World Energy Problems

[horsefeathers 15]

Oil, Coal,Gas, Wood, Fossil Fuels natures energy! This is a new world!

Sun, Wind,Geo thourmal, necular? Can it be true? Is this the future?

Look around you everything is changing! Can we run our tractors on E-85?

Ethonal made from corn or switch grass! Food for fuel?

Is there a better way? Put your minds together and try to solve this problem!

I'am up for new tech! we need electricity for daily life can't live without it!

Ocean currents? Steam? Photo voltaic? Alchol? I have an idea!!!

Can you help? RED SQUARE SAVES THE WORLD!

HORSEFEATHERS

[mowerman1193 42]

I think the people that own those electric Wheel Horse's are a jump head of us with the gas powered ones..They could charge their batteries with solar panels...I have thought for the last couple years that if I found a steal on one of those electric ones I would nab it up for that reason..Plus its a conversational piece of equipment that could fit into today's changing of going green...or should I say red

Kevin

[theoldwizard1 2]

Short answer.

All fossil fuels pollute. Gas pollutes the least and we have plenty of it. It is also cheap to transport. CNG (compressed natural gas) is by far the cheapest way to fuel your vehicle (if you have one that runs on CNG). Prices have not changed more than a couple of pennies in the past 5 or so years. You might be surprised at how many CNG "filling stations" are near your home.

Natural Gas is the best short to medium term solution.

I like solar and wind, but they are not typically available near where you need them. I read once that a 100x100 mile square area in the Nevada desert could generate enough power for most of the US using today's technology. Problem is "shipping" it to where you need it.

Nuclear and hydrogen are the best mid-long range. US nuclear is far behind the rest of the world. Our plants are based on 1950s-60s designs. There are much better designs available.

The odd ball is plasma arc incinerators. They get rid of solid and some liquid waste (including some toxic waste) and produce some electricity as well. Very low air pollution with the proper post treatment and very small amounts of solids left over.

I'm not a fan of battery anything. Not that efficient (when you look at the total thermodynamic equation), require electricity (which we don't have an over abundance of) and could be a toxic nightmare (no way of recycling at the moment).

[rmaynard 16,561]

For anyone that has been to the Wheel Horse show in PA, stop and think about the sounds of all those engines running, belching smoke, backfiring and generally creating a beautiful drone for 2 solid days.

Then think about what it would be like if all we were not allowed to run them any longer on petroleum.

Don't get me wrong, I am all about finding new technology. And I am sure that within our children's lifetime, new sources of power will be conceived. But in the meantime, while the next generation is working on the new wave of energy technology, let's get the current generation busy on getting those billions of barrels of oil out from under our own soil, so that we no longer have to be energy import dependent.

Bud, I can't imagine you having to change the name of the "603 Gasser" to something like the "603 Battery Buddy". Just doesn't have the same ring.

[theoldwizard1 2]

... let's get the current generation busy on getting those billions of barrels of oil out from under our own soil, so that we no longer have to be energy import dependent.

Make that natural gas !

[Operator 7]

Hydro ! You don't see much for that, We have so much oil reserves in the US but we keep importing, and on and on - -

Now think about who controls what and who, I can see this going the unspeakable way , political . Then we get our fingers slapped.

Just my 2.5 %

[Jim_M 179]

I have one running on E85 and so far I love it. I've converted a few for other people too and so far everybody is happy.

It costs about the same to run them but they run cooler and cleaner which makes me think they'll last longer.

Plus, I think the exhaust fumes smell better than gasoline exhaust fumes.

[Redbirdman 7]

I understand my weed whacker and my old chain saw get the worst mileage on earth.....whoopee, I used 2 gallons of gasoline cutting up a tree in the whole day. But the cruise ship Carneval uses 2 gallons a second all day for weeks at a time doing what? Hauling people around on vacation?

What about the 50 thousand cars going to hundreds of football games every week? For what? To watch shameless athletes earn millions of dollars?

Or my favorite, 100 million automobiles DRIVING to church on sunday....

And somebody has the nerve to worry about my chainsaw??

Is there a better way? Put your minds together and try to solve this problem!

Yeah, I have suggestions: watch football on TV, WALK TO church and STAY HOME from vacation and mow your lawn or cut up a tree!

You will save the earth a billion gallons of gas a year!

PS: Flying aircraft, boats and driving to the Casino are all exempt.

ed :thumbs:

[mowerman1193 42]

Jim, I am wondering how you go about converting them to run on the E85? How do they do on fuel usage compared to gasoline? I run the E85 in our Dodge Grand Caravan but unless the E85 is at least .30 cheaper per gallon I am not saving any money. I have also read how it emits a different pollutant and that its worst than gasoline pollutants..

