Good morning!!!!

[buckeyefarmer]

I recently got an estimate for either an 18kW or 20kW unit.... about $9K plus you'll need a propane tank installation if you don't have one...plus the transfer switch. If I went for it, I'd want to automatic transfer switch. All told, it would cost $13K-$14K
We never had an extended outage in Vermont...we did have a 4-day outage once in Pennsylvania.
I have a 10kW portable (gas or propane) that has done the job...if a more extended outage, I think we'd just go to a motel

What 10kw generator?

A 22kw generac with transfer switch is advertised around $6k not installed. I can see it exceeding $12k pretty easy, which I’ll say no thanks. Like you we have few outages. What I really want is not to run extension cords so am looking at 10-12kw (50 amp) but will probably settle on a 30A 9KW one with inverter. Most of the non inverter (but not all) have terrible THD ratings which can kill electronics. I want <5% THD.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I bought mine (22kw Generac) on line, just before the collapse of the supply chain, and paid $4200 delivered. That was without a transfer switch, as I was replacing my old unit which was inside the shed that the new one sits behind.
I did the installation myself, and already had the propane tank. So I saved a ton of money over doing a complete install today.

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Thanks, I looked at them. Now $6100 with transfer switch.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG, pulling cable thru conduit can be so much fun.

Has anybody ever told you that you have a talent for understating things, David?

Today I laid out the 900' remainder of the pair of Ethernet wires I'm running up to the cul-de-sac along the driveway. The boxes were so roughly handled in shipping that it broke the reel/dispenser hardware inside the boxes, giving my arms a fantastic workout paying out the cable. To keep things from getting to tangled up, I put a couple wraps of electrical tape around the cables every ten feet or so. Real fun trying to get the tape to stick to the cables after they got a dust bath on the gravel driveway. Once that was done, I uncoiled four 100' rolls of flex conduit so they could be straightened out and soften in the sun. I capped each one with duct tape to keep the dirt and rocks out. Fished the cables through the first one, which went pretty smoothly this time mostly because the conduit was straight and I gave the fish a shot of lube at the start. For some reason pulling the cables down that 100' of conduit wasn't working so well with me standing on the end of the couduit and heaving on the fish tape. That's when I got the idea of parking the RTV on the fish tape and dragging the conduit up the wire. Longest game of tug-o-war I've ever played, and I think my arms are a couple inches longer now. I got the first five or six hundred feet of cable through that section of conduit, but by then the temps were in the mid 90s and I was badly over heated. So I pushed all the wires and conduit to the side of the driveway and am taking the rest of the day off. I'll get back to it next week...

 

[LouNY]

Instead of fighting with a fish tape if you get some jet line or similar cord,
Southwire 500 ft. 210 lbs. Tensile Strength Poly Line 58280640
Then tie a small piece of rag to it and use your shop vac to suck it through. And thats your pull string.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I bought mine (22kw Generac) on line, just before the collapse of the supply chain, and paid $4200 delivered. That was without a transfer switch, as I was replacing my old unit which was inside the shed that the new one sits behind.
I did the installation myself, and already had the propane tank. So I saved a ton of money over doing a complete install today.

In the FWIW department, back when I was shopping for a whole house generator, it wasn't long after Hurricane Sandy. I read lots of reports of people with Generac generators that wouldn't start or quit running during the disaster. I also couldn't find any shops locally that sold or serviced them. One even told me outright that they wouldn't touch one because of bad experiences with Generac. I ended up with a Cummins 22 kW unit, but even buying online it cost almost twice what you paid for your Generac. For the extra cash I got a four cylinder cast iron block that is liquid cooled, runs at 1800 RPM, and a local shop that has some experience fixing them. I also spoke with a Cummins certified dealer a couple hundred miles away, and they were informative and helpful, and said they'd have no problems making a house call should it be needed. I also did the installation myself, all except for the regulator which was handled by my propane company when they installed the 1000 gallon tank. So far after more than two years it hasn't missed a weekly test run, and I've racked up a few tens of hours running the house off it during Public Safety Power Shutoffs inflicted by the infamous Pacific Gas and Electric utility. I'm sure another round is just around the corner...

 

[RoyJackson]

In the FWIW department, back when I was shopping for a whole house generator, it wasn't long after Hurricane Sandy. I read lots of reports of people with Generac generators that wouldn't start or quit running during the disaster. I also couldn't find any shops locally that sold or serviced them. One even told me outright that they wouldn't touch one because of bad experiences with Generac. I ended up with a Cummins 22 kW unit, but even buying online it cost almost twice what you paid for your Generac.

