Your last generator Maintenance Run

[nikdfish]

We added meter based surge protection at the house last year & it has a red LED that shows "working" status that is visible from several locations inside - goes out during outage, back on when service restored...
(not the reason we added the service!)

Our power provider has an outage map that gets updated every few hours showing current problem areas outlined on a map, number of customers affected in each area, time of outage & projected restoration time (when known). Handy resource as long as our DSL service stays up & I have power for network & computer.

Nick

 

[jgayman]

If you have a modern digital display meter on your house and not the older mechanical type, you can go look at it to see if the kwh display has come back on.

I have the old style meter but even so it seems like just randomly going out to the meter to see if the electric has been restored would get old fast. We've had plenty of power outages when the weather is calm and the sky is blue. The outages have been anywhere from 10-mins to 10-hours. With the whole house generator life continues normally until power is restored. At least with night time outages you can look out a window and see that the neighbors porch light or DTD light has come back on. Not having an alarm would be similar to not having a ringer on your phone - whereby you could just go pick up the handset every 30-mins to see if you have a call.

 

[DarkBlack]

Neighbors lights? What neighbors?

 

[jgayman]

Neighbors lights? What neighbors?

Darn... I knew I forgot to include "if you have neighbors". :mur:

 

[3930dave]

We added meter based surge protection at the house last year & it has a red LED that shows "working" status that is visible from several locations inside - goes out during outage, back on when service restored...
(not the reason we added the service!)

Our power provider has an outage map that gets updated every few hours showing current problem areas outlined on a map, number of customers affected in each area, time of outage & projected restoration time (when known). Handy resource as long as our DSL service stays up & I have power for network & computer.

Nick

I haven't really researched them yet, but I recall a thread on whole house protection modules (might have been yours ?), and some discussion on a Siemens unit - I don't remember the pricing exactly, but it didn't strike me as crazy expensive. Gonna add one of these to my House - Wish List.... we think of protecting our "toys" in terms of electronics, but it's been how many years since you could buy appliances that are NOT run by micro-controllers ?

Rgds, D.

 

[grsthegreat]

here you go...this is an alert to tell you when power has been restored. It uses a current transformer so doesnt actually plug into anything. very safe to use.... and cheap
Reliance Controls PowerBack Utility Power Return Alert-THP108 at The Home Depot

 

[jgayman]

here you go...this is an alert to tell you when power has been restored. It uses a current transformer so doesnt actually plug into anything. very safe to use.... and cheap
Reliance Controls PowerBack Utility Power Return Alert-THP108 at The Home Depot

Wow! You found one! Yep, that's the one I have. It works like a champ. I'm tempted to buy a spare in case these things dry up again. It's odd that they disappeared for a while. Believe me, I looked everywhere. I even contacted Reliance Controls directly.

 

[3930dave]

Let's all keep CO safety in mind.

Generators and CO

Rgds, D.

 

[90cummins]

I just purchased a NEW 7HP Yanmar L70 to replace the original 9HP L90 Yanmar on a generator I purchased in 2009.
It’s an emission exempt military spec. diesel with a grid heater, spin-on oil filter and 3qt oil sump for extended operation of up to 500 hours nonstop.
I performed a load test at 3000 watts for 32 minutes which is the time it took to consume 1 quart of fuel. This was done to warm up and start the initial break-in and also give me an idea of how much fuel it will consume.
When I get it properly mounted I will continue the run to get more a more accurate fuel consumption details and verify that the generator is up to long term operation.
After I’m satisfied with the performance I want to do the same test on my Generac 4000XL generators to see how they compare fuel consumption wise.
Would anyone like to guess how long the Generac will operate on 1 quart of fuel at the same load??
I’m going to say 24 minutes.
What’s your guess?

90cummins

 

[3930dave]

I just purchased a NEW 7HP Yanmar L70 to replace the original 9HP L90 Yanmar on a generator I purchased in 2009.
It痴 an emission exempt military spec. diesel with a grid heater, spin-on oil filter and 3qt oil sump for extended operation of up to 500 hours nonstop.
I performed a load test at 3000 watts for 32 minutes which is the time it took to consume 1 quart of fuel. This was done to warm up and start the initial break-in and also give me an idea of how much fuel it will consume.
When I get it properly mounted I will continue the run to get more a more accurate fuel consumption details and verify that the generator is up to long term operation.
After I知 satisfied with the performance I want to do the same test on my Generac 4000XL generators to see how they compare fuel consumption wise.
Would anyone like to guess how long the Generac will operate on 1 quart of fuel at the same load??
I知 going to say 24 minutes.
What痴 your guess?

90cummins

Interesting project and test that you are doing. Sign me up for 23 minutes please.

Rgds, D.

 

[Lou66]

ones a diesel the other gas,, I would say you are in the ballpark on the 24 minutes vs the 32 minutes by the diesel,, my guess would be 26 minutes.. I based my run time on the cost of the fuels..Lou

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Diesel engines are the way to go for long run generators for sure.

I guess with 42F for today and 0F Monday morning with ice forecast for tomorrow today would be a good day for me to do a maintenance run on the gas ones for the house and motor home just in case they are needed.

 

[grsthegreat]

Diesels are way more efficient for use with generators. The ones i install in hospitals are all diesel units. Then again, they also all have 500+ gallon fuel tanks and contracts with local diesel supply companies to keep them fueled and operating continuously.