Kevin

[flyovrcntry 115]

This is interesting,I am positive that that we will have another energy source in the future.A lot of people complain about the oil we use,but you will notice they are still using it.I beleive other sources will be found simply because there is a market for it.For now I am thankful that we have the oil for what we need,and hope they keep it coming.

[stevasaurus 23,448]

Not to make light of this thread...I kind of think Hydrogen and cold fusion could be the real answer to all of our energy needs.

But I was thinking about how Buds "Gasser" would sound and what it would look like with a Flux Capacitor on it. A couple of banana peels and a beer can for fuel...no waste. :thumbs:

[Redbirdman 7]

And what about this as a solution:

Cows emit a massive amount of methane through belching, with a lesser amount through flatulence. Statistics vary regarding how much methane the average dairy cow expels. Some experts say 100 liters to 200 liters a day (or about 26 gallons to about 53 gallons), while others say it's up to 500 liters (about 132 gallons) a day. In any case, that's a lot of methane, an amount comparable to the pollution produced by a car in a day.

more-->COW GAS

ed..... ffffffffft

[theoldwizard1 2]

Cow burps

[theoldwizard1 2]

Jim, I am wondering how you go about converting them to run on the E85? How do they do on fuel usage compared to gasoline? I run the E85 in our Dodge Grand Caravan but unless the E85 is at least .30 cheaper per gallon I am not saving any money.

Even though I live in the Midwest (MI), close to the corn belt, E85 is NEVER that cheap ! Many times it costs more than regular !!

[theoldwizard1 2]

Not to make light of this thread...I kind of think Hydrogen and cold fusion could be the real answer to all of our energy needs.

Hydrogen is definitely the "fuel of the future". Problem is, it takes electricity to make hydrogen.

I don't have much hope for cold fusion.

[flyovrcntry 115]

Look don't mess around with the beefsteak or your gonna have a serious problem.Thems fightn words !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[B-8074 20]

Take the 1.3 BILLION dollar cowboys stadium and convert it to house cattle. Design a collection system for all the cow burps and toots. But only after the STEELERS beat the Packers in the super bowl.

[Jim_M 179]

Jim, I am wondering how you go about converting them to run on the E85? How do they do on fuel usage compared to gasoline? I run the E85 in our Dodge Grand Caravan but unless the E85 is at least .30 cheaper per gallon I am not saving any money. I have also read how it emits a different pollutant and that its worst than gasoline pollutants..

Kevin

I haven't done anything special to the steel tanks and have had no problems with rust. I recommend that the tank always be kept full when the tractor is parked, no air space, no rust. The tank on this tractor is plastic with a rubber grommet for the fuel shut off. I was concerned about the grommet, but so far, so good, after 5 months it still feels the same as it did before. If I have to replace it once a year or every two years, no big deal.

You have to replace your fuel lines with alcohol resistant lines, replace the fuel pump with an low psi electric pump, drill out the inlet valve (seat) and main jet holes 20% larger and advance the timing 3 to 5 degrees and you're done.

The maximum hole sizes in the jets need to be .078 for 6 to 8 hp engines and .0935 for 10-16 hp engines. you may want to start at 10% larger and work your way up, but generally 20% seems to be the magic number.

Make sure you drill them straight and in the center of the jet. I drill them on a lathe.

Make sure the carb has a brass float.

If you do everything right, I think you'll be very happy with the results. buy a spare carb and modify it, keep your original just in case it doesn't work out for you, you can always go back to gas.

A kohler flat head engine will make 10-15% more horsepower on E85 with no other modifications. It will also run cooler and have no carbon deposits on the spark plug or the top of the piston. Plus, with E85 rated at 102 to 105 octane, you can run a milled head with no detonation or over heating.

It will use more E85 than it did when running on gasoline. With the price of E85 in my area, 50-60 cents less than gas, it costs the same to run as it did before. I didn't do it to save money, just wanted to give it a try and see how a stock engine would run on it. My puller is running on E85 already so I figured why not give it a try.

As far as pollutants go....I haven't a clue. I wanted to experiment with a Kohler so I gave it a try and I'm happy. I don't know if I want to run all of them on E85 yet, time will tell.

It may not be for everybody, but like so many other things, don't knock it until you've tried it.

[horsefeathers 15]

Wow, You guys are on it! I like Wizards Natural Gas!

I worked in the Oil Patch we ran an old Bucryus spuder on natural gas!

Rite out of the wells we were cleaning. It ran all day cool and clean 40+ years!

Clean, abundant ,afordable! An interum fuel for sure !

But what about ocean currents the waves crash up on the shores constantly?

Can we tap that energy? What about Volcanos that's a lot of energy! Tap That?

Volcanos? Natural energy just thinkin'! We look at the sun for energy!

