generators and SHTF advice

[17 squirrel]

3250 watt genset? I would suggest upping it a bit. Sump pumps will bog it down on start up.

We had a 3200 watt genset when our power went out, neighbors were nice to us at the time so we sent them a line for their sump pump. It ran their pump and our tv but I highly doubt there was power for anything else.

What size sump pump was your neighbor running ??? 10 hp ??

A 3200 watt gen produces 25 plus amps of 120 volt power.
Running a home sump pump in most cases is around 3 to 5 amps and a TV is less than that. You were not even close to 40% of the working load with that generator.
3200 watts ÷ 120 volts = 26.6 amps of elect produced.
E over I = R

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

The manual that came with my generator has a nice chart with expected loads used by house-hold appliances.

I made up my own chart using that info so I know which things I can run safely together.

 

[churchmouse]

What size sump pump was your neighbor running ??? 10 hp ??

A 3200 watt gen produces 25 plus amps of 120 volt power.
Running a home sump pump in most cases is around 3 to 5 amps and a TV is less than that. You were not even close to 40% of the working load with that generator.
3200 watts ÷ 120 volts = 26.6 amps of elect produced.
E over I = R

3200 I would guess is inrush or start up surge........that unit (if I am correct) will run 2400 continuous. 3200 on surge. The pump would draw a brief locked rotor current and once up to speed the draw would fall back to the run amps rating or below.
That is what makes some units fall short.

 

[indyjohn]

LP FTW!

I too need a method for suppressing sound.

 

[Brandon]

The generator was a Troy Built, not sure about their sump pump, it was original with the house that was built in 88 and just failed (and flooded their basement)
You could hear when the pump kicked on through the gen from the surge, lights in my house would dim slightly.

 

[17 squirrel]

3200 I would guess is inrush or start up surge........that unit (if I am correct) will run 2400 continuous. 3200 on surge. The pump would draw a brief locked rotor current and once up to speed the draw would fall back to the run amps rating or below.
That is what makes some units fall short.

Yes I agree, a no name or a moderate cost gen will never deliver, say what a Honda gen will deliver. A 3000 watt Honda has a working load of 2800 watts. That's why you pay more for big name gen sets.
Lower rated working load gens you tend to have to start appliances at different times as not to overload the gen set breakers.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I'm thinking maybe I can house my generator in my new metal storage building to help keep down noise.
Obviously carbon monoxide would be an issue, but we don't use the building to work in or anything, and with a roll up door at each end for access, it could clear out quickly if we had to gain entry for any extended time. Nothing flammable is stored in there, just garden tools, mower, etc...

 

[Fargo]

I'm thinking maybe I can house my generator in my new metal storage building to help keep down noise.
Obviously carbon monoxide would be an issue, but we don't use the building to work in or anything, and with a roll up door at each end for access, it could clear out quickly if we had to gain entry for any extended time. Nothing flammable is stored in there, just garden tools, mower, etc...

I would plumb the exhaust out. The Genny won't run if there isn't enough oxygen and IME nothing good has ever come of filling a building with exhaust. Just the smell and residue would be miserable, nevermind if a kid or pet found his way in there. I suppose it would keep the mouse population down...

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I would plumb the exhaust out. The Genny won't run if there isn't enough oxygen and IME nothing good has ever come of filling a building with exhaust. Just the smell and residue would be miserable, nevermind if a kid or pet found his way in there. I suppose it would keep the mouse population down...

Indeed! I've got two boxes of mothballs in there now. No worries on pets or kids, as the doors stay locked.
Hadn't thought of the residue though. Great point! Now I have to think of a muffler exhaust plumb to the exterior. ugh.

 

[Psode27]

I'd love to plumb exhaust out of my shed... that'd be so slick! Need to do more research....
LP gennys are sweet, i wish I had a big LP tank in my yard...

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I'd love to plumb exhaust out of my shed... that'd be so slick! Need to do more research....
LP gennys are sweet, i wish I had a big LP tank in my yard...

