some proposals

I decided to share my project proposals because there is no way I could realize all of them myself. Also, the things I describe might already exist in some form somewhere, or somebody might have the means to make them happen.
And of course I would apreciate any constructive input whatsoever.
Over the past years I have obeserved that often the development and public appearance of a functioning prototype will go hand in hand with the market introduction of a very similar mass produced item.





Diesel Motorcycle:

 Aim:
Accelerate the development and market introduction of a Diesel Motorcycle which would contribute to drastically reducing carbon emissions as it is consuming less than half the amount of fuel that similar petrol engines require and also could be easily converted to run on carbon neutral biofuels.
Due to its rather primitive components, the performance of the prototype described here would not be anywhere near that of existing modern models, which exist but are still unavailable on the market.
However, it would still highlight the possibilities and also, if equipped with a power take off, serve as a mobile power plant to run mid size machinery in off-grid situations.

Description:
A small diesel engine (a 325cc Lombardini one cylinder DI, which is the engine used in the Royal Enfield Taurus Diesel) is fitted into the frame of an old motorcycle, preferably one that allows for the separation of engine and gear box with a drive chain in between the two.
With the bike on its centre stand, the engine's flywheel can be used to belt drive applications such as water pumps, lathes, or sawmills. Hence the motorcycle is also a mobile power plant.
Another option is to fit the engine and gearbox into a quad bike, a sidecar outfit or a dutch brombakfiets.
Performance is limited to the apx. 10hp output of the engine, but its fuel efficiency is amazing. The bike is ideal for local traffic in urban or rural environments and also an agricultural tool.
The engine could be converted to run on carbon neutral biofuels.
It could be toured as an attraction for various events ranging from steam fairs to ecological festivals.


Situation:
I have purchased the engine and gearbox, it would need a suitable frame and a good motorcycle mechanic to fit it and make it road legal.




stirling wood burner:


aim:

to allow low power off-grid systems to function without or with less conventional means of charging 12V batteries (solar panels and wind generators) and to act as a backup for these systems to reduce weather dependency.

description:

a simple one cylinder stirling engine is fitted into a woodburner which is used for domestic heating. The cooling water is gradually heated up and can be used for domestic purposes or stored for heating if radiators are fitted, which drastically improves the efficiency of the wood burner and allows us to run it for a shorter time period.
a 12v generator is fitted to the stirling engine which could produce an average of 100 W.


situation:

I have purchased the blueprints and description to build a small experimental stirling engine as developed by german engineer Walter Kufner.
It illustrates the principles and the potential of the engine, but a different design would have to be developed to fit into a wood burner and deliver sufficient power, also access to a lathe and TIG-Welding facilities is required.
The purchase of an existing stirling engine, potentially out of a Whispergen would accelerate the project.






Vertical Wind Turbines:

aim:

to make the micro generation of windpower commercially viable.

description:

small vertical wind turbines are fitted to the corners and roofs of buildings.
They are equipped with simple ac generators. The electricity is run through short cables to the next point in the building where warm water is stored or used in radiators and supports the existing warm water system through inexpensive immersion heaters.
This reduces the carbon emmissions produced by the existing heating system and prevents a minimal backup in the event of its breakdown.
As the electricity is directly turned into heat, voltage and frequency regulation are not an issue, inexpensive and simple generator bits can be used and even minimal winds produce warmth. The system acts as a regulating cycle and produces heat when the building is most likely to loose it.


situation:

to my best knowledge no suitable wind generators exist at this point, but for a start a number of accessible vertical wind turbines could be used to create a functioning demonstration system for a public building.