That was also a factor...Generac has not received good reviews at all.
IMHO, if you can afford it, diesel is the way to go...but it's going to be pretty expensive

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Instead of fighting with a fish tape if you get some jet line or similar cord,
Southwire 500 ft. 210 lbs. Tensile Strength Poly Line 58280640
Then tie a small piece of rag to it and use your shop vac to suck it through. And thats your pull string.

I tried a redneck version of that, Lou. I had a spool of nylon paracord, and used my shop vac powered with a small inverter running off the side-by-side. I payed out all of the reel of paracord, but came up short. Switched to some fairly thick fishing line, and got it through, but broke it trying to pull the cable. Then I got the idea of tying a bit of paper towel on the end of the fish tape and using the vacuum to suck it through, but it got stuck not far from the far end. Maybe I used too much paper towel. What finally worked was a generous shot of lube inside the conduit, repeated several times during the time when the fish was being fed. Still had a heck of a time pulling the cables through, but maybe I wasn't careful enough to keep the bend radius gentle when I buried the conduit. I'm running the rest of the conduit laying on the surface of the driveway with no bends in it, and at least today, the fishing was fine...

 

[Popgadget]

. One even told me outright that they wouldn't touch one because of bad experiences with Generac. I ended up with a Cummins 22 kW unit, but even buying online it cost almost twice what you paid for your Generac. For the extra cash I got a four cylinder cast iron block that is liquid cooled, runs at 1800 RPM, and a local shop that has some experience fixing them.

When I was looking for a new generator, I reached out to a friend in the generator business for advice. He said that they avoid the residential market entirely, and only sell 1800 rpm liquid cooled units like you got. However, he recommended the Generac, for my application. and said that was he had at home. I said that Generac was always regarded as a POS, he said that they still are, but now that Cummins (Onan) and Kohler have entered the residential 3600rpm market, theirs are worse. He said that Generac has been building POS stuff for so long, they have actually gotten pretty good at it.
How is that for a backhanded compliment?
They now actually use their own engine manufactured in Wisconsin with details like a totally electronic governor that looks at frequency, and adjusts the throttle with a stepper motor. By not using off the shelf parts, it’s actually a clean and simple design, there is no charging system on the engine, a smart charger on the 240v output handles that task.
Time will tell whether I made a prudent choice. I do have a 25kw pto generator and cables to plug right in if the Generac goes the way of its predecessors. So far it’s performed flawlessly. And that’s with my homemade integration with my old Onan switch.

But I do agree that a liquid cooled 1800 RPM unit definitely is going to be better, especially for an extended run.

 

[check]

I recently got an estimate for either an 18kW or 20kW unit.... about $9K plus you'll need a propane tank installation if you don't have one...plus the transfer switch. If I went for it, I'd want to automatic transfer switch. All told, it would cost $13K-$14K
We never had an extended outage in Vermont...we did have a 4-day outage once in Pennsylvania.
I have a 10kW portable (gas or propane) that has done the job...if a more extended outage, I think we'd just go to a motel

Hoo boy! That is pricey. Home Depot has a 22 kW guardian on sale with a 200 amp transfer switch for $6147.

 

[check]

Actually, I would never buy a Generac. I got a Kohler 17 kW with an automatic transfer switch that goes inside the cottage, end it has performed well over the last 10 or 15 years. Can’t remember exactly when we installed it. But, to my surprise, all my neighbors tell me that it is very very quiet compared to theirs. by the Westinghouse 9500 for the rental property, and man oh man, is it noisy compared to mine! also, neighbor built a new cottage from scratch, and put in a Generac. First thing, a part failed, and he had to wait forever for the replacement.

So far, so good! it starts almost instantly when there’s a power outage, and so I don’t have to worry about it. just have to reset the clocks on the stove and the microwave.

I must say it is such a pleasure to not have to do anything when there’s a power outage.

