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85 Comments
- junkneo, on 01/08/2009, -1/+21Energy conservation will be a big part of the next decade.
Decentralized generation of power like those in this artcle are essential since the US has to spend lot of money in rebuilding the old electricity grids. - TTURabble, on 01/08/2009, -0/+15So its just a diesel engine?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetable_oil_used_as ...
- mac888, on 01/08/2009, -0/+15Decentralized, off-the-grid solutions... power to the people!
- thanakar, on 01/08/2009, -0/+13One step closer to Mr. Fusion!
- mreade, on 01/08/2009, -0/+11That's excellent news, I've seen so much used oil poured into greasetraps and go to waste, this could definitely help struggling restaurants to turn a profit.
- beyonddarwin, on 01/08/2009, -2/+10I don't know if it's clean, but it's alternative...
- dotorg, on 01/08/2009, -1/+880 gallons of used cooking oil is worth somewhere on the order of $50-$100 depending on the market.
5kwh of electricity is worth something on the order of $1.
Why would a restaurant give up 98-99% of the money they can recover by selling the used oil? - republicker, on 01/08/2009, -0/+6A diesel engine is a new garage invention? LOL
- Taiyoryu, on 01/08/2009, -0/+5It's clean in that what normally would have been a waste product is being reused, reduces the energy used to deal with said waste, and generates electricity onsite where its used.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
The bad news... if all restaurants start doing this, there won't be any waste oil leftover for free fuel-ups for those pioneers who already converted their cars to burn biodiesel. - AmaDaden, on 01/08/2009, -0/+5"Does it run at all times with no Down time?"
It most likely can't. Most restaurants would not generate that much oil. Remember to factor in the cost of oil disposal with out the vegewatt as well. I think that might account for the rest of the cost savings. - Veni_Vidi_Vici, on 01/08/2009, -0/+5Yup. 5 Kilowatts is almost 1.21 Gigawatts. Just about 10^6% more to go.
- Taiyoryu, on 01/08/2009, -0/+5Not to mention the more decentralized the energy system, the more secure it is for national security purposes.
- madrigaelic, on 01/08/2009, -0/+4I didn't add it into the story, but the company is also working on a larger 11 kilowatt unit that could handle 170 gallons of waste veggie oil a week.
- iamthearm, on 01/08/2009, -0/+4LOL This is one of those stories we'll see back on Digg year after year. Just like curing cancer.
- inactive, on 01/08/2009, -0/+3Yeah except weaker.
- asherp, on 01/08/2009, -0/+3Do they mean kW-hours ???
- Canuck, on 01/08/2009, -1/+4Only 7 months of the year. The other 5 months have less then 31 days.
- IphtashuFitz, on 01/08/2009, -0/+3Great, I can already smell the exhaust wafting for miles wherever lots of restaurants are located....
- plaguepony, on 01/08/2009, -2/+5This article is far to generous to the system.
Given a 5KW system, operating 24hrs a day 7 days a week we get a energy output of 3.7MW-hrs a Month. As the Residential cost of electricity in New England is 18 Cents, we then get that they are saving some 774 Dollars per month, assuming that there is 0 labor costs associated with operating the machine, which is not true.
Does it run at all times with no Down time? - umdigger, on 01/08/2009, -2/+5Obviously you are unfamiliar with the difference between an concept, and a product.
- joeanon, on 01/09/2009, -0/+3What a complete waste of time considering you can buy a refining machine that turns WVO waste vegetable oil into diesel and then burn in any diesel generator, boiler or car.
It's simply idiotic to think you'd want to burn unoprocessed WGO when you could run it through a cheap simple refining cycle.
That's like making a generator that runs crude oil and then bragging about it.
IDIOTS !!! - CedEx, on 01/08/2009, -0/+3How long did you think a "free" thing would stay "free"?
- Enchorito, on 01/08/2009, -0/+3The article mentions a lease program, so the labor costs are included. Also, the alternative is to keep paying someone to take away the waste oil, which is always a loss. With this generator, they at least have the chance to break even, with the potential to save money.
- inactive, on 01/08/2009, -0/+380 gallons of oil for 5 Kilowatts , screw that I want a 1.21 Jigawatts from a banana peel
- HMTKSteve, on 01/09/2009, -0/+2Oh yes, because nothing spurs industry to spend money on R&D like having their inventions given away for free.
- oldhick, on 01/08/2009, -1/+3I wish some one would open source the designs for solutions like these. I'd rather build one then spend $22,000 on one.
- geoboy, on 01/08/2009, -1/+3http://www.etrade.com
- Barackalypse, on 01/08/2009, -1/+3Except this is on grid, because 5 kW won't run an entire restaurant (hell, it will barely run a microwave, an electric stove, and a freezer at the same time), so it needs utility power or else it browns out.
- AmaDaden, on 01/08/2009, -0/+2People use vegetable oil as fuel all the time so the plans HAVE to be out there. The only real 'news' here is that some one is prepackaging it with all the bells and whistles for restaurants.
- wompninja, on 01/08/2009, -0/+2That is my favorite episode of the Simpsons!
- liuite, on 01/08/2009, -0/+2he hacked a diesel generator...
