[; 20;;,eb,,h 191,, 1111 ~ d. Dear E 1tor, It seems a shame that the promoters of SUNday have skipped the solstices ~ and settled on May 3 as their date. What is the significance of May 3? The only significance I have heard ~ is that it has been chosen by Dennis. '11111111111111 Hayes and a group of "Environmental- .ists" and TV celebrities to be SUNday. ~ Rather than have such a group decide a date, why not leave it to the sun? . 1111 The sun is lowest in the sky al:>out 21 December and highest about 21 June (there are no fixed calendar dates). You can determine the dates with a ~ -stick in the ground. These dates, along :11111111111111 with the equinoxes, begin and end our ~ seasons. Many civilizations in the past '11111111111111 have celebrated these times-it is a tradition we can return to. It has good . ~ "grassroots" credentials. . If you want-people to start to notice • 1111 the sun, having the day to celebrate the sun depend on the sun is a help. Sincerely, Steve Baer • ~ ...Jerry Friedberg Route 2, Box 96C - Leslie, AR 72645 lillllii... Dear Jerry, ~ - I read your letter in the December '77 issue of RAIN magazine, and will - suggest some answers to some of the energy problems you mentioned. The following organizations have ~ funds for grants concerning energy . ~ problems: The National Center for Appropriate Technology. P.O. Box 3838 Butte, MT 59701 Alternative Sources of Energy Magazine ~ Route 2, Box 90A • ~ Milaca, MN 56353 ~ Below are listed alternatives open 1111111111111 · to you, fol~owed by comments relating to economics, ease of installation, operation, etc. ~ 1. Gasoline engine generator, A.C. ~ Fuel is currently high cost and will in- ~ crease in price. A non-renewable.source. ~ 2. Diesel engine generator, A.C. A high first cost, but a lower operating ~ cost than No. 1. A n_on-renewable ~ source. ~ ~ , BY AIR MAIL 3. Gasoline engine generator, A.C., which will run on wood gas made in a gasogen using sawdust, woo4 chips, i straw, etc. This uses a renewable source: which is usually locally available. The gasogen can be made of scrap materials. The engine will develop only half the power of gasoline. This method works well only with a constant load, so a load control electronic governor must be used witp the surplus power diverted •to space or water heaters. Gasoline must be used to s~~rt the engine. 4. Diesel engine generator, running on half diesel oil and half drain oil. This requires a low speed, heavy duty diesel, such as Witte. This will cut operating costs about one half. It would require a centrifuge and filter to clean the drain oil. (Cream separator?) 5. A windmill with a battery bank which runs D.C. motors. An inverter may be hooked into system to change some of the power to A.C. for fluorescent lights, TV, refrigerators, etc. Batteries are expensive to buy and do not have a very long life. D.C. motors are hard to find·, and very expensive when new. Unless located in a windy area, No. 5 should be combined with No. 1 or No. 2. A.C. can be easily changed _to D.C. for battery charging. 6. Water power if available. A low . head, high volume source, or a high head (100' or more), low volume source would be sufficient. Water power, if available, is the best alterna- -tive source of power and requires no batteries if sufficient power is generated: I_f an electrical l9ad control governor 1s used, surplus power can be diverted to space or water hea,ting. If only a small amount of power can be generated, batteries can be used. 7. A gasoline engine generator, A.C., with gas mixing valve running on meth-. ane from a manure digester. In cold cli8. A steam engine and a boiler which burns wood, combined with an A.C. generator. First cost is high if new. This requires constant attention to the boiler (Fireman). It has very low efficiency, about 5 percent, unless the exhaust steam can be used for heat. 9. Solar cells with a battery bank. Extremely expensive at present. This system would be fine if costs ever come down. lQ. Thermo-electric generator, using sunlight, or wood burning. Same comments as in No. 9. 11'. Stirling cycle engine burning wood or coal. This is not available commercially. I have seen a table fan in • Pakistan, made in India, which burned kerosene in a Stirling engine. When I was a boy in New Jersey, a brick yard had a Stirling engine, about 1/4 H.P., to pump water. It burned wood or coal. If you decide on any of these alternnatives, I am willing to ·help you. I could consult with you on the technical 'aspects of any of these systems. I build high head hydro-power systems, Pelton wheels, plus accessories to govern and regulate power. I would suggest you get a copy of Energy Primer from The Whole Earth Truck Store, 558 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, California 9402 5. i purchased this book for $5.50 fairly recently. Sincerely, B. Felix Meinikheim Dry Buck Ranch P.O. Box 5 Banks, Idaho 83602 mates manure digesters are not a net source of energy, but you could use Dear RAIN gang, water jacket heat and exhaust head to How are things? Here we are snowed keep your digester warm. This way, in for a while, giving us a chance to two thirds of the energy in the meth- catch up with some writing and planning ane would go for heating the digester. for spring. • This system requires a water displace- You might pass the word on to your ment storage tank for the methane. readers .that Mother Earth News has • This alternative is a 100 percent re- done it again with fine plans for low- ·newable source, but requires an elabo- cost solar heaters (both active and pasrate set-up and large amounts of labor sive) built from .old refrigerators. TMEN to operate it. It also requires a large No. 49, pages 95-97. I'm really impressed amount of manure. Sludge, as a by- as I've built a panel here (not their deproduct, is a very good fertilizer. . . sign) and am sure theirs will work better. ~I.II II II II II II II 11·11 PAR AVION
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