"http://www.schematics.com">Circuit Diagram
Monday, August 11, 2014
Schematics, diagrams and programming code.
"http://www.schematics.com">Circuit Diagram
Saturday, March 29, 2014
BMH Documentation (Draft)
BMH Power Plant
Engineers Operating Manual
Summary
A micro hydro turbine driving
an induction generator is like a finely tuned instrument. It runs most
efficiently when water flow and head pressure resonate mechanically with the
turbine geometry and the rotational speed. The rotational speed generates a
precise pitch of 60 cycles per second which in turn is tuned to resonate
(electrically) with the load and a bank of capacitors to keep currents
oscillating through the copper windings of the generator and create magnetic
fields in synchrony which in turn produce the current that we can use to light
up our lives.
Since there are significant
energy flows to be controlled and contained, it is important to understand how
to control the energy smoothly, avoiding sudden surges or stepwise impacts in
both the electrical as well as the hydraulic circuits. The operator, typically an engineer or highly
trained technician, must understand, and be able to predict the result of
turning On or Off any circuit breaker, switch or valve before actually touching
a breaker, valve or controlling device. (In many localities grid-connected
power plants are required to be operated under the supervision of an engineer.)
Always check the readouts first to find out what loads are being powered when
making any changes, and try to anticipate the result of the adjustment and the
effects on the connected load. This manual will explain each switch, breaker,
valve and controller and the function each serves.
This manual will give the
procedures for startup of the plant, planned shutdown, unplanned shutdown and
subsequent startup procedure. Monitoring and metering will also be explained.
It may be useful for the more experienced operator to refer to the diagrams for
further insight to the operation of this plant.
Conventions and
Definitions as they apply to the Buttermilk Micro
Hydro plant:
Storm Water Diversion: currently a pair of logs placed at an angle ~12 feet upstream from
the water intake. Their function is to protect the down stream intake structures
during extreme weather events. (Maintenance or future enhancement / automation
project.)
Water flow measuring
weir: located immediately upstream from the
water intake. Functions to get an approximate measure of total water flow
reaching the intake. (Maintenance or future enhancement / automation project.)
Slide gate: at the entry to the flume, function is to shut off water at the
water intake during severe weather events or flume repairs.
Water intake: the 8” x 48” rectangular opening in the upstream end of the flume.
Warm water feed: the warm Honderosa spring water fed via (blue) underground pipe that
keeps the water intake from freezing closed during most subzero winter nights.
Flume: the structure that currently carries the water from the water intake
to the gravel baffle (and screening) box. (Maintenance or future enhancement
/automation project.)
Minimum flow bypass: the circular opening in the flume bottom that insures the escape of
a minimum of 200 Gallons / minute to keep the waterfall hydrated. (Maintenance
or future enhancement / automation project.)
Gravel baffle box: the 4’ x 4’ x 5’ high (wood) box (Maintenance and / or future
enhancement / automation project.) with the integral second gravel chamber and
attached first gravel chamber, ball and chain flush valves, moving screen,
screen drive mechanism, head valve, head valve drive / operator, and attached
to the flume upstream.
Gravel Chambers: the first gravel chamber removes most negative buoyancy material
that did not fall out of the minimum flow bypass. The second gravel chamber
mostly collects fine sand and mud. (Maintenance or future enhancement /
automation project.)
Moving screen: the HDPE conveyor belt screen that functions to keep floating or
neutral debris from going down the penstock and clogging the turbines. The
screen duty cycle can be adjusted so it does not clog itself with heavy debris
loads or frazzle ice formation. (Maintenance and / or future enhancement
/automation project.)
Frazzle ice: the slushy watery ice that forms in the shallower upstream rapids as
water is super-cooled during sub zero nights. The frazzle ice solidifies
immediately when it meets any cold or metal surface and blocks water flow. Once
ice covers the stream no further frazzle ice will form and the water will run
unimpeded underneath the ice cover, more so if snow also covers the ice. Even
water falling vertically will be covered with ice.
