Q:Hi -- looking for specifically Lister Petter Diesel Generator parts distributor in central Cal. Electrical parts -- cycle timers, a/c disconnects, etc.,. The main company (ListerPetter)is closed until after the 5th, and this machine powers my home, in the process of battery conversion project, and looking to finish this project between th holidays. THis is my hubbys endeavor -- I am just the messenger -- so I hope these questions make sense, please feel free to email me more details or anyhelp you think useful. Thanks everyone

Depending on where you live try the on line yellow pages. Especially in large farming areas, like Fresno or Bakersfield, Stockton etc. Their will be equipment parts shops that will help you find what you need if they do not have it.

Q:Having a basic background in electric and family moving into a remote prefab home with no electric, water, or gas, I decided to help. House and work shed electric requirements are simple, totaling a possible 5kwh at a given time to the shed, and 7kwh to the home. Obviously the home will have constant electric requirements (fridge, fans, etc). I cannot imagine it is economical nor efficient to run a diesel generator 24/7 for energy production as needed. Here are my questions:1. Should I use a stand-alone or emergency backup generator.2. Should I go with the conventional wisdom of choosing a generator that operates at 80% capacity for 1005 of my needs. IE: I need exactly 12kw maximum, so a ~14kwh generator.3. Solar panels have storage batteries. Can I use 12v or 18v, or an industry specific battery to only operate the generator for several hours a day for storgae of power? I know this is incredibly inefficient, any alternatives?Any help is greatly appreciated. Just need to be pointed in the right direction.

when you are using your generator, if you have out side power turn it off. look for farms some of them have PTO generators they hook up to a tractor.

Q:I need a specification of the inverter and battery that will work for 5-6 hours with around 10-14 laptops connected to it. Can any one please help me.

You would need to be more specific. Multiply the watts of one laptop power supply by 14, then get a more powerful invertor. e.g. 14 x 50 watt laptops 700 watts, get at least a 1 Kw invertor. It is difficult to predict how long a particular battery will power an invertor, a 1 Kilowatt load will draw a huge current, about 50 amps from a 12 volt battery. If at all possible you would be better off using a petrol or diesel generator and extension leads, as the size of battery needed would be enormous, you would need a no. of 12 volt large 12 volt batteries joined together, or one battery and one x 100 watt invertor for each laptop. You might also consider using a battery to power a DC to DC convertor for each laptop. For example one laptop could use a 12 volt, 50 AH battery and a 12 to 20 volt convertor, this will probably run a 50 watt laptop for 6 hours. I say probably because the only way to know for sure is to try it out. For the price of 14 batteries and 14 convertors you can probably buy a really good silent 1 kw petrol generator. This will be smaller, lighter and probably safer than 14 x 50 AH batteries.

Q:A couple years ago the power in our area was out for two whole weeks because of ice and such, we stayed warm thanks to gas heating but now I'm in an all electric mobile home in the same area. All I want to power is the refrigerator, deep freeze, microwave, one laptop and at least one, maybe two little plug in heaters.I need to know what size/type generator to get and if I need a separate kit or anything in order to hook up to my mobile home. I don't want to buy the wrong type or size and find out it doesn't work in the middle of an ice storm again.Thank you for any and all help, it's very much appreciated.

Add up the wattage and look for the correct size to supply it.

Q:I want to buy a portable generator for power-outages and need some advice on which to buy. I want to run: at least one refrigerator possibly a stand-alone freezerbasic lightinga few outlets a sum-pump. I also need to provide power to my heat in the winter Our heat is natural gas but it needs to be lit with the pilot light and I guess the thermostats need power. Preferrably diesel so we can store fuel safer. How many volts and watts do I need, what price range should I look for, and how many gallons of fuel would I need to be prepared for a good 2 days without power? Thanks- best answer gets the 10!

Your idea of a diesel is good. Look on the back of both all appliances and find the plate that tells how many watts and amps they use and copy them down. Make a list of what will be plugged into the outlets and if possible get the amps and wattage of those and add it to your list, same with sump pump. Now take that list to a dealer and show it to them and they will figure out what size generator you will need. Do not guess what size generator you will need, most underestimate The size and often by a large amount. Let an expert that is in the business do the figuring. Most answers on here go by widely varying assumptions and uneducated guesses, depending on any of them could result in your system watts being way off. You might be paying for a system several times too large or small if you rely on these answers. Either way it could get very expensive and wasteful.

Q:I need a means of driving a 3 horsepower induction motor re-purposed as an induction generator which would coincide with specific cost-effective parameters. I ran the numbers in an excel spreadsheet and realized that the amount of gasoline or diesel required to run an engine appropriate for a 3 horsepower generator consumes more fuel per hour than is economical when the electricity is sold back on the grid. Over a month period, here's what I calculated:Run time in Hrs: 300.00 (10hrs a day, 30 days)Gallons per hour: .30 (1/3rd gallon per hour avg. consumption for 5hp engine)AVG output KW: 2.00 (3 horsepower generator)Fuel in gallons: 90.00 Price of fuel $/gal: 3.50Kilowatt-Hrs: 600.00Energy Cost: .08Net Profit: -270.00I've considered using a pressure cooker, wood pellet stove, and compressor pump as steam engine for an economical way to produce long-term torque, but am not sure how to modify the pump to operate as a steam engine. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks

Synchronizing an induction generator to the grid is a major problem. Forget it.

Q:Have a 15kw generator. Diesel. I want to upgrade without buying a whole new generator. Can I keep the motor and swap a generator hook up

The power of the diesel is matched to the electrical power rating. In theory, the Diesel requires 21hp to drive a 15kW output and is actually 25 (or more). The Diesel cannot deliver more electrical power. The oversizing of the prime mover (diesel) helps to absorb starting loads and prevent full throttle operation at rated output. In addition, specific exciter voltage is often drawn from the engine. The bell housing and couplings which join the engine to the generator are also likely to be specific. The chances of DIY improvement a slim.

Q:I want to power a water heater, a blower fan, and a small water pump continuously with a diesel generator run on Biodiesel. Is it possible to set up a system of some deep cycle batteries that will carry the load for say 1/2 hour or 1 hour and have the generator kick on automatically when the voltage drops to charge the batteriesthis way the generator will not be run continuously. What would you need to set this up? Anything besides what I have mentioned?Josh

What is the amp draw of the appliances how big are the batters and what is the output of the generator? too many variables for a good answer

Q:how much amount of diesel oil(inside a generator) is required to generate 1KWh of electricity? Waiting for answers, thanx.

the amount of fuel used matches the power of the load, el the tax power and size the power generation

Q:I just want to know why Oahu is vulnerable to black outs

Simply because they have a flaky electrical distribution system. There aren't that many people there so there doesn't seem to be a rush to upgrade it.