What Would You Do

If you had unlimited free natural gas how many ways can you think of to use it to benefit you & your home or homestead ? Any & All ideas appreciated .

[Windy in Kansas]

Heating is the obvious use then there would be natural gas yard lights as well as interior lights, natural gas supplying a generator to produce electricity, water heating, and using it with a cook stove.

Without a compressing system you would probably be out of luck for using it in vehicles, tractor, lawn mower, etc. since they are not stationary.

[Harry Chickpea]

Define unlimited. If it was really unlimited, I'd sell the gas and hire somebody to homestead.

On a smaller scale, I'd be looking at businesses where heat costs or power were issues. Building a wood drying kiln could be an income producer, making pottery could be interesting, selling power back to a power company could be an idea.

[Michael W. Smith]

Use it to heat a greenhouse - and then sell the flowers and plants.

That is what a local guy did around here - he signed up for a gas lease and got so much free gas with each well drilled. They drilled 2 or 3 wells on him and then he put up the greenhouse. The gas company was not happy.

When we signed up for a gas lease - while we got so much free gas for each well, it's written into the lease that the free gas does not apply to business's - greenhouse, a motel, a kiln, etc.

How is it that you are getting unlimited gas? Most leases specify how much you can get and even older ones that don't list an amount specify what the gas can be used for - a house, garage, chicken broiler house, etc.

Oh, you could start up a crematorium. If no one local around you has one - that would save the local undertakers from shipping people off to be cremated.

[dngrous]

I'd DEFINITELY install a few generators, and sell electric power back to the grid. Convert everything possible to NG, and then your utility bills would be in the black.

I know there's a natural gas compression business in the next town over, but I have no idea how feasible it is to do on a small-scale, for your own vehicles.

Or, you could convert your vehicles to electric, and charge them with the generator?

Along the same lines as the crematorium, you could build a gas-fired incinerator with a forced-air inlet for garbage removal.

Instead of a traditional generator, look into a gas turbine style?

Heh, my imagination goes crazy when I see the words "unlimited".... Too bad it weren't unlimited MONEY.

[Windy in Kansas]

Greenhouse, great idea. Better yet use Buckminster Fuller's idea of building a large dome over your property and heat the entire interior. Wouldn't it be wonderful to lay in a hammock in shorts in the middle of winter under the shade of a palm tree? lol

[DW]

heat for house & sheds, gas dryer, gas stove, gas hot water...I think I'd even put one of those on demand hot water heaters in the shop!

[coup]

check gas refridges and freezer......for sure heating,,,garage heated also,easy on cold weather starts......search for gas compressors for auto's it would be expensive to get car and compressor......

forget generator except for emergency,,they wear out fast.

Thanks for the replies & keep them coming . First I'll define unlimited . I have 73 acres I bought from my father-in-law . There is a gas well on the property & a location surveyed for another one . My father-in-law owns the mineral rights & gets a monthly check for the gas the well produces . I get unlimited free gas for my own use . I could not sell the gas but I can use however much I want . There is no meter .
Being wellhead gas , from what I understand it can't be compressed for use in a cng vehicle . To much moisture or something .
My furnace , clothes dryer , cook stove & water heater are gas . I would really like to generate electricity but I don't think using a natural gas powered internal combustion engine generator would be cost efficient . My electric bill is fairly small & the engine would probably need rebuilt or wear out often enough to offset any savings .
Something like a stirling engine might be ideal but can't be found . At least I haven't been able to find any type of heat engine that would work . Any help here would be GREATLY appreciated . Remember my electric bill is low so I can't spend more than I could ever hope to get back . I do have central ac & a furnace blower so my electric bill isn't zero .
I have given some thought to a greenhouse & possibly aquaponics or aquaculture & hydroponics & maybe raise worms to feed the fish . I'm open to pretty much anything worthwhile so keep the ideas coming .
Will plants grown under lights do anyway near as well as plants getting natural light & sunlight ? I know there are grow lights & I've read regular florescent lights do almost as well & cost a lot less . THANKS AGAIN

[oneokie]

Well head gas can wreak havoc with appliances. Is the gas "dry" or "wet", or somewhere in-between?

You would have to regulate the pressure to what ever you connect to.

I would also suggest that you read the document allowing gas use from the well. Look for anything that relates to types of useage allowed, if any.

I would think that you would be responsible for all costs of piping the gas to what ever location you want to use it.

[2ndmouse]

If you used the gas to run a hit&miss engine to spin a gen head, a H&M putt putt putt engine wouldnt wear out in 100 yrs.

