Biggest issue will have to worry about is starting the A/C. I have 7500w gas unit with surge up to 8500 or better, but it will not start the A/C that draws less than 30A at full load.
Generator talk
- Thread starter DefiantArms
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Biggest issue will have to worry about is starting the A/C. I have 7500w gas unit with surge up to 8500 or better, but it will not start the A/C that draws less than 30A at full load.
Funny....when we had the ice storm here about 5 years ago, I vowed to go buy a generator and transfer switch and get it all installed. Found a Westinghouse 7500/9000 generator for a good price and bought it.
Its never been out of its box.
Its never been out of its box.
X2 10 years ago we got hit by Hurricane Ike and lost power for 1 1/2 weeks. I just had to get a generator after that. I got a deal since the market was flooded. Sold it a few years ago. Never needed it. It will bite me in the ass one day I'm sure, but ho well.
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I have some cheap off brand who the hell knows 2800 watt generator I stole off my father in law, it will almost run all the electronics and fridge. I was getting ready to install a 16kw Generac but got pushed back until I figure out where works gonna be.
I have a Honda 10 k gas and it's awesome I don't use a transfer switch I shut the breaker off at the house go out to the shop and I back feed my Welder outlet when it runs it never drops off high idle and it runs the whole house.Burns about 6 gallons in 8 hours.
Just get in with a rental company. I used to own generators, no more, if a storm is threatening I have a spot with a rental company reserved for a diesel construction gen set with 100 gallon tank. It will run 2 houses and is not expensive to rent and I don't have to store it...
There’s no harm in backfeeding. That’s exactly how most residential setups go (Siemens for example) but have a breaker lock that locks out the main breaker when the generator breaker comes on. There’s no backfeeding to the grid when the main is off. Just have to make sure of that.
I've always wondered about that. In theory yes. But wouldn't the load on the generator be so great from trying to power the whole town that it would just pop a breaker or something?
Please explain
I'm referring to the breaker on the generator.
If one didn't have a transfer switch or any way of automatically cutting power to the city while the generator was running and forgot to turn off the main breaker or something. So now the generator is trying to back feed power into the grid.
If one didn't have a transfer switch or any way of automatically cutting power to the city while the generator was running and forgot to turn off the main breaker or something. So now the generator is trying to back feed power into the grid.
All it takes is the few seconds for the generator breaker to trip before you start a fire or possibly hurt someone up stream. Remember, your generator is feeding the transformer on the pole which is stepping up the voltage. All it takes is one person to screw up and wire it backwards where the neutral is carrying load for it to cause major problems everywhere.
A properly installed transfer switch is protection for both you and the people that are working to restore power.
A properly installed transfer switch is protection for both you and the people that are working to restore power.
Im not debating that. I understand the importance of doing it right. I've done enough electrical jobs over the years to see why you would want to it correctly
I'm just trying to understand how a 10kw or so generator can supply enough current to power everything on the city power grid. To the generator it should look like a dead short and trip the generators breaker.
Even the transformers on the poles aren't designed to work as step up transformers so it would take a lot of current to saturate or properly excite the core. If I recall correctly it is somewhere on the order of four times the normal current verses a properly designed step up transformer. This alone should make it hard for the generator, unless it was a large enough one, to back feed through the transformer.
Even if it did it now has an extremely large load to run so I don't see it happening. I can see if the house wiring was under sized compared to the output of the generator ot could overheat them and start a fire. If the wires are small enough there may be enough resistance to limit the current to the point that it may continue to run and feed but I think the low resistance and inductance of the load on the city side would prevent the voltage from getting very high.
If the electrician has the line disconnect then yeah I can see the voltage being transmitted down the line
I'm just trying to understand how a 10kw or so generator can supply enough current to power everything on the city power grid. To the generator it should look like a dead short and trip the generators breaker.
Even the transformers on the poles aren't designed to work as step up transformers so it would take a lot of current to saturate or properly excite the core. If I recall correctly it is somewhere on the order of four times the normal current verses a properly designed step up transformer. This alone should make it hard for the generator, unless it was a large enough one, to back feed through the transformer.
Even if it did it now has an extremely large load to run so I don't see it happening. I can see if the house wiring was under sized compared to the output of the generator ot could overheat them and start a fire. If the wires are small enough there may be enough resistance to limit the current to the point that it may continue to run and feed but I think the low resistance and inductance of the load on the city side would prevent the voltage from getting very high.
If the electrician has the line disconnect then yeah I can see the voltage being transmitted down the line
https://www.interlockkit.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1820
These are all you need to make backfeeding safe. Your generator breaker must be directly under/above your main. That way the main is locked out when generator is on. But for the price... $150 for a little piece if metal? We usually got them for about $65. Still is insane.
These are all you need to make backfeeding safe. Your generator breaker must be directly under/above your main. That way the main is locked out when generator is on. But for the price... $150 for a little piece if metal? We usually got them for about $65. Still is insane.
I plan to do a transpher switch with the interlock switch and I’d do the rental but i need something the wife can just walk into garage and startup throw he switches and be good. I work a month on and month off odds are I’ll be working when we need it.
The military generators can put out 20% more than there rating. If you look, the military rates at 80% whereas residential units are all 100% duty rated. If you go diesel, be careful of wet stacking. Many people screw up and get a generatorthan can run everything at the same time, but during normal use, theengine isrunning at such a small load it wet stacks. If left to long, you can wash the rings down, or carbon the engine up, and kill your generator. It is best with a diesel generator to size it so it is running at 50% load or greater for a large portion of the run time to prevent wet stacking and engine damage from it. For this reason, most reccomend the mep-802a for single family residences. And these are tactical quiet generators with adb rating of under 71dba at full load, and you can add a 2nd muffler to one if you wanted to.
I purchased a Propane Generator from Central Maine Diesel a few years ago.
20 HP Honda engine, Italian generator head.
Paid about $2300 plus shipping via Paradise Freight which was a few hundred.
I see the price is just a bit higher now... But the one I want most is cummins genset which i saw from a website.
Recently it blew a capacitor. Central Maine sent me 2 for the price of one even though it is out of warranty. $39 total for two.
I looked at generators on island but a similar Honda at Quality electric was close to $6000 and it wasn't even a 13750kw. More like 8 or 9000kw if I remember right.....
They have many generators at great prices but this is the one I settled for.
Quiet, no smell, propane lasts forever........
20 HP Honda engine, Italian generator head.
Paid about $2300 plus shipping via Paradise Freight which was a few hundred.
I see the price is just a bit higher now... But the one I want most is cummins genset which i saw from a website.
Recently it blew a capacitor. Central Maine sent me 2 for the price of one even though it is out of warranty. $39 total for two.
I looked at generators on island but a similar Honda at Quality electric was close to $6000 and it wasn't even a 13750kw. More like 8 or 9000kw if I remember right.....
They have many generators at great prices but this is the one I settled for.
Quiet, no smell, propane lasts forever........
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