Your last generator Maintenance Run

[Industrial Toys]

Our power varies by a large margin here. They have put in regulation equipment in the past few years. Some days, florescent lights just wouldn't work right. Then, checking the voltage, you would see it was way down.

Most of my APC UPS don't mind generator power. My Telecom Inverter won't tolerate it, which is a problem because I cannot charge my batteries if they get down.

Unless you have either a very large genset or an electronic governor, you will have variations in frequency with varying load. No big deal at all. People seem fixated on that.

 

[goeduck]

Nicely done..... you work in the field, or just have a healthy tool budget

Rgds, D.

There is a budget to tools? This is the first that I have ever heard of a budget !

 

[daugen]

what is the least expensive THD meter one can buy? Anything non professional that works?
am curious as to waveforms now. All my pc stuff and electronics are on surge protectors and UPS's, but makes you wonder
about other appliances. Stove won't care, but compressors? And unless you have an upmarket UPS, it's not going to smooth out any waveforms either in my understanding.

 

[3930dave]

Our power varies by a large margin here. They have put in regulation equipment in the past few years. Some days, florescent lights just wouldn't work right. Then, checking the voltage, you would see it was way down.

Most of my APC UPS don't mind generator power. My Telecom Inverter won't tolerate it, which is a problem because I cannot charge my batteries if they get down.

Unless you have either a very large genset or an electronic governor, you will have variations in frequency with varying load. No big deal at all. People seem fixated on that.

Outside of a pro or hobby interest, people usually only pay attention When Things Don't Work.... at least reliably enough for their needs.....

Vac, freq, noise or THD can be the culprit. Sometimes easy to track down, sometimes not.... sometimes just the fuse or wiring glitches a few of us have hit....

Why can't you charge your Tcomm batts from an external (stand-alone) source ?

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

There is a budget to tools? This is the first that I have ever heard of a budget !

Wealthy ?

No Wife ?

Locked High Security Tool-Room ?

:cool2: Sounds like you have it

Google Image Result for http://www.solidviper.com/coverart/large/21212l.jpg

I can see a Jay Leno sized garage in your future

Rgds, D.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I had an old dedicated rack of lead acid batteries. I would keep them charged with a Chinese 48 volt scooter charger.

Then the batteries got old, and my master plan was to acquire a 48 volt Gator which I did, and use it as the plug in source for my Telecom Inverter. I guess I could use the low tech (low tech good) charger for the gator, but the telecom ups has a higher capacity, more sophisicated (sophisicated bad) charger.

Nasty old (transformer based) 3000 watt, 220 volt inverter that took three of us girlie men to hoist into place.

 

[3930dave]

what is the least expensive THD meter one can buy? Anything non professional that works?
am curious as to waveforms now. All my pc stuff and electronics are on surge protectors and UPS's, but makes you wonder
about other appliances. Stove won't care, but compressors? And unless you have an upmarket UPS, it's not going to smooth out any waveforms either in my understanding.

May not be out on the net any longer, but I remember a killer system put together at home, by a Telco Eng. Cleanly done, with a massive industrial battery bank. Good for days of runtime.

This system covers 24hours+, on battery.

tobaccovilleweather.com Whole House UPS

A commercial electrician who often wrote for HomePower (maybe still does....) commented years ago that the pure-sine inverters available then often put out way less THD than what was typical on-grid.

I haven't had to measure THD in power, so don't have a good answer on What to Use ? grs, 90, or ur may have some direct experience.

Poking around on ElectroRent, you're probably looking at several k USD, for something Used to buy.

One thing caught my eye in the datasheet for this:

https://www.electrorent.com/us/products/a%20eberle/electrical%20power%20and%20energy%20measurement/pqb200?productid=148827&showcond=used

"The German Federal Court only ruled in 2014
that electricity also falls under the German
product liability act. Ergo: Distribution grid
operators are liable for damage caused by
poor voltage quality. "

Perhaps just marketing FUD, but, considering it's Germany, perhaps not.....

Unless I was getting serious about power-quality work (Work), I'd only rent something to use for a special project. Me, I'd sooner put that coin into a large pure-sine inverter.....

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

I liked the point IT raised about using propane torch gas as a backup gen-start aid.

So..... when I glanced across a parking lot today, and saw a Dollar Store, I picked this up:


Seems to be a fairly well-designed kitchen funnel....... almost perfect for what I want to do..... up against a gen air-filter cover.

Green funnel portion is almost the right size for slipping over the torch nozzle, might only take a tiny bit of trimming..... the rigid plastic white part adds some structure, and a temp securing point/handle, if I need it....

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

I had an old dedicated rack of lead acid batteries. I would keep them charged with a Chinese 48 volt scooter charger.

Then the batteries got old, and my master plan was to acquire a 48 volt Gator which I did, and use it as the plug in source for my Telecom Inverter. I guess I could use the low tech (low tech good) charger for the gator, but the telecom ups has a higher capacity, more sophisicated (sophisicated bad) charger.

View attachment 584990 Nasty old (transformer based) 3000 watt, 220 volt inverter that took three of us girlie men to hoist into place.

Heavy Iron Pics :thumbsup: Hey, you didn't have to go to the gym that day....... Txformer alone could be 75#+.....

Yeah..... would be nice to get that HIGH capacity charger to fire up when you want, esp. for 48v output.

Let's say off da shelf 40Amp auto(motive) charger...... 10amps/battery in a 4x12 setup.... not ideal, but better than nothing..... once charged, they can give your generator a rest/mtce break during an extended outage.....

Rgds, D.

 

[Industrial Toys]

That's it. I can't give the charge rate off the top of my head, but it means running the generator for a shorter time. AND, with my luck, we would get an outage at end of day when the JD Gator had almost expired. The Gator charger will run surprisingly most of the night it seems. I never realized how little of a battery is useful charge. Just a little at the top. I mean it makes sense, you want and need 12 volts optimum, not 11.