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Volvox (Engineering) Ltd | |
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A sustainable alternative to the grid |
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Here are some examples of how some of our customers are using their generators
Here is an example of a first generation Volvox Generator. This particular one was bought by a very clever guy (J. Watson in High Wycombe) who runs his own Engineering Company. He bought the generator as a 'proof of concept' project, and converted it to run on tallow (lard). |
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The Generator was specified to be extremely over rated (capable of producing much more power than it was going to be used for). A 6kW generator was ordered, but an 8kW generator was delivered (we like our suppliers). Mr. Watson, however, said he managed to pull over 12kW from it. |
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It was a 230VAC single phase brushless, AVR generator, with electric start. It comes with a starting handle, and is very easy to start manually. |
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This generator is a direct injection model with integral radiator (water cooled) and fan. The direct injection models are powerful but very noisy, even in the sound-proofing enclosure. The second generation (and all subsequent) generators are indirect injection, and are much quieter. |
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The unit is a Chinese built single horizontal cylinder diesel with a rated power output of 18hp at 2200rpm. Cylinder displacement is just less than 1 liter. It is a wonderfully versatile and robust engine. It consumes 238 Grams of fuel for every kW hour of electricity produced. This equates to less than a third of a liter of fuel for every kW hour. |
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The generator is quite large; seen here sitting on a caravan chassis, is weighs in at over half a tonne (550Kg). |
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The alternators are very durable, over-engineered monsters. This one weighs nearly as much as the engine, and its size is shown clearly here. | |
The tallow fuel system was a dual fuel strategy - as the lard was solid at ambient temperature, it could not be allowed to cool within any part of the fuel system (unless the whole fuel system was going to be pre-heated, but that was deemed impractical). So the approach was to start and stop the engine on diesel. Once the engine was up to temperature, the heat from the coolant being circulated through the lard fuel tank, had liquidised the lard. The fuel system was then manually changed over to the lard. Extra heaters on the fuel filter and high pressure fuel line, ensured adequate fuel flow, and good atomization in the combustion chamber. When shut-down was required, the fuel system was (manually) switched over to diesel again until all the lard had been pushed through and only diesel remained in the fuel system. Further details on this setup can be provided on request. |
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