Head valve: the butterfly valve and operator (motor and drive circuitry) at the
bottom outlet of the gravel baffle box where the penstock connects.
Penstock: the 8” insulated or buried steel pipe that keeps the water contained
In the Power House
Indicators:
Orange Neon: indicates no power or
reverse power flow from grid to generator. The Orange will extinguish when generator is operating normally and
producing power.
NO: Normally Open contacts /
circuit
Manual Controlling
Devices
Rotating Machinery:
Electro-mechanical
Controlling Devices:
Electrical –
Electronic controlling devices:
I. Start-up of water
flow at intake
During warm weather months
the flow of water to the turbine may be started (acquire ‘green’ condition) by
following these steps.
The initial
conditions are:
a. All power house valves
closed, No water flow.
1. Insure that there is at
least enough flow in the stream to support turbine/GEN1 operation. This can be
judged by observing the flow into the flume. Standing on the flume looking
upstream, the water should cover ~80% of the width of the sloping bedrock stone
weir, or within ~20% of the right side of the flume. (This measurement method
should be refined when the temporary intake structures are made permanent by
having a constant slope and marks ground or cemented into the trailing edge of
the bedrock leading into the flume.)
2. Check that the moving
screen (trash rack) is clear and operational. (see:Moving Screen Maintenance)
Flush the 1st and 2nd sand and gravel settling chambers by pumping the ball
valves (via stainless chains) up and down several times or until the water
flows clean from the flush opening. (This procedure should be refined when the
temporary intake structures are made permanent.)
The head valve can be
operated from the powerhouse by a single push of the button on the Head Valve
and Communications control box, observing the green LED for valve open and red
LED for valve closed. An additional red/green LED lights only while the valve
is moving to its newly commanded position, which takes ~100 seconds. Each push of
the button reverses the operation of the head valve from open to close and vice
versa with a 2 second delay.
Continuous operation of the
trash rack can currently be implemented manually from a control box at the top
of the falls in the old pump house. (Maintenance or future enhancement
/automation project.)
II. Start-up of
co-generation.
The initial
conditions are: all the above and:
1. The ORU utility grid is assumed to be
always present when starting up. If ORU fails while BMH is running, BMH
continues independently, disconnected from the grid automatically via the
Beckwith 3410 intertie protection device.
Open Head Valve (press button
once on Head Valve and Communication box), wait for valve to open as indicated
by ONE green LED. (the ‘green’ condition)
2. Utility grid power ON.
Beckwith 5 minute timer expired and ‘Output 1’ RED LED is ON and GREEN LED is
blinking.
3. Top four load side
breakers ON. We are using grid power as indicated on the Net Grid meter lower
right in Beckwith enclosure.
4. Bottom six Generator side
breakers OFF. We are not making any power yet.
5. Check for nominal meter
readings of Honders ~1-3kW, Buyske ~ 1-3kW, NET from Grid −3kW to −8kW on PM620
meter in lower right hand corner of Beckwith enclosure. (The signs will change
once the PM620ʼs are directionally adjusted to conform to Utility practice.)
6. REV PWR RESET to OFF
(down) (located under Beckwith 3410)
7. Open
the GEN 1 or 2 (which ever one is being started) manual main (RED WHEEL) valve
to 50%. A red line on the valve stem indicates 50%.
8. Open GEN 1 or 2 Rotork in
MANUAL mode to get RPM ~2000 using manual mode with the lever and hand-wheel or
local control with open / close switch. Observe open / close LEDs in Rotork
housing, after alternating red/green both should be OFF indicating speed is
within range.
8. Switch REV PWR RESET to ON
(up) (located under Beckwith 3410)
9. GEN1or 2 breaker ON, never
both.
10. C1
breaker ON for GEN1. C1 and C2 breaker ON for GEN2. (Do not run both GENs
simultaneously.)
12. Observe pressure gauge
reading, (~90 PSI GEN 1, ~80PSI GEN 2), holding steady, not dropping for lack
of water at the top or too much power input to GEN2. If too much power revert
to manual control, 5/8 open 80 psi.
