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So who's got a generator?
nitrouz
Member Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭
What would y'all reccomend for a generator if the electricity went out for a week or two. I'm looking at a 5000 watt one now, think I'm a fool for never getting one a long time ago.
I actually found a web page where a guy took a car alternator and ran the belt to a briggs and stratton- (made a frame for the whole thing) and he had one of those DC to AC invertors.
Which is safer for electronics?
"He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one."
- Jesus Christ in Luke 22:36
I actually found a web page where a guy took a car alternator and ran the belt to a briggs and stratton- (made a frame for the whole thing) and he had one of those DC to AC invertors.
Which is safer for electronics?
"He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one."
- Jesus Christ in Luke 22:36
Comments
SEMPER FI MAC, SEMPER FI
If you have a 100hp tractor with PTO at your disposal, I would have nothing other than what I have for high wattage demands:
A WinPower PTO Generator, mine is 35000kw surge and 30000kw continuous. It is set up with 1000 rpm splined power shaft to avoid the need for the higher tractor rpms that are necessary when using a 540 rpm drive.
I even leave my mercury vapor yard lights on when I have it hooked up. Will run everything I need, including 1.5hp submersible pump.
Naturally this calls for a professional installation of a master control panel on the meter pole, so that there is no chance of power feed-back into the line, when the generator is in use.
I have a Agtronic (Now Coleman Powermate) 5000kw w/10hp Briggs engine, for smaller wattage requirements and outages of shorter duration.
For the "dinky" chores, I have a Honda 2500 watt for miscellaneous needs and charging batteries.
This inconvenience that the Northeast is experiencing is no fun.
But is sure no "Tragedy", as Dan Blather would lead one to believe.
Here in the Midwest we "plan" for power outages and don't cry when it happens. It's part of life.
We've been out of electricity for as long as 23 days a few years back,
due to an ice storm and miles of transmission lines destroyed.
When your talking dairies and the electric requirements of today's modern farms; you "Plan".
I've always said, "my generators are like an insurance policy".
"They're there if I need them AND I HOPE I NEVER NEED THEM".
Inconvenience "YES", Tragedy "NO"!!!!!!!!!
Be sure to throw the main breaker, you don't want to send power back into the system and kill a lineman.
In most cases this rig will power up half of your house. That is, if you look at your panel box, there are two sides, left and right, of circuit breaker. Whichever side the receptacle you have plugged into is from, that entire side of the panel will be hot.
Now if you had two exterior receptacles, each one from a different side of the panel box, you could make the whole house hot with your little 5000 watt generator, by rigging up two of the cords.
You would want to throw any 220 breakers, this wouldn't run them and I don't know if it would hurt, but wouldn't do them any good.
Certainly you could run the refrigerator, tv and some lights throughout the house.
If you're gonna spring for a 5KW generator, go ahead and spend another hundred and get the panel and controls to switch it over safely. I did, and my wife had to switch it over while I was at work, and she got it done in just a few minutes without a hitch.
No offense to anyone.......just my opinion.
Regards, Jay
"For those who fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know."
Some of my pics
http://personal.swayzee.com/jayb/index.html
we have a 5000colemanw\ 7 1\2 horse briggs ohv engine this does all we want it to. we have it so no matter what we can use the pump to water animals and to power tools for..tool's [:D][:D]
Master mess sargent RRG
Oh my God! is the beginning of a prayer, not a one liner!
We come into this life with nothing, everything after this is our treasure
BullseyeSame here I have a secondary breaker so I dont back feed into the system 5K is enough to keep the fridge and the freezer, some lights.
and the radio.
"I know Everything!"
"My Wife is a Hair Stylist"
If you rig up 12 gauge romex from your generator, you have as least as big of a line as the one going from the panel to the refrigerator.
I don't know how many watts it takes to start a refrigerator, but it is a lot less than 5,000.
I have not done this trick but I know two people who have used it. In fact, one guy was running 3 houses, during the ice storm in Atlanta. He would run his house for 2 hours, he made sure he was plugged into the side of his panel box that ran his furnace, that is just a little 110 volt fan. With his house warm and his refrigerator cold, he would take his generator to the neighbor's house for two hours. Then, over to the other neighbor for two hours. He had a little 5,000 watt generator.
