Anybody tried this?

[jackmormon]

I'm considering all of the emergency power sources, and while all are nice, they all have pitfalls. Solar only works when the sun shines, wind when the wind blows, generators as long as you have gas. The only fuel I can think of that comes in great abundance during emergency times is wood. Being a hobby machinist, I got thinking I should build a piston-steam engine powered generator fueled by nothing other than the campfire. I'm not talking about megawatts of power, just enough to power a few lights, radios, etc.

[DMGNUT]

I can't remember where I saw this (maybe somewhere on this site...), it was link someone provided, but I saw a video clip of a guy who had built a steam powered pickup truck. The whole contraption was in the back of the truck, all the power came from burning wood.
I like your idea, especially for remote locations.
If things go bad, you may not want to be stoking up a fire in the middle of town.

[kts532]

It will work if you charge 12 volt and use an inverter. You can build a big wood generator to charge 120 volt. I think you would be better off with a gas generator if you want alot of power. I know that you said that you wanted a small amount of power, so go for it and build one you will never regret it if the power goes out.

[mgriffith]

Do some research on Stirling engines. There have been some large ones made that can turn a generator. A lot less work, and much less danger, than live steam.

Mark

[Toni]

Well, you could always try bicycle powered. You'd be in great shape. :d0 (30):

[Ligure]

You could also try a thermocouple to generate electricity from a campfire or a stove. This site sells them:
http://www.tegpower.com/products.html

Ligure

[jackmormon]

I will probably find myself another gasoline generator, but I have a feeling that there is a good chance gasoline might end up in very short supply, so I am trying to find other options. I looked at the TEG units, I had no idea the technology existed, but it's quite expensive. I'm looking at getting about 100 watts of 12 volt power. Whatever I do, I plan to use a permanent magnet alternator (car alternators can be converted quite inexpensively). This gives me several options, I can hook blades to it and get wind power, I can hook the bike to it and get pedal power, I can hook it to a water turbine and get hydroelectric, I can hook the steam engine to it to get power from heat, and the absolute worst case scenario, I can turn a crank by hand to drive it. To get 100 watts, I need roughly .2 horsepower, which is what I should get with about 50psi steam pressure running an 8 cubic inch steam engine. I hadn't considered the stirling engine, I'll definitely have to do more research there as it would definitely be safer, simpler and possibly more efficient than the steam engine. The disadvantage might be that the physical size would be too much.

[mgriffith]

Stirling engines are less efficient than steam engines, and have less power. There is A LOT of power in steam....just look as the size of the RR engines in the later part of the "age of steam."

Car alternators work great, but they are designed to operate at several thousand RPMs to get their rated output. Look into the Ametek motors, they can produce a lot of power at much lower RPM which is why they are in big demand for wind turbine applications. Here's a link to a useful site:

http://www.greenterrafirma.com/permanent-magnet-motors.html

Mark

[jackmormon]

...Car alternators work great, but they are designed to operate at several thousand RPMs to get their rated output...


This is what I initially thought, I was going to try something else, but somewhere I found a chart that showed the output of permanent magnet alternators (not to be confused with field-coil alternators that cars have). With strong enough magnets (N45) the open circuit voltage at 300 RPM is about 15 volts, and the closed circuit current is around 11 amps--exactly what I need. I will probably try to gear it so it is spinning at about 450 RPMs or so. The permanent magnet alternators are more efficient than field-coil, it's just that field coil are easier to regulate voltage--something kinda important in cars.

[kts532]

go to goblue.com They have the armature that is a permanent magnet to convert in to a car altenator that will start at a low speed it will not cogg and they have the rectifier to run a/c to your battery that will save running expensive welding cable. They have them at the best price I could find,

[Dolcezza]

How about zero point energy?

[jackmormon]

I tried goblue.com, doesn't seem to work...is the website still there?
What is this zero point energy you speak of, a website, or something else?

[Dolcezza]

Yes, just Google: zero point energy generator! My hubby has been studying this for years and it does work!

[Ligure]

Yes, just Google: zero point energy generator! My hubby has been studying this for years and it does work!