13. GEN1or2 set the Rotork
valve controller to REMOTE (automatic enabled).
14. Set (Honders and Buyske) house
meters to read kW3Ø.
15. Switch REV PWR RESET to
ON (down) (This may change with further automation.)
III. Shut-down of
water flow.
During warm weather months
the flow of water to the generator may be stopped (‘red’ condition) by closing
either the head valve, the manual valves, or the Rotorks in the powerhouse and
following this sequence:
The initial
conditions are:
Sequence to follow:
During cold weather months
the stream water flow must be kept from entering the penstock by:
Winter Icing
Conditions — CAUTION
Over the
years I have made continual improvements to the ‘temporary’ intake structures
to mitigate some of the problems with slush and ice in winter, leaves in the
fall, sand gravel, rocks, logs and debris washed down every time it rains more
than an inch or two overnight.
Most
winter problems would be greatly reduced or eliminated if there was a deeper
reservoir to draw water below the surface ice layer, but not so low as to suck
up sand and gravel. ( An 8” high x 48” wide opening just above the low,
upstream, end of the moving screen could be opened to take water in through the
screen if the water level is raised just above this opening.) The first fall
excursions to single digit temperatures will probably not cause slushy (frizzle
ice) water. But after a day or two of sub-zero nights frizzle ice will start to
dam up flowing water especially any place where there is the slightest
restriction or shallow water flow. So the first problem occurs under the storm
water diversion logs which will definitely have to be repositioned or removed
in winter. This means that they probably will not be able to be repositioned
before the spring thaws to deflect the likely storm waters.
The
second problem area is the 8”x48” primary intake at the upstream end of the
flume. The water arrives super cooled to below freezing, carrying slush. Icicles
form along the top edge of the 48” wide opening and grow rapidly together to
the bottom of the flume and, with the slush, completely block the inlet in
short order. Then the upstream water rises until it flows around the plugged up
intake opening, dropping the head pressure, and starving the turbine.
Shutting
down the power plant under these conditions is both difficult and risky. The
valve stems and motor drivers tend to be frozen in place or are unable to close
completely because of the cold and icing. This allows a trickle of water to
continue down the pipe with increased likelihood of freezing inside the
penstock. All means should be employed to
keep a flow of water going down the penstock to keep that from freezing solid
and potentially bursting or splitting or having it frozen until spring thaws.
To facilitate this I have installed piping that carries warm water (45°F) from
our hillside spring (and domestic water supply) to the intake structures. This
warm water is normally directed to the intake opening to keep that from
freezing but if a complete shutdown in winter is desired then the warm water is
redirected to the penstock in the trash conveyor enclosure by a diversion valve
(yet to be installed). Then to complete a safe shutdown both gravel dump ball
valves must be lifted 10 inches and chained open. The slide gate at the
upstream intake should be slid all the way down to minimize water entry. Now
the only water going down the penstock should be the warm 45° water from the
spring.
Exercise
extreme caution when restarting the plant after a shutdown forced by extreme
cold. It is possible for ice to come loose from the penstock walls and damage
valves, pipes and turbines. If ice in the penstock is a possibility then the
dump valve should be opened slightly to allow a low flow (~60GPM) through for 8
to 12 hours to insure all the ice is melted before starting the turbine
/generator.
The most
risky procedures in plant operation are shut down and startup. A running plant
is far less prone to be damaged by nature or human error.
Gravel baffle box,
aka Trash rack / conveyor.
The
Gravel baffle box is still the (2007) original temporary wood construction and
needs to be reconstructed of more durable materials. At the same time the badly
worn down concrete and stone dam needs to be restored to its original height as
planned in this earlier graphic:
The
rebuilt trash conveyor box may be left in the current place and configuration
with just an 8” x 48” opening added to the upstream side just above the lower
end of the trash conveyor belt to allow
water to enter. The trash conveyor has been very effective in minimizing fall
leaf drop and debris problems. The higher water level behind the dam will
minimize freezing problems in winter.
The
Gravel Baffle Box: Raising the water level behind the low stone dam will
minimize winter icing problems.