I did just that and it blew out several 110 circuits in my 6.8kw Winnebago generator. Two external jacks plus the one over the dinette
and the one over the kitchen sink. I found a good one and ran a power cord to the house refrig. Didn't want to trust my luck running anything else. Now there's something else to fix.
If you're at all decent with welding and such you can just buy a generator head and mate it with an old car, mower, ATV, etc. engine and you'll have what you need and save yourself a mint - my brother-in-law just ordered the head for his recently...
Always wondered how I would use it if I had to. Never would have thought of running it from an outside recepticle. So even though you pull the curcuit breaker the current will run inside the house?
www.govliquidation.com they sale the military surplus and there are some head units and generators there for sale that will run a small town. Unfortunately they are all not near me.
I'm thinking maybe a Blackout Buster might correct the voltage variations to run some sensitive electronics. I won't be trying my new computer out in such a scenario but would use some older electronics.
"He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one."
- Jesus Christ in Luke 22:36
I have a 100 amp panel in my barn with a 220 volt plug under it (can use a welder etc.) and when the power goes out I just shut the main, fire up the generator flip the main in the barn and it powers the whole house.
I have a Honda 3250 watt.
He said by using 220 instead of 110 that the generator uses all the windings but on 110 the generator only uses 1/2 the windings making a 5000 watt gen. esentially a 2500 watt on 110 volt. but the same gen. would run at full capacity at 220 volts at 5000 watts.
I have no idea why or if it's true, but it does power everything in my house, TV lights, heat, garage door opener, A/C I know, I tried it! (not all at the same time mind you)
Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my gun has!
Sir, I meant no disrespect, and I don't mean any now, but I've hooked it up properly, and I won't risk having to call the fire department because I tried to save a few bucks. Call a licensed electrician in your area, and see what they have to say about it. I'm not a licensed electrician, but I called one. I have a double throw main that switches my panel box from commercial power to generator power. It supplies the house with 220v, and 110v, simply by throwing the switch and starting the geneator, and my 5KW generator will run my whole house, .........safely.
Regards, Jay
"For those who fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know."
Some of my pics
http://personal.swayzee.com/jayb/index.html
I can't speak as to why it blew breakers in a Winnebago, I am not familiar with the wiring in them.
But it will work in a house, and it will run a refrigerator and the furnace, if you have a gas forced air furnace. The only power draw for this type of furnace is a little fan. If you have a heat pump, forget it.
Shut off all 220 breakers, and shut off most all lights etc around the house. You wouldn't want to run something that draws a lot of amps, like a hair dryer, or, God forbid, a circular saw. You can run a few lights around the house and a refrigerator and the furnace.
This deal is a trick, it is a rig. I works, but if you took the time to get an electrician out to do a code-approved transfer switch, that would be better.
When the ice storm hit Atlanta, my brother had a cheap 3500 watt generator. He called me up and asked what to do. I told him about this rig. He hooked it up the way I am saying and he had a furnace and refrigerator and his wife had a light in the bedroom for 3 days and all his millionare neighbors were freezing in the dark, so what else can I tell you?
I find it more than enough for gas heat, refrigerator, micro wave,
a few lights and TV. My fridge runs at 4 amps. Starts at 13 amps
(1400 watts momentary). Start load for a motor is aprox. 3 to 4 times running amps. Amps times volts equal watts. I just dont
turn on the micro wave oven with refer. running or starting. I too
only use the 115 volt even though it has 230 volt capeability. Yes,
MAIN breaker MUST be turned off first and not to on whith the gen.
connected. The other 20amp gen. outlet is for my neighbor with his heavy duty extension cord. This gives each of us about 2000 watts
each. Also, with the main breaker and the 230 volt breakers off I
use a # 14 jumper on my air compressor fuse to connect both legs together, giving 115 volts to both sides
thus back feeding both sides of my breaker pannel. Complete instructions are posted on the Gen. and breaker pannel for safety.
Ran it last summer for 3 days, not continuos running during the
power outage here with no problems last summer. Gas range was a
great thing though. Same as the gas hot water heater.
From the generator I feed into my 115 volt wire welder feeder out in the garage. Not fancy but it works, guys.
garage.
on the incomming side of the fuse box, with the switch off and its
230 breaker must remain on in the pannel.