 

[check]

When I was looking for a new generator, I reached out to a friend in the generator business for advice. He said that they avoid the residential market entirely, and only sell 1800 rpm liquid cooled units like you got. However, he recommended the Generac, for my application. and said that was he had at home. I said that Generac was always regarded as a POS, he said that they still are, but now that Cummins (Onan) and Kohler have entered the residential 3600rpm market, theirs are worse. He said that Generac has been building POS stuff for so long, they have actually gotten pretty good at it.
How is that for a backhanded compliment?
They now actually use their own engine manufactured in Wisconsin with details like a totally electronic governor that looks at frequency, and adjusts the throttle with a stepper motor. By not using off the shelf parts, it’s actually a clean and simple design, there is no charging system on the engine, a smart charger on the 240v output handles that task.
Time will tell whether I made a prudent choice. I do have a 25kw pto generator and cables to plug right in if the Generac goes the way of its predecessors. So far it’s performed flawlessly. And that’s with my homemade integration with my old Onan switch.

But I do agree that a liquid cooled 1800 RPM unit definitely is going to be better, especially for an extended run.

Wow, I’m surprised to hear you say that Kohler and Cumins are worse than Generac. That is definitely not in my experience, nor what I have heard from Owners.

 

[Wagtail]

Good late (Thursday) morning. Yet another mild, Spring like day in the middle of Winter; overnight Low of 10C, it's sunny and the wind has abated. There was 12mm of rain in the gauge @ 0900. Current temp is 17.2C.

I'm going to let the fire in the woodheater go out and give the chimney a good cleaning... well, more of a healthy 'whacking' to dislodge debris. So now I'm just waiting for the fire to go out and cool enough to clear/clean it out. Penelope the *****-beast is NOT going to be happy with the noise.

Take care all.

 

[Popgadget]

Wow, I’m surprised to hear you say that Kohler and Cumins are worse than Generac. That is definitely not in my experience, nor what I have heard from Owners.

Keep in mind that was referencing current 3600rpm home standby generators, not the whole product line. I’m guessing that your 10 year old Kohler is far better than A Generac of the same vintage.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Actually I think the only ones that would not welcome a tropical disturbance would be the Texas beach house owners.

We are getting close to 60 - 100˚ days this year and according to Buppies we will easily beat the record of 91 days unless we can attract a lingering tropical depression.

Wednesday and Thursday are suppose to be our ultra days of heat when warnings will be issued. Temps expected in the 106˚ range. I just saw where our town has banned home car washing but not at commercial car washes. I can't figure out how that saves water. My water hose cuts off when the handle is not squeezed and last time I washed the truck the rinse water never made it down my short driveway. This has actually been in effect for 2 weeks and a quick memory check confirmed I did not do a violation wash.

Got to go, the news headline is "New central Texas water restrictions".

Park vehicle in yard, Water your yard, with your vehicle parked under the hand held hose in the morning. 2 birds 1 stone.
Then wax both the speedy red car and the ranger, park outside with windows down...if it starts raining, do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT go roll the windows up, or you'll make it stop raining...

Good morning! 77˚F heading to 100˚ again, Very sunny skies no rain in sight.

The headline news yesterday was just a tease - typical of Austin news. No more water restrictions for us, one small town, Hutto, went from stage 2 to stage 3 water rationing. All water districts have their own definition of the different stages and what triggers a change so the information is useless. We are still allowed hand watering yards before noon and will give the yard a sip.

This morning I will also pull out some potted plants that require too much water and produce nothing of value with some sprouted voluntary basil and a small fig tree I won at the drawing at the WFPB potluck.

The okra in the garden are starting to bloom, I counted 6 flowers and the eggplant and peppers are taking off - 4 eggplants and 7 peppers that will be ready to pick in a week or so.

Wngsprd a thunderstorm is a good distraction and would bring our state to a standstill as everyone would be in awe.

Washed the dust out of my rain gauge I'm ready now, rain where are you?

I might go out in the rain and look up at the sky with the chickens, if it ever comes.

Morning all, Sun is out going up to 91.

Got nothing done yesterday due to day job.

It's another Decade around the sun for me.

Stay safe and be well.

Happy B'day Ken. I hope you got a big piece of cake.
Still nothing from Eric. 5 years ago, he or his wife had made a raspberry tart, and it sounded so good, we made 1 for my birthday. I miss his humor and suggestions. I hope he's ok.

Good morning! 64 now, 90 later. Think it is gonna be an in the shade kinda day.

A lot has happened since I last posted something.

Went to Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid Ohio. Been going since 1996. 2022 was likely my last visit. The event has become chaos. The thing that finished it was the ****** Youth at the camping entrance early Sunday morning when I returned from the races in Ashland. He told me the campground was closed and I wasn’t allowed in, even with my camping pass and event pass. I tried to explain to him that I had been there since Thursday, my trailer was in the campground, etc. he told me I didn’t understand, the campground was closed. I used some colorful language to explain to him he needed to move, as being an F150 parking lot was a poor career choice. He moved.