Net metering
The ORU Net Meter
The debiting and crediting of
kWh is done inside the ORU NET METER in real time as power flows back and
forth as local demand and generation fluctuates.
Beckwith M3410 Grid
Intertie Protection Relay
The Beckwith relay monitors
the grid side of the system. If the grid goes out of normal bounds it will
separate BMH from the grid. During normal BMH-grid-connected operation, if the
grid goes out of bounds it will also pull BMH
out of bounds with it.
Reverse Power Relay
The Reverse Rower Relay will
monitor the direction of energy flow in the connection between the BMH
generator and everything else. If the water flow decreases or stops and the
generator output starts to drop below a programmable minimum, the Reverse Rower
Relay will open the relay in the
Monitoring
All monitoring functions are
provided via webserver at: http://Powershack.Shacknet.nu:1300
Grid Supply to BMH
Generation
The Beckwith 3410 automatically switches from ORU to BMH and vice versa, depending on the
adequacy of BMH generation to meet the demands of Honders and Buyske
distribution.
Individual ORU Accounts and Automatic Transfer Switches
With all electrical service
to homes drawn through BMH, the individual accounts with ORU, as well as
the automatic transfer switches previously installed, are redundant and
unnecessary.
Distributed
Intelligent Load Controllers (DILCs)
DILCs installed on water heaters,
clothes dryers or other high-demand appliances were intended to modify the jolt
of instant demand on the BMH system by ramping-up the power from BMH to the
appliance, thereby lessening brown-outs or other effects on the system. With the
grid connection, the system reactive power is greater, and thus able to handle the fluctuating loads and obviating the need for the DILCs.
Impeller Cleaning
As long as the trash screen
is in place and operational and gravel is flushed after every heavy rain fall,
cleaning of turbines is unnecessary.
Generator Bearing
Replacement
The job of generator bearing
replacement maybe too cumbersome to be done in the powerhouse. At the point that
bearings become worn and need replacement, the turbine and generator may be disconnected
from the system and taken to a qualified pump repair service.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Matching Impeller diameter, head, and generator RPM in a Pump as Turbine Micro Hydro
Mike from Vermont said "...there is an existing dam which is in good shape (built by the state many decades ago), with about 40’ of head, and at least 7 cfs of flow the majority of the year. ...Based on this VERY limited information, and based on your experiences, do you think a pump could be a good option or should I stick with the crossflow?
Mike, I think a split case pump to handle 4500G/min at 40' of head might be big, expensive to buy new and not as efficient as a as a crossflow. So unless you can pick one up for scrap iron price I'd stick with a cross flow.
But keep your options open while you work on the intake structures, penstock, powerhouse and valving. When I started building 8 years ago I thought to just try a used PaT, Pumps as Turbine on 200' of head and ~1000Gal/min, half expecting having to go to Francis or Turgo turbines at 10X the cost. But the PaTs have worked out really well and reliably, only a few % less efficient, and much cheaper, widely available, and easy to repair / find parts. I control water flow to each turbine with a motorized butterfly valve very effectively. There is a bit of noisy turbulent flow at very restricted flow settings but that never occurs during normal operation, and would not be a problem with lower head pressures at all as long as the valve is sized properly.
(Rough rules of thumb, if the smallest port (pressure side) on PaT is 6" use an 8" motorized butterfly valve and a minimum of 14" diameter of penstock pipe if it is not too long.
I don't advertise this, but if you have read this far and email me numbers for your head, flow, pipe length and material, and number of degrees of bends if any, then I can give you better numbers for all the outputs and PaT specs just for some nice comments and feedback here.)
(Rough rules of thumb, if the smallest port (pressure side) on PaT is 6" use an 8" motorized butterfly valve and a minimum of 14" diameter of penstock pipe if it is not too long.
I don't advertise this, but if you have read this far and email me numbers for your head, flow, pipe length and material, and number of degrees of bends if any, then I can give you better numbers for all the outputs and PaT specs just for some nice comments and feedback here.)
