Peter Lynch wrote:
On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:13:41 -0700 (PDT), RobertL wrote:
On Apr 10, 8:52 am, John Nagelson wrote:
Hello, I am considering taking a house 'off grid', and would be
grateful for help with some of the following questions:

1) how easy is it to run an generator fuelled by PARAFFIN(known in the
US as 'kerosene', i.e. '28sec', the type of oil used in most oil-
powered domestic heating systems in the UK)?

2) how easy is it to get hold of, and run, a generator fuelled by
SOLID FUEL, e.g. coal or wood or both?

3) how easy is it to run a generator fuelled by DIESEL? And surely if
you do, you don't have to pay petrol-station prices? Is there a legal
way to avoid paying the excise?

4) what about running an oil-fuelled generator on cheapo COOKING OIL?
Is this practicable? Is it legal?

I'd be amazed if any of these ways of making electriciity was cheaper
than buying it off the grid. I'd also be amazed if any of them was
better for the environment than buying it from the grid. I would
worry about the noise - the continuous humm of even a well silenced
generator is quite wearing for those who live within earshot.

Quite. We have a house that's "on grid" but was "off" for a while a
couple of years ago. To get around the problem we used a 2.5kW petrol
genny.
A back-of-the-enveope calculation at the time showed that the cost of
fuel made our electricity x10 - x14 more expensive than from a commercial
supplier. Although I can't prove it, I am firmly convinced that the
generator was much less efficient than a power station - using any fuel.

You're right. The efficency of producing electricity in bulk is about
35%, that's higher than the efficiency of an internal combustion engine
alone, nevermind the generator part.

I wonder if you could use a Stirling engine and use that to run a
generator. The Stirling engine can have an efficiency of up to about 80%
and can run on almost any heat source. If you're off the grid maybe you
could park it on top of the aga or something and have the cold cylinder
outside through a wall