The house AC died again while I was at VMD. Fortunately, the service guy got it running, but it is on borrowed time.

We managed 2 - 1st’s and a 5th at the races held in conjunction with VMD. Had to run the back up Yamaha and being down 10 HP on a 1/2 mile was a struggle.

My MIL had a massive stroke the Saturday of VMD. My wife left Sunday (7-24) to go to MD to be with her. She was moved to hospice and is still there.

A mile from my wife’s sister’s house when she was going to MD, a part (she thought it looked like a transmission support) fell out from underneath another vehicle. She couldn’t avoid it. $8,100 in damage to her Mini. Both front wishbones, steering rack, 2 tires, 2 wheels being the major damage. The insurance company is being complete jerks about the claim. She is paying for it as the insurance company won’t return calls or emails. My local agent is frustrated. Told them Monday I wanted quotes to get rid of this company. Probably gonna kick the agent to the curb as well. I am getting other quotes from other agents.

Worked on the spare Craftsman tractor for the charging issue. Found the flywheel had shed the magnets. Seems it is a common issue with Kohler flywheels. Fixable if you catch it before the magnets get broken. I wasn’t that lucky. New flywheel should be at the dealer this morning.

Other than that, it has been quiet. Mowing, taking care of the critters, etc.

Everyone stay safe out there

Sorry about all the drama. Wonder why the parking punk wouldn't let you in? Did he have a reason? Glad your rider did pretty good on the backup. How about JD Beach at Peoria? I didn't get to see it but I heard it was a tight race the whole way. Prayers for your MIL. Hope you get the car fixed. That's a lot of damage. I'd have to be looking in the junkyards for spare parts, but Mini's are rarer than average. Your agent must give you a reason.

Don't mess with older guys....especially if they are working in a liquor store while thieves come in pointing weapons......

Popgadget, nice photos, love the Stearman. Can't imagine what a radial rebuild costs now...more than a Generac for sure.

LS, nice photos, glad you got some rain.

Mostly, how do you gage a wind penalty?

RNG, find somebody with a Datsun truck, make sure it has working A/C, pay them to take you up there and bring it back. You can ride it some, and haul it some. Make a vacation out of it with a buddy. Use your $600 wisely. Stop and smell the roses. Mind I ask how much those things ballpark for? Is there a reason one would want the 800 over the 1000? I know little about beemers.

I saw where Motoguzzi is finally coming out with a liquid cooled engine, to meet emission specs....It doesn't actually make sense anymore, because if you're going to make a liquid cooled twin, the cylinders don't need to be sticking out and making your legs hot anymore. The old cylinders stuck out in the breeze to get air cooled. They could centralize the mass in a tight parallel twin, mount it down low for flickability and get the mass lower....oh well, it'd be like a honda or other asian bike then. So it looks like a Guzzi, and has a V-twin, but the cylinders don't need to be in the wind anymore.

Coworker buddy and I got in a debate at work today, about satellite orbits of all things. He was right turned out. We were talking about the satellites that are at 22,000 miles up, and stay in the same space relative to earth. I had always heard them called geosynchronous orbits, but it turns out they are called geostationary orbits. Learned something new today. I told him he was right. We were arguing about 5G and Huawei's equipment and whether or not every cell phone call goes up to a satellite or not. I thought they can bounce between towers without going to space.

No need to mow the yard down here, the fields could be shredded, but they're about dead too.

Praying for everyone to get well if they are ailing. Prayers for rain, our country, and Ukraine.

 

[sodamo]

All this generator talk - so exciting
Guessing many of my generator stories reside here on GM. Currently, the 14kw Kohler installed in 2019, the 10kw MEP803A diesel, and EU7000 Honda backup to the backup.
I think RNG has the granddaddy with 30kw propane Cat. (Oops, corrected 22kw)

As for economy, 1800 diesel usually wins. Here LP costs more than diesel and less BTU.

Thankfully, since installing my lithium batteries, my generators run less often.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Cheapest water cooled Cummins is over $12k for a 25kw unit. Then they want $900 for the required 200A transfer switch.

Cummins have air cooled in line with generac prices.

