Hi Everyone,
Today saw the first fully operational test run of my new prototype heat engine. The new engine named 'Prepper' is an organic rankine cycle heat engine encompassing a compact modular design within a protective metal housing (formerly a washing machine). The Prepper is designed to be an off grid emergency backup generator which can be retro fitted to an existing boiler circuit, whilst doubling as a test bed for the budding heat engine enthusiast. It is of very simple design, with all parts being available off the shelf. In order to increase its environmental credentials I have constructed my Prepper at low cost using some salvaged parts.
I still need to insulate the pipework and tidy the electrics but other than that my Prepper is finished.
The Prepper is the base unit from which my other developments will spring. Heat engines are best used to recover waste heat, so, i intend to develop heat engines which will use Solar Thermal, Biomass fuel or internal combustion genset (such as Lister engines) waste heat as a renewable energy source.
The Prepper is a DIY build and i can say from experience that it is a thrilling and engrossing project from the outset. It has taken me about 18 months to research, from scratch, ORC heat engines and their DIY potential. I literally started out knowing absolutely nothing about it. The huge advantage of the Prepper's simple design is that it uses 100% off the shelf parts, so there is no need for complicated tools and machining during construction, i mostly used basic plumbing hand tools.
That's it for now but be sure to check back because i will be making a video to fully explain and demonstrate my system.
in the meantime here are some pics:
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see my other post for a frontal view
Many thanks to all those who contributed to my project,
Stuart.
www.biogen.webs.com