Fuels
It was told to me that kerosene was used because it has a lower freeze point than diesel. With some research I was able to find that kerosene K-1 freezes (actually gels), at -73, JP-A freezes at -52 and diesel freezes at about -12. According to the chief engineer who drives the bombardier and the generators for the State Park, Chris Uggerhart, he has had diesel gel on him at -10. The Bombardier runs on a 50/50 mix in the winter, the generators run on K-1, no special additives.
The coldest air temp ever recorded on the summit was -47. hopefully they will never deal with -73.
The argument that kerosene is cheaper because it doesn't have the transportation tax is false, because fuel that is not used to power vehicles over the road is not subject to this tax. So diesel that is burned as heating fuel is not taxed this way, either.
The summit has been back on generator power since noon yesterday. This is a huge advertising weekend for WHOM and WOPQ who transmit from the summit. For some as yet unknown reason the grid was producing under 200 volts. If they had lost power the radio stations would have to refund money to the advertisers. The decision was made to switch back to generator power until the problem could be worked out.
There is much debate whether or not switching to grid was the right move. There is only one line into Bretton Woods. When power goes out there, as it often does, the utility company concentrates on getting power back to the Hotel and ski area, not to mention condos. This is where the money is. If there is no power at Marshfield Station, where the Cog originates, getting power back there is secondary. Because of this the summit could go without power for days before it is fixed. They would still have to rely on generator power for these emergencies. If something went wrong underground it would take until spring to repair.
It has also been figured in some scenarios that supplying the summit with power through the grid may prove more expensive than through the generators. The summit uses in excess of 2500 kilowatts per day. The power has to come from somewhere. There may not be generators burning fuel on the summit, but the power company has to create the energy somewhere. So, somewhere there is more fuel being consumed, and it could be a less clean fuel than kerosene.
It is unfortunate that the generators are where they are. When they were in the building that burned they bothered no one. They will eventually be moved and hopefully, they will only be used as back-up to grid power.
KDT