Re: Cogeneration unit..
-> CH> The people I'm referring to are racing camshaft designers.  They
-> have CH> all the expertise and equipment to do the job.
->
-> Would you hire a SST aero designer to make a cropduster or stunt bipl
If they could do the job, and were willing to do it!  The experience
they have is with a wide range of applications.  Racing engines is
their bread and butter work, but other projects come from their shops.
-> CH> I am planning on running at a constant power/load.  Let the power
-> CH> grid supply or absorb the difference.  It becomes the infinite
-> CH> "flywheel".
->
-> Ahah! And how do you achieve constant power? I guess you might clamp
-> throttle bar and have a speed limiter to protect your machine if the
-> dead on you [breaker or fuse opening at your end]
That would cause an overvoltage.  Could easily disconnect the ignition,
fuel and AC by means of relays.  Same with undervoltage.  Or, a
simple frequency comparitor could be made.  If the frequency seen is
more than a Hz off of 60Hz, then a shutdown occurs.  Lots of ways.
-> If you clamp the throttle then due to line impedance your engine
-> power will rise and fall with local area voltage variations. An
-> induction motor has no excitation control [a synch gen does] so the

-> engine in the range of [say] 3600 to 3700rpm. As the speed rises
-> from 3600 the delivered power will rise from zero to something like
-> engine power. If the engine runs out of gas it will not stop, but
-> keep right on rolling at about 3500 rpm. Have some clean spark plugs
-> on hand!
-> BUT if you use a synch motor as a generator then you may use an AVR
-> to hold your local volts very close to 220v [or whatever] and the
-> engine will run at one speed and one speed only, no matter what you
-> do with the throttle. Have fun!
My initial thought was to use a generator designed to run from a tractor
PTO at 540 RPM.  That would be a synchronous generator, and regulated.
Probably closer to the "constant power" thought.
-> CH> In this part of the US, the substations cover a fairly large
-> amount CH> of town.  I doubt they'd even notice my peanut whistle
-> operation CH> The "flywheel" here is pretty big...  Hundreds of
-> houses.
->
-> Your neighbour who is serious about TV picture quality might surprise
That may well be so, but the area covered by the substation is quite
substantial, and I'm right off a main feeder.  One of those things you
can't tell for sure until you try.
-c-
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