Resting a generator

[Jerry1]

Well, my generator got a few days rest but we just lost power again. Glad I went out and checked the fluids and gave it a quick once over earlier today. No rest for the genny for now. Oh well, glad I have it.

 

[CaptTom]

I've seen incandescent bulbs for sale. I don't believe the gov't ever banned them. People switched to LED because they save money and (generally) last longer.

Six or seven years ago it seemed every company I knew of was swapping out florescent lighting for LEDs in offices, factories and retail stores. Not because of any law, but because even after paying for the swap, the companies who switched saved a s**t-ton of money.

 

[ERD50]

I've seen incandescent bulbs for sale. I don't believe the gov't ever banned them. People switched to LED because they save money and (generally) last longer.

Six or seven years ago it seemed every company I knew of was swapping out florescent lighting for LEDs in offices, factories and retail stores. Not because of any law, but because even after paying for the swap, the companies who switched saved a s**t-ton of money.

IIRC, they never were technically banned. But laws went into place saying bulbs had to meet X% efficiency standards, and a standard incandescent didn't meet those limits. So, banned, but not banned.

But as I mentioned, you can still buy the old filament style bulbs for certain uses. Some decorative, utility (oven lights, etc), or 'rough service' bulbs are allowed to be sold w/o meeting the efficiency requirements.

And as you say, if the replacements are so great, why mandate them? People would choose them. And I use them, but there are places I'd rather have an old style incandescent (especially little used closet, attic lights, etc), and in some cases, where a bulb is rarely used, the full environmental impact of that simple filament bulb is probably less than an LED.

Those mandates also killed progress on filament bulbs. IIRC, MIT came up with a new design that reflected most of the heat right back to the filament, so much less electrical energy was needed to keep that filament white-hot. But it still was a bit less eff% than the mandates, so it never got developed.

-ERD50

 

[Car-Guy]

I've seen incandescent bulbs for sale. I don't believe the gov't ever banned them. People switched to LED because they save money and (generally) last longer.

Six or seven years ago it seemed every company I knew of was swapping out florescent lighting for LEDs in offices, factories and retail stores. Not because of any law, but because even after paying for the swap, the companies who switched saved a s**t-ton of money.

This thread made me get up and take a quick inventory. I've got ~80 incandescent bulbs "in stock" and maybe half that many fluorescent and even a few LED's. So I'm set for life. I'm not sure what the payout is for switching from incandescent at home but I'm going to worry about it. I do agree that the fluorescent style replacements do last a lot longer and are great for hard to reach lighting fixtures. But other than that consideration, I don't think much about it.

 

[meleana]

I've seen incandescent bulbs for sale. I don't believe the gov't ever banned them. People switched to LED because they save money and (generally) last longer.

Six or seven years ago it seemed every company I knew of was swapping out florescent lighting for LEDs in offices, factories and retail stores. Not because of any law, but because even after paying for the swap, the companies who switched saved a s**t-ton of money.

We still use incandescent bulbs. Not only are they "healthier", but they last longer. All the LED's we have had burned out fairly quickly.



That said, we do have a bunch of smart bulbs that we use for convenience.

 

[Koolau]

I’ve told my neighbors to thank me as I’m sure utility power will never go out again.

I believe that's called the "Umbrella Syndrome." It only rains when you forget your umbrella.

 

[Koolau]

We still use incandescent bulbs. Not only are they "healthier", but they last longer. All the LED's we have had burned out fairly quickly.



That said, we do have a bunch of smart bulbs that we use for convenience.

Over the years, we've had the odd incandescent that lasted a long time, but most lasted 2 or 3 years and then required replacing. We switched to mostly CFLs. Those puppies never lasted very longs. Since switching to LEDs, we've never had one die on us. I guess it's different for everyone.

By the way - and just curious - what do you mean "healthier" with respect to incandescents?

 

[Jerry1]

Well, my generator got a few days rest but we just lost power again. Glad I went out and checked the fluids and gave it a quick once over earlier today. No rest for the genny for now. Oh well, glad I have it.

Just got power back. Another 36 hour run. No issues. Really need to get that oil changed soon. Not a job I want to do in the winter, but I should probably suck it up and get it done this week.

 

[Koolau]

Just got power back. Another 36 hour run. No issues. Really need to get that oil changed soon. Not a job I want to do in the winter, but I should probably suck it up and get it done this week.

Wow, I thought WE had power issues here in Paradise. Longest we've been without electricity is 18 hours - 15 years ago. Typically, it's minutes. Our Condo has a large diesel generator which runs the commons area lights, elevator and security system.

 

[ncbill]

We still use incandescent bulbs. Not only are they "healthier", but they last longer. All the LED's we have had burned out fairly quickly.

That said, we do have a bunch of smart bulbs that we use for convenience.

What brand LED bulbs did you buy?

We had a place in the mountains with a breezeway lit via multiple hanging fixtures that could only take (20W maximum) A15-sized incandescent bulbs.

With the vagaries of power up there the incandescent bulbs burned out quickly, even the 130VAC bulbs I bought online.