For most residential jobs, homeowners dont want to keep having to fill a diesel tank, and most people either dont have or cant get bulk tanks. In every case over the past 10 years all ive installed on residential jobs have been either natural gas or propane units. Mind you, these arnt life safety 24/7 run units to begin with.

Generac is now selling a new series called QuietSource. Ive only installed 1 of these to date, but they run at only 1800 RPM as compared to the 3600 rpm standard units. These run propane and NG also for residential use. Im actually doing some more study on these units as i may install one on my own place when i redo my system.

Currently my generator only powers my house, but id like to change it so the same generator also powers the barn (winter water heater,etc) and my basement. When i originally installed the system, neither existed. After i redo the house system, im moving the existing house unit out to my shop.

Last month in an ice storm we lost power, and i couldnt use anything in my shop. I had to manually open shop door (not an easy thing) and had no use of air compressor ( which i needed to inflate a tire). Was pissed off. Ive been putting off upgrading my system for some time. Just being too lazy.

Guess i know what ill be doing this summer.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I just purchased a NEW 7HP Yanmar L70 to replace the original 9HP L90 Yanmar on a generator I purchased in 2009. It’s an emission exempt military spec. diesel with a grid heater, spin-on oil filter and 3qt oil sump for extended operation of up to 500 hours nonstop. I performed a load test at 3000 watts for 32 minutes which is the time it took to consume 1 quart of fuel. This was done to warm up and start the initial break-in and also give me an idea of how much fuel it will consume. When I get it properly mounted I will continue the run to get more a more accurate fuel consumption details and verify that the generator is up to long term operation. After I’m satisfied with the performance I want to do the same test on my Generac 4000XL generators to see how they compare fuel consumption wise. Would anyone like to guess how long the Generac will operate on 1 quart of fuel at the same load?? I’m going to say 24 minutes. What’s your guess? 90cummins

That seems really high. I have a 15 year old Troy Bilt 8550 watt gas generator with a 13 HP Briggs. I have had a 8 day outage, a 6 day, multiple 3 days, and already this year a 50 hour outage. It burns 9 gallons per 24 hours. These outages verified by me adding 5 gallons of fuel at a time. I have a full 200 amp transfer switch with a 50 amp twist lock providing the entire panel power, not just select items.

I also have a Kohler 5000 watt generator on my boat. It's got a 18 HP V twin Kawasaki and it uses .58 gallons per hour at a 3000 watt load. This was verified by a 6 gallon portable tank allow a run time of just over 10 hours. Chris

 

[3930dave]

Generac is now selling a new series called QuietSource. Ive only installed 1 of these to date, but they run at only 1800 RPM as compared to the 3600 rpm standard units. These run propane and NG also for residential use. Im actually doing some more study on these units as i may install one on my own place when i redo my system.

The acoustic enclosure on the older residential Generacs did a pretty good job - easy to stand beside it and have a conversation. I'll have to check the specs on that newer design.

(As intended) This thread is reminding me to run one of mine soon.

Rgds, D.

 

[300UGUY]

I've had a Generac 15kw propane unit for about 10 years, and it has done very well. I'd buy another, and the Quiet source sounds like a good unit.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I just noticed an ad for Baumalite PTO generators. Noticed that they use Anderson Connectors. Nice idea, but I thought they were for low voltage only. Like fork truck batteries, or for boosting.

I did something illegal but very useful. I have a 200 amp ASCO automatic transfer switch but don't have my Onan Genset set up to autostart, and I don't want to. It's not necessary if I'm not here and I don't like an engine running with me away! Anyway, the transfer switch will switch back to outside power, after a delay, but I still wouldn't know that the power has come back. The power comes into our garage first and then to the house some hunderd yards away. I guess I could use the annunciation on the transfer switch, but I still have something left over from before I had the transfer switch when I simply turned off the main switch and hooked big booster cable clamps into the splitter box!

It's a loud US Navy surplus buzzer with a trumpet horn and a flashing light. I can choose one or both. The horn and light are on a mechanical telephone style interupter that turns them on and off. The unit gets it's neutral normally, but the hot is connected via a very skinny wire, with an inline low amperage fuse and insulated aligator clip, clipped onto the hot side of the main disconnect switch.

I can hear the buzzer from inside the house while taking a shower!

The only problem I have is neighbours without any such alert sysem , calling to ask if the power has come back on!

 

[daybreak1998]

I just noticed an ad for Baumalite PTO generators. Noticed that they use Anderson Connectors. Nice idea, but I thought they were for low voltage only. Like fork truck batteries, or for boosting.

Howdy,
Most larger PTO generators will have a "Full Power Outlet" which is usually a set of Anderson connectors. They could be the Anderson SB175 units or Anderson SB350 units.

My 30kw PTO generator uses the Anderson SB350 connectors.

My SB350 connectors are good up to 350 amps.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Trying to put heavy cable into twist lock plugs is maddening! The picture I saw has me wondering what prevents one mixing up connector having the one neutral with the 110 legs?

 

[grsthegreat]

Trying to put heavy cable into twist lock plugs is maddening! The picture I saw has me wondering what prevents one mixing up connector having the one neutral with the 110 legs?

all NEMA rated twist lock plugs are designed to only work with corresponding receptacle. there are different sized blades and bent blades to accomplish this. no way to mus-connect them