short term power outages..

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One more note on generators and electronics. My advice is get a power conditioner. It will help peotect any sensitive electronics. This is espechially important when running a smaller generator.
 
One thing a fellow Brit electrics expert told me is never buy Half Wave Gennies only full wave models, I'm not even sure what it means but half wave generators are bad for some devices.

The other bit he mention was LOAD if your device uses 1600 watts ( I'm not good with electrical stuff) then you need a 2000 watt because of the START LOAD which is higher than the RUNNING LOAD.
 
well.we had a pretty good storm blow through last night.had some power surges,but nothing major on that.then there's a tree that's a part of our sitting area.it's 2 remaining tree tops came down.in which 1 came close to the house.and any closer,it would of taken out at least 1 house window.and the storm door window..
 
I run totally off generators now, at least until I get the house built and solar system installed. A couple things to look for if your thinking about buying a new generator. 1). running watts vs surge watts. Manufacturers are listing their gensets with the surge watts first. That is an important number to know when starting motors but you also need to know the running watts.
2). For sensitive electronics you will want a generator with a low THD of less than 5%.
My well pump needs a minimum of 7500 running watts. The generator I use is 8000 running watts and 10000 surge watts. I'll be installing a couple solar panels with a 1500 watt invertor and battery bank on the well house to run a heater for winter.
For the cabin I can get away with 5000 watt with 6500 watt surge.
 
A series of brief power outages here caused our chest freezer to short out last night, so we woke to find all of our frozen foods defrosted, and had to cook a lot of them. Leftovers all week, then.
 
A series of brief power outages here caused our chest freezer to short out last night, so we woke to find all of our frozen foods defrosted, and had to cook a lot of them. Leftovers all week, then.
Time to have a party and invite friends.
I've often thought how effective the freezer is. I guess the biggest plus is you can buy larger quantities, and sale items to save money. Even with the genny, there are mechanical failures. I like having it, but have heard a lot say they had to cook everything quickly.
 
Well, the generator is professionally hooked up to the house now! It was a year ago that I got the propane tank set and filled. I knew doing the final connections would be easy, about an hour, but just always had other things to do. I'm sure glad it's done now and I don't have to deal with it during an outage now at least.
 
I run totally off generators now, at least until I get the house built and solar system installed. A couple things to look for if your thinking about buying a new generator. 1). running watts vs surge watts. Manufacturers are listing their gensets with the surge watts first. That is an important number to know when starting motors but you also need to know the running watts.
2). For sensitive electronics you will want a generator with a low THD of less than 5%.
My well pump needs a minimum of 7500 running watts. The generator I use is 8000 running watts and 10000 surge watts. I'll be installing a couple solar panels with a 1500 watt invertor and battery bank on the well house to run a heater for winter.
For the cabin I can get away with 5000 watt with 6500 watt surge.
If I was single I could live off a genny. It's a lot harder with a family though. With a propane unit at least you're not always having to refuel.
 
If I was single I could live off a genny. It's a lot harder with a family though. With a propane unit at least you're not always having to refuel.
If the generator is set up properly there's no problem with fueling. Propane is a great option for occasional use. I'm going with a 10kw liqued cooled Perkins diesel backup unit for the house. This will be tied to the solar panels and will have auto switch gear to automatically start if there's not enough solar to run the house. I'll have a 55 gal barrel for fuel that I can transfer from my truck. My well is 1/4 mile from the house site and has to be on a separate generator. For this I use a gas generator, it only needs to be fueled about every 2 weeks. It will also be started automatically when its connected to the pressure switch on the well.
Years ago when my kids were younger I built a cabin in the woods and only had a generator for power. I had propane for cooking, heating water, refrigeratoration and lighting. The TV, phone answering machine and other small appliances ran off 12v. The kids never knew the difference.
 
If the generator is set up properly there's no problem with fueling. Propane is a great option for occasional use. I'm going with a 10kw liqued cooled Perkins diesel backup unit for the house. This will be tied to the solar panels and will have auto switch gear to automatically start if there's not enough solar to run the house. I'll have a 55 gal barrel for fuel that I can transfer from my truck. My well is 1/4 mile from the house site and has to be on a separate generator. For this I use a gas generator, it only needs to be fueled about every 2 weeks. It will also be started automatically when its connected to the pressure switch on the well.
Years ago when my kids were younger I built a cabin in the woods and only had a generator for power. I had propane for cooking, heating water, refrigeratoration and lighting. The TV, phone answering machine and other small appliances ran off 12v. The kids never knew the difference.
I thought a lot about diesel. Propane won as it never goes bad. The bad thing about propane is it would be harder to get after shtf. Diesel will be around for at least a couple years before moisture gets to it. I guess there is no perfect plan. If I was really rich I'd set up with hydro. Oh well, I got 500 gals of propane till I learn to rub two sticks together...
 
