Your last generator Maintenance Run

[goeduck]

I went on generator about an hour and a half ago. Power is out all over the area:
Outages:533 Estimated total customers affected:43256



About the fourth time this year. Do not move to Western WA if you like utility power

 

[grsthegreat]

View attachment 591265
Found the supply line on the second floor toilet leaking and caused this only an hour after I turned the water on to the house. So thankful I turned it off when we were gone. This could have caused massive damages if unchecked for a day or two.
I am definitely getting a smart thermostat that I can monitor temps from away. Thinking either the ecobee 4 or the Nest gen 3

Even with auto back up genny i always turn off the water and drain water lines when traveling for extended times during winter. One broken basement pipe taught me about the evils of winter travel and mean old mother nature.

 

[kevinwak]

Even with auto back up genny i always turn off the water and drain water lines when traveling for extended times during winter. One broken basement pipe taught me about the evils of winter travel and mean old mother nature.

This experience really has me leaning towards an auto generator again. We just have the manual one that powers only a portion of the house. I really want the place to be fool proof so if I am at work and my wife and kids are home they don’t have issues.

 

[dragoneggs]

This experience really has me leaning towards an auto generator again. We just have the manual one that powers only a portion of the house. I really want the place to be fool proof so if I am at work and my wife and kids are home they don’t have issues.

I periodically toy with the idea too, but it is an expensive luxury. For now we survive with a 3K with a manual transfer switch that is tied into the main service panel. That to me is an absolute requirement.

If I resume my reef aquarium hobby, it will become a requirement however for an automatic and at that point, might as well go big enough for whole house power.

 

[goeduck]

I went on generator about an hour and a half ago. Power is out all over the area:
Outages:533 Estimated total customers affected:43256

Well I am back on commercial power after 19 hours on generator. 17 hours on my gas 7.5 KW Honda Gillette and 2 hours on my 3.5 kW Yanmar diesel. I took the time to take some readings with my Fluke 112 while on the little diesel:

utility. Yanmar
Hz 59.92 60.83 (edited)
VACave 123.5 121.4
VACmin. 123.5. 120.5*

* this was with lights, TV, Wood Stove blower, freezer, fridge, etc. min capture setting on the meter for about an hour. I tested it briefly with the microwave on and it dropped to 106 VAC, I aborted that test ASAP. So I am happy that I can run the diesel overnight in the future but not when I need to warm up something to eat or turn the breaker on for the well.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

Well I am back on commercial power after 19 hours on generator. 17 hours on my gas 7.5 KW Honda Gillette and 2 hours on my 3.5 kW Yanmar diesel. I took the time to take some readings with my Fluke 112 while on the little diesel:

utility. Yanmar
Hz 59.92 69.83
.

It’s not likely you were running at 69.8hz on the Yanmar, you would’ve had damaged some of your electronics pretty quick. Most likely your meter was seeing a distorted AC sign wave as higher frequency. Is the Yanmar an inverter unit?

 

[dragoneggs]

It’s not likely you were running at 69.8hz on the Yanmar, you would’ve had damaged some of your electronics pretty quick. Most likely your meter was seeing a distorted AC sign wave as higher frequency. Is the Yanmar an inverter unit?

Or a fat finger typo?

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

Or that.

 

[3930dave]

Well I am back on commercial power after 19 hours on generator. 17 hours on my gas 7.5 KW Honda Gillette and 2 hours on my 3.5 kW Yanmar diesel. I took the time to take some readings with my Fluke 112 while on the little diesel:

utility. Yanmar
Hz 59.92 69.83
VACave 123.5 121.4
VACmin. 123.5. 120.5*

* this was with lights, TV, Wood Stove blower, freezer, fridge, etc. min capture setting on the meter for about an hour. I tested it briefly with the microwave on and it dropped to 106 VAC, I aborted that test ASAP. So I am happy that I can run the diesel overnight in the future but not when I need to warm up something to eat or turn the breaker on for the well.

They served you well.

Hey, maybe CM can loan you his old generator if he gets a new one....... the golden oldy has been known to fix grids 5 minutes after starting !

Rgds, D.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

I think it was Murphy’s generator before I got it.