So, Mike, if you do go for a PaT you will need to match the pump impeller diameter to the available head to match the RPM to the generator. This dictates that you will be looking for a minimum impeller diameter and pump I/O ports that can still handle 5000Gal/min. So I estimate you'll need at least a 8"X10"X7"dia split case pump to get the full load speed up to around 900 RPM (The exact relationships you can find here and here on my blog. ) That means you are looking for a 30 - 60 HP, 8pole, 900 RPM, 3 phase, motor to use, direct coupled, as a generator. I doubt you can find motor and pump together, so you'll have to look for them individually. If you find a 10x12x larger impeller that might work also, if you cut the impeller diameter down to match the head.
Another option, to get a good impedance match for maximum power transfer, is to belt couple the generator to the PaT and tune the generator RPM with suitable pulley diameter ratios. This will incur a small % loss in the belt drive and have a slightly increased maintenance cost.
The definitive test to see how well your equipment is matched up to your head and flow for maximum power is that your PaT and MaG with no (electrical) load should spin at around 2X the full load RPM.
FL RPM in the case of the 8 pole MaG is around 910 rpm, so 1820 just free wheeling. Adjust the impeller diameter downward to get the no load speed up close to 1800.
For a video overview see: http://energyindependence-rob.blogspot.com/2010/07/overview.html
Happy Hydro
Rob
Friday, March 14, 2014
Why it has taken 25 years, so far, attempting to bring LENR to market.
Alternative energy sources based on Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR) are just beginning to be developed commercially, world wide. Many companies and governments are now involved in LENR research as shown by the links in my previous post. Unfortunately most are working to develop the technology for boiler replacements at large utility scale, fossil fuel burning, grid feeding, central energy suppliers.
The big corporate entities want to keep the technology away from home users under the guise of 'safety' and the unfortunate name(s) the technology has been given, even though it is much safer than any of todays fossil fueled home heating plants.
The reason?... an $800, two foot square box, that heats and provides 10kW of electricity for $50/year without burning fossil fuels would make the centralized grid obsolete overnight.
LENR is clean, safe and the biggest threat to the whole fossil-fuel-electric-grid industry, because it makes possible decentralized energy. No grid needed. No monthly energy bills.
So until this technology becomes more widely disseminated in the hands of the home heating contractor / installer we can just keep on paying our local Utility Company, and that is the way they like to keep doing business.
But eventually, I see no reason that you won't be able to get your made in China, heating / electric box at Walmart, then plug it in and plumb it up just like a washing machine.
No physical reason that is, but I'm sure the politicians and government bureaucrats with the help of Big Corporate Money will continue to slow things down to a crawl with tariffs, regulations and misinformation to keep central control firmly in their hand.
Literally, we need a new power to the people movement.
The big corporate entities want to keep the technology away from home users under the guise of 'safety' and the unfortunate name(s) the technology has been given, even though it is much safer than any of todays fossil fueled home heating plants.
The reason?... an $800, two foot square box, that heats and provides 10kW of electricity for $50/year without burning fossil fuels would make the centralized grid obsolete overnight.
LENR is clean, safe and the biggest threat to the whole fossil-fuel-electric-grid industry, because it makes possible decentralized energy. No grid needed. No monthly energy bills.
So until this technology becomes more widely disseminated in the hands of the home heating contractor / installer we can just keep on paying our local Utility Company, and that is the way they like to keep doing business.
But eventually, I see no reason that you won't be able to get your made in China, heating / electric box at Walmart, then plug it in and plumb it up just like a washing machine.
No physical reason that is, but I'm sure the politicians and government bureaucrats with the help of Big Corporate Money will continue to slow things down to a crawl with tariffs, regulations and misinformation to keep central control firmly in their hand.
Literally, we need a new power to the people movement.
Monday, March 10, 2014
LENR reactor vessel nearing completion.
I have been kept busy lately just clearing snow and ice, but here is the latest regarding the new energy business.
