Military bods (current and Ex)

I know there are a few lurking on here.

Having completely lost faith with scottish powers ability to consistently supply electricity to me, (11days last year, 4, 1/2 this year so far) I'm looking for an onan 3.5kw (5kw peak) petrol Genny. Beer tokens available

Would have put this in stuff wanted but dont know how i'd justify fitting it to a sv.

i have used a few, the downside is that after running for 4 hours you have to switch it off and let it cool down so if you were going to get one i would go for 2 that way you will have a constant power source. you also have to think about servicing

[andrewsmith]

Originally Posted by Dave Mac

i have used a few, the downside is that after running for 4 hours you have to switch it off and let it cool down so if you were going to get one i would go for 2 that way you will have a constant power source. you also have to think about servicing

This, if your thinking about this as a serious option, may be worth going for a proper diesel generator which can run a lot harder and longer.
They do cost a lot more and they can be a tad thirsty (Our works 240kW unit burns 70l and hour, the Tenants 500kW monster we don't know yet).
KG are you just wanting to run the lighting during a cut? a 5.5kW would run essentials only

Yes. were rural so oil fired boiled, cooker etc.
Boiler control circuit, Fridge freezer, some lights and maybe a tv. 2 - 2.5kw would manage 3.5 is plenty. I'm an elec eng.
purely emergency power. dont need constant supply or auto switching.

Power fails, call scottish power, est repair 8 hrs...., Start genny, put heating on for a couple of hours. switch off, gets dark start genny, lights on heating on, go to bed, genny off. simples

[tigersaw]

Unless you can source something used and decent I'd be wary of feeding domestic equipment from a generator. Most DIY types are only suitable for plant lighting and tools, the output is just too dirty for domestic use.
I bought a 4.5kva diesel for backup to a transmitter site, after testing it was decided to run it through a conditioner and then use it for a charger and run the site from DC if nescessary.

[andrewsmith]

Thats a good note, a lot of genny's will be the 110 set-up's as the most common uses sites.
Position is also key (sucking eggs moment coming) as genny's lose quite a bit amperage over a short distance. 32A at supply is around 28A 20ft away, or thats what we found with a core drill with a 450mm bit on it

Solar Panel into a battery storage array

+ 1!

Solar panel (caravan type), or small wind generator, 6 car batteries from the scrappie and a decent 3000- 4500W inverter. Silent and efficient and takes up the same volume as a genny.

... and you can fit the whole lot in one of those small plastic coal bunkers.

C

[timwilky]

When we lived in the sticks as kid, lost power over christmas once when a tree fell on the local substation. 6 days before it was restored.

However, having experienced several outages we had a genny in one of the outbuildings where the power came in from the overheads. 3 phase in. but only using a single phase.

We had cross wired two isolating switches. on the "backup" lighting/power and heating circuits. Like you oil fired. So isolate mains feed and close the genny feed.

Ours was a hash genny, a 4.6L truck engine mounted on skids with god knows whose generator. It had come from plant auction in the 60s and had moved house twice with us. We used to run it up every year just to make sure the batteries were charged etc when needed and the genny still putting out power.

It was a godsend in the early 70s miners strikes where all areas were shut off for hours to save energy

When my dad moved out of his last house, he was asked to leave the genny in place.

These days I have a chineese 2.8KW 4 stroke genny in the garage and run an extension block from it into the house if required. Lived here 27 years and had power cuts 4 times that I have need to fire it up.

[timwilky]

BTW sods law applies.

The work emergency generator is powered off a railway diesel engine. huge. It is run up several times a year just to make sure it is OK. Last time when needed as the overhead poles to the site were being replaced so no power for a weekend we were confident.

Fuel pump failed after 2 hours load.