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Member Link Up Seeking Advice on Selecting a Generator
- Thread starter abn_surfer
- Start date
this is how I'm setup as well. For a very good inverter with lots of options, including selling power back to the grid when your batteries are full, this unit is very nice. I have the white-label equivalent of it.
Sol-Ark 8,000 Watt 48 Volt All-In-One Solar Generator - Inverter - 8K
Sol-Ark 8,000 Watt 48 Volt All-In-One Solar Generator - Inverter - 8K EcoDirect.com sells Magnum Inverters at the lowest cost. Order Online or Call Us! 888-899-3509
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2 Victron 48v Quattro 10kVA 120v Inverter 140A Chargers, Victron MPPT charge controller, 30 Canadian Solar 400 watt panels, Victron power distribution system. The genset passes through an EG4 Chargeverter on its way to the power distribution system.I have never been connected to the grid. The local co-op pissed me off. They wanted me to have my septic system and a slab poured before they would rig me up with power. Everyplace else I've built stuff around the US, you just pay a deposit and not have to worry about not having a dump truck or crane get on your septic tank. Dumbasses.
I could be selling power back if I were connected for 4-6 hours every day. I think local charge for a kilowatt hour is 15 cents. They will pay about 1¢. Plus, even if I don't use a single watt, I have to to pay some monthly fee just for the privilege of having their meter on my property. Fuck that.
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Uhmmmm… Maybe I’m just going blind, but where’s the door?
I can tell you what I use. There are a multitude of options out there at various price points depending on what one is trying to achieve.
48V 100ah Server Rack batteries x 4
Victron Multiplus II 3000va inverter/Chargers x 2 for 240V input/output
6K watts of Solar Panels
6500W gasoline generator as needed when solar is low.
This is a smaller/medium sized system with 12KW output capacity meant to only run critical things when the power is out. It can run all things in the house just not all at once unless the generator is running. But with 20 gallons of gas it can keep the fridges and freezers cold, dehumidifiers, fans, lights running for a month? Even when there is no sun, Easy. With decent sun the central AC can be added in as needed.
That said you, don't need to incorporate solar to reap the benefit of battery storage and inverters. It just adds to the capability.
You've got the big dogs. Appropriate for the your main source of power.
These Victron HF units are incredible in what they can do and with what little parasitic draw they add. With 2x 3000VA units, @240V I can run a 4500w hot water heater all by themselves. With generator/grid assist, they will output 12KW.
Edit: 12KW with generator/grid assist in my configuration using a medium sized generator. It will actually output 16.8KW in generator/grid assist mode if your generator can output 50A@240v. But one doesn't need all that for long term backup.
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Real good thread I think over on Fieldcraft sub forum
Like mentioned above, do search
Edit, it was a couple pages back
www.snipershide.com
Started off with this to run fridge and freezer and a couple lamps
Wanted something to run whole house so went to this, (it was a pain in the ass to go turn on when the power went out in the middle of the night or in a bad storm)
Moved up to this 16K Generac with auto switch, never looked back.
And would recommend this with no reservatIons
It runs the whole ranch, comes on automatically when power goes out and shuts off when it comes back on.
Also kicks on and off if we are not at home.
Excersizes itself weekly to keep battery charged and generator run to keep healthy
Yes they are expensive up front but the peace of mind and convenience is worth it
Like mentioned above, do search
Edit, it was a couple pages back
Do you have back up power
or do you just wait for it to come back on? How many have inventive ways to ride thru for 3+ days w/o endangering heating, food supply, darkness, security, ect? If you're running a generator w/o going off site, who long are you good for?
www.snipershide.com
Started off with this to run fridge and freezer and a couple lamps
Wanted something to run whole house so went to this, (it was a pain in the ass to go turn on when the power went out in the middle of the night or in a bad storm)
Moved up to this 16K Generac with auto switch, never looked back.
And would recommend this with no reservatIons
It runs the whole ranch, comes on automatically when power goes out and shuts off when it comes back on.
Also kicks on and off if we are not at home.