Also, see below for a picture of the start of my 4 inch X 8 inch research reactor vessel sitting on the corner of my SEM. Now if I can just find someone to re roof my house, clean up after my tenants left a big mess, repair a leaky cylinder on my backhoe, run my power-plant, etc, etc, I might actually be able to spend some time replicating some of the numerous experimental successes out there. Until I do I remain ...
Skeptically yours,
Rob
Larger companies working on LENR:
NASA LENR activity:
(This link seems to have 'broken' since I posted it.)
The 4th NASA slide features Rossi's 'Hot Cat' in operation. I was always very skeptical of Rossi but NASA seems to give him credibility, or were they just looking for a nice picture?
The 4th NASA slide features Rossi's 'Hot Cat' in operation. I was always very skeptical of Rossi but NASA seems to give him credibility, or were they just looking for a nice picture?
Mainstream mag:
Older video...
For the metals investors:
Monday, September 16, 2013
Some Energy Basics
Some answers, can you guess the questions?
Yep, I am asked about pumping water back up the hill about once a week. And I'm not saying 'never works' , only that you'll never get more energy out than is put in.
In some cases it pays! If electric costs at night are 1/3 of daytime charges you could make money by using twice as much electricity to pump the water up than you will get out on the trip down through the turbo generators during daytime with rates 3X higher.
A rough approximation for power (Watts) you can get from water at a height is: Gallons per minute times feet of height all divided by 14. So with the given 12 feet and 1000 gal/min you could generate about 900 watts for 15 minutes starting with the 15000 gallon tank full. To fill the tank would take a bit more than 900 Watts for a little more more than 15 minutes, and so you would end up with a net loss of energy every time around this loop. You would be better off with just a wind mill and some solar panels, and using storage batteries instead of the water tank scheme for storage.
One HP is 746 Watts, so a 100 HP motor would require 74,600 Watts for however long it runs with a load. And if you want to use the motor as generator you would have to have 74,600 Watts of water power where you only have 900 Watts for 15 minutes, or 450W for 30 minutes, or 0.225 kWatt hours from you water tank. So a half HP motor would be more appropriate as a generator.
Start with these basic numbers and estimates, then decide on the size of the equipment to handle the available energy. A 100HP motor does not make 100HP unless you put that much energy into it, either electrical or mechanical shaft rotation. It only converts mechanical to electrical and vise-versa. And if you use too big a motor (energy converter) for the energy input you will waste a lot of energy in bearing friction, windage and other losses. So it is important to match your machinery to the energy source. Don't buy machinery before you determine what the available energy sources can deliver. Measure head and flow, wind velocity over time, or sunshine over time, then calculate Watts or kiloWatts available and see if this will meet your needs at a reasonable cost. With wind and solar you can install a bigger mill or more panels to get more kWatts while the wind blows or the sun shines. With water there only flows so much for so long on average and a bigger turbo-generator may not be able to run efficiently or at all during low flow periods or dry spells.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Explaining LENR theory... How does this work?
I wanted to add this excellent clarification by David Niebauer to my previous post. Here is his conclusion:
Conclusion
Scientists have focused on the strong nuclear force due to the immense power that can be released from breaking the nuclear bond. Less attention has been paid to the weak force, which causes transmutations and the release of energy in more subtle ways. Recent theories that explain many of the phenomena observed in low energy nuclear reactions (LENR) implicate the weak force. We are now at the stage where theory and experiment begin to complement each other to allow for the rapid transformation of the new science of LENR.
Journalistic disclosure: David Niebauer is general legal counsel to Brillouin Energy Corp.
And the following by Krivit,
And the following by Krivit,
“The amount of heat generated from the Pons-Fleischmann discovery resembled a nuclear reaction. The tritium and helium produced were characteristic of a nuclear reaction. A research community developed as a result of the Pons-Fleischmann discovery. Central to this community is a utopian concept and hope for a world fueled by a new kind of clean nuclear reaction.
