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  #31  
Old 11-05-2008, 12:46 AM
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI
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Why not just rough it? Thats free, doesn't pollute, and is the easiest to do.

We went 3.5 days in the middle of winter without power before. We made a fire in the fireplace, used candles....and ate cold-prepared foods. We could have used our camping stuff if we had wanted, but we didn't even bother.

Toughen up a bit! No need to burn tons of fuel per day just to keep your TV on!

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  #32  
Old 11-05-2008, 12:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pawoSD View Post
Why not just rough it? Thats free, doesn't pollute, and is the easiest to do.

We went 3.5 days in the middle of winter without power before. We made a fire in the fireplace, used candles....and ate cold-prepared foods. We could have used our camping stuff if we had wanted, but we didn't even bother.

Toughen up a bit! No need to burn tons of fuel per day just to keep your TV on!
Because the heat down here in the summer can kill if you cannot cool down. Your body can only tolerate the heat intermittently when it gets up to 120*F in the shade! We often find dead tourists here all the time because of the heat.
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  #33  
Old 11-05-2008, 01:04 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by katja View Post
What about using your Mercedes diesel as a "generator?" Essentially using an inverter hooked up to the battery. . .
Impractical for loads like a refrigerator but you could run a couple of small lights and heat your fish. Actually, a practical solution might be to invest in some 12 Volt LED fixtures, which could run directly from the car. All you would have to do is to run the car for an hour or so once a day to put some charge back in the battery.
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Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
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  #34  
Old 11-05-2008, 07:44 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DieselClack View Post
Because the heat down here in the summer can kill if you cannot cool down. Your body can only tolerate the heat intermittently when it gets up to 120*F in the shade! We often find dead tourists here all the time because of the heat.
Sit in the shade with a battery powered fan and a garden hose.
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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)
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  #35  
Old 11-05-2008, 10:23 AM
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Location: minnesota,hey.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pawoSD View Post
Why not just rough it?

Toughen up a bit! No need to burn tons of fuel per day just to keep your TV on!
yeah- but what about mercedesshop?????????????
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  #36  
Old 11-05-2008, 11:07 AM
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For some people, it's more than a convenience to have heat and/or air conditioning. There are extended families in some homes; the kids could rough it but the old folks would die – some do every time there's a heat or cold wave along with a power failure.
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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970
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  #37  
Old 11-05-2008, 07:56 PM
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My wife and I get along fine on 2 KW during outages but theres no cloths dryer and a small propane "demand" hot water supplies the shower only plus a few other minor inconveniences but the little "lister diesel" runs for six+ hours on a gallon of fuel.
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  #38  
Old 11-06-2008, 10:23 PM
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Thanks for all the great feedback! The collective wisdom of this forum is pretty amazing. I think I've harvested a few gems from all the replys:

1. Consider the available fuel source more than anything else. No fuel, no power
2. Don't be cheap. Buy a commercial unit that is rated for the task.
3. Don't be greedy or excessively wasteful on the generator size spec. Get buy on as little kw as possible.
4. Use a switch to properly attach to the home electrical system (unless extension cords are sufficient)
5. Buy an 1800rpm unit to keep the noise down.

I can work within these parameters
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  #39  
Old 11-07-2008, 11:41 AM
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Home Made Power

Here in Florida, due to the multiude of Huricanes that seem to head our way, a generator is almost a necessity. Over the last several years, I have built 5 generators ranging from 5.0 kw to 12.0 kw, both gas and diesel. Here are some of the things I have discovered:
1. The generators that you buy from Home Depot or Lowes are generally rated for 1,000 hrs. (you are lucky if they last that long0 and they are not worth repairing.
2. The Home Depot-Lowes generators are very expensive for what you
get in terms of quality and reliability.
3. You can build a generator that is more reliable and will last longer,
much cheaper that you can buy one.

Look for a miltiary surplus engine on Ebay. The military decided several years ago that they no longer wanted any gasoline in their inventory and all equipment must now run on diese or jet fuel. You can buy brand new gasoline engines still in the original crate that have never been used for less that $500.00. These are engines that have been built to military standard and have been down rated to run on low grade gasoline at high altitude and high temperatures for a long, long time. Two gasoline engine that are ideal for generators are the 4A032 and the 4A084. They are amazingly powerful, light weight, 4
cylinder engines. these engines are currently being used by the light weight aircraft and mini-airboat crowd. If you want a diesel engine, they are available too, just used and more expensive.

As for the generator head, look for an ST type head. A 7.5 kw head goes for less that $400.00 plus freight. these things are super heavy duty and , again, super easy to work on. They are made to run 24/7 and are being used all over the third world for powering small villages.

With this combination, you will need to belt drive the head as the engine will be governed to run at 3600 rpm's and the head needs to run at 1800 rpm"s. No real problems there. You will end up with a gen set that will cost less than half of a HD-Lowe's set, and last alot longer with fewer problems, plus you had the fun of building it yourself

Big Bob
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  #40  
Old 11-07-2008, 12:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbob2 View Post
Over the last several years, I have built 5 generators ranging from 5.0 kw to 12.0 kw, both gas and diesel.

3. You can build a generator that is more reliable and will last longer,
much cheaper that you can buy one.

With this combination, you will need to belt drive the head ...

plus you had the fun of building it yourself ...

Big Bob
I have a new welder/generator from Burden's Surplus sitting here waiting to have power applied to it... a DC portable is what I need on the farm...
So I am hoping you took lots of digital pictures of those that you made... and have posted them somewhere on the web ?
With fingers crossed... Greg
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  #41  
Old 11-07-2008, 12:41 PM
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If you build a generator powered by a Listeroid engine, you can get incredible fuel economy as well!
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  #42  
Old 11-07-2008, 12:42 PM
Diesel on the brain
 
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Location: Upstate Virginia
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Amen to building it, even if you don't get down as deep as the previous posted mentioned.

I put together a set that I've documented at:
http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39982

I went from:


To:


and had a great time doing it!

-Tad

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