I have looked into this for a few years and want it to work. However, I have my doubts on the methods I have read about. They have high priced plans and the result seem far fetched. If your DH managed to get it to work, I am very interested in what he did.

Ligure

[Dolcezza]

I know nothing about the topic as I keep forgetting what he says. LOL
However a month ago he was chatting with a guy in our Ward who has recently worked on an engine belonging to a third person, which was using zero point energy, and he said that it works. Maybe it's expensive.....I will ask!

[kts532]

Ok, sorry i looked it up and found it again it is now Windbluepower.com. I have not been on there for awhile and things have changed but they still have the Armature.

[Looking Forward]

I know nothing about the topic as I keep forgetting what he says. LOL
However a month ago he was chatting with a guy in our Ward who has recently worked on an engine belonging to a third person, which was using zero point energy, and he said that it works. Maybe it's expensive.....I will ask!

Hehe, reminds me of a true story someone told me, who someone else told them who in turn told them... :rofl: actually, unless YOUR husband can see for himself the engine, I would be very leery of the third person trying to sell something that doesn't really work. I know there have been cases of people actually putting gas in, but not letting the observer know they have. There are real things that work, just have to be careful.


I'm considering all of the emergency power sources, and while all are nice, they all have pitfalls. Solar only works when the sun shines, wind when the wind blows, generators as long as you have gas. The only fuel I can think of that comes in great abundance during emergency times is wood.

When we help others decide on what to power their house with, we never, recommend just one system. We suggest solar and wind and if possible water, plus other systems from link below. The problem with wood is that abudance will disapper quickly, I know just heating a house with a wood burning stove (and cooking on said stove) took a lot of wood this winter. I'm also reminded of the Nephites when they migrated north, timber was scarce. (Helaman 3:9-11) We may end up wanting to preserve each tree we see, not because of being an enviormentalist, but to allow them to grow back into abundance for our use (read above scripture).

For alternative ways of using power, I suggest going through this website: http://free-energy-info.co.uk/ he as a wealth of information, you can spend weeks there and still not get through it all!

good luck

[mgriffith]

I'm considering all of the emergency power sources, and while all are nice, they all have pitfalls. Solar only works when the sun shines, wind when the wind blows, generators as long as you have gas. The only fuel I can think of that comes in great abundance during emergency times is wood.

I believe the only source of free power that is available 24/7 is falling or flowing water. A micro-hydro setup will supply power, lots of it, if you are lucky enough to have the right conditions. If not, then a combination of other methods will have to do.

Solar power is easier than wind power. You install the panels, a charge controller, and don't need to worry about to much more. Wind power needs a charge controller, a dump or power sink, and some way to throttle the wind turbine if the winds get too strong. Both need to have the battery bank maintained.

There is a TV ad going on that I have seen trying to sell a whole house backup power system based upon one solar panel and a battery. It takes LOTS of panels to provide the level of power modern homes need, and then a huge battery bank to store it. Don't be deceived.

I have 65 watts of panels, and some deep cycle batteries and an inverter. I can provide small amounts of power for days, even a couple of weeks, for LED lights, a small fan, etc, and keep the batteries charged if the Sun is out enough of the time. I can also keep radio and 2-way radio batteries charged, the laptop, etc. as long as I don't go overboard. But that is about it. More panels and more or bigger batteries make it easier, but there are still limits at the very low end of the typical power requirements for a modern home. This is emergency power, nothing else, but at least it's something.

Mark

[jackmormon]

I believe the only source of free power that is available 24/7 is falling or flowing water. A micro-hydro setup will supply ...

This very true, until the water freezes. Since I have started this thread I've done a lot of thinking on the subject. I'm holding to my permanent magnet alternator idea as it can be utilized a number of different ways to generate power--all except solar. I'm not looking to power a house, just intermittent use to charge a battery(ies) to power a few lights, radios, and other low-draw items. This will probably be supplemental to a solar panel since solar is perhaps the easiest and lowest maintenence of sources I've considered.

[jackmormon]

windbluepower.com--checked it out and bookmarked it as it seems to be a great site. I am going to do a little checking and see if I can do this same thing for about 1/2 the price, the question is if I can keep it from cogging.

