Interested in gasification. During winter when you will need the power solar is, here where I live, not a good solution.
Do you use ac directly or do you charge a battery with the generator?
Discussion
My gassifacation projects have only been at the “hobbyist” level. I like the adage “if you have one, you have none, if you have two it will get you through, if you have three… it’s a guarantee.”
I’ve only run a 45cc gas motor off of a 5 gallon bucket gassifacation system. I suppose I could run a dc treadmill motor “backwards” to charge a battery. But I haven’t tried it yet.
I run solar power with a battery backup as my main power source. I can charge from the grid if I need to. That’s one and two. I have a gasoline generator and stockpile of fuel for. That’s three.
My “someday” goal is to scale a gassifacation system to charge my batteries.
All that being said, wind and hydro power require less maintenance than gassifacation. AND, generally speaking, wind and hydropower happen when solar is less abundant. I have a “seasonal creek” in which I plan on testing a small scale hydro generator during my rainy season. I also have an old car alternator that I plan on putting a turbine on to charge batteries with that I haven’t gotten to yet.
Gassifacation is dirty power that requires a lot of maintenance. It’s for nerds like me that like to experiment with. If you’re a nerd I’d like to talk more about it. However, there are many more economical options to create a third tier backup system.