[42459] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: Now:Power/Generators (Was: Re[2]: telehouse - 25 broadway)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Robert Boyle)
Sun Sep 16 20:30:07 2001
Message-ID: <63340-22001911702929318@tellurian.com>
From: "Robert Boyle" <robert@tellurian.com>
To: ltd@interlink.com.au, robert@tellurian.com
Cc: sean@donelan.com, kevin@gannons.net, nanog@merit.edu
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 20:29:29 -0400
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Errors-To: owner-nanog-outgoing@merit.edu
---- Original Message ----
From: ltd@interlink.com.au
To: robert@tellurian.com
Subject: Re: Now:Power/Generators (Was: Re[2]: telehouse - 25
>broadway)
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 16:02:14 -0700
>[ staying from nanog to power-generation again... :-) ]
>many Diesel gensets can be "converted" to operate on LPG/Natural Gas
>instead.
>they typically end up with a higher operating temperature (but not
>significantly so), and may need some upgrades to some of the
>auxiliary
>equipment (fuel pump, cooling system / heat-exchangers / radiators),
>as
>well as some relatively minor mods to the engine itself. you also
>need a
>Governor that knows that its using LPG/NG rather than Diesel - the
>characteristics of how the engine behaves/responds are quite
>different.
Also, LPG/NG converted diesel engines are de-rated 400kW diesel may
become 280kW LPG/NG.
>on the topic of Oil Filters, one of the things that can be done to
>help
>"clean" the oil in a Diesel genset is to add a Centrifugal Pump to
>seperate
>the solids from the oil. this makes it possible to extend the
>maintenance
>periods (at least for Oil Filter changes) of Diesel gensets as well
>as
>improve the lifetime of the oil itself.
>(Diesel gensets are fairly oil-hungry. that is normal).
I also install an additional bypass oil filter which filters much
smaller particles than the standard full-flow filter. This can also
extend the maintenance interval and engine life. Using a filter
extension plate and a remote filter mounting kit allows for faster
and cleaner oil filter changes. Ensuring adequate genset cooling
through a properly sized radiator, pump, and plumbing will prevent
the oil from coking and will help keep its lubricating properties
much longer.
In our application, we are using diesel as a primary backup to the
grid and the Capstone LPG/NG turbine as supplemental/backup/long
runtime AC power. We have very reliable gas service, but diesel fuel
does go bad and I don't want to store more than 24-48 hours of fuel
in the building.
-Robert