So I replaced them all with no-name 3W LED bulbs...one died within a week, the rest were still working when we left the place a decade later.

 

[OldShooter]

Well, with all those cancer-causing chemicals they've discovered in California, maybe the population will have died out before little gas motors become an issue.

 

[RobbieB]

With exception of 2 bulbs (dryer and oven), all my lights are LED. If I want heat, I'll use a heater. I put a 12,000 lumen hanger in the attic. Uses 100 watts and lights up the whole attic. Even has a on-off switch in the cable so I can turn it on when I'm halfway up the ladder.

Seriously reduces the energy bill and I don't change them often (like almost never), much better than fluorescents no cold lag and much less heat.

 

[Koolau]

Back to resting a generator for a moment, I have heard that most engine wear takes place during starting as the oil has drained from critical parts, oil pressure is virtually zero and rich starting mixture leads to dilution of oil on critical parts. YMMV

 

[Car-Guy]

Back to resting a generator for a moment, I have heard that most engine wear takes place during starting as the oil has drained from critical parts, oil pressure is virtually zero and rich starting mixture leads to dilution of oil on critical parts. YMMV

That's my knowledge/belief too. Just makes sense. The next thing is worn out oil. The reason for resting an engine is for servicing, e.g. Adding oil, gas or water or for changing the oil and/or filters.

 

[rk911]

Over the years, we've had the odd incandescent that lasted a long time, but most lasted 2 or 3 years and then required replacing. We switched to mostly CFLs. Those puppies never lasted very longs. Since switching to LEDs, we've never had one die on us. I guess it's different for everyone.

By the way - and just curious - what do you mean "healthier" with respect to incandescents?

our experience with CFL mirrors your experience....wasted money. we finally ran out of our stash of 'free' incandescent bulbs a few years back. our electric provider used to give us up to 4 free bulbs every month. the local drugstore and hardware store kept a supply of these 'free' bulbs. I'd go to the store, show the bill, tell the clerk what i wanted (60, 75, 100, 3-way, etc), they'd stamp the bill, and give me my bulbs. i stashed those bulbs away for years...must've had nearly 100. ComEd stopped that program 10-15 yrs ago. i still buy 25 and 40-watt incandescent bulbs for our deck accent lighting as well as incandescent 3-way bulbs for our reading lamps.

 

[Jerry1]

Well the natural gas bill came today. Not too bad. About $36 more for running the generator twice for a total of about 72 hours. So roughly about 50 cents an hour. I’ll blow that dough for the convenience of having my whole house running during an electrical outage. Weather is warming up a bit so I’ll get out and change the oil soon. Appreciated the input while I was going through the power outages. I’m thankful the natural gas bill wasn’t outrageous.

 

[Koolau]

Well the natural gas bill came today. Not too bad. About $36 more for running the generator twice for a total of about 72 hours. So roughly about 50 cents an hour. I’ll blow that dough for the convenience of having my whole house running during an electrical outage. Weather is warming up a bit so I’ll get out and change the oil soon. Appreciated the input while I was going through the power outages. I’m thankful the natural gas bill wasn’t outrageous.

That sounds excellent. Well worth the cost for electricity during extended black out.

You are nearby authorized to "gloat" to neighbors about your generator's performance. Wait. Better not. Next time, they'll be lined up at your door with their freezer bags and bath towels in hand.

 

[FIYes]

We had a six day power outage a couple of weeks ago. No generator, so we lost the contents of the refrigerator and the freezer compartment of of the refrigerator. It has been 20 years since we had an outage of that length. A day or so of power outage is tolerable, but after a couple of days it gets very old. This recent outage has had me thinking about a generator.

 

[ERD50]

We had a six day power outage a couple of weeks ago. No generator, so we lost the contents of the refrigerator and the freezer compartment of of the refrigerator. It has been 20 years since we had an outage of that length. A day or so of power outage is tolerable, but after a couple of days it gets very old. This recent outage has had me thinking about a generator.

I understand the pain, but is a once in 20 year occurrence, that cost maybe a few hundred $, worth investing in a generator? That generator will need to be maintained, and how long before it needs to be replaced?

I've got a 2500/5000 watt (continuous/peak) inverter that I can connect to my car battery (with the engine idling in the driveway), and power a fridge or freezer on a heavy extension cord for an hour to get it down to temperature. Once you get past the start-up surge, you can power a few other things from it.

When my sump pump battery needs replacing in ~ 4-5 years, I'll probably get a lithium battery to replace it (LiFePO are the safer versions). Those can be fully recharged so much faster ( ~ 5x?) than lead-acid, so much more practical. And cost is coming down.

NOTE: There's some bad info on the web (!), but it takes a really long time (like a day or more) to fully recharge a near dead lead-acid. It's not a matter of amps from the charger, your car regulates the alternator to keep the voltage at ~ 13.8V while driving. The battery will only accept so much current at 13.8V and that drops as the battery reaches a higher level of charge.

