steam power

[doc_gonzo]

i have the coolest job! i work for a hard wood floor manufacturer. i run a boiler that co-generates steam for our drying kilns,heat for the entire plant in the winter and our hot water. the co-gen part is that we also produce over $50 K in electricity every month. the wood for our product is sustainably harvested and we burn wood waste. we have a "hog" that grinds the scrap wood and blows it into 4 huge silos from which we feed it to the boiler, where we produce the electricity to run the whole process. well almost the whole process, our turbine and generator is only rated for 2 KW, so the finish line (automated, sanders,stainers and uv clear coating) runs on grid power. but we put a heck of a dent in the monthly electric bill! the hours are the best part... there are only 4 of us to run 24-7-365, we do a "dupont schedule" 12 hr shifts 3 nights 3 days off, 4 days 4 days off etc etc and every 3 weeks we get a whole week off, as long as i manage my sleep cycle corectly... tons of time for farm projects. it's a really interesting green job, with killer pay and great hours.

cheers

doc

 

[miss_thenorth]

My hubby is a power engineer at a combined cycle plant that produces 541.3 MW of power. He used to work at a co-gen plant up north where they produced steam for the paper mill next door to it and produced electricity for the grid. do you have your fourth class? Hubby loves his job also.

 

[k0xxx]

Sounds neat. I operated boilers at a refinery for twenty years. Three that produced 600,000 pounds per hour of 1300# steam and two producing 450,000 pph of 650# steam. It was an interesting job.

I've thought about building small boilers for electrical generation at home, but the turbines have always been the sticking point. Small turbines. that I can afford, just are not efficient enough to make it a worthwhile project for me. I still scan a couple of industrial salvage sites from time to time, though. You just never know...

 

[doc_gonzo]

hi miss_thenorth,

we are small potatoes compared to youre hubbys plant, you could fit our turbine, gear box and generator in the 22' camper that dawn419 and i live in. we're not set up for net metering, we use every amp we produce and buy $40 K a month in. no class forth, i'm guessing that's also bigger than we are. if my plant ever shut down, i'd look into a coal or nuke fired utility owned plant but i like my local small gig. if i went coal or nuke i'd have to sell the farm and move....

cheers

doc

 

[doc_gonzo]

hiya kOxxx,

we run 2 antique boilers. the '79 deltek has a super heater to provide dry steam for the turbine. we also have a '58 keeler that can supply steam for heating and kilns only. we're still teeny weeny in comparison, 34K lbs to push 2K amps, but hey we're doin our part. i'd like to go bigger but as mentioned earler i'd have to sell the farm and move, not an option as far as lil mama's concerened, or me for that matter, i like watching moniters and messing around on my puter for 12 hrs a day. the local echonomy is really crappy here and i get 3 or 4 X starting wages after only being with the co for less than a year. i lucked up, i'm a smart guy and the co saw that, this doesn't happen to often....

cheers

doc

 

[Marianne]

 

[elwood]

Steam power is the only way to reliably make power for the grid. Solar and wind are great but they will not keep the grid energized. As well as they are not as "green" as they want people to think. Nuclear is the only green way to supply the grid 24/7. I do happen to work at a nuclear power plant. We release no pollution to the air, water, or ground.

just my $.02

 

[jeffreydominic]

Steam engines that recover excess engine heat and convert it to useful work. It is considered to be the electric power without pollution. Automobiles, trains, airplanes, ships, buses, motorcycles that operate on clean fuel and are non-polluting. Your home powered entirely by solar thermal electric energy. Quiet, clean, powerful, palm-sized steam engines operating on virtually any fuel, even hydrogen. Engines that can operate underwater or in outer space without air.