 

[check]

All this generator talk - so exciting
Guessing many of my generator stories reside here on GM. Currently, the 14kw Kohler installed in 2019, the 10kw MEP803A diesel, and EU7000 Honda backup to the backup.
I think RNG has the granddaddy with 30kw propane Cat.

Sodamo, has your Kohler performed well?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Hoo boy! That is pricey. Home Depot has a 22 kW guardian on sale with a 200 amp transfer switch for $6147.

Everybody has that unit for that price if you install yourself. Then there’s the propane tank.

 

[mostly_gas]

Good evening all. 81ºF for the start, mostly clear sky, breezy. Moderate wind with brisk gusts, mostly clear sky and high temp if 101ºF, HI 104ºF. 10 day shows some cooler mornings and some possible rain. Men's meeting to start the day, puttered for a bit then headed to town for haircut, lunch at Rib Crib, grocery shopping and picked up oil change supplies for pickup. Did get nap in. VFD chief showed at Mexican restaurant but left quickly to a call.
Randy good to hear hand off complete and more stuff done in town. Hope the screw extractors work.
RS got plenty done yesterday and not get stung!
Roy sorry no rain.
Dennis sorry to hear about every two hours. Hope the employer move works out for you.
Buppies no fun, high humidity and no rain
Drew hope the plaque cleaning went well. Please tell the member Happy Birthday from me.
RNG sorry about the cost of shipping and the fact not all shippers want repent customers and good reputations. hope the hard pull did not mess with cables, sorry about the soreness. Hope fun trip this weekend
Don hope the Gulf thing pans out. Have fun with Spades, played a lot of it on college.
Rich sorry about the campground issue, why was campground closed? Sorry about A/C. My condolences on Wife's mom's stroke. Nice racing results. Good luck with insurance.
Bird it is some warm at sun up these days
Ken glad your dad made it last night.
Paul nice job on all the objects you washed. When they put in A/C at work the goal was to maintain 85ºF, and that kept the humidity low enough to make it reasonably comfortable.
PJ I don't think rain missed STL, today's game was postponed, hope you got some mowing done before rain start.
Thomas congrats, only 4 1/2 hour at job. Hope nap was good.
RNG sorry to hear of your experience as well.
Scaredy soory about scale issue. Are you working on plan B to get wife home?
RS hope yuo got some welding in w/o getting stung.
Ted thanks for pics wish you had gotten more rain. Hope you got the planters started.
Paul thanks for info and links
David hope you got good news. Also hope for good new from fab shop.
RNG sounds like a lot of work. Glad moving conduit worked better.
RNG thanks for sharing your experience.
Rand(wag) hope chimney cleaning went well with no personal injuries.
Kyle mywindsock.com will calculate the effect the wind has on each ride.
prayer for all, especially Jay/Peg, Kyle's daughter/friend PT from Covid,/mom's breathing, /learning new job, Bird/aging issues/, Don /mom's pipeline process, /fire nearby, Randy/FIL living alone adjustments /MIL Covid /son's heart issues, /pneumonia and not posting, Roy /palpitations, /angina , Billy /wife back & hip, David(moss) /remodel, /divorce, Buppies /3 new skin cancer spots and treatment, /wife knee healing, Thomas/gout, Phil /reflux, /wife's eyes, Steppenwolfe/son-auto immune disorder, Grev/wife's eye, Ted /knee recovery/retirement, / passing out issues, /family issues, /wife feeling bad, Doug and wife/health issues, /nerve and pain, / wife's hospital stay, /torn bicep, Ken /kids shot tragedy, David(sadamo)/Sophie's new eye surgery recovery, /cataract surgery, /Sophie's hand infection, Chris/neighbor's granddaughter and Covid issues, Scaredy/shoulder dislocation, /wife not feeling well, /marriage, / frind stop drinking, Paul/ wife's disc issues, Gale and KY/ tornado victims, Mike /5 year plan, Dennis /retirement plans / brother "alligallyitus" and improving, Drew /foot heel issues, /friend cancer diagnosis and recovery, Helogabals /second opinion, /wife's friend situation, Ukraine war, and Country.

 

[Alien]

Kyles making me feel bad. I have to wash the Ranger and the 'speedy red car' too but can't find the energy today.
I took the Mustang to the city today and bought some new shoes and socks then some lunch and some mince at the butcher on the way home. Going to sleep typing this and it's not even 2.30.
A lovely 24.4 deg C today. Guess that is making me tired.