FUELS FOR OFF GRID

A large part of living of grid is finding ways to power equipment and appliances.

At first blush solar looks great due to its apparent simplicity.  However if a hail storm damages a solar panel it is not usually possible to repair by hand in the field.

A wind turbine stands a better chance of being repairable in the field as does a water wheel.

Reliance on fuels and power derived from highly industrialized sources takes away from the independence sought after by people wanting to live off grid,

The recent natural disasters in Japan with earth quakes and Tsunamis illustrate this point clearly. These disasters crippled a highly industrialized nation. Even basic food growing is affected because they need refined fuels for the farm machinery, not to mention a road network to deliver food from farm to city customers.

Because of the massive advertising and general literature many people are not aware of any alternative to buying gasoline at the pump. The ubiquitous internal combustion engine can run on a variety of fuels. Spark ignition engines can run on a variety of gaseous fuel such as propane methane or natural gas which is simply another word for methane. Alcohol is yet another fuel which has been used for decades in both race cars and industrial engine. A hundred years ago naphtha was used as a fuel.

Compression ignition engines  commonly called diesels  can  run on refined diesel fuel but also on vegetable oils  both new and waste sourced and  with  some modification propane and natural gas.

During the war time years ingenious adaptations to use wood gas as fuel was widely adopted in Europe.   Wood gas is something that can be made at home. No one is suggesting these alternative are as  good as  refined diesel or gasoline but  if the fuel is something  you can  create yourself  from local  resources its worth looking into

Waste wood is one of the most common home fuels since time immemorial.  But there are many more methods to use it than simply burning it.

A quick Google search will find enough hits to fill a thick book.

Methane and natural gas are two names for the same chemical substance. The naming is primarily used to designate the source. Gas from deep drilled wells is termed natural gas but the same gas derived from decomposing organic matter is called methane. Both can contain trace contaminants that must be filtered out before use.

Methane is my favorite off-grid fuel because it develops naturally whether you want it or not. That challenge is to collect and store it for later use.

Land fill sites treat methane as a nuisance waste product originating in the garbage heaps. Enterprising land fill operators have for a few decades been collecting this gas and using it for generator fuel so the operation is energy self sufficient.

The irony being land fill sites are designed to minimize methane creation. Think what they could be achieving if they optimized the land fill site to create methane.

All farm and livestock operations generate a huge amount of methane from the animal manure. To them it is a disposal problem. Why not instead make it a resource instead of a problem   A Frenchman called Jean Paine developed a composting system that heated and lighted his farm and gave him fuel for his farm vehicles .Look here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHRvwNJRNag

Another farmer named John Fry experimented with animal manure. Look here:

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/MethaneDigesters/MDToC.html

His book written in 1975 can be downloaded (12 chapters) because it is no longer copyright protected.

Every month I get a different collection of hits when I enter the same search string into Google, clear evidence this is a popular and very active topic.

For those who live in a conducive climate region look up Jatropha and Yellowhorn plants, these are both oil bearing trees and bushes   that can be harvested year after year. The berries are pressed to yield  a vegetable oil suitable for either cooking or direct use for diesel engines,  I have seen figures of 800 gallons per acre per year and  in favorable  regions  perhaps even greater yields. This could be a cash crop in addition to being  a home brew fuel  situation.  Conventional harvesting machinery and techniques  suffice. This is not rocket science requiring  strange new equipment, techniques or knowledge. This is just  ordinary farming  with a different crop.

I have not touched on  the more conventional  subjects of sun wind and water power  because so many other website already cater to these subjects.  My goal is to  highlight  subjects  relevant to being off grid but not covered  in detail in the mainstream literature.

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