Friday 31 August 2007

How Biodiesel Is Made

by Graydon Blair from Utah Biodiesel Supply
Biodiesel is made by chemically altering an organic oil (typically vegetable oil) through a process called "transesterification". Essentially, the process thins down the oil to allow it to run in an unmodified diesel engine. Detail...

Releate:

  • Alternative Fuels Data Center Link...
  • Make your own biodiesel for 80$ / g from backwoodshome.com Link...
  • Non-profit bio-diesel community web from biodieselcommunity.org Link...
  • Free photos of home-made bio-diesel systems from biodieselpictures.com Link...
  • Mike Pelly, advocate of bio-diesel with practical advice for the novice from journeytoforever.org Link...

Wednesday 29 August 2007

Double-Angled-Twelve-Sided (DATS) Solar Cooker


by Teong H. Tan Link...
DATS cooker employs 24 small reflective panels to concentrate extra sunlight to compensate for the heat loss from not using a plastic bag. DATS cooker design is similar to a deep-focus parabolic cooker, but instead of using a true parabolic curve, multiple flat panels concentrate sunlight onto the cooking pot. Two reflective surface-angles, 45º and 60º, are used so that a bend can be introduced in between for structural rigidity to hold the cooker’s shape. This structural rigidity allows for DATS cooker to be constructed out of cardboard material.
A DATS cooker, tested in Shanghai, reached a maximum temperature of 140ºC (284ºF) inside an empty black cooking pot, on a clear sunny day with 21ºC (70ºF) ambient air temperature and a slight breeze. Eggs became hard-boiled in 30 minutes and two cups of rice cooked in 95 minutes. The cooker should be re-positioned every 45 minutes or less for better efficiency. Detail...

Related:

Tuesday 28 August 2007

Build your own solar thermal panel from garbage dump

From Instructables.com Source The Sietch

This project will create a DIY solar hot water heater for less than five dollars (if you have access to a garbage dump). It will allow you to see the principles of solar water heating in action, and is highly customizable.
Its a great way to learn about using the renewable energy of the sun to produce useful effects, in this case hot water. You can use these instructions to build a device that will actually heat enough water to use in the home, but it would require modifications. Detail...

Related:
  • Home Made Solar Water Distiller Link...
  • Solar Thermal Panel I. Link...
  • Solar Thermal Panel Hawaii Edition Link...

Sunday 26 August 2007

garage heat - just drink a lot of soda

From Hemmings Auto Blogs
I’ve had a few days during the HMX build while I’m either waiting for parts or waiting for something to dry and had some free time. I’m not exactly one to sit and watch TV when I have nothing planned, so I set out on another project.
While I have electricity out to the garage now, heat has been an issue all winter long. Mattar graciously lent me his kerosene heater, which did an okay job of taking the bite off the chill. Insulating the garage would go a long way to help keep the bitter Vermont cold out, but that’s a project for another day. More...

Saturday 25 August 2007

A Homemade Solar Water Heater

From Motherearthnews.com

Last summer my family and I started digging out the foundation for our new home. However, after only two sweaty days of laboring under the Florida sun, I realized that we might be going about the whole project in the wrong order. Maybe, I thought, we should be erecting the solar water heater and shower — which we'd already planned as part of our new homestead — before actually constructing the house itself! Well, the more I considered this notion, and the more layers of grime that built up on my tribe's bodies, the more that bit of backward logic began to make a frontward kind of sense. Detail...

Thursday 23 August 2007

Human Powered Charger - Bike Generators


From: pedalpowergenerator.com or scienceshareware.com
Here you can learn to create your own green power electricity using a pedal
power bicycle generator. Free Plans Showing Easy Steps To Make Your Own Pedal Power Generator. This design is used to power laptops, televisions, video games, & charge cell phones. Detail...


See Also...
  • HD Washing man (bicycle washer)From homelessdave.com Link...
  • Bicyle Power for Your Television From instructables.com Link...
  • Cyclean - The pedal powered washing machine From Makezine Link...

Wednesday 22 August 2007

MiniMill: DIY wind turbine - small stepper motors

From: TheBackShed.com
The Mini Mill is a fun little weekend project, and can be used to light a LED, small light bulb, or even charge a couple of NiCad batteries.
It is not necessary to build your own complex and expensive alternator for a small DIY wind turbine - small stepper motors can be perfect for the job. Found in old computer printers (dot matrix, daisy wheel, and some laser), stepper motors are cheaply (if not freely) available and generate AC power at low rates of rotation (far lower than similarly sized DC motors for example). Therefore small wind turbine blades can be mounted directly onto the motor shaft rather than through a noisy and complicated gearing mechanism. Small stepper motors (i.e. under 1 inch diameter) are only really useful for powering a couple of LEDs, larger motors can be used to recharge batteries and much more. Detail...


See Also...
  • Electricity With Stepper Motors Freuk.co.uk Link...
  • Stepper Motor Basics From reuk.co.uk Link...

Monday 20 August 2007

Electricity producing Wind turbine


From: Michael Davis at mdpub.com
Several years ago I bought some remote property in Arizona. I am an astronomer and wanted a place to practice my hobby far away from the sky-wrecking light pollution found near cities of any real size. I found a great piece of property. The problem is, it's so remote that there is no electric service available. That's not really a problem. No electricity equals no light pollution. However, it would be nice to have at least a little electricity, since so much of life in the 21st century is dependant on it.

One thing I noticed right away about my property is that most of the time, the wind is blowing. Almost from the moment I bought it, I had the idea of putting up a wind turbine and making some electricity. This is the story of how I did it. Not with an expensive, store-bought turbine, but with a home-built one that cost hardly anything. If you have some fabricating skills and some electronic know-how, you can build one too. Detail...


See Also...
  • Quick PVC wind turbine/windmill blades. From YourGreenDream Link...

Sunday 19 August 2007

Homebrew Hydro Electric


Technology : Water >>> Turbine >>> Electric
Source : Otherpower.com
Scotty's new homebrew hydro plant, using a Banki Turbine design built from scratch. The generator is a homebuilt permanent magnet alternator, very similar to our Brake disc alternators. In a Banki design, the water hits the vanes twice, once upon entrance and then again upon exit. There is only about 3 feet of head available at the site, and the system is producing about 2 amps at 12VDC, fed by a 4 inch pipe. Detail...

See Also...
  • Introduction To Hydro Electric Power From REUK.co.uk

Saturday 18 August 2007

DIY 1000 watt wind turbine

From: instructables.com
We built a 1000 watt wind turbine to help charge the battery bank that powers our offgrid home. It's a permanent magnet alternator, generating 3 phase ac, rectified to dc, and fed to a charge controller. The magnets spin with the wind, the coils are fixed, so no brushes or slip rings necessary. Detail...
See Also...