[jackmormon]

As for the zero point energy, I definitely need to do some more reading on it, but I have to admit to being very skeptical, since as man has defined it, energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed in form. With all of our current technology as I'm aware of it, all of the conversion processes are usually much less than 100% efficient, which means that energy is required to convert energy.

[kts532]

Let me know how you do it. I know it can be done but I just bought a amature and put it in a old altenator and have it run off an 5.5 HP engine. I did it so I can charge my batteries fast on a small amount of fuel. When I run my generator it has the 12 volt charger but it is not very efficiant. I am trying a 120 volt to 12 volt transformer when I am runnung my generator to see if it will work better. I had to order a rectifier and have not had the time to try it.

[Dolcezza]

I asked my husband about 0 point energy again. A car mechanic in our Ward, called Nathan Devlin (so, not a friend of a friend of a friend) is always chatting to my hubby about cars, of course. :)

Not long ago, he worked on a car which was running on normal fuel. However, instead of doing say, 40 miles to the gallon, it did 60, (or whatever was the number) because there was a zero point energy device inside, which works on water and divides oxygen and hydrogen. This process makes the fuel much more effective.

The discussion among the two was noting that as soon as the Government will tax it, 0 point energy will disappear!

[jackmormon]

I would love to see the device on this car. The question I ask is if it exists, why isn't this technology available. There are lots of people want to sell you the blueprints, but not the device. Seems to me that more money could be made selling the device than the blueprints. For a long time rumor had it that there is a 100 mpg carburetor out there for cars than the oil companies are hiding. The lost energy in cars has nothing to do with fuel mixing that the carburetor is responsible for, it is waste heat (approximately 75% of the energy in gasoline is wasted as heat). The truth is, this fabled carburetor doesn't exist and though there may be some truth to this zero point energy, I'm still skeptical that some guy out there has a zero point hydrogen generator getting him 20 mpg more and he hasn't capitalized on the idea yet. Like I said, I need to do more looking into this, and I would love to know more if any details can be provided.

[Dolcezza]

My husband said that there are lots of companies who profess to know the secret of 0 energy but don't, they are just out to make money.
Fly to Norfolk, come to our Ward and meet the guy, he might remember which car it was......and find it again.

[jackmormon]

I was in Norfolk a few weeks ago, wait, it was a different Norfolk...

[Dolcezza]

Norfolk England, UK? Nope.......!:iagree::frown2:

[kts532]

I have seen somthing like you are discribing years ago. I think here they called it an Hydrogen generator. They sound alot alike and the ones I saw they made them and had a coil that heated water and ran it into the intake. Some people said that they got better mileage others did not. I think it all depends on how they made them.

[arbilad]

http://www2.wspa.com/lifestyles/2011/may/28/upstate-man-turns-wood-energy-ar-1900825/

[NephiNavarro]

I asked my husband about 0 point energy again. A car mechanic in our Ward, called Nathan Devlin (so, not a friend of a friend of a friend) is always chatting to my hubby about cars, of course. :)

Not long ago, he worked on a car which was running on normal fuel. However, instead of doing say, 40 miles to the gallon, it did 60, (or whatever was the number) because there was a zero point energy device inside, which works on water and divides oxygen and hydrogen. This process makes the fuel much more effective.

The discussion among the two was noting that as soon as the Government will tax it, 0 point energy will disappear!I know of this device, and I have the plans to build it...

It's definitely not zero point energy, btw. It's regular energy; supposedly, zero point energy is (my semi-educated definition) pulled from a field of energy that exists everywhere around us...I'm skeptical of anyone who claims they've built a zero point energy device; however, the great genius Tesla (who had many inventions that are still not completely understood and definitely not utilized) had many ideas along these lines and apparently knew how to make use them quite well.

The car device is very simple and cheap to build, and is a hydrogen-assisted system. You're not completely running your car on hydrogen, which is really dangerous to store, and would require a completely different engine...you're simply using hydrogen to make your existing engine run much more efficiently. It's only something like 30% efficient to begin with, and with the device it's more like 60-70% efficient.

Check the site water4gas.com. You can buy kits there, if you like...but all the plans and background info can be downloaded for free.