I thought a lot about diesel. Propane won as it never goes bad. The bad thing about propane is it would be harder to get after shtf. Diesel will be around for at least a couple years before moisture gets to it. I guess there is no perfect plan. If I was really rich I'd set up with hydro. Oh well, I got 500 gals of propane till I learn to rub two sticks together...

Hydro would be my best idea too, Brent. When I was at school I remember building a model water powered generator, I also like the idea of a wood gassifier generator.

At the moment, I have a simple homemade solar generator that is good enough to provide power for our small electricals and lighting needs.
 
Hydro would be my best idea too, Brent. When I was at school I remember building a model water powered generator, I also like the idea of a wood gassifier generator.

At the moment, I have a simple homemade solar generator that is good enough to provide power for our small electricals and lighting needs.


Sally in some parts of the UK you can get hold of Lottery funding for small scale renewables projects for villages such as mini and micro hydro.
 
S.E, Sally and Brent

The federal government does offer partial reimbursement for renewable energy projects. You simply have to do the research and give both email/phone calls. A fair share of faxing project info/pictures. When I established both my solar and wind technology projects, I was able to recoup about 60 percent on solar and about 70 percent from wind. At the old BOL, I had a small hydro recharging system hooked to a small water mill that if TSHTF. I was able to build the small pond and build a sluice gate that would control the amount of water needed to move the wheel housing. Sold everything to the new owners except for the grinding stone and the recharging unit (those I pulled out). I don't think the new owners had preparations in mind when they bought the property from me (they paid way above what I was asking for the entire complex (especially when two other buyers were also interested).
 
I thought a lot about diesel. Propane won as it never goes bad. The bad thing about propane is it would be harder to get after shtf. Diesel will be around for at least a couple years before moisture gets to it. I guess there is no perfect plan. If I was really rich I'd set up with hydro. Oh well, I got 500 gals of propane till I learn to rub two sticks together...
I also considered propane. Its not a bad choice as it could be plumbed directly to the house tank. I decided to go with diesel for the longevity of the engine. The diesel generator runs at 1800 rpm where gas and propane units run at 3600 rpm. Diesel has a long shelf life too if you add a fuel treatment. And I can buy off road diesel and avoid the fuel tax.
Hydro is the way to go if you have a creek with enough flow and drop. You could easily make your own Pelton wheel and install it yourself. My problem with hydro is that my creek is miles away from the house site and over a mountain.
 
Sportsman generator has a 5500 running watts dual fuel (propane/gas) for $630 at either Lowe's or Home Depot, 5500 would easily run a freezer and frig then some. For short term outages really makes no difference in fuel type, it's a matter of conveniences, watts is what matters, for long term standby and outages propane is the only way to go especially if hooked to a large bulk tank. With propane you can have the generator in close proximity without being gassed out!
 
I'm really impressed that 9 yr old diesel could still work! I think a couple years, and that's stretching it, is the most gasoline will last. I plan to dump the genny's gas every two years, and that's been stabilized. I think I have enou propane so I'll never use the gasoline in it, but just in case of a problem I'll refresh/replace it at two year intervals. Last year when I drained it I was able to run it in the small walk behind mower so it didn't go to waste.
 
I'm really impressed that 9 yr old diesel could still work! I think a couple years, and that's stretching it, is the most gasoline will last. I plan to dump the genny's gas every two years, and that's been stabilized. I think I have enou propane so I'll never use the gasoline in it, but just in case of a problem I'll refresh/replace it at two year intervals. Last year when I drained it I was able to run it in the small walk behind mower so it didn't go to waste.

I'm no chemist but I dont understand why it should go off if stored in small sealed containers like jerry cans, if it was open to the air in a vented container then yes the volatiles would evaporate, and algae would form, but in a sealed container it should not degrade????? Anyone got any answers?
 

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