But there was a subtle but significant difference with the underlying physical mechanism: It was based primarily on weak interactions and neutron-capture processes, not fusion. Despite the growing body of experimental evidence that revealed this distinction, and despite all the attempts that Pons and Fleischmann's followers made to try to make LENR look like fusion, no amount of varnish could change the fact: "Cold fusion" too, was a myth. But LENR, which does not presume or assert a fusion mechanism, is real. “
( the above By Krivit, emphasis mine, Rob)
I'm not big on hair splitting semantics so if LENR can heat my house without burning more expensive, CO2 producing fossil fuels, lets get this train moving!
Monday, July 29, 2013
The Ultimate Renewable Energy
Take away message from ICCF18, THE Cold Fusion Conference.
1. Anomalous heat, with power density far beyond what can be obtained from chemical (outer electrons, burning) reactions can be obtained routinely and repeatably.
2. If it is not chemical then the energy must come from the nucleus or its constituents as is borne out by the clear detection of transmutations, even if neutrons and other high energy particles are below easily detectable (and safe) levels.
3. AHE, LENR, CF or whatever the name, is a real and imminently more useful effect than fission because it can produce the energy of fission without the dangers or pollutants.
4. Efforts are underway, worldwide, to bring the technology to market, even absent a widely accepted theory of operation, as evidenced by successful demonstrations by several companies.
5. There is no doubt that as more testable theories are proposed the 'effect' will become better understood and be optimized for a multitude of applications including energy production.
Opening Session of ICCF18 7/21/2013
All the LENR luminaries are here including Peter Hagelstein and some that I had met up at MIT's 'Cold Fusion 101' in January '13.
Peter handed me a 'LENR intro short course' sponsored by National Security Innovation Center (NSIC) that he had prepared for the early Sunday morning session that I missed. I'll be reading that until my eyes close right after this report to my friends and family.
I've got to say that the 200 or so attendees were top notch and many known to me by name and some by sight from their research, web activities, postings and previous meetings. I have the complete list so I won't mention any more names now.
A great many of the big names I spoke with had renewed confidence that Rossi's 'E-Cat' is for real after the independent testing and reporting that took place a couple of months ago. At the same time, none could confirm having achieved similar power gains (COP =6) with any consistency and duration. So my question, often repeated, was how long before someone else hits the magic formula / potion / catalyst or conditions that make LENR a viable power producing reaction? I have a few other questions that I hope to have answered this week at ICCF18. All in all a great start.
Will keep you posted.
Hi Condensed Matter Physics or Anomalous Heat Effects (AHE) or LENR or Cold Fusion etc. etc. followers,
No I'm not making light. This stuff is serious. Ten to twelve hours a day spent at Mizzou U and I've already got a serious headache trying to wrap my head around all I've learned. Talking ( which is not my strong suit) and listening to many scientists here, I've learned a lot about the discontinuities in the thinking about an appropriate theory that covers all the observed phenomenon. I watched the live feed from the Defkalion demonstration where the input was about 1900 Watts and the output was 5800 Watts! OK, maybe not as impressive as a gain of 6 or 60 that others have claimed but impressive to put on this kind of demonstration at this venue of 200 + knowledgable people in the field. Defkalion said they will make all the data publicly available. I have no doubt that if there is anything deceptive going on, this bunch will be all over it in a nano second.
Another long, exciting day tomorrow. Will tour the Nano Tech facility at 4:15 tomorrow and the SKINR (LENR, AHE) labs at 11 on Thursday. Best of all are the in-depth one on one 'poster board' discussions where all related and even remotely related questions are discussed.
More impressions from ICCF 18 in Columbia Mo. 7/2013 and some links.
A very impressive group of researchers, scientists and engineers meeting to advance the cleanest, safest form of energy ever discovered. Nearly as powerful as fission or fusion, these Anomalous Heat Effects, (AHE) discovered over 24 years ago by chemists Fleischmann and Pons, were largely ignored at the time because there appeared to be no immediate way to create military weaponry (explosions with fallout and deadly radiation) using the clean, 'atomic weak force'. Now, after nearly a quarter century, we are about to exploit AHE to solve the bigger problems threatening to destroy us all.
