Generators

... and think carnage, for $800 how much beer you can buy and the power outage suddenly does not matter

Since I'm a homebrewer, $800 would be roughly 112 gallons.

My 10K portable suddenly looks alot better.

It will take a big propane tank to vaporize enough gas to start that beast on a cold morning.

and not to mention that per day at say at 1/4 load only propane use will be about 60 gall per day (that is estimated from the generator Joe site) so that is about $250/day not including fuel used in exercising but then it may not need exercising. How far to locate from the house? I estimate Hudson Bay (CA) would be a good site if you sleep as lightly as me. PSST, that is why Ebay has a TON of these that are basically unused. Still if you can afford it go flaunt it. I won't even bother to discuss things I don't understand like it's a 12 pole generator that is three phase only and that would mean how do you connect it to your box. You better had get a GOOD electrician. Me, I would drop a PM to yanche.

I've got a 15+ Kw liquid cooled 1800 RPM diesel. I've had it about a decade and it's gotten very little use. When needed I had plenty of fuel available because I use home heating oil. At least one of my three 275 gallon tanks are always full.

Here's my experiences. When the power was out for days during and after a hurricane it was priceless to have central A/C. Life for me went on in comfort. Neighbors looked with envy. The cost was, fuel consumption, noise and smell. All of my other emergency needs (no central A/C) could be met with a much smaller generator. I've concluded you really need two generators. One sized to your minimum load and one for your full up total load. Above all make your selection based on what fuel you can store long term. Calculate how much you will need for a week or more. It does little good to have a generator and no fuel. Today's gasoline doesn't store well and in large quantities can be a serious risk. Maintenance is an issue. It just doesn't seem to make the short list. Oil changes, fuel filters, replacing old batteries, etc. Plan on having a way to jump start the generator when you find it's battery is not up to it. Even on a trickle charge, batteries don't last long term. If you live in a very cold climate have a way to heat a very cold diesel engine. Install the generator safely by code, both electrical and mechanical.

I only asked because I looked into a 7k whole house genny last year. The fuel consumption was pretty high (1.3 gph) and I would have to get another large propane tank. That's about 100lber every 24 hours which is about $50 a refill if I take it up myself.

Even my little 6300W Yamaha, which is about as fuel efficient as you can get in the portable gen world, cost me a fortune in fuel during that October snowstorm. I was burning about 4 gallons every 12 hours ... and that was on the eco setting, which idles it down during no-load. So letting it run all night long just to keep the fridge cold wasn't cost effective. 8 gallons a day .. or $32, gets damn expensive when you figure $3 a day max (here at least) with the dryer & oven going on line power.

I think I have a partial solution in an old, beat up, golf cart I just picked up but it has 6 new US batteries (48v).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170762459458?ss ... 466wt_1144

Fuel costs can be kept down by running this overnight. Tried it once and it worked and the silence was wonderful.

Your solution to use a battery based inverter may or may not be cost effective. Remember you have to re-charge those batteries. Where does the power to re-charge those batteries come from? If it's from your generator you likely loose. It would have been better to just use the generator power directly, avoiding the battery base inverter losses. Now there will be savings if the batteries last until utility power returns or at very light loads. Then you can re-charge the batteries with the cheapest power you can buy. Or for the cheapest, just charge with your solar array.

... and when solar is $0.50 a watt I will invest. Naturally, first will have to move to MD where the sun actually shines from Nov to March - life in the tropics must be good. In my part of the world the winter sun doesn't shine much and mostly the wind does not blow (there goes windmills) . Of course, you are right about losses but overnight usage is small and generators are noisy and don't operate efficiently at very low output. Your idea of multiple generators is appealing.

Yeah, I have a house whole generator which nicely cover the demanding voltage and electricity demand in my house. I nicely set the input and out wires from the generator with proper wiring. The main electricity disconnects with a power convertor. I used electricity convertor to separate the generator power and the main power.

coalnewbie wrote: I won't even bother to discuss things I don't understand like it's a 12 pole generator that is three phase only and that would mean how do you connect it to your box. You better had get a GOOD electrician.

I'm not an electrician, but my gen set is a 12 pole that is 12k and can be wired 3 phase or single phase, depending how the wires are tied together, but it does loose some output.My 12k is more like 10k when used single phase. I rewired the gen set myself, but it was VERRRRY helpful having a neighbor that could explain the wiring scematic .

Bought a generac 5600W/6800surge generator, for now its backfeed, will only be using it for essentials, fridge, heating system, kitchen lights, microwave, and LR outletsTV/cable. If and when power does go out will test bathroom circuit(lights) for loading of generator, but never are all on at sametime/continously. Manual transfer switch will be added later this year. Just will feel better having it wired that way.

I wanted one beacuse we usually have power outages in winter, but since getting it past fall, no power problems

I have a military surplus 10K 1800 RPM diesel generator I paid $1200 for surplus. Had 500+ hours after a depot rebuild. Best money I spent. Have it wired into my 2 200amp panels through 50amp interlock breakers in each panel. Will run the entire house with ease which includes 2 refrigerators 2 freezers all the lights I want and both central ac units. Nice thing about the old military units is they are rated to produce the given output 24/7, 365.

You are in MD but on still night I can hear you start it up. I hope your neighbors don't have guns. WAM, you are in MD so the best they have is nerf bats, so I guess you are OK. N O I S Y, I tried one - hopeless for me at least.