That's how mine is setup (LP, runs off of the 500 gal home supply tank). It's nice to not have to worry about refilling and such (for short term / storms and such)

 

[Psode27]

That's slick! I try to keep a reasonable amount of gas around, but a big LP tank is tough to compete with! And trying to rotate gas sucks..

 

[GIJEW]

I have a way around this but if SHTF living in a [populated area would be tough if you had power........and "They" didn't.

This is one of the things that caught my attention about the generators. Their decibel levels are near the 'conversation level' (depends on your family) and some are small enough that you could take them with you if you had to 'bug out'

 

[ghitch75]

build a gasifier gen and then you don't have to worry about gas,propane or diesel........

Build A Gasifier - Gasifier-Kits

 

[bulletsmith]

A few bits for thought:

- It is true that when you start a motor, depending on design, you can experience 6 to 10 times nameplate full load amps. While this surge is short lived, it will slow down the generator for that period. If you have sensitive electronics connected to the same generator they will be subjected to this lower frequency and voltage. Some electronic power supplies are especially sensitive to this.

- A generator rated at X watts, running on a gasoline engine, will not produce the same power when converted to LP or CNG.

- The biggest motor loads you will see in the typical house is a well pump, followed by a sump pump as a close second. If you try to start both at the same time, and it does happen, you can be asking your generator to provide well over 90 amps for a short time. The problem is that during that time the over current protection can trip leaving you in the dark again.

 

[indyjohn]

That's how mine is setup (LP, runs off of the 500 gal home supply tank). It's nice to not have to worry about refilling and such (for short term / storms and such)

I did some testing with my genny, calculated 4lbs of LP consumed per hour, or about 1 gallon. At that rate, you could run it a very long time from a 500 gal tank. Especially if you were only running it during the day to charge your battery bank.

That's slick! I try to keep a reasonable amount of gas around, but a big LP tank is tough to compete with! And trying to rotate gas sucks..

That is the very reason (as well as being able to tap into a large fuel source like RobbyMaq's big tank) I invested in the LP conversion kit. My genny will still run on gasoline but you are right, LP is tough to beat.

 

[ghitch75]

I did some testing with my genny, calculated 4lbs of LP consumed per hour, or about 1 gallon. At that rate, you could run it a very long time from a 500 gal tank. Especially if you were only running it during the day to charge your battery bank.



That is the very reason (as well as being able to tap into a large fuel source like RobbyMaq's big tank) I invested in the LP conversion kit. My genny will still run on gasoline but you are right, LP is tough to beat.

1 gallon an hour is a lot........my diesel gen will run 12 hours on 3 gallons at 50% load.......you get more power out of gasoline than propane and diesel in the best.....

propane 91,000btu's per gallon

gasoline 114,000btu's per gallon

diesel 144,000btu's per gallon

 

[indyjohn]

A few bits for thought:

- A generator rated at X watts, running on a gasoline engine, will not produce the same power when converted to LP or CNG.

I'm curious about this statement. I am by no means an expert on this subject, but I presumed the wattage of my generator was maintained by the motor rpm. So, to ensure this I purchased a digital tachometer and installed it before I installed the LP kit. My motor runs the same rpm on LP as it does gasoline. Is there another factor that influences output watts?

 

[indyjohn]

1 gallon an hour is a lot........my diesel gen will run 12 hours on 3 gallons at 50% load.......you get more power out of gasoline than propane and diesel in the best.....

propane 91,000btu's per gallon

gasoline 114,000btu's per gallon

diesel 144,000btu's per gallon

It may very well be a lot. But the LP stays viable for so much longer than diesel or gasoline. I'm looking for a standby system with the least amount of maintenance.

 

[ghitch75]

I'm curious about this statement. I am by no means an expert on this subject, but I presumed the wattage of my generator was maintained by the motor rpm. So, to ensure this I purchased a digital tachometer and installed it before I installed the LP kit. My motor runs the same rpm on LP as it does gasoline. Is there another factor that influences output watts?

rpm's makes the volts.....load makes the amps......load = btu's.= hp......more load the btu's you need......