Your last generator Maintenance Run
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shooterdon
Elite Member
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- 2019 LS XR4140 HST Cab; 2020 Kawasaki Mule SX; 2021 Bad Boy 54" ZT Elite
Dave, I have it on propane. Funny thing about buying it. I live in the boonies...10k people in my county. But the Inspector is very strict and insists on a load sheet. I only need power for essentials, but because I have an electric stove, I would have needed a 16 Kw unit. So I told the installer we are converting to a propane stove...which we will do eventually.
The cost of going to a larger unit was not much more, but the operating cost was also higher. And if I can save $20/day that adds up if we have a prolonged outage.
My average load is less than 1 Kw. Even 13Kw is more than I need. The largest surge load will be the well pump and what are the chances every appliance is starting and/or running at one time? Seems like a racket to me. We made do with a 5Kw portable for 20 years
Hopefully you can stock up on propane in the Summer, if your market works that way. My sister stocks up on heating oil in about June/July, and usually saves a bit. That 'ol supply/demand thingy.....
I was talking to an installer a few years back; for (what I consider to be) a normal house, he liked to sell the 16kw system, as they just switched the whole panel, instead of selecting priority circuits. (Less labour in the wiring).
As we've covered many times on here, managing loads is not hard, given a tiny bit of common-sense.... that said, perhaps the inspector/county is just going with lowest common denominator thinking, re. typical consumers today.... "You approved this for my house, but I can't take a sauna while cooking a turkey, and running 2 clothes-dryers, so I'm suing for emotional distress....."
I jest, but they likely hear worse.....
Rgds, D.
shooterdon
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Dave,
My 13Kw is a whole house unit. Transfer panel sits on the pole for incoming power about 100’ from the house. Nice that I will barely hear the unit run.
I doubt I will need to manage load. Converted most of our lights to LED’s. No A/C, heat pump, or heaters. My maximum load occurs in the morning if using coffee maker, two burners on stove, toaster, and microwave.....and then both the well pump and sump fire up.
Worst thing is the breaker will trip...not a big deal. I live near a snow belt, but am not a snowflake...LOL
BTW, the guy who sold me my unit is the Inspector for another county. You are right about why the code calls for way more capacity than needed. Years ago, contractors where installing 7Kw units to power 3000 sqft houses to make a sale, and the small units could not handle the load...people gave the Inspectors a lot of grief.
My 13Kw is a whole house unit. Transfer panel sits on the pole for incoming power about 100’ from the house. Nice that I will barely hear the unit run.
I doubt I will need to manage load. Converted most of our lights to LED’s. No A/C, heat pump, or heaters. My maximum load occurs in the morning if using coffee maker, two burners on stove, toaster, and microwave.....and then both the well pump and sump fire up.
Worst thing is the breaker will trip...not a big deal. I live near a snow belt, but am not a snowflake...LOL
BTW, the guy who sold me my unit is the Inspector for another county. You are right about why the code calls for way more capacity than needed. Years ago, contractors where installing 7Kw units to power 3000 sqft houses to make a sale, and the small units could not handle the load...people gave the Inspectors a lot of grief.
grsthegreat
Super Star Member
A whole house system has to power what ever is handled thru the transfer switch without interference from anyone. ... without shutting itself down. A portable generator doesn稚 fall under these requirements. These loads have to be calculated using factors listed in NEC codes. Those dont take into account LED VS INCANDESCENT loads. Those don稚 care weather or not you actually use your electric furnace during a power outage. If the house has an electric heater you have to figure it in. That痴 just how it is. I have a 4,000 sf home that calcs out needing a 22 kw unit WITH load sheds for hot tub and ac unit. However during actual 5 hour outage, my unit never exceeded 13 kw output using a tracking monitor.
Can't see you'll have any issues Don..... a buddy of mine has done well with his older 12kw Generac, with similar loads. He has central AC, but it's a relatively compact bungalow that is very well insulated, and he has more than enough personal smarts to manage his loads if needed.
Pendulum swings....... 7kw is too small (didn't even realize Generac used to make them that small) for a "normal" 3000 sq ft home, given average consumer mindsets today, so I can see why the inspectors went big.....
Rgds, D.
BRMyers
Platinum Member
With all the talk of the virus and potential disruptions, decided it was time to get out the generator and service it. Got it all checked out, ran it for an hour and good to go. Hopefully won't need it, but it is ready in case.
Solid real #'s, from a guy who can do the calculations in his sleep ! Thanks g.
And, that's the way it should be, with auto-xfer. Those of us who like to peek behind the curtain want to know the details of what's going on, and tend to forget that many/most people don't.
Electricity and natgas are 2 things that people just expect to be there 24x7xN , w/o ever thinking about it. So, when people stroke a cheque for an auto-xfer system, that thinking naturally prevails..... to a fault...... ignoring generator maintenance (like any IC engine) doesn't end well.
As has been commented here more than once, people then act shocked when they get the fuel bill from a large system after an extended outage. You can only ignore the science for so long !
Rgds, D.
Chilliwack Murray
Gold Member
Net 30 at most.