My problem is: what do I use for a generator
that will handle 50 HP or 37 KW.
Also what do I use for a load.
I could use 37 one KW electric room heaters.

Anybody have any ideas?



 Paul,

 For a load, sell your output back to your electric
 power company, just like the solar cell guys.

 Just kidding,  Fred O.

 That is not such a bad idea. I know the solar panel
 guys do it. How does one go about that?


 Paul Lamar

Paul, one has to convert it from Solar DC to Alternating 60cps first and
run it through a bidirectional meter that they provide. It get's into
synchonization and phasing and many things that I don't think would be
feasable for a short term testing project. If you are producing a lot of
power for a long time, it may be something to consider. Call your power
company asnd ask them for their rules for selling back. You may see a use
for it.
Bruce.


For the proponents of feeding power back to the grids, it is far too
expensive a proposition for the scope of this project. We do it here at
Ford, and the inverter drives that control the dyno motors are insanely
expensive. We can justify it by amortizing the costs over years of testing.
In the solar cell realm, a typical break even amortization schedule for an
average household is in the 10-20 year range.
We need a dead simple, least cost solution.

Water dynos are out, as Paul has pointed out. If you google earth Dearborn
Michigan, find Greenfield Village, follow Village road to the south and you
will see two huge rectangular ponds straddling Village road in the middle of
the Ford research and engineering Center. These are our old water dyno
cooling ponds. We don't use water dynos any more. It's all electrical.

The water drum load sounds good, right there with the heating elements.
My best, least cost guess at this point is to find an engine powered
generator set, that is broken (preferably a motor failure) that has a sound
generator. There are many clearing houses for this kind of surplus
industrial equipment if you take the time to search the net. Due to the
weight of a 50hp/37Kw generator, looking local is where to find these
inexpensive surplus gems. Bring your own truck with hoist or lift. Anything
new will cost too much. You'll need a guy to make the  examination to buy,
who knows how to check out a generator with a megger, and inspect the
bearings, commutator etc. I do this all the time.
Your results may vary.
C. Smith