

 

[rives]

12.5 kw diesel generators consume in the neighborhood of 1 gallon an hour at full load, so I would figure on a 250 gallon tank minimum. If the genny is the exclusive power source for the shed, any load means that the generator has to be running and even at a minimal load they still burn a substantial amount of fuel. The down side of running at low loads is that the deposits build up very quickly in the combustion chambers. Diesels really prefer to be run at full load all the time. For an application like that, propane or natural gas is better because it burns so clean, but you don't get nearly the same power out of a gallon of fuel, resulting in higher consumption. Typical service intervals for diesel engines are 100-250 hours, so oil and filter (including fuel filter) changes are going to seem like they roll around about every 15 minutes! Industrial quality engines are expected to last from 10-12,000 hours.

I run a diesel furnace, with a diesel water heater and a back-up diesel generator. The cost of off-road fuel where I live is upwards of $4 a gallon at the moment. I know that you get raped by the tier system that PG&E bills on, but diesel is damn spendy! My generator is also pretty noisy even though it is considered to be a very quiet one, and smells.

Here is a good link about diesel generators, sizing them, maintenance, etc. -
http://www.allworlddieselgen.com/faq.htm

 

[Guest 150314]

bad idea, only way i would ever use a diesel generator is a 100kwh to run a hot 50+ lighter.

buying it from the electrical company will be cheaper also generator is loud and people will wonder why you have a generator running 12 hours a day not to mention bringing in the fuel to power it.

 

[tenthirty]

If you don't mind spending the money, Try a fuel cell run form natural gas.
http://www.clearedgepower.com/

 

[SquareDIESEL]

Im into using whatever will work.


Propane, Fuel cell, Whatever....

"bad idea, only way i would ever use a diesel generator is a 100kwh to run a hot 50+ lighter."

Totally hear you on that, i know this sounds a little silly but i have reasons. To run the shed off the house, i will need to upgrade my 125 amp service to 200 amps. 5000$ on a rental. Plus im on pge's care program, not sure how i will be able to explain why i cant pay for my bills, but my electric will be updards of 1500 2000 a month



"buying it from the electrical company will be cheaper also generator is loud and people will wonder why you have a generator running 12 hours a day not to mention bringing in the fuel to power it. "

not a problem

 

[nut]

why dont you just rent an industrial unit run what you like pay the bills? open up some sort of legit business e.g welding business pottery? takes loads of power to weld or fire pottery = thats why you have high electric bill! if you cant weld employ some one who can and run the business even if its at a loss.

The money you are talking about to buy a generator and to run it $$$$$$ why not use that money rent an excavator and build an underground bunker at the rented place in the middle of the night? im sure it will cost less and easier than what you want to do.

 

[Aeroguerilla]

diesel generator John deere. at least a 60kw... dont waste your time or money on anything smaller... based on electrical rates in my area the cost of electricty vs the cost of diesel fuel breaks even at about 30kw. so anything below 30kw and its cheaper on the grid anymore then 30kw and its cheaper off the grid..

better fuckin have a lead proof house cuz your shit is gonna glow like a candle on the infared satelites/helicopters whatever the fuck they use

and if you plan on using a gen make sure the nearest house is at least a mile away. cuz that low hum sure does travel.

 

[megayields]

Aero (again) has it right..their are MANY large industrial (60Kw+) generators being used up in the hills here in Santa Cruz, I know of at least 4 runs running 12K watts + each running then for blackbox outdoor or dedicated indoor situations, they buy an industrial diesel that cannot be run in vehicles (colored red) and it sell for about 35% under regular diesel, so my old school grow friends did the math (we have stupid crazy high PG&E rates here in Northern Cali), and it penciled out to be better to run gensets, also some are supplemented with Solar and large battery banks, I know of one on the ridge that gets steady wind that also supplements with wind power.

 

[rives]

they buy an industrial diesel that cannot be run in vehicles (colored red) and it sell for about 35% under regular diesel, so my old school grow friends did the math (we have stupid crazy high PG&E rates here in Northern Cali), and it penciled out to be better to run gensets,

I think that you may not be accounting for all of the costs of off-road diesel and generating power. Highway diesel (undyed) has all of the taxes built into the cost per gallon. Off-road (dyed) has sales tax tacked on at the end - it's not figured into the cost per gallon. The last time I filled my furnace tank, it was $3.85 a gallon, but by the time tax was added, it came to $4.17.

If you figure in the maintenance costs of servicing the generator every 100-250 hours, and a new engine (!) at nearly the same frequency that you would change out your HID lamps, the only way that I can see it penciling out is if you have to pay for building power line for a long distance. Buying power may be expensive, but if it is anywhere close at hand, it is a bargain compared to the alternatives.

 

[Hydrolized]

diesel generator John deere. at least a 60kw... dont waste your time or money on anything smaller... based on electrical rates in my area the cost of electricty vs the cost of diesel fuel breaks even at about 30kw. so anything below 30kw and its cheaper on the grid anymore then 30kw and its cheaper off the grid..

better fuckin have a lead proof house cuz your shit is gonna glow like a candle on the infared satelites/helicopters whatever the fuck they use

and if you plan on using a gen make sure the nearest house is at least a mile away. cuz that low hum sure does travel.