Excersizes itself weekly to keep battery charged and generator run to keep healthy
Yes they are expensive up front but the peace of mind and convenience is worth it
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I am also 100% solar with my water. I have a 300' deep well. Got water at 240' but had the guys go as deep as they had on their truck. Then had it cased to help prevent loss of the well. My pump is set at 290' to keep it off the bottom. Then I have the pump set at 10% of its capacity so I am not picking up sediment. It pumps (at more of a trickle) into an 1100 gallon storage tank on surface but I have the tank fill sensor at about 1000 gallons. The well pump is only panel powered, no batteries, so it only pumps with sunshine. With the 1000 gallon tank, that is no problem. I don't have a check valve in that line, so it drains back into the well...freeze protection. The tank feeds the house with a solar powered pump that is backed up with batteries independent of the other batteries. These 3 systems all use their own panels, so basically 3 separate arrays.
EDIT: And...thanks to Elon, I am 100% off-grid with even my internet.
Yup... self-opening shutter (with a latch as well) on the back wall for exhausting hot air from radiator. Which is very close to back wall. Two opening windows for air intake and air flow as well as a 'Dutch Door" so the top half of the entry door will hinge independently from the bottom half. The 'area' of the intake and (radiator flow) exhaust will be 2x more than the radiator area. Diesel Exhaust vent through roof. This does not include gable vents that are just there to keep the place from getting moldy in the summer!
If this is not enough, I will put a drop-down panel in the 'removable panel' (there to allow the generator to be slid out of the shed for major maintenance or replacement) that will add another air intake point.
All of this will mean that the 'startup' procedure will not be automatic. I DO NOT want auto start. With computers and all that BS. When the power goes down I will walk down to my shed. Open the panels. Shut off the 'town power' with a manual switch. Open the vents/panels. Start the generator. And manually turn on the power switch. 400 amp manual switch.... they don't give those %$#ers away!
There will be no negative pressure or air flow issues! Yup, manual 'kickover.' But noone will be able to screw with turning it on either.
But great question and on my end all carefully thought out!
There will be lots.
But I have not decided exactly where to put the door, windows, etc. (partly because I am still working on locating switch, fuel tank(s) and power lines -- now sorted out.) So it was easier just to build 'generic' frame and then I'll cut and frame in my windows, etc. with the walls erected. Trying to 'get' doors, windows, etc. is such a PITA these days that I just decided I'll frame them in after the fact! I have some picked out... But availability can change from Day to Day at giant big box window stores.
Good eye, though! So far the only 'framed opening' is my removable wall panel that will allow the Genset to be removed for major maintenance or replacement. That will be a whole wall section that will unbolt and drop away allowing the unit to be winched out. That panel may or may not include a drop-down air intake panel. Not sure I'll need one!
But great eye!
Cheers,
Sirhr
Great question... still TBD. But as I start to locate things like fuel tank and wires and see "what" door I can actually buy that is not on 6 month %$#@ing back order... then I'll frame those in when I have them in the back of my truck. I can frame shit into standing walls way faster than I can do it when they are lying on my barn floor putting together a generic shed shape!
But great eye! And right on. I didn't forget them! I just ignored them... to put in later.
Sirhr
I saw your removable plated center wall section and figured that's what was up there. When you put up your siding there, make the same cut for the opening, then trim over that joint but only nail the trim to the movable center portion. It will come out with that wall section.
As far as the manual switching to/from town power, rig up an LED light on the town power side so you know when the juice is back on.
Without the openings, I was thinking you were going for the Hotel California vibe...
I am actually using an emergency light... that when Town Power dies... it will come on and light up the whole shed inside and out... so that I have light to turn the unit on. It will have about 4 hours of battery power with flood lights to illuminate the whole inside of the shed.
And for knowing when 'town' power is back on... I just have to look out my window and see the neighbor's lights (no gensets) turn back on.
But... yeah... all this is great advice and if I were trying to do a checklist I'd want all of it! And thanks to a lot of PM's with a couple of great guys here... I've walked through a lot of it already.
That all said... keep the ideas coming! I don't want to overlook anything!!!!
Cheers!
I'd have had all the trusses up today, but I ran out of framing screws... Making trusses is a royal PITA!!! Three left to put up... which won't take long next weekend. Door and windows will go in next weekend, too. And sheathing.
This is the fucking Taj Mahal of sheds. But still beats the garbage that Home Depot fucked up at a level of epic that they can fuck themselves!
