ratto
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2011
- Messages
- 225
Biggest problem is 12 ga. extention cords running to neighbors houses are quite$
12 ga. for the Jesus cord? That's impressive.
And that will go into service automatically even if you're not home, a big plus.
An automatic transfer switch is very convenient. But I wouldn't pick it for myself. In disaster (like fire/flood), I definitely don't want it to kick in automatically to make an already difficult situation even more treacherous.
Storing generator dry helps, but a generator does need periodic exercise (under load, 30%-50%). It's a good idea to keep some oil seals/gaskets periodically lubricated once the generator is used. Also if a generator is kept unused for too long, the residual magnetic field (RMF) in the gen head could potentially diminish too low. Most portable generators in now days are based on brush-less, self-excite design. When the RMF becomes too weak, the gen head will not be able to generate power anymore. It's not fun to manually "excite" the gen head in emergency, especially in total darkness.
The small engines in most consumer grade generators are screaming at 3600 RPM to give the required 60Hz AC current with a 2-poles gen head. This high RPM not only is bad for engine lifetime, but produces a lot of noise and consumes a lot of fuel as well. So if a cheap backup generator is desired, a better solution probably would be to put it to work in conjunction with an inverter + battery bank setup. The generator will only be started to charge the battery bank and to run sustained heavy load. Still having air conditioning during extended power outage in hot summer is a nice luxury to have, but no a must necessity in most cases. Having drinking water supply, preventing food and crucial medicine supply from being spoiled, and keeping limited fuel stock to last as long as possible are far more important.