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M.Blackmore wrote: > Totally off topic, or possibly, just, a teensiest little bit relevant in > the most tenuous degree 'cos I'm planning to go off grid with a domestic > scale combined heat and power system using veggie oil (and flog any > excess lekky back to the grid). I thought I recognised the name when it came up on the CSOG list. > So if anyone knows of anyone with an old Lister or Staromatic engine in > a barn or shed, please put me in touch. Ideally with a good old > fashioned heavy generator head too! Don't bother with the original genhead. Decent modern 3KW or 5KW ST heads are available and I'm told they're far more efficient than the original Lister heads. > The advent of modern lower consumption electrical/tronic equipment and > low cost eastern converters to allow feeding back to the grid is making > this feasible, as does the lower cost of underfloor heating equipment. Personally, I don't think I'd bother feeding back to the grid. I'd use the Lister to charge a pile of batteries and run an inverter off those to power everything in the house. Instant UPS :) Also, if the grid goes down for some reason and you're connected to it, you have to disconnect so you don't fry some poor sod trying to fix the problem. Since most interters can't disconnect from the mains and then resync to it later, the usual way this happens is for the inverter to switch off your power too, AIUI. > Still doesn't solve the problem of boiling the kettle 3 or 4 times a day > (3kw load for say 2 minutes for a big pot) but when we ditch the last of > the CRT TVs and monitors then we're well within the range for a good old > 6/1 Lister... If you're charging batteries, you could use your hot water cylinder immersion heater element as a dump load. If you have a mains pressure hot water system, then I believe it's considered safe to fill the kettle from the hot tap, so you don't have to pull a high load for as long. James -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html