Wind/diesel installation....

[Ivan]

I bet you've imagined what it's like to wallow in, haven't you? Go on admit it, you filthy devil.

[goodnoisefella]

BTW.........rubber bushes ?    KY! 

[goodnoisefella]

Warm KY?


stopitt

[northern installer]

you kinky b*ggers;stop it this instant!
disgusted,tunbridge wells

[frotter]

I bet you've imagined what it's like to wallow in, haven't you? Go on admit it, you filthy devil.

imagined?? 


Not only do we warm that stuff up - we feed beloved Ivor on it.
I had to pump that particular tank out recently - it is my settling facility for any runny veg i get hold of which goes in our cars etc. The filth, er joyous fat at the bottom was all complete with suspended water, twigs, snails, tortoises etc.... Ivor sometimes runs a bit hesitantly if any water gets in the fuel but the heat exchanger is so good that it usually all gets driven off within 10 minutes or so.

Just in case anyone is interested (  ) some crushingly dull figures follow:-

Yesterday- Day 140 off-grid.
ROUGHLY 1955 litres lard eaten. (13.9 litres/day)
3314 kwh produced/consumed ( 23.6 kwh/day) - this includes wind/sun which is not metered seperately so cant give breakdown...   
Ivor has run for 1232 hours. ( 8.8 hours/day) Electrical output varies a bit cos i tweak it around but usually = around 2.4 - 2.6kw
So... you could say from that Ivor has coughed up around 3080kw/h. (22kwh/day).
Sun/wind around 234. (1.67kwh/day)  Not much then..!

Thank the Lard for, er Lard really......
Sustainable? Who knows.........  ?   

 

[Adam]

Hi Frot.
Thats quite a powerplant youve got 1232hrs, 3080kwh very impressed

I've never (i should) worked out how many kwh i use a day, 22kwh per day seems high (i could be wrong)

How often do you change engine oil? does running on lard affect oil change intervals?

[frotter]

Yers... 22kw/h is quite a bit - but we are a household of several 'units'. Good self and present Mrs Frotter, lodger1 - Stoveboy, lodger2 - Mr Spek. At weekends the Frotling is usually around. All have girlfriends over to stay, all bedrooms have usual entertainment gubbins/pooters etc. In dull weather hot water is by immersion heater only etc, etc... So i reckon that int too bad for all that activity.

I have changed the oil once so far ( i know, i know....) just about to do so again as soon as i locate correct oil filter.
Went into local Kubota agents today -
Me- 'got a oil filter for Z482-e diesel lump there please, matey?'
Counter Numpty- 'whats one o them? whats it in? got a serial number..?' etc ad nauseam..
Numpty phones Taunton branch....
Counter Numpty- 'pff... well they may have one in stock but you'll need the serial number at least...'
Personal touch my arse!

So - just found one on Egay with a few deft clicks of rodent.

Recommended change interval is 150 hours - ahem.   
The oil in the sump seems just normal for diesel - ie BLACK.  Not sticky though, which is a big no-no...

Everything will be fiiine....

 

[Adam]

Once , what rpm is the engine running at?

your local fleet factors or even halfords will be able to cross reference any oil filters, i rarely use genuine on my plant.

Oil is still cheaper than metal

What do you do with your old oil? after all it is a fuel You can run an engine on it mixed with diesel

[frank2]

frotter, you kill me 
i find manufacturers service intervals are wildly conservative, our degoverned kart engines get an annual  oilchange, and the only thing that wears is the oil control rings ( after 18 months they start to smoke), which i doubt is oil related.
like you say, on a diesel, if its treacle,y , then you,ve left it too long

frank

[eestibob]

Frotter, I agree with Frank2, if the oil wont run out when cold then it needs changing, otherwise keep topping it up, if needed.
Just for insurance stick a can of slick 50 in, so if there is a problem it WILL save your engine. I holed the sump on a Ford Escort Mexico, rallying some years ago, I decided to try finish the Event (some 45 miles) and guess what, yep it finished, a little noisy, and theres more.
When we pulled the engine down all we had to do was clean the journals, fit new bearings and rebuild. It ran for another 8 events before giving up. So as you normally say, "it'll be fiiiiine".

Keep up the great bodgeneering, and dont stop writing, its brilliant.

respect
Bob

[Adam]

I'm afraid i disagree with you both, i own, operate and maintain 5 excavators, 5 tractors and many other small plant and from experence frequent oil changes with good quality oil can extend and engines life by 2-3 times.

Frotters engine should get him 5-6000hour's if well maintained before a rebuild, changing the oil 500hrs+ (from experence) you will be looking at 4000hrs. Oil brakes down over time and stop's lubricating, never leave it in until it's sticky.

Frot's engine will be running approx 3000 hrs/year at 3000rpm (guessing), average car does 6-700hrs (most at low rpm).

150hrs interval seems to short, it should be ok to be left in until 250-300.

Last week i called in at my local John Deere dealers (tractor) and picked up a magazine and in it was a free oil test paper, you simply add a drop of oil to the paper and it will tell you if it needs changing, this must be good fo the enviroment

[frank2]

adam

at your reckoning thats over 10 oilchanges a year  , that sounds like a lot of finite resources to consume and dispose of to me (not to mention the £,s)
i dont think you,ll get an unbiased opinion from oil companies or their bedfellows the car manufacturers on how often you should shell out more cash of their products 
i agree oil did break down 20 or 30 years ago, but modern semi synthetic, with a bit of wynns, (cheaper than slick 50 ) is pretty bulletproof imo

frank

[frotter]

Hmm... When i bought the generator unit containing Ivor the hour meter was showing 2500 already. He is rated  10hp @ 3000 rpm. I dont have a tacho yet but we deliberately run him slow. My guess would be 1200-1400 rpm. I do intend to change the oil more frequently (honest!) but its amazing how fast the hours build up! (3700 total so far then.... )

It only takes about 3 litres so pretty cheap option. The old stuff i dont really like to put through an engine as it just makes all the inside of everything flippin BLACK! Usually burn it on hot bonfire i'm afraid. 

[Paulh_Boats]

I've regularly gone over 20K between oil changes on Ford Sierras and Mondeos. Currently on 240K with zero engine problems. Brakes, wheel bearings, driveshafts give me more hassle....front wheel drive is a bit rubbish on the reliability scale.

[Adam]

1200-1400rpm! that would make a BIG diference, i would expect at least 10k

In therory if the engine is running at less than half the rated rpm, you should be able to double the service interval, 500hrs is probably not to far away, try and locate an oil test paper, you will only need to test it once then you'll know exactly when to change, , it could save you money

I'm only speaking from experence, iv'e had over 30 industrial engines apart (i like buying machines cheap and fixing them ) and it's easy to tell if an engine has been looked after

Yesterday i stripped one of the two farm quads to replace a headgasket on a Polaris diesel, it's 9yr old and seen lots of work and due to regular seviceing the engine shows no wear , the reason we keep this quad is due to polaris not making a diesel since 2002 and there's nothing else on the market