AHE also known as LENR (Low Energy Nuclear Reactions) and cold fusion still has a huge image problem with the general public which will need to be addressed. When we can buy a hot water heater that uses no fossil fuel and very little electricity (less than a 50 Watt light bulb on average) and with that (and a $50 nickel and hydrogen fuel cartridge) heat your whole house for a year and give you copious hot water as well, the image problem will disappear.
The next hurtle for this to happen is regulatory (UL, CE) approvals and certifications. This being a brand new technology for home use, with a poorly chosen name and lots of vested fossil fueled interests... well, you can see that this will take a little longer even though similar devices already exist and are being tested with positive results.
Someone commented that the tools to be able to elucidate LENR phenomenon are just now being developed. I think this is only half the reason for the lethargy in LENR R and D.
It is not so much that research tools are lacking, it is more that the young scientists with the energy and zeal to apply them are absent. This became clear to me as I scanned the auditorium at ICCF18. My guess is that the average age of the 200+ attendees was somewhat past retirement age. Our educational system and the way we fund it may be the cause. Hopefully, renewed emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) will help reverse this, but only if we are willing to fund education more equitably, not based on local wealth.
The Defkalion Reactor Cross Section 195mm X 213mm, 6KW heat output
Sunday, February 24, 2013
The current state of LENR, aka Cold Fusion
Will LENR break out this year? I went up to MIT for a couple of weeks in January 2013 to try to answer that question and a few others I had.
Years ago (1989), when Pons and Fleischmann were attacked by physicists, MIT and others, I had also given up hope for a solution to the ever present energy crisis as well. After all, if MIT (hot fusion) physicists say cold fusion is impossible why should I disbelieve them? There was also the lack of a theory to explain the excess heat, apparent fusion reactions, transmutations, helium 4, no measurable radiation or radio-active elements left after the LEN Reaction ceased.
But then I came across a report by Dr. Eugene Mallove and learned (again!) why I should not believe those with self serving interests. In the years since Fleischmann and Pons cold fusion was discredited, research funding withdrawn, patents denied, and careers and reputations destroyed for even attempting to work in the field. So very little progress, until recent years, when Andrea Rossi re-ignited the field with his claims. Unfortunately Mr. Rossi's background is not without blemish. So, even though he may have hit on the magic catalyst to get the reaction to work more reliably with outputs of 6 to 40 times input, the skeptics had a field day. I got excited, particularly over the fact that Rossi claimed to make his 'Ecat' work with ordinary Nickel and Hydrogen instead of the more exotic materials (Palladium, Deuterium) that other researchers had widely reported to produce excess heat well beyond what chemical reactions could produce.
There are now many companies involved in LENR research and many LENR patents have been issued. Theory is slowly catching up to explain the phenomenon and the observed and measured data experimentalists are producing world wide.
To be continued...
Years ago (1989), when Pons and Fleischmann were attacked by physicists, MIT and others, I had also given up hope for a solution to the ever present energy crisis as well. After all, if MIT (hot fusion) physicists say cold fusion is impossible why should I disbelieve them? There was also the lack of a theory to explain the excess heat, apparent fusion reactions, transmutations, helium 4, no measurable radiation or radio-active elements left after the LEN Reaction ceased.
But then I came across a report by Dr. Eugene Mallove and learned (again!) why I should not believe those with self serving interests. In the years since Fleischmann and Pons cold fusion was discredited, research funding withdrawn, patents denied, and careers and reputations destroyed for even attempting to work in the field. So very little progress, until recent years, when Andrea Rossi re-ignited the field with his claims. Unfortunately Mr. Rossi's background is not without blemish. So, even though he may have hit on the magic catalyst to get the reaction to work more reliably with outputs of 6 to 40 times input, the skeptics had a field day. I got excited, particularly over the fact that Rossi claimed to make his 'Ecat' work with ordinary Nickel and Hydrogen instead of the more exotic materials (Palladium, Deuterium) that other researchers had widely reported to produce excess heat well beyond what chemical reactions could produce.
There are now many companies involved in LENR research and many LENR patents have been issued. Theory is slowly catching up to explain the phenomenon and the observed and measured data experimentalists are producing world wide.
To be continued...
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