But if add a load from an external inverter, the car will try to maintain that 13.8V, and the alternator will put out more current to drive that load (within limits). So idling the engine will help keep the battery from discharging in the first place - much better than trying to charge it up after depleting it.

-ERD50

 

[ncbill]

We had a six day power outage a couple of weeks ago. No generator, so we lost the contents of the refrigerator and the freezer compartment of of the refrigerator. It has been 20 years since we had an outage of that length. A day or so of power outage is tolerable, but after a couple of days it gets very old. This recent outage has had me thinking about a generator.

Consider the inverter route if you just want to power a fridge.

My neighbors used one to keep their fridge going during the last power outage here.

They took a pair of heavy-duty jumper cables, clamps on one end to their vehicle's battery, cut the clamps off the other end & added ring terminals to attach to a 2000W inverter.

I plan to do the same in the future, though for my chest freezer since anything of value in my fridge can go into that freezer.

 

[ERD50]

Consider the inverter route if you just want to power a fridge.

My neighbors used one to keep their fridge going during the last power outage here.

They took a pair of heavy-duty jumper cables, clamps on one end to their vehicle's battery, cut the clamps off the other end & added ring terminals to attach to a 2000W inverter.

I plan to do the same in the future, though for my chest freezer since anything of value in my fridge can go into that freezer.

This is key - a fridge or freezer doesn't use very much current once it is running ( maybe 2 Amps, ~ 240 Watts typical?), but it can have a high start up current. That start up current can easily be 5~10 Amps. 10 Amps at 120V is over 100 Amps at 12V (there are some losses in the inverter). A 100 Amp connection needs attention to detail (clean and tight and good surface area on the connection) to avoid too much voltage drop. Inverters typically shut off below 10.2V in, to avoid damaging the battery. The battery itself will droop with a 100 A load, so any loss in the connections can push it below the 10.2 at the inverter.

It's not hard, it just requires that 'attention to detail".

I did this once about 6 hours into an outage (which only lasted ~ 2 more hours, but who knew?), and found I needed to keep the car idling to get through that start up surge. But as I mentioned, best to keep it idling so the alternator can provide the ~ 20 Amps for a 2 Amp load at 120V, so the battery is not discharged.

-ERD50

 

[Car-Guy]

Well the natural gas bill came today. Not too bad. About $36 more for running the generator twice for a total of about 72 hours. So roughly about 50 cents an hour. I’ll blow that dough for the convenience of having my whole house running during an electrical outage. Weather is warming up a bit so I’ll get out and change the oil soon. Appreciated the input while I was going through the power outages. I’m thankful the natural gas bill wasn’t outrageous.

Not bad... My gasoline generator burns ~1/2 gallon an hour (maybe a bit more). So at current prices around here that's more like $1.50+ an hour. Still worth every cent, IMO.

 

[Walt34]

We had a six day power outage a couple of weeks ago. No generator, so we lost the contents of the refrigerator and the freezer compartment of of the refrigerator. It has been 20 years since we had an outage of that length.

It's nearly the same for us, and we do have a generator. The thing with a gasoline fueled generator is, that if the fuel system is dry (and that if is crucial) the generator can sit there for years, even decades, and when you put fuel in it, it'll start right up. When they're brand new they can sit on shelf for years and no harm comes from that, so why can't that shelf be at home?

That's been my experience. The generator is 22 years old and while we used it a lot at our old house, it's been run twice since we moved to WV 20 years ago. Once at my FIL's house and once for about six hours here. And each of those times there were years between runs.

But, and this is huge, when the outage is over I drain not only the gas tank but the entire fuel system - tank, gas lines, and carburetor bowl. There's a 10mm bolt offset on most small-engine carburetors. Remove that bolt and the entire fuel system will drain. (Drain the tank first, it's a lot easier that way.)

If the gasoline is all drained out, there's nothing left to evaporate and gum up the carburetor. But it is some work, and it has to be done soon after running it, or in a month or three it'll be too late and then you're looking at having to clean out the carburetor yourself or paying someone to do it if you can't.

 

[Jerry1]

I have a small generator that gets used very seldom. Usually it’s borrowed out to help someone out. I do two things. First, I tell anyone that uses it to just let the last tank run out unless it’s pretty full and then we’ll figure out how to empty it, then run it out. Then, when I get it back, I run some ethanol free gas through it until it runs out. I understand that leaves fuel in the system but without the ethanol, it’s never caused a problem.

I run all my small engines on ethanol free fuel. Ever since I started doing so, I’ve never had an engine that would not start. When I store my yard equipment for the 4-5 months of winter, I don’t even bother draining the gas anymore. It’s worth it if you can find it in your area.

https://www.pure-gas.org/

 

[OldShooter]

Better than having to get the gasoline out of the genset is having an LP or natural gas powered unit. At our lake home we had a 14KW genset bolted to the floor in the garage with manual transfer. It was connected to a 100# LP tank with a second tank as standby. We never ran it continuously, shutting down overnight, but the two tanks was enough fuel for days. Cost? I never paid any attention.