Sirhr
If you have the big 17.5 with a 22-23 surge, check your oil cooler hoses and clamps or have a spare available. I have the 17.5 generac portable and has worked very well for us. On the last day of the power outage from Beryl, my cooler hoses started leaking (squirting!!). They are a crimped hose clamp, IE crap. I had plenty of spare oil filters, oil, air filters, fuel filters, but NO spare oil line.
I replaced the oil cooler hoses, clamps, and went ahead and replaced the fuel line while I was at it.
I didn't read everything you posted, but one thing people get confused about with generator air flow. The radiator fan pulls the air across the engine. Air is pulled from the generator/alternator to the radiator/fan. Your intake will be at the back and your exhaust will be on the radiator side. I don't know jack about the unit you have, but this is common for generators.
You're a smart guy, I'm sure you already know all this.
Oh, and you better hurry up, you have less than a month before the world falls apart.
The RPMs are not an issue at all. They're all Comercial grade Vtwins. Nearly identical in every aspect to a Zero Turn engine.
That in mind, they can run at max RPM, in hot/dusty environments by literal druggies 12hrs a day, 7 days a week, for years. I've seen no shortage of them go 10,000hrs.
3 days ain't shit. Change the oil every 250 or so hours, and they're gtg.
Electronics controlling them on the other hand,,,,,
But the engine is not in question.
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Yup!!! And my I take is at the back of the genset (front of building!). Exhaust is front.
Paraffins?? We had more than a pair of them little bastards. We musta had thousands, they was everywhere!!
Thank you,
MrSmith
Take the muffler off and put an 8” stack out the roof so the whole county knows you won
Don't think I have not considered it... ;-)
Fortunately, it is located as close as I could to the two biggest peckerhead neighbors... So they will get both the noise AND the smell!
Cheers,
Sirhr
I think I will rig up my restored Cold War Air Raid siren on the shed... you know... to announce when I'm firing up the genset.
I like the way you think!
Sirhr
They are running 24/7 not 12 hrs a day and most ZTR's don't run non stop 12 hours. Every one of the gen set were 1/2 to 1 qt low. Believe what you want but that engine will not run 10+ days without adding oil.
The most my 12 KV unit has ever run was 4 days straight, and the oil level didn't move. I had coincidentally checked it the day before the derecho/tornado storm that the weather folks failed to mention, and checked it immediately after.
I use a nice MEP-002A, 5KW USGI surplus gen set, it was purchased from DRMO as an unused WSK kit unit. I manual start it and back feed it from the shop to the house. It's a manual process. Running 2 wire 240v single phase it has 52 amps for the house.
Yeah its diesel and no automatic transfer makes it is a 15 min process to power up. But, I did it for years in the military and can do it in my sleep. We don't need a gen grinding away while we sleep. During outages it runs twice a day for 4 hours. Powers everything but electric heat. It runs the dryer or stove but not both. We have wood heat so cold is not a problem. 20 gallons of diesel is two weeks of 8 hrs a day of power, running twice a day keeps fridge and freezer cold no problem. We have a well and 2500 gal cistern so water isn't an issue either. No floods or hurricanes here so blizzards and fire are the issues. I have green space and free fire zones around the house.
I used it for four hours on Sunday and used less than 1/4 of a tank. Then entire set up cost under $1000 dollars including the breakers. The generation set was $8300 to uncle Sam. I bought it with 2.4 hours on the unit. Using a stinger and 55 gal drums of auxiliary fuel it can easily run a week at a time.
Yeah its diesel and no automatic transfer makes it is a 15 min process to power up. But, I did it for years in the military and can do it in my sleep. We don't need a gen grinding away while we sleep. During outages it runs twice a day for 4 hours. Powers everything but electric heat. It runs the dryer or stove but not both. We have wood heat so cold is not a problem. 20 gallons of diesel is two weeks of 8 hrs a day of power, running twice a day keeps fridge and freezer cold no problem. We have a well and 2500 gal cistern so water isn't an issue either. No floods or hurricanes here so blizzards and fire are the issues. I have green space and free fire zones around the house.
I used it for four hours on Sunday and used less than 1/4 of a tank. Then entire set up cost under $1000 dollars including the breakers. The generation set was $8300 to uncle Sam. I bought it with 2.4 hours on the unit. Using a stinger and 55 gal drums of auxiliary fuel it can easily run a week at a time.
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