- Smogtdi, on 01/08/2009, -2/+4an average restaurant discard around 20 gallons of waste oil a week.
most single cylinder diesel engine use 0.25 gallon per kw per hour.
assuming 100% efficiency, that 20 gallons will give 80 KWh per week
you said 18 cents per kwh ( 7 cents here in Montreal ) `
so 0.18$ x 80 = 14.4$ per week or 750$ per year.
knowing most small diesel engines need at least an oil change every 50 hours so it's every 2 months in the case of a 10kw engine running 8 hours a week.
so 6 oils changes a year @ 100$ (average service call on commercial generators ) will cut 600$ off that 750$ power value, leaving 150$ to change multiple clogged veggie oil filters and service call to change them.
....
no go (and I left the initial investment and the waste oil purchase price they get right now out of the equation) - Barackalypse, on 01/08/2009, -0/+2No, its a diesel engine with a genset, a grid inter tie, and presumably some filtering. =)
- qwertydvorak, on 01/09/2009, -0/+2combine reading comprehension with reading the paragraph just after the one you quoted:
"Higher crude prices have made other types of oil more expensive. Biodiesel makers and renderers have become increasingly willing to pay up to 40 cents a gallon for the stuff. There have even been reports of "biodiesel pirates" stealing fryer grease."
now what you said:
"That oil is worth nothing to the restaurant if they have to PAY someone to take it away. If you're paying someone to remove a waste product, then it is always a profit situation to use the waste material for something else."
see how your statement doesn't work ? - oldhick, on 01/08/2009, -0/+2I've seen bio diesel engines, but never generators. I'll start looking.
- inactive, on 01/08/2009, -1/+3Stupid.
This "waste" oil is only waste right now because so few people want it. The second more than a handful of people want to do this, it wont be free (or even cheap) anymore. - nolimitz, on 01/08/2009, -0/+2I wonder what the bi-product is and if it smells bad when it's burning the oil?
- joeanon, on 01/09/2009, -0/+2Some guys did that already, They converted a car that burns solid carbon waste or such. AKA it literally runs on garbage.
It's just a garage project, likely with a very low range, but neat that it worked.
However, it's likely with such a surplus of CO2, burning trash, not burning it makes more sense.
THOUGH, why you apply the free market sense doesn't even make sense because not that I think about it.
If you made a car that burned garbage, even if not all that efficient, you might increase the WORTH of garbage and therefore reduce wasteful packaging and other carbon based pollution, merely because it has value so people don't want to waste it.
Plastics and all carbon trash have fuel value. So does the CO2 in the air and the ocean water just as it does in the more condensed forms of wood, coal or oil. - sodade, on 01/09/2009, -0/+1"I've seen bio diesel engines, but never generators."
Couldn't you just use bio diesel in a diesel generator? - AmaDaden, on 01/09/2009, -0/+1Works fine for Open Source
- burketo, on 01/09/2009, -0/+1"So selling people a simple product that is packaged neatly for use/consumption and then charging people for it is a bad idea?"
Hey they can try whatever they want, it's a free country. But don't call it an invention. this is simply a 5 kW diesel generator in a box with i imagine a funnel shaped opening at the topconnected to the tank. the innovation was just to market it to restaurants. $22,000 for that is extortionate in my opinion, but then i don't place much value in marketing innovations. - HMTKSteve, on 01/09/2009, -0/+1Guess the market for grease burning cars will now evaporate?
- Rkstar, on 01/09/2009, -0/+1A lot of the questions people are asking can be answered here - http://www.vegawatt.com/
- Enchorito, on 01/08/2009, -1/+2You forgot about the part where you have to pay someone to remove the waste oil. Where is that in your equation? Even if you break even, it's more favorable than paying someone else so they can turn around and sell/use it for a profit, while you take a loss.
- Enchorito, on 01/08/2009, -0/+1So selling people a simple product that is packaged neatly for use/consumption and then charging people for it is a bad idea? Hm, I think that's how most products and services are done. Do you expect him to sell them for free? Or are you mad because he thought of it first?
Most consumer products are fundamentally simple machines. With enough time and effort you could build your own toaster, your own clothes washer, your own coffee maker, etc. Yet I'll bet you bought all of these items and more because you would rather spend your time doing other things, even though it would be much cheaper to do it yourself. In a consumer society, we all specialize and we're all trading money for time. So how is this any different? - Barackalypse, on 01/08/2009, -0/+1Yeah, actually you can sell it, because people buy it to make biodiesel and other things. Looks like 604 people looking to buy it here:
http://www.tradekey.com/kb-used-cooking-oil/ - sv650touring, on 01/09/2009, -0/+1If you built one, why would you then want to spend the $22,000 on another one?
- Smogtdi, on 01/08/2009, -0/+1again, restaurant are PAID for the veggie oil; it has been said before and numerous times.
the discarded veggie oil is not a waste; it is recycled in numerous ways including commercial biodiesel.
restaurants have an exclusive contract with the recycling company. Now most grease barrels have locks on them as more and more people steal the yellow gold and use it as a fuel in cars, trucks or oil furnaces. - okitasan, on 01/08/2009, -0/+1next up, Mr. Fusion
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