quote:

Originally posted by Jon Heron:
Nice job akwrench!
If you have 3 phase loads then akwrench is correct, however if all your loads are single phase you should use the delta to get a full 240V if you have any loads that need 240V, heating is not a big deal but single phase 240v motors will not last long on 208v...
That is a sweet genny with so many different voltage options!
I am sure it doesn't need saying but make sure you meter it out with your meter before you connect any loads to it!
Also if you tell me what you are going to use it for I will tell you the proper way to deal with the neutral connection for the safest setup.
Jon

Bahh! Just do a quick smoke test, just don't let all the smoke out, putting it back in is laborious and expensive.

quote:

Why do you want to charge batteries? It seems like a waste to me but I am not sure what your trying to accomplish. Are you trying to provide back up power to your house in the event of a power outage or something else?
Jon

I think I want to run the generator for however long it takes to charge a battery bank or banks, use an inverter to run the power in the house. Kind of using the grid as a backup. Seems like with it being so large I won't need to run it long to power up the batteries.

Eurocab,
Thats not the best way to go in my opinion. You can power your house with that thing as is without the need for any messy batteries. There are a few things you can do but the very first thing you should do is see if there are any programs offered by your local utility, the information is probably available on their website. In Ontario they call it "Net Metering". They plug a new meter in my existing base that will record the amount of kwh's I produce and deduct it from my electricity bill at the end of the month. If I generate more power than I use I can store credit for up to 12 months. So I can just run my generator whenever I want for as long as I want and utilize the max output of the generator. Your area may have a similar option.
There will be some controls required in order protect linemen when there is a power outage and to sync up to the grid but that stuff is easy (I can help ya) and there are even off the shelf solutions...
Jon
Edit:
Look out at your pole line if you have one and see if you have 3 phase going by your house too...

quote:

Bahh! Just do a quick smoke test, just don't let all the smoke out, putting it back in is laborious and expensive.

Ah yes the magic smoke, its always a b1tch to get it back in, trust me...
Jon

Eurocab
I forgot about your winding cleaner question.
http://www.zep.com/
Tom

Fabricator and Jon
We must have worked on the same job. Smoke tests are my favorite. You are probably adept at changing muffler bearings also?
Probably too far off topic.

Battery charging -- If you have the space, 24 volt forklift battery chargers are almost all 3-phase 220 or 440, they can be had for the hauling off usually. A friend here has 3 in his shop that he can not even give away. I have tracked these on Ebay and they almost never sell, maybe for a buck. These are about the size of a washing machine and weigh several hundred pounds. The ones that I have looked at use 3 separate single phase transformers powering separate rectifier diodes so you can wire them for separate single phase use or 3 phase (should also make one hell of a welder). I have an old 3-phase military battery charger that uses one 3-phase transformer but this is the only one I have seen like this.

quote:

Thats not the best way to go in my opinion. You can power your house with that thing as is without the need for any messy batteries.

Jon,

I understand what you are saying; however, I really am not interested in selling power back to the grid and I don't want to run the beast for any longer than necessary to supply my needs. Although I have the generator inside my shop, it is still going to be loud. If I run it in the mornings after everyone is up and going about their business, I will be less of a nuisance to the neighbors. I guess I could make a sound attenuated enclosure. Another project.

I still like the idea of using it to process my BD. I will have to study up a little to make that happen.

quote:

I forgot about your winding cleaner question.

Tom,

You gave me a link last week to I think C-Solv made by Zep. That is a local company, but I can't seem to find their product at the local Home Depot or Lowe's. Maybe I will try Ace today. Better yet I will give them a call.

quote:

Battery charging -- If you have the space, 24 volt forklift battery chargers are almost all 3-phase 220 or 440, they can be had for the hauling off usually.

Tim,

Thanks for the heads up on the chargers.

I still like the idea of using it to process my BD. I will have to study up a little to make that happen.

I'll have my exhaust powered de-waterer done this weekend I hope. I'll have to put some pics up.


Tom,

You gave me a link last week to I think C-Solv made by Zep. That is a local company, but I can't seem to find their product at the local Home Depot or Lowe's. Maybe I will try Ace today. Better yet I will give them a call.

Call them. As far as I know the only place to get ZEP products is from their own sales force. I think they have territories and call on buyers periodically. In Colo. he came around about once a month. That was last century though.
Tom2

Tom,

I called them and the price for 5 gallons of the solvent was $128. I can pick it up locally, they are within about 10 miles from the house. They sell some products at the big box stores, but not this solvent. That's just too much product and too much money.

