Think a generator that can be powered by MOGAS, diesel, JP8, isopropyl alcohol, kerosene, propane or even booze is a fantasy? So did I until I saw the Power Forward. It’s one component of the Trinity Systems offered by INI Power.
The Trinity Systems are currently offered in two flavors, a 1000W system and a 2000W system and each consists of flex fuel power, generation, harvesting, and storage modules which are all man portable.
You can harvest power using partially discharged batteries as well as solar energy and store your power utilizing a battery bank included with the system. The system also comes with a lightweight, clear propane tank so you can monitor your supply. Additionally, there is a flexible exhaust tube that allows you to run the generator indoors if needed.
Right away, I saw some serious advantages. For one thing, you can use virtually any fuel so when you can’t run that cool generator that the contracting guy bought for you down the souk because you ran out of MOGAS, you could keep on going with the Power Forward generator. What’s more, you can mix fuels and it keeps right on ticking. Additionally, it produces the amount of power you need. You don’t have to run a big trailer mounted Gen Set with it’s associated noise, maintenance and other hazards. And, you don’t have to produce 1KW when you don’t need it, so this will cut down on fuel use. This means you are taking some pressure off of the log train resulting in fewer troops facing the danger of convoys to bring you fuel. In extreme cases, you can even scavenge for fuel thanks to the flexibility of the system.
Units and agencies can purchase the Trinity Series though ADSinc.com.
Tags: ADS Inc, INI Power, Trinity Systems
great kit.
That looks pretty awesome. I wonder how much it costs
It looks like a great product. Then I tried to call INI Power Systems and had the following experience:
1. They DON’T answer their phone.
2. They don’t return messages.
3. I went the the distributing company. They don’t sell to the end consumer, but refer you to another company.
4. When I finally got to the company that sells to the end consumer I got a estimated Price. You need to hold your breath now. They want $12k (repeat $12,000) for the 600 or 1200 watt generator.
Are you kidding me? Given that the generators maybe cost $500 to build that smacks of out right theft to anyone paying for one. As a taxpayer, I hope that there isn’t a government or military agency out there even thinking about buying this system.
As for me, I’ll skip it and buy a Honda generator for less than $1,000 even though I’m stuck with only one fuel type and be assured of excellent customer service and a 3 year warranty.
Okay, so now I’m going to ask you the ultimate question. “How many new technologies have you introduced to the market?” By your response I already know the answer. Here are a couple of things to consider and they may temper your comments. Most new manufacturers don’t sell direct, they’re too busy developing and manufacturing. It costs a lot of money to develop new products. That money has to be recouped somehow. Generally, that means a higher per unit price until it is recouped.
Sure, you can purchase a Honda generator. It will probably be just fine for what you need. Remember, it has a fixed, low price because the technology is 100 years old and relies on a monolithic fuel source. The whole point of this system is to offer an ability to use multiple fuels in a single generator. All of these fuels have different combustion points which makes it very difficult to utilize such a wide spectrum of fuels. Consider this, traditional diesel and MOGAS engines are drastically different in design. I am guessing that will some fuels and mixtures of fuels they aren’t showing optimized combustion. Still, the generator is burning the fuel.
At some point, we hope that the price will come down, it will transition to a consumer product, and others will improve upon the concept so we see some competition in the market place. This will further control pricing.
Disregard ssd’s shilling Eric, you can get a tri-fuel adapter for that honda for a couple hundred bucks.
http://www.generatorsales.com/triple-fuel-generators.asp
It’s not shilling. It’s called reality. And, all you’re getting from the adapter is access to LP and natural gas. Hell, they sell houses around here with natural gas generators. The points I made above are still valid. You aren’t going to be able to burn the other liquid fuels in a standard generator. They aren’t built for it.
Thank you SSD! Great article.
I’m guessing “Eric” and “whatev” have never served in the military, nor ever been deployed at a FOB or COP in a TIC environment in the Afghanistan or Iraq AORs.
They probably have no idea what it is like to wonder how you’re going to power ECP stations, SATCOM terminals, Blue Force trackers, and Intra-Team communications when the JP-8 re-supply you were expecting doesn’t arrive because the convoy is engaged with the enemy.
Everything they’ve stated is spot on…in the safety and comfort of their mother’s basement playing Call of Duty on X-Box.
I know I certainly could have used this kit in theater!
Haven’t seen anything else that even comes close to being able to utilize so many different fuels. Perfect fit for today’s operations.
No “Semper Fi” I haven’t served in the Military, but I’m as pro-military as they come. So your comeback of “you’ve never served in the military” and your inference that I can’t possibly know what it’s like is a direct slap in the face to all of us that support the efforts or our military, wherever they serve, year after year and will continue to do so no matter what hell hole they get sent to.
I’ve got over 15 years in the defense industry with direct experience with what the warfighters need and what they inevitably get after the DoD procurement system works or doesn’t work. The warfighters deserve the BEST products where ever they serve, but at some point the $20k hammer gets ridiculous and that’s my point.
I was ready and willing to drop $3k each for two systems, but not $12k. Supporting the troops requires money and support gear like this should be priced at a price point that the developer will sell thousands and thousands not hundreds. Not to insult you or “SSD” but this is the basic economics of supply & demand.
The creator of this product has every right to recoup the expense of development but they need to revisit the pricing matrix to assure that they actually survive as a company and can recover their investment.
I actually like the product and it’s exactly what I was looking for.
Finally, when I spoke with the dealer that serves the public they indicated that they had had a lot of inquiries from people just like me that were looking for this product, but they didn’t end up buying it due to the exorbitant price.
We built our first multifuel genset in 1982. It was an air cooled VW engine that had a mechanical fuel injection system that would allow it to run on propane or methane gas, or alcohol, (methyl or ethyl) or gasoline. It was 25 kW. The injection system was a modified version of the Hilborn with multiple piston valves off a trumpet (you can’t make this up) to select the correct bypass and fuel path. It ran for over 3000 hours and cost us about three grand to build.