Looking for suggestions on what to do with this nifty little gas-turbine genset...

After seeing a Chevy 350 powered lawnmower I'm thinking leafblower.........

dma251 said:

It powers a generator that produces 10kw of useless 28vdc @ 400hz....

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Not so useless!

What would be better for charging a battery bank for off the grid power?

28vdc is perfect for charging a 24vdc battery bank. You could combine it with solar and wind as the site allows, and use the genny to top off the batteries when needed.

With the upcoming winter in mind you could build a small scale version of those russian snow-blowers !
Imagine the looks on the neighbors faces when you blast the sidewalk with that thing!

Cheers,
Mark

what fuels will this run on??

Pretty much anything oily with appropriate adjustments. They're even more omnivorous than a diesel. Aviation jet fuel has anti-gelling additives and the like because it's cold at altitude, but is otherwise plain old kerosene.

How about a sand rail?

I saw a couple dozen of these turbine engines go up for auction from Hill Field here in UT. I wasn't thinking outside the box when they were up and only looked at them as a useless (to me) 400hz generator. I think they all went fairly cheap too

Just a thought Damon, if adapting it to a gearbox and then to a hyd pump seems a little involved - what about leaving it 28 volt. You already have the generator - an great source for constant 10K of 28V DC power - adapt it to a battery bank or something (mostly for starting and power loss - once its running with that output who cares about batteries). Maybe you could run vehicle X using 28 volt motors (thinking a "green" mule or CUCV" or something) or maybe a LARGE 28 volt motor to drive a hydraulic system to then drive/operate the vehicle. Not a very efficient energy conversion process to the wheels, but might simplify it for "real world" application.

Dave

It would be one **** of a Jump starter for a MV.

An i reading this right? You've got a gas turbine generator that produces only 28vdc? Is it geared wrong?

28 volts is ok but what about the 360 amps

If it's 28VDC @ 10KW output, set it up as a backup genset for the house. There are inverters large enough.

I just bought one for starting my UH-1E Huey. I hope it works like they say it should.
I have a good battery, but the apu would help the intinal start and take alot of cranking load off the new battery.
Kevin..
ps, it looks cool too!...and sounds even better..

I play with turbines at work all the time so I would use it to power a hydraulic pump routed to 4 motors at the wheels of a killer buggy.

Hmmm...Home made electric chair? or a backyard Tesla coil?

I work with turbines on a daily basis. Most of them being in the 200,000 hp and up power range. It is critical what speed this machine operates at. If the output is AC, then it would need to be some multiple of 1800, 3600 RPM... For a four pole or two pole generator to get 60 HZ. Otherwise, you would need a reduction gear to get the proper speed to supply a generator. (Most of these smaller units that I have seen run in the 5,000 rpm range). This is done all the time on the smaller heavy duty industrial turbine/generator sets. However, if this genset provides DC power, then turbine speed will control the generator voltage output (Lenz's Law states that the speed at which the magnetic lines of flux are cut, are directly proportional to the voltage induced). So, this VDC could power an inverter with DC input for AC output. Typically, these small turbines are designed to run at a fixed speed as they do not have variable inlet guide vanes for surge protection. Lots of complicated reasons normally associated to the limitations on proper compressor flow in such a manner that the compressor is not "surged" (a compressor back flow condition that is rather distractive, and that liberates blades). Keep in mind that turbines have a very large, multi stage compressor, with only 2 or 3 turbine stages that actually produce the power. The compressor part of the turbine will consume no less than 50% of the turbine power output.

While in college, way back in the early 70's, I had the opportunity to work with a bit of old military equipment that all ran on 400 HZ power, this stuff was mainly com, or radar gear. Most of these sets are made to provide output power to a shaft, so trying to use it strictly for thrust may be a problem with exhaust gas temperature (1000 deg F +). Used on a motor vehicle, this would toast the person's vehicle who is tailgating you.

The best thing that you can make out of that kit is CASH! how much?

28 volt dc with 400 hz is what powers some of the avionics on a UH-1N helicopter. There is a standard plug in on the pilots side of thecenter console that looks like you can plug a radio into. Saw many a newbie plug in his radio and immediately let all the magic smoke out the back. If there is a large cable with a three hole plug on the end, that is a power set for providing ground power to UH-1'n H-3's and H-60's. probably a few others as well.

OPCOM said:

If it's 28VDC @ 10KW output, set it up as a backup genset for the house. There are inverters large enough.

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The genset burns 56 lbs of fuel per hour, thtt's 8.2 gph. Thirsty little buggers.

I have one for starting a helicopter at work.

Did anything ever come of this?

Dunno, but I want one. Make for an amusing replacement for the 3k gas set we use to jump grumpy trucks- and it has wheels.