Why not the core of the Earth? Aaawwwhhh it can't be that easy!

Bob & Steve I like the smell of cut grass and burnt gasoline from

an internal combustion engine in the morning!

"603 Battery Buddy" Hhhaa ,I like the sound of spent gas from the zoomies!!!

Great replys all !!!

HORSEFEATHERS!

[6wheeler 669]

I want a diesel engine that runs on french fry grease , But then I suppose I will get hungry and have to run to town in my french fry grease burning diesel pickup, making everyone else hungry for french fries. Then all of a sudden Mcdonalds is out of french fries, so now they don't need the grease. And now , I have a fuel shortage......... And, no french fries. This is a nightmare, forget I said anything :thumbs:

[Redbirdman 7]

AFA generating electricity:

Actually there is an old fashioned thing combined with modern technology that could help.....(not a solution, but help!) called a 'weir'.A weir is the area above a dam where the water spills over; it is measured by the width and the depth of the water and somehow combined with the speed of the water flowing over it..........basically the same "idea" as the formula for HORSEPOWER!

I remember measuring the weir on a dam behind my old home in NJ and a 25 foot wide dam was producing over 90 HP with spring waters; and about 10 hp during the summer.

Now, imagine the amount of electricity your 10 hp Kohler could generate running a generator! Without the need for fuel.

The old technology required a dam (or to be more specific: only considered a dam) in measuring a weir. A new thought is to precast a concrete 'box' that could be set in any river (side by side). The box would simply have a 'venturi' effect by narrowing the sides slightly in the middle, thus raising the level of the water an inch or two: thus causing the water to drop or speed up where a turbine could be added to power a small generator.

The idea comes from a device called a 'Parshall Flume' which is usually made of fiberglass and inserted in sewers to act as a selp powered 'poop power washer'

to keep sewers clean and moving (here we go with poop again!)

Used in industrial and municipal sewers and in sewage treatment plants. The throat sections create a constriction for the flow. This produces a head (depth of flow) that is related to the volume discharge. The approaching flow should be reasonably free of turbulence, eddies and waves for accurate measurements to occur. The advantages of the Parshall flume are its ability to self-clean and function over a wide operating flow range with little loss in accuracy. Parshall flume size is determined by the throat width. The flume is typically prefabricated fiberglass and comes in many sizes.

The entire US of A is above sea level and every river runs downhill so they could be placed almost anywhere. And the 'turbine box' would not actually restrict the entire river so fish would just swim around it. I know lawyers and the EPA would ruin the idea.............but imagine the potential??

ed :thumbs:

[wallfish 18,624]

But what about ocean currents the waves crash up on the shores constantly?

Can we tap that energy?

I remember seeing a device that used the ocean shore waves for energy. They were tubular and linked together like sausages. They used the same technology as those flashlights you can shake but on a much larger scale. The ocean waves would raise and lower the floating tubes and the coils inside would slide back and forth creating electricity. Seemed like a pretty good idea that never caught on. Clean Free energy once the all copper is paid for.

[stevasaurus 23,448]

But what about ocean currents the waves crash up on the shores constantly?

Can we tap that energy?

I remember seeing a device that used the ocean shore waves for energy. They were tubular and linked together like sausages. They used the same technology as those flashlights you can shake but on a much larger scale. The ocean waves would raise and lower the floating tubes and the coils inside would slide back and forth creating electricity. Seemed like a pretty good idea that never caught on. Clean Free energy once the all copper is paid for.

John, that idea did catch on and is going strong. I saw a documentary about it. I believe the field is located in the North Sea, east of England. :thumbs:

[theoldwizard1 2]

But what about ocean currents the waves crash up on the shores constantly?

Can we tap that energy?

In short yes, but not reliably. Lot's of ideas being tried. Here is one that has had some full scale success Pelamis Wave Power

More references in Wikipedia

Don't forget Tidal Power

From what little research I have done in this area, none of the devices have been built strong enough to hold up against Mother Nature (or should I say Father Neptune).

What about Volcanos that's a lot of energy! Tap That?

Volcanos?

They haven't found anyone crazy enough to drill a geothermal well on top of an active volcano ! :thumbs:

[farmer 1,081]

I saw a program on the telly about a week ago about the moon.

It threw up questions about how the moon effected life on earth and

such like. Interveiwed was a US scientist who claimed that the technology

to harness solar power using solar panels that could be rolled out like tissue

paper over a certain square mileage was now available.

Areas of moon are in permanent daylight and with no atmosphere solar energy

is massive. He said the power could be transmitted back to Earth by some kind of

microwave signal. He also claimed that there was more available energy using this

process than our planet would ever need.

When asked about cost he said it would be around 3 times what Gobal oil company

will invest for 10 years exploration and extraction.

Food for thought?