I have thought about a CNG car, but our natural gas well produces enough 
for the house, having a surplus in the
summer. Thought about drilling another well, but think the cost would 
drive it out out sight. It was $8000 31 years ago. I don't think our 
generator produces sufficient good (no dips in voltage, etc.) that the 
power company would want me hooked in, but as I mentioned earlier, to 
help with their peak demand shaving, we do have a conversation going 
where instead of just shutting down my air conditioning, their radio 
control box would close a dry contact which the generator's PLC would 
monitor, start the generator, switch the automatic transfer switch, and 
we would be completely off grid for say 6 hours.

I am familiar with converting engines to a gaseous fuel, and it isn't 
that big of a thing. The 27 hp. 2 cylinder Kohler has a little adapter 
that slides in under the carb. There is a pressure regulator and vacuum 
safety switch to control gaseous flow. It runs about the same on our 
natural gas and propane, So once you are set up for one, the other comes 
along for little extra.

Some hard start kits claim approval by many air conditioning builders. 
Those units are very competitive and saving any cost is a priority, but 
they don't care once sold if you add. This unit is under no warranty, so 
it's my $$$ if I burn it up, and what I see that scroll compressor for 
ECO refrigerant is around $800. The hard start kit also claims to have 
electronic protection for the compressor.

As for the UPS, there are all kinds of electronics scattered though the 
house, I would literally have to UPS the whole house to be effective. 
Nearly everything survives switching between generator and utility and 
back. Maybe 1 or 2 clocks need be reset, and the PC's don't miss a byte. 
The PLC does have UPS for it's 12 VDC supply that includes a deep cycle 
marine battery, and a 12 volt sealed lead acid.

Martin wrote:
> Mongol Herdsman wrote:
>   
>> Apptech wrote:
>>     
>>> IF the manufacturer approves it then it's in specs as "over nominal rating
>>> by x% for y seconds". FWIW I'd imagine that hard online starting a
>>> compressor motor forces it to run "out-of-specs with a vengeance 'for some
>>> short period of time'. This is hard to avoid with simple systems - and motor
>>> manufacturers usually assume that people will start them occasionally.
>>>       
>> I doubt compressor or generator motor manufacturers approve using such
>> devices. What they assume, I don't know, got no dead fish right now.
>>
>>     
>>> You may
>>> also note when doing this core research that he has his own private
>>> natural-gas well, so his rocket fuel is possibly rather (gas-) well priced
>>> compared to what most of us put in our rockets.
>>>       
>> If I had my own private natural-gas well, he-he, I would try to sell
>> some gas, and depending on the income either buy a decent UPS, or a
>> yacht with built-in conditioning system :-)
>>
>>     
>
> It's probably a better deal for him to use the energy before selling it
> to the conglomerate. If I were him I'd get a CNG car.
>
> -
> Martin
>   
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