Friday, November 02, 2007

Add Performance To Any Diesel

The diesel aftermarket just keeps on evolving. Now you can add a chip to almost any diesel and I’m not talking about the pickup trucks. There are companies out there with diesel performance chips for big diesel pusher RV’s, Semi’s, and yes, even farm equipment. We’re going to talk about some of the main companies developing these products.

The first one is a company called Edge Products. Edge is one of the biggest names in the diesel performance arena for the diesel pickup trucks. Edge makes performance products for all the main diesel pickup trucks, several of the gas trucks, jeep vehicles that are diesel and gas powered as well as the 3126 B & E Caterpillar engines that are in RV’s and heavier duty diesel trucks.

Dr. Performance is also a top company in the diesel aftermarket and offers performance chips for all of the same engines as edge and has chips for some of the other larger engines that one would find in Diesel RV’s and some semi’s and medium duty trucks such as the 8.3L and 8.9L Cummins ISC & ISL engines as well as the DT466 Engine.

TS Performance Carries chips for all the same engines, the place where TS Performance is truly unique is in the fact that they have performance chips for most of the agricultural diesels that you would find on a farm. These agricultural chips give up to a thirty percent power increase and a good increase in fuel economy which is important especially to the farmers that are running their diesel’s most of the day. In short the diesel performance aftermarket continues to evolve and more and more people are reaping the benefits of added fuel economy and power.

More and more manufacturers are coming out with diesel including the upcoming Honda Accord diesel, and Nissan Maxima diesel as well as many others. Diesels within a few years will be running cleaner and get better fuel economy than any of their gas powered counterparts.

Home Generator Must Answer Your Power Demand Safely!

Home generator comes back on mind of the American homeowners. After experiencing power outages in previous years, it becomes a priority to secure a reliable and affordable source of electricity when the local utility turns the power switch off. And if you think that perhaps this year, the hurricane season will be less damaging, and you’ll be able to get by without a home generator, think twice…

Power interruptions are caused not only by the Mother Nature, but by the electricity authority’s distribution system’s breakdowns. That’s really what makes a home generator an irreplaceable part of your home’s services system.

Choosing a home generator is however, not such an easy task, as the frequent ads would like you to believe. Although you’re presented with a seemingly limitless number of options, the truth is, there is only one “ideal” electricity generator that fits your household needs, in 100%. That’s why; it pays to do some initial research about home generators, before deciding what to buy.

The best place to start is on the Internet, using many review and manufacturers’ sites. Find out what range of home generators Yamaha, Honda, Coleman and others have on offer. What selection criteria do they list; read technical specifications and the list of features, and match them to your needs. Using different search engines will deliver you a huge number of informative pages, filled with reliable information and advice.

At the same time, try contacting your local electrician, and ask him to calculate the power demand, peak and regular, that your household creates. Your home generator will have to cope with this load, often for extended periods. Professional advice about the power consumption, be it 3 kW or 5 kW, will help you select a home generator that can supply enough power, to allow you to keep your essential appliances running.

The same electrician can also advise you about very important safety considerations and regulations. Briefly, before connecting your home generator to the electrical installation, you must isolate it from the communal power grid, using so called isolation switch. This will prevent linesmen working on power lines from being electrocuted by the voltage produced by your home generator. This is absolutely important, and should never be left to the inexperienced handymen!

Lastly, consider the operational costs of your home generator. As they come in two major categories: petrol (gas) engines and diesel ones, you need to decide whether the initial cost or the running costs are more important to you.

My preference is for the diesel engine-driven home generator. Although it can be 20-30% dearer that the petrol one, it’s far more reliable and about 20% cheaper to run. Here you have the critical factors you mustn’t ignore, when introducing a power generator to your home. Knowing them, your shopping trip to Costco, Home Depot or other retailers will be so much less stress free. After all, you’re very well versed in the emergency electricity generation issues, and know exactly what tasks your home generator has to execute. One final word of warning: don’t try to save money on something that provides for your basic living needs!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Diesel Generators Explained

A diesel generator is composed of a diesel engine and an alternator or an electrical generator, which converts the power created by the engine (expressed in RPM, revolutions per minute) into the required voltage for homes, industry and remote work sites. The need for power for homes and sites, which are not connected, to a power grid is a growing need throughout the world. Remote areas of Central and South America are no longer too poor to afford electrical power but not at the stage to built vast hydroelectric projects or large power grids.

They can afford to build local village electrical power plants, which can meet the modern needs of the people until the modern power grid can reach out to them. There are places in the United States that are developing ahead of the ability of the local power company to expand; other places throughout the world are at the edge of civilization. All of these require power for business, commerce, medical treatment facilities and communication. The price of the modern diesel generator, the new technology incorporated into these units and their availability throughout the world make them an immediate solution.

Homes and ranches, villages and towns and remote sites should create a power needs list that includes every appliance in the home, business, school and public facility in order to determine the wattage needed. After this the home or ranch owner, city engineer or site foreman can select the proper sized diesel generator. Every diesel generator is rated at how many kilowatts of power it produces. If the home or ranch requires 22 kW to 25 kW then the sized generator should be at least a 30kW. A brigade sized army unit twenty years ago used a diesel generator(s) rated at 90 kW but its’ needs were lighting and mess hall refrigeration. Today it could be quite a bit more considering the new technology.

When you decide to provide power through diesel generators then you should consider whether you need a backup. The power of the generator is rated at 50% engine speed. The 30 kW diesel generator actually operates safely at 25 kW at 1800 rpm for prolonged periods of time. It would be safer if the home or ranch had two generators scheduled to operate in an alternating schedule of 12 hours each. This would ensure that the proper maintenance and care could be given the generators while providing continuous power. Other considerations in selecting a power generator involve selecting one that is a four-cycle, water-cooled industrial diesel generator.

A water-cooled generator operates more quietly than an air-cooled and it lasts longer. There are two electrical systems involved with a diesel generator, the DC (direct current) and the AC (alternating current) systems. The recommended DC system should have a starter motor with a battery-charging alternator with a solid-state voltage regulator. It should have an engine pre-heat electric switch and start/stop switch.

It should have an emergency engine shutdown system to protect the engine in case of oil pressure loss, excessive generator speed, over cranking and engine high water temperature. Finally, it should have DC electric system breakers. Make sure that the AC system is a four-pole revolving field and is has an AVR (automatic voltage regulator). These generators will provide power that is within -+2% as compared to utility company variation, which is -+5%.