New Upgrades on all PP20 Power Pallets
In 2014, we’ve made more than a dozen upgrades, improvements, and enhancements to the Power Pallet, but haven’t yet shared them with you. Here’s some of the highlights:
Ceramic hearth. Last spring we transitioned to a full ceramic hearth for better high temperature tolerance and general longevity. We are using a cast mullite ceramic, with a slag repelling, highly reflective surface coating. The ceramic hearth is captured from the outside via a 310 stainless metal alloy jacket, and superwool insulation to keep the heat in. The result is durable, long lived, and resistant to melting with even the hottest burning fuels.
Improved Ash Out Auger and Scroll Wheel. We’ve tightened up the tolerances on our ash out removal system, and strengthened the auger and added a robust geared drive system. We’ve also added current sensing to automatically reverse and clear blockages, even when rocks and other unpleasantries find their way into the fuel. The result is more consistent and fault tolerant removal of ash from the reactor, in support of long run times.
Improved Fuel Switch. Our fuel switch has to operate at the top of the pyrolysis bed and therefore must survive a hot and tarry environment. Many off-the-shelf paddle switches and other hopper level sensors have been tried and ultimately proved inadequate over the years. Finally we gave up on standard options and made our own. Recent Power Pallets now come with a fully sealed stainless flex switch, using corrugated tubing as the bend and spring section. No hinge points to foul or flexible seals to melt. Electrical contacts are located high in the assembly, away from heat.
More, and better, safety handles and warnings. We’ve added a whole range of handles and safety warnings throughout the system, like this one on the reactor lid. Similar cooler grab points are found on the fuel hopper, ash receptacle can, and cyclone. Things are still hot, but now you have clear provisions to work around the dangerous areas, making operation of the Power Pallet that much safer and easier.
Contact your regional Sales Manager to learn more details.
24 Hours of Power Live Demo #2 coming up–right into the worst storm in ten years.
All week long the weatherman has been increasing the warnings–it looks like the storm hitting shore later this week will be one of the strongest in decade. Estimates are 50+MPH winds and 2-3 inches of rain in one day.
So we’re getting out our foul weather gear, and going ahead with our second 24 Hours of Power demonstration and webcast, starting Thursday, December 11th at noon Pacific Time ( GMT -8). The event is exactly what it sounds like: we turn on a standard Power Pallet, and run it for 24 hours without interruption.
Last week’s event was a popular success–more than 150 people tuned in from more than a dozen countries during the 24 hours to watch our demonstration, and ask questions of our staff. The Power Pallet ran flawlessly–other than adding fuel, we didn’t need to do anything at all, and it ramped up and down with our changing loads smoothly.
We will also reprise our special surprise guests from last week: the team at the Booker Washington Institute in Kakata, Liberia gave a live demo of their operating power plant. Amazingly, the crew at BWI has been able to operate most of the time through the Ebola crisis, and are now preparing to start expanding into electrification of a nearby village. We ( and you ) will visit them via webcast, likely around noon GMT on Friday.
During the demo ( which you can tune into via our website www.allpowerlabs.com ) you can chat live with our operators and sales staff, watching the results in real time.
Last week for 10% Off Sale
During our demonstration is also a good time to discuss the details on our 10% off sale, now through December 15th. And new orders for a PP20 Power Pallet placed before next Monday will receive this discount off the list price–that’s almost like getting free shipping anywhere in the world.
This is a rare discount on our standard prices. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity before the sale closes at the end of this week.
Thank you for your continued interest in our work to make gasification broadly accessible and globally relevant. We look forward to seeing you online.
-Jim Mason
Founder and CEO