Best Organic Home


Ken Boak’s backyard powerplant

August 20, 2010 By: Category: Organic Foods


This is a film I shot in London of Ken Boak’s project, to heat his home and get electricity from waste vegetable oil. More information on www.powercubes.com

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24 Comments to “Ken Boak’s backyard powerplant”


  1. This is a test comment to see if Google automatically Tweets it!

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  2. macon1007 says:

    Lister Diesels for sale
    W.C. Andree Engines & Power Systems
    wcaeaps.com

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  3. bluemoondiadochi says:

    @blunklaura solar power? in England? seriously??

    nothing against solar power, but i’d like to ask an opposite question: what about all the waste vegetable oil, otherwise thrown away? or wood gas, from waste wood? both are sure more reliable than solar power… especially in winter, no sun, when you get both heat and electricity RELIABLY and FREE.

    solar boiler, anytime, but i prefer something more reliable (and mechanical) for important stuff. just me though.

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  4. frosty9595 says:

    Could use a air cleaner.

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  5. blunklaura says:

    yet another use for corn products….WHAT ABOUT SOLAR POWER,PEOPLE?!?

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  6. manwithbreasts says:

    i like the Bloom box much better .. and breasts !

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  7. Great as a standby unit, but I couldn’t imagine his neighbours being very happy with the noise.

    The Engine room needs insulating and the silencer should be buried with multiple small outlets all at different lengths along the final outlet pipe to soften the pulsing.

    Insulating the ER will keep the fuel warm and also the engine which being a diesel will be slightly more economical if hot. It will also help silence the engine noise.

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  8. BadAndUgly says:

    With better noise insulation for the engine room and a better muffler this could be a very good solution for heat and electricity :)

    Was it hard to convert that old engine to run on vegetable oil?

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  9. Very inspiring, thanks Johan!

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  10. yeah great Idea, but noise levels are most likely why he does not run it 24/7, with downtime for maintenance of course.

    But running it during waking hours every day may be a bit irritating for his neighbors just the same.

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  11. The man has put a lot of effort into being off grid. I’d have to do something with that exhaust though. Hearing it on camera sounds like somebody is constantly pounding on the front door. :)

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  12. Mstaff657, ATeam, and Dude,
    Very Green and very quiet. Ken is also working on Wood chip gasification and Terra Preta soil conservation from the bi products. Before you take any uneducated guesses you should write to Ken. Notice how close the camera is to the exhaust and how well you hear it when you are in Kens house.. VERY quiet.

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  13. mstaff657 says:

    I’ll bet his neighbors have a different story to tell.
    very noisy.

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  14. mytickets says:

    Very nice set up GOOD JOB!!
    I am working on my own power also
    just got a 30 year old UNUSED 12/2
    Need to balance the weels I have a .020 thou. Runout
    Also have a 16/2 that i need help with
    Thanks Jeff

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  15. I wouldn’t mind having a set up like this for when the power cuts out during heavy storms.

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  16. erichertsens says:

    maybe an underground muffler and water cooling the exhaust to recover even more heat

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  17. tripanfal says:

    Listers can be cooled with a single cast iron radiator. I find it hard to believe that it heats the entire house.

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  18. whitephatt says:

    That’s cool and all, but Ken keeps pointing with his middle finger like some idiotic douche baggy euro fag that never learned how to properly instruct with his finger.

    Tell him to stop. Thanks.

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  19. DudeNumberOnePlus says:

    I am curious how green this one actually is.

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  20. i bet the neighbours love u

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  21. PeteDog444 says:

    You may be able to improve your over all efficiency buy injecting some HHO or Hydroxy gas in to the air intake. It improves the combustion. Yo have a lot of voltage there to electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen. The Dry Cell design is the best and most efficient design right now or a Bob Boyce design. Hope this helps.

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  22. Great job Ken,
    You are an inspiration to all of us that dream of energy (And food) independence.

    It sounds noisy dont the house holds all around your property complain of the noise and the smell? If they do how do you get around this?

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  23. TheRooster602 says:

    awesome. Needs safety shrouds on the flywheel , the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would not approve.

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  24. cambriacity says:

    Nice setup you have there. Are you still running the system? Been waning to get hold of an original Lister, but here in the US, its kind of hard to find one. I can get a Listeroid, but its not “the same”…

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