Coal Guns and Voltage Spikes/Dips

AH,

I just love the inconsistant weather we have been stuck with lately.

Tuesday it is supposed wander into the high fifties.
with more friday snows!!

Well Now that I am done ranting about the weather for
now anyway as the storm from the mid west is supposed
to pay a us a visit by friday with snow and I still have to
put shear pins in the snow blower- Quick-Lay in some more supplies and
canned goods Freetown Fred!!!!!!

Have any of you had trouble with fried electrical components/boards/switches
on the coal guns?

Since NYSEG in its wisdom has removed all the meter mounted surge arrestors
we have depended on the Square D unit in the panel and we still get voltage
fluctuations that kick the battery back up around for my wifes lap top..

more points to ponder.

What ever I decide on is going to be plugged in to a separate panel with a surge arrestor,.
OR I think it should have one anyway so I can power the unit with my generator
if we lose power.

I am still working on the auger angle and whether I will do it independently or
purchase the auger system-wont hurt to simply fill a barrel with buckets or a
much smaller bin to fill the hopper.

Wet coal is another issue and I have to quickly decide if I will put up a bin with mafia blocks-
as it is much less work and I can always run a dehumidifier on an over night timer to
help dry the coal I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW, don't worry about it being wet.

.

Mine has lived through brown-outs and power outages, and has never faltered. Comes right back on line and does its thing without a hitch when the power returns. Have you had issues?

Hello Lsayre,

We have always had issues with brownouts at one time or
another over 36 years or thier having lost a phase once when we were
away for part of day and coming home to a low voltage situation
to the point where they told us to flip the main off and just wait.
until it was repaired.

OR the big kahuna comes when they trip a switch for the entire road and have
to go find it at the substation below us

Everything on my part of the mountain is 4,000 volts AC single phase two wire(hot and neutral)
and terminates at the far intersection.

More worried about fried boards and controls especially when the
34,500 feeders below us are blown around enough that they touch with
a very large fireball.

They diddle fritz with the power all year long around the clock because the power plant
is only operating seasonally and only when they can competitively bid for the days power loads

We have also been smacked with the lighting issue almost every year losing well pumps and
now that I said it I will probably lose this one.

Pump Jacks and wind mills and gravity tanks are so much easier to own.

everybody forgets your well casing is lightning rod too.

Leon

I have never had trouble with my AHS130 and I have no special circuit protection, but then I can't say I've had issues with "bad power". I guess if you consistently have trouble it's better to use some sort of protection just in case.

The S130 is no more or less vulnerable than other electrically powered devices that include motors, switches and relays. Reading comments here, it is clear that the majority of us take reasonably reliable, clean electrical power for granted. We have taken a number of calls related to extended power outages this winter. Leads me to think that some CHP possibilities for the Coal Gun would be very popular.

The electronics of the Coal Gun are internally fused. I keep spares for the two internal protective fuses, but I have never needed to use them.

lsayre wrote:The electronics of the Coal Gun are internally fused. I keep spares for the two internal protective fuses, but I have never needed to use them.

Fuses are for 2 things only...over current and short circuit protection.

Fuses provide nothing for power surge/spike or under voltage dips delivered on incoming utility lines.