What would be your dream build

[Frank S]

One of the things I have been thinking about doing as I build my shop is since I have plenty of room the shop will only be built moderately above grade no need to pad up for dock high use which would be limiting for many of the things I might do anyway. I have a 40 flatbed trailer that is beyond practical highway use so have been thinking about removing the tandems and the DOT bar making a half moon foot hinge for that end then pour a footing for the landing legs then I will be able to raise it to van height or lower it to lowboy height for moving equipment of vehicles on and off the trailers. it already has a 1/4" steel deck and for safety I can add extensions and or wheel rub rails on both sides. I would be outside and away from the building as well.

[Komo]

Some more of your good ideas, Frank S. Thanks. I like to think my constant revisiting of priorities welds the scattered brain together. The passing of Irma reminded me of the necessity for a generator which can interface with my home electric system. Although a small generator, sufficient to power the refrigerator and the TV, was adequate, we were very lucky to have damage limited to landscaping. Full power was restored in less than 24 hours and sufficient fuel could have become a problem quickly. Many of my neighbors have more substantial generating power. One has a solar system as well as a propane powered generator. As comfortable as we were, we were not prepared for a long power outage.

Although I have a lot to learn, my dream build is now a fully integrated emergency home electric generating system.

[Frank S]

Komo, The proper switch-gear for a fully integrated home generation system would be one of the top priority items of such a build. the second would be if you have any load requirements which would require uninterrupted power another words anything that absolutely cannot be without power even for a second. On the very top of that list of these items would be critical life support equipment. Almost everything else while inconvenient to have to restart would not be completely devastating. However many items within a household can benefit from individual UPS systems which would also aid in lowering the initial start up loading of a self contained home generation system. such as having the home security system and any home computer equipment on a separate UPS will protect them from any power surge due to fluctuation in generator output, plus lower the inrush current a generator will be subjected to at initial take over from the grid. Having programmed time delayed circuits which would prevent such things as the HVAC water heater and refrigerator from all starting at once is another option. Also during emergency power outages such as those during a hurricane it my be a good practice not to even have the HVAC or hot water heater running at all since they are huge power hogs. Will add more later as Right now I have a couple other things which must be attended to .

[Jon]

I'd like a complete firewood heating solution. Starting with harvesting trees on the property, then limbing, bucking, sawing, chopping (log skid plus firewood processor). Then stacking and loading, preferably into a large closet attached to the outside of the house, and openable inside near the woodstove. From there, a large ash vacuum, housed in an outdoor closet, with the nozzle accessible inside the house in a closable little cubby (like a central vacuum, but only for one access point). Then the ash has to be moved from the vacuum canister, into a metal ash can where it sits for months to extinguish. Then in the summer, the cold ashes need to be scattered.

[Frank S]

Jon one of the things you mentioned the ash removal via vacuum system can be accomplished providing there is sufficient space under the fire pot.of the furnace. First off a self feeding wood furnace using pelletized wood makes life a lot easier although adds at least 2 processes to your build plan more on that later.
for ash removal and combustion control a variable speed blower installed connected to a tuyere and a bypass tube could function like this the air would be provided through a center pipe within the tuyere allowing for ash to fall around it through the tuyere to the elbow at the bottom the clean out as well as the tuyere would have closeable gates the blower bypass would be routed into an expansion chamber with teh tube from the clean out located inside extending into the chamber almost to the outtake of the chamber when air flowis forced into the expansion chamber and out the outtake this would create a venturi thus creating a vacuum drawing the ash into the air stream to be carried out and be deposited into a receptacle much like the function of a shop vac. or dust collection system.
Now for the furnace the fire pot would be encased within an outer well insulated shell increasing the combustion chamber efficiency by retaining radiant heat within. the combustion process would be fed by wood pellets which can be metered for flow demand the exhaust gas of the combustion chamber is the main heat source to heat the house which would be routed through a heat re claimer or heat exchanger how ever you want to name it. also with a well insulated shell if the heat is to be ducted through out the house fan forced air would cause the circulation
now since we do not want to consume the oxygen from the air from within the house the blower under the furnace will require its own fresh air source. which may come from outside of the house via ducts or if the furnace is located in the garage or basement providing these are not sealed as the house is air may be drawn directly form these areas
in Lew of wanting to circulate heated air throughout the house recirculated oil water or steam radiators could be installed requiring additional plumbing and possibly a condenser and pumps.
To me a system such as this would be really nice due to the possibility of making it a duel or triple fueled system by adding either or, and or a gas and oil burner system

[Frank S]

Komo, The proper switch-gear for a fully integrated home generation system would be one of the top priority items of such a build. the second would be if you have any load requirements which would require uninterrupted power another words anything that absolutely cannot be without power even for a second. On the very top of that list of these items would be critical life support equipment. Almost everything else while inconvenient to have to restart would not be completely devastating. However many items within a household can benefit from individual UPS systems which would also aid in lowering the initial start up loading of a self contained home generation system. such as having the home security system and any home computer equipment on a separate UPS will protect them from any power surge due to fluctuation in generator output, plus lower the inrush current a generator will be subjected to at initial take over from the grid. Having programmed time delayed circuits which would prevent such things as the HVAC water heater and refrigerator from all starting at once is another option. Also during emergency power outages such as those during a hurricane it my be a good practice not to even have the HVAC or hot water heater running at all since they are huge power hogs. Will add more later as Right now I have a couple other things which must be attended to .

Oner terrible mistake a lot of home owners do when having an emergency back up generating system is to be lulled into a false seance of security thinking that just because they have a state of the art fully integrated fully autonomous system which is supposed to function anytime there is a power failure is to believe this system never needs attention. First off the switch gear which will disconnect the mains start up the generator run it up to stable voltage and HZ then connect it to the house loads needs to have tests conducted on it as per manufactures or installers recommendations the generator itself should be started and brought up to operating temperature on a regular basis it should also be placed under load and brought up to full rated capacity periodically either by applying loads from within the house or an external load bank or at the very least once a year. these tests may be combined and a data log needs to be recorded. 2 other things about home generators are #1 just because not many hours will be put on these units doesn't mean the oil and filters don't need to be changed oils will gradually lose their additives over time and can even create corrosive acids using synthetics helps as well as adding in stabilizers but they still need changed at least once a year no matter if there is only 10 testing hours put on them during that period. An air filter can absorb moisture and attract air born dust particles even when the engine is not running. If the generator is not housed in an out building or its own cabinet the breather element should be changed every 2 years unless subjected to a dusty environment such as the desert then it should be changed more frequently. #2 fuels Natural gas generators hard lined into the service line need only to be maintained with the regular tests as mentioned above the oil and filters still require regular maintenance as already stated.
Diesel fuel has a longer storage life than gasoline but it does not last forever 20 year old diesel maybe but not the ultra low sulfur sold today. About 1 to possibly 2 years would be stretching it. Gasoline bought at discount stores can can start to go bad within a month or 2. always spend the extra money to buy the higher grade of gasoline when ever possible.
that pretty much covers most o tit for now but I do have other tips and recommendations which would be germane to particular system designs.