I don't know how you do math....looking at a JD 60kW genset, it uses 3.7 Gallons per hour at full load.

Rives is correct about the sales tax, so lets say you will get the fuel at $4.00 per gallon. That's $14.80 an hour, for 60 KwH.

Buying from the grid at $.10 per kWh (which is a low estimate) you would spend only $6.

In order to break even vs grid power, you would need to find diesel for $1.62 per gallon. Not happening. If you look at the even bigger gensets as you said in your post, the efficiency isn't much better and you would still need to be buying fuel at under $2.00/gallon to just break even, and that is not counting the very true facts Rives stated about Filters, Oil, Injectors, Engine rings, and eventually whole engines, that you will need.

To add to all of that, the frequency of a genset not starting or failing is much higher than the grid going down. If you don't have a backup genset, your SOL until parts or another one comes in, and you fix it.

Like others have said they DO have their place with us growers, but for cost savings and convenience, not so much.

 

[bakedjon]

I rather be running 100k set ups on gensets and be paying the extra bit of cash, than to run 100k on the grid. I rather have a two hour long driveway with six gates, than be in a commercial/industrial zone building. I do like my 11 cent kwh at industrial rates and the fact the grid doesnt go down much, but I like knowing that I can run as much as I want without worrying abotu pge or having a electric bill over 10. Also to find a warehouse one can grow in comfortably, is much harder than finding 30 grand to put down on a property and building whatever you want. With the economy now though most want 30% down.

Make sure you buy a gen that is meant to run 24 hrs. When you work with low KW gensets people can buy the ones that run at like 3600 rpm and that is not good for trying to run lights. My suggestion is to buy bigger. So if you wanted to run 10kw. I would get a 25kw min. That way you can run 16kw and still be fine. Make sure you balance your load and run three phase if you can too. I always have to laugh when I see how some of the grows are put together in the hills here.

 

[Aeroguerilla]

I don't know how you do math....looking at a JD 60kW genset, it uses 3.7 Gallons per hour at full load.

Rives is correct about the sales tax, so lets say you will get the fuel at $4.00 per gallon. That's $14.80 an hour, for 60 KwH.

Buying from the grid at $.10 per kWh (which is a low estimate) you would spend only $6.

In order to break even vs grid power, you would need to find diesel for $1.62 per gallon. Not happening. If you look at the even bigger gensets as you said in your post, the efficiency isn't much better and you would still need to be buying fuel at under $2.00/gallon to just break even, and that is not counting the very true facts Rives stated about Filters, Oil, Injectors, Engine rings, and eventually whole engines, that you will need.

To add to all of that, the frequency of a genset not starting or failing is much higher than the grid going down. If you don't have a backup genset, your SOL until parts or another one comes in, and you fix it.

Like others have said they DO have their place with us growers, but for cost savings and convenience, not so much.

shiiit

 

[Aeroguerilla]

1800rpm for big diesel genny. and you want one set for prime power not the standby shitty units

 

[Sinisterzane]

Hows about solar?

 

[FunkBomb]

Large up front cost but it's feasible. You would need a lot of panels, and deep cycle batteries to store the power. You would also need a good spot that gets 5-7 hours of good strong sunlight each day, facing south. If you really wanted power you could get the in-ground solar trackers to attach the panels to. Those things can make a huge difference in the amount of total energy generated.

This solar map helps a lot:

http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html

-Funk

 

[watts]

meth heads will find and steal your panels

 

[supermanlives]

get a heating oil tank and hook to genny. heating oil used to be cheaper than road diesel due to taxes and such. dont know current prices. its been done . my friend ran 30k on a genny. his was like a 60k watt genny. had heating fuel delivered by different companies and had diesel tanks in both trucks for extra.pumping heating oil or diesel aint no biggie no fast boom like gas.lol

 

[Sinisterzane]

Large up front cost but it's feasible. You would need a lot of panels, and deep cycle batteries to store the power. You would also need a good spot that gets 5-7 hours of good strong sunlight each day, facing south. If you really wanted power you could get the in-ground solar trackers to attach the panels to. Those things can make a huge difference in the amount of total energy generated.

This solar map helps a lot:

http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html

-Funk

Here in the UK loads of houses have the panels on the roofs this is for the tariff feeding system where the Watts generated go back into the grid and the householder gets a pay out aparently...

If you had loads of panels on a roof or mounted on some land on racks people would think you have them for the above reason

if you had your lights on 12/12 and it uses the normal electric supply when there isnt enough sun to generate enough kw's i.e a changeover this might work..

I saw a shop the other month with panels that was generating 1.3KW on a pretty dull day and it didnt look like a whole load of panels...im an electrician but I know pretty much nothing about solar I know how the feeing tariff systems are wired sort of as a mate explained it to me. I am pretty sure I could install and wire the panels with a bit of reading etc

 

[supermanlives]

they make solar cells in rolls now . looks sort of like shingles. supposedly they work better with low light levels than the old glass framed cells.

 

[NN generator-e]

A diesel generator may be not suitable for you. A gasoline generator, like this one

fits.
Here are more choiceshttp://www.generator-e.com/product/class/?29.html