Isn't there something more reasonable for cleaning the windings? I have plenty of lacquer thinner & acetone. Will that degrade the copper windings?

Eurocab,
It looks like C-solve may just be Naptha.
Here is an MSDS I pulled up http://astatine.unicornchemicals.com/MSDS/C-Solve.pdf

Eurocab, Just use varsol or soap(glycerin) and water and dry with compressed air. thats how its done in motor shops around the world...
Just remember that you can only charge a battery at a certain rate, the size of the power source does not necessarily determine how fast the batteries will charge but rather the rating of the batteries will determine that.
I am not selling power to the grid either, they just measure how much I produce and deduct that from my bill, I can not get paid for it unless I get set up as a power supplier. This way if I run my generator for 2 hours a day or whatever, the amount I generate gets removed from my electric bill, easy as pie.
I think once you start to research the process you will see that batteries are just not the way to go when you already have a generator, its counter productive and expensive, trust me!
Besides all that you will need to run the generator considerably longer to produce the same amount of power for your house if your going to rectify the ac to dc, store in batteries and then invert back to ac again to power your house.
You will also need a considerably large battery bank that will require a well ventilated or explosion proof room due to the hydrogen produced while charging...
Jon

Like Jon says there is a very important science to charging batteries, if you don't go by the rules you will turn expensive batteries into scrap lead in no time, large battery banks need to be equalized regularly also, it is also important to have some kind of charge controler and a dump load so when the controller determines the batteries are full it switches to the dump load instead of overcharging/destroying your batteries, you can go to www.fieldlines.com and learn a lot about the proper care and feeding of batteries.

Eurocab,
I believe you said you lived in Virginia?
If so you guys have a similar net metering program to what we have here.
CHECK IT OUT HERE
If this is available in your area you would be CRAZY not to get in on it! At least in my humble opinion!
I see it is mandated by the government in your area to promote green energy, just like it is here. That is the easiest, most cost effective and efficient way to use your generator for your power needs...
Jon

Eurocab,
Sorry, I had no idea it would be so expensive. You can tell I was on a "make it run at any cost" budget when I used it.

Jon,

I am in Atlanta, Georgia. I drove to Norfolk, VA to pickup the generator. Virginia's incentives look more enticing than Georgia's. For some reason biofuels aren't included in Georgia. I guess I could throw my old windows on top of the roof and fake solar to get it.

You can go to home despot and buy a five gallon jug of zep super purple degreaser for 35 bux, the stuff is awesome, but wear gloves there is a lot of caustic in it.

Tom,

Not a problem. I read the MSDS http://webfiles.acuitysp.com/MSDS/1301_1_EN1_USA.PDF
and it appears to be 70% Paraffinic Naphthenic Solvent and 30% citrus oil or extract. Surely I can find something more reasonable in cost.

quote:

For some reason biofuels aren't included in Georgia.

Man aint that a b1tch! You have luck like me!
You should at least give them a shout and let them know you have worked hard at processing biomass into fuel to help save our planet, and then ask if they have any other options for you to get connected...
Do you have an estimate of your average household power usage? Do you have any "fancy" electrical loads other than your standard household items and of course your processor? I have may some other ideas for ya...

quote:

Surely I can find something more reasonable in cost.

Whats wrong with VARSOL?
Whatever you decide on make sure it does not react with the varnish on the windings.

akwrench,

quote:

I'll have my exhaust powered de-waterer done this weekend I hope. I'll have to put some pics up.

Cool, whatcha got setup?
Jon

quote:

Do you have any "fancy" electrical loads other than your standard household items and of course your processor?

I have a 20HP, 200 gallon Quincy Air Compressor, a 9HP SAC Shaper, a Komo VR508 CNC Router with a Kaeser Vacuum Pump for holding down the panels, Combination Sliding Panel Saw/Planer/Shaper/Jointer/Double End Tenoner, another Planer, Wide Belt Sander & Table Saw and Dust Collectors all of which are 3 phase. I just don't have the space to use them. I wish I had been into this hobby 6 years ago. I could have saved a lot of money producing my own power. My average power bill was about $1200/month when business was good. Even during slow periods it was never below $600/month. So yes, but no.

quote:

Whats wrong with VARSOL?
Whatever you decide on make sure it does not react with the varnish on the windings.

Who sells it? It might be the solution. I would imagine anything caustic might be too corrosive for the windings.