Wannabe Inventor Researcher

Guest,

The only thing I advise is to please get a good flame arrester for the Brown's gas generator. And wear cotton clothing when you work with it.

The flame arrester part is easy. Simply run the fuel gas through two bubblers in line after the generator and before the regulator. This effectively prevents flash back from reaching the generator. Constructing the generator from explosion resistant materials, with safety pressure releases is a must, and is economically possible.

Thanks for the post

Toomuchfun

Dear Sir,

Would you consider a geothermal HVAC system instead of an experimental system.

You have everything you need in the systems loop to do the job you detailed and no experimental fire hazards. I'm in the alternative fuels business, & I think its right in some instances to try such things but I would not recomend anyone try such a far reaching project when in need of releif from FLA weather and only if you have the requirements of research and delivery of the system. I Lived there several years and man you Gotta have the AC in the Spring Summer & Fall . Geothermal systems are available today .

Just a extra thought , your Geo system can be PV Solar powered with a grid intertie system to take advantage of cost savings through your own power production and you will get pay backs from the power co plus tax credits for both systems. For alternative ref/AC systems research the subject of Ammonia systems , its the forfather of our modern A/C systems and still very usable for small scale , in the right instance. Check my web site for a Solar parts catalog as we have everything you might need and let me know if I can be of any help.

Good luck,

Joe

http://www.georgiaadobe.com

Dear Sir,

I am a retired building contractor/now certified "GREENHEAD", and I have given much thought to the GEO thermal energy source regarding heating and cooling of both my home and out buildings. I live on the center of the Lake Wales ridge in central Florida. Though we are 60 to 100 ft above sea level, there are swampy areas around. The water table beneath my properties varies between 5 and 10 ft beneath the surface year round. It certainly would be possible to install a system for heating and cooling that would benefit from the thermal exchange provided by the almost constant water tempreature. The water is highly acidic and would require the construction materials to be able to deal with this issue. My research indicates that even though a GEO Thermal system would be viable, It also would be very expensive, so much so that while it likely is an excellent idea for new construction, "not necessarily so for my current situation". However, by combining a small wind generator, some solar panels, and a small electric start, stand-by generator that uses hydroxy gas for fuel to provide the minimal electrical energy needed to circulate air, combined with an ammonia absorption system for cooling and refrigeration, and reversed when heat is needed, and a couple of forklift batteries along with the electrical componants needed to complete the system I can get off the grid for good. I now use a gasoline pump to provide water for my live stock at a cost of about 2 gallons if gas per month. My electrical costs for that property averaged about $200. per month for the last several years. Finally I told Glades Electric CO-OP to disconnect, I provide the water myself. My home electric bill averages about $275.00 per month with Progress Energy. Not Cheap! This cost will certainly increase along with the fuel costs increasing and being passed on th the consumer.

At this time I am working on a system that will have an efficient Hydroxy generator providing the fuel to run the stand by generator, and at the same time the generator will be providing the electrical energy needed to power up the Hydroxy generator, and yield both 120 and 240 volts for emergency stand by power for my home.

There are presently thousands of people just like me scattered all over the world working on Hydroxy gas projects that will power your car, your generator, forced air gas furnace, with gas fired AC, cooling for your refrigerator and freezer, and energy fuel for your gas range and oven. At this time I am looking to salvage a refrigerator, range and forced air heater from a travel trailer. These appliances are all propane powered, and may be convertible for use with Hydroxy fuel, "not stored, but made on demand". This equipment is for testing and proof of concept purposes only.

Anyone interested in these projects may contact me at tamerind2@earthlink.net ".com also works".

Until next time, "we'll be having"

Toomuchfun

I've had experience with PV panels and with Ammonia-cycle fridges. I have previously wondered about focussing the sun's rays on the boiler part of the Ammonia system, either using a spherical lens or reflectors on a type of clinostat that rotates once every 24hrs or somehow else tracks the sun. The electrical heaters in Ammonia fridges are only about 100W, even for 2m high fridges, so a square foot of solar collection would suffice; double that to allow for inefficiencies. This would be more efficient, although perhaps more challenging to work out the arrangement of the components, than the system you are proposing, which would work by burning HHO (or indeed any fuel) at the base of the flue.

Having read your situation, however, I would go for a slightly different approach. Bury a nice long pipe (suggest at least 20m and 200mm diameter) of stainless steel pipe (or longer, wider plastic pipe if more economical) in the swampy ground around and install a solar chimney of some sort to draw air in to the house through this pipe. If the house is too leaky for the solar chimney to work, you could use a small Stirling engine to power a fan at the house end of the pipe. The Stirling engine could be run from a solar heat collector of some sort, eg, big, black, glazed box. For night time ventilation, a 12V fan fed from your PV-charged cells should do.

For pumping water, my immediate reaction is to put in a wind pump; the high-solidity, self-starting type that have been used for centuries (or even millennia) to pump irrigation and bore-hole water. Significant initial investment but much less running cost.

Sounds like an interesting project.

There is nothing magical about Brown's gas, you put energy into splitting the water molecules and when the resulting gases are burnt that energy is released (minus losses). Although the flame temperature is high, the amount of energy is the same.

If you need (say) 5kW of energy (either from electricity or gas) to run the A/C you'll still need 5kW of energy when using Brown's gas (in reality more to cover losses).

I've found it's well worth improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the existing home, making sure the insulation is correct, blocking air leaks (ie in ceiling down lights), installing shade, painting some walls a reflective color, installing fans to ventilate the roof cavity, circulating the cool air from under the house. ffeJ

Dear ffej,

You are absolutely correct that making the improvements that you suggested will always save energy. Unfortunately those items are very costly to correct, and my home needs them all. It is a relatively large building for a home for just two people, one retired and the other to retire in less than eight years. I have determined that it really is possible to offset the utility expenses by changing my power supply sources to something like Hydroxy fuel created on demand, not stored. By adding battery power, I can dis-connect from the grid when it is convenient to do so without interfering with our life stile. We will ultimately down size our home for something more manageable and energy efficient. Until then, I'll continue to search for affordable ways to deal with my energy needs, and "I'll provide all of my work-able progress to the public domain, forever and free"

Thank you for your response to my posting!

Untill the next time, I'll be having

Toomuchfun