IN an fun twist you could run a steam engine on gas to run the gen.

High moisture well head gas will ruin a converted 4 stroke in time.
It wont harm a H&M engine.

The same engine can be used to pump water, compress air, any number of things.

A heated greenhouse is an excellent idea.

Gas lighting in the house, I wouldnt try. That's an old technology that if you mess up will gas you dead or blow up the house.

all the above are good ideas... heat the house, run a kiln, ect ect.

I wonder if wellhead gas makes a good welding/cutting gas mixer.

[Dave S.]

My grandfather used to sell debarkers and sawmills years ago, and he visited one in Upstate New York. They were running everything off of big IH gas engine from a pipe coming out of the ground. Don't know what they did to make it usable for the engines. I like the idea of a big hit and miss popping away making some juice.

[Darren]

"I would really like to generate electricity but I don't think using a natural gas powered internal combustion engine generator would be cost efficient."

I've mentioned this before on this site. Look into the Hawkpower generators with the Lister Petter diesel engines. You can expect to get upwards of 30,000 hours of life out of them before the engine needs to be resleeved. The trick is that the diesels are converted to run on natural gas. It's a much more substantial engine than you find in the generators at the big box stores. if needed you can run the Lister Petter powered units 24/7 for extended periods without damaging the units.

Ford used to build multifuel half ton pickups that ran on either natural gas or gasoline. You can find commercial natural gas compressors on ebay. They are pricey. There's a residential unit that hangs on a wall that you can use to refill a vehicle over night that is much less expensive. That would probably be one of the most cost saving ideas since gasoline will eventually start going higher again.

The issue you may encounter if you use natural gas in an engine is that the btu content varies from area to area in WV. In some counties it is much higher than others meaning the engines running off it have more power. That is one of the reasons why Ford never built 3/4 and 1 ton trucks with a multifuel engine. If you were trying to haul a heavy load running on natural gas, it would be a dog.

[Big Dave]

Heat the Commercial chicken houses.

[samm]

when we moved into our house 22 years ago our central air unit was a gas one....it cost a small fortune to run it, so we changed it out...i dont know if they still make gas units for a/c or not...it was made by bryant
samm

The gas coming out of the wellhead goes through a separator before going out the gas line . The separator is plumbed to a large tank & the fluid ( oil & water ) goes into the tank . My line is plumbed in after the separator . Also there is what is called a drip plumbed into my line . Any moisture in my line collects in the bottom of the drip . Every 2 or 3 months I open a valve on the drip & any moisture in it blows out .
No problems using the gas for appliances or running engines . It just hasn't been through a refinery to be certified for cng engines . There are gas wells in the area with pumping jacks powered with briggs & stratton & other brands of converted engines running off the gas . They don't run 24/7 though . More like 2 or 3 hours every other day .
My father-in-law has a saw mill that was his fathers that has a large engine that was converted to run off natural gas . I believe it is an IH engine . The mill hasn't been run for several years since my wife's grandfather passed away .

Originally Posted by samm

when we moved into our house 22 years ago our central air unit was a gas one....it cost a small fortune to run it, so we changed it out...i dont know if they still make gas units for a/c or not...it was made by bryant
samm

I have done some searching online & the only units I can find are for commercial use . If anyone knows of a residential unit please let me know .

The gas coming out of the wellhead goes through a separator before going out the gas line . The separator is plumbed to a large tank & the fluid ( oil & water ) goes into the tank . My line is plumbed in after the separator . Also there is what is called a drip plumbed into my line . Any moisture in my line collects in the bottom of the drip . Every 2 or 3 months I open a valve on the drip & any moisture in it blows out .
No problems using the gas for appliances or running engines . It just hasn't been through a refinery to be certified for cng engines . There are gas wells in the area with pumping jacks powered with briggs & stratton & other brands of converted engines running off the gas . They don't run 24/7 though . More like 2 or 3 hours every other day .
My father-in-law has a saw mill that was his fathers that has a large engine that was converted to run off natural gas . I believe it is an IH engine . The mill hasn't been run for several years since my wife's grandfather passed away .

[indianheadranch]

Get the electric company to come out and hook one of them flip switches for a generator then run you a heavy electrical line to the pole, that way at night time you could run a ford inline 6 cylinder and a decent size generator to power your house and sell the electric back to the power company, i would want the engine and generator a distance from the house with a surge protector on it though also usually as my mother has free gas and in the fine print it says for the immediate house hold only and 1 light for the yard which burns yr round. Good Luck

[geo in mi]

Still?