REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
+1
Those Yamaha and Honda inverter generators are top-of-the-line when it comes to noise levels.
One of the problems with buying a generator is lack of use... if you run gas through them, it gums it up if it sits....
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Anybody know what temperature would kill a cat?
So I've been trying to partially drain the tank each day and add fresh water.
Not sure if you have chlorine in your water or are using de-chlorine drops, but you can also get a lot of oxygen into the water by just moving it around. Dip a cup into the water, and then pour it back in, making sure to get some splashing.
That'll work, but we should note (for anyone planning to use it) the commonly available aviation fuel for piston engines (called "100LL") contains lead. It's not a significant health hazard, but one should wash up well if it contacts the skin (like other fuels). It also might foul your sparkplugs a bit, so have some spares handy.Another method to avoid fuel gumming the carb due to inactivity, is to use aviation fuel. AvGas does not leave any residue, however @ $5.98/gal this is not cheap. I use fuel which has been drained from tank sumps in the genset, after pouring thru a fine screen.
Those photos remind me of the emotional response I have to the rock-crushing diesel generators on submarines. I love 'em. They're a horrendously costly PITA to maintain, you have to exercise them regularly, and if you don't keep the operators proficient then you're going to flood out the machinery room through the diesel exhaust.Here's what a 20KW generator looks like. A Perkins generator.
Yes, the Prius is a wonderful self-propelled/self-charging/self-managed battery that one can simply hook an inverter to. I did think about getting a Prius to have that backup function and to tinker with. But one of my existing cars must die first.
For low power levels (<2KW), there are many ways one can go. A lot cheaper than a Prius.
I thought I read about some guys tapping into the high-voltage propulsion battery bank of the Prius, not just its 12V battery. That gives more power, and more capacity for a longer shutdown duration between the engine runs. And I figure a Prius would be a lot quieter when it runs than a generator of a much smaller size. And it also serves as a vehicle when you need to get around.
One of the problems with buying a generator is lack of use... if you run gas through them, it gums it up if it sits.....
Having a riding lawn mower that sat for a year and a half due to the drought, stabil added to the fuel avoids the gumming problem even if all the fuel evaporates. Its about 2 oz per gallon. Put a new battery in the lawn mower and it started in about 40 seconds.One of the problems with buying a generator is lack of use... if you run gas through them, it gums it up if it sits....
Also, I would probably leave and go visit someplace that HAS electricity... it is what we did the last hurricaine when we were out for 7 days... (we left after 1 1/2 days)....
If I had to be concerned with a sump pump or other critical needs, then I would have one for that.... but, you still have the problem if you are not there.... we went camping a couple of months ago and the electricity was out about 12 hours.... nobody to pull out a portable one to plug in the refrig...
You can connect that to your car battery (you need heavy cables and rock-solid connections) and start up the car to recharge. And/or add a heavy duty battery which could also be recharged by connecting to the car. The separate battery will keep you from running down the car battery (but these do shut down when the battery gets down to ~ 10.2V) and provide some power with no car around.
-ERD50
My neighbor has a whole (most) house generator, which is hooked up to their propane tank. It kicks on every Wednesday morning. I'm sure they didn't set that up on their own so the installer must've recommended it and set it up. I don't know if it's unnecessary or if you need to start propane fed generators regularly as well. It's not that loud but it's kind of annoying. I guess it's nice to actually have power when others don't, but I can't see spending thousands of dollars plus the regular fuel costs to save some food. In 11 years here, this 15 hour outage was the longest I can remember. Our power lines are buried so that helps a lot.Got a yamaha generator about 10 years ago from us carburation , ordered the tri-fuel option. runs on propane, natural gas , or even gasoline. Only had it on gasoline once to test. On camping trips and when in a rare 100+ for 3 day weather a transformer blew, running on Propane. Nothing to gum up or clog. Have it set up to run on a natural gas BBQ outlet now too. Biggest problem is 12 ga. extention cords running to neighbors houses are quite$
Was quite popular with neighbors that hot day .
P.S. , always ground your generator !
The Generac system I initially looked at was set to to perform an auto-test every month, not only to check out power generation, but also to ensure the transfer switch worked properly.I don't know if it's unnecessary or if you need to start propane fed generators regularly as well.
I do wonder about the quality and reliability of those $200 2kw generators. There has to be some reason that Honda and Yamaha get five times that for theirs.
Based on the reviews I read of the cheap ones I agree.
I drained the entire fuel system on mine, including the carburetor bowl, so I don't have to periodically fuss with it. And I keep it in the basement so I didn't want fuel in it anyway.
A Note: The startup loads on some of these items are 2-3 times the running loads. A refrigerator that uses 600 watts when running can often need 2000 watts to start. ... Also, a car alternator is not designed to put out its maximum rated power for hours on end, so we should accept we'll be reducing its life somewhat if we load it down.
... The inverter has low/zero maintenance needed to keep it ready for use, which I think is the biggest plus.
I do wonder about the quality and reliability of those $200 2kw generators. There has to be some reason that Honda and Yamaha get five times that for theirs.
Edit: Since it's July, my mind was off the furnace. We have natural gas heat but I'll have to check the specs on the blower motor. The furnace could be just as critical as the sump pump if the power outage continues for a long time.
Neglecting the higher cost and complexity, the Prius solution using its HV battery is better than having to idle a normal car for hours on end to keep a residential fridge going via the 12V+inverter setup. Or does one run the fridge (and car) on a duty cycle of something like 8 hrs on/16 hrs off?