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| Whole house generator questions (Page 4/6) |
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Formula88
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APR 20, 09:07 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by rogergarrison:
I have a tester. In both my home and RV (generator) i get 118-119 volts at the outlets. |
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You have well regulated power.
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Hudini
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APR 21, 02:52 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by maryjane:
Question:
Maybe I am way out in left field here but.......what is your estimated full/whole house electrical load?
IIRC the 2.8 produced 140 hp (104 kW) at 5200 rpm. You will be running your generator at 1800 rpm, which I assume is going to be direct drive, coupled direct shaft to shaft.
What HP/Kw will you have available from your 2.8 at 1800rpm and will it be sufficient to handle the full load of your electric needs?
Flywheel HP Dyno curve chart for stock 2.8?
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I had it added up at one time and will do it again when I get home next week. IIRC it was less than 14kw if everything was running including the a/c. That doesn't include the surge requirement for start up power draw. I'm pretty sure my little house would be fine with the 17kw Generac unit from Costco. Those units have a small engine running at 3600 rpm so they tend to be loud. The 2.8L V6 would easily handle a lightly loaded gen head directly coupled. I can make it very quiet too.
Right now it's mostly in the planning stages. If it wasn't for gasoline having such poor storage qualities it would be an easy decision.
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theogre
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APR 21, 02:55 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by maryjane:
Question:
Maybe I am way out in left field here but.......what is your estimated full/whole house electrical load?
IIRC the 2.8 produced 140 hp (104 kW) at 5200 rpm. You will be running your generator at 1800 rpm, which I assume is going to be direct drive, coupled direct shaft to shaft.
What HP/Kw will you have available from your 2.8 at 1800rpm and will it be sufficient to handle the full load of your electric needs?
Flywheel HP Dyno curve chart for stock 2.8? |
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If like some aircraft... You "gear down" w/ belts because engine wants narrow RPM range to get best performance and fuel use but Propellers want different RPM to get best performance.
Many Car Engine likes ~2500 area to get best Fuel consumption but he said generator needs 1800 to get 60hz. Engine might need even higher RPM to make HP needed to spin the generator w/ load on it. More load the harder to spin.
ETA-->Load/Shorten Electric genset and motors can stop them...
Electric lawn mowers and others things short out the motor to behave as a brake when shut off.
Shorting a Stepper motor will turn it into a brick. Most Stepper Drivers does this to lock them w/o eating power.[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 04-21-2016).]
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theogre
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APR 21, 03:00 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by Formula88:
What is called 120V in the US usually measures out to 110-115V if you put a meter on it. Same for 220V, it usually ends up closer to 208-210V when actually measured. Much like a 2x4 is not actually 2" by 4". |
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US Standard is 120/240 ±5% but you can call the Unity for actual volts on their local grid.
If you measure lower or higher at an output...
1. Check Service Entrance at Main Breaker. If wrong there call electrician or power co. Especially if the feeds don't match. (within 2-3v.) I've seen one hot read low or dead when service wires, Meter, or even Transformer have problems.
2. Many Buildings have voltage drops for F'd wiring and equipment. Just 1 loose screw on a breaker or a outlet can cause big problems including Fires. Example: First thing I did to our house was to check power... Had to fix many problems even tho had new outlets and switches. Many outlets did not have ground wire connected to them.
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rogergarrison
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APR 21, 12:16 PM
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My house, built in the 60s only has a few grounded outlets throughout from new. Most of them are not. All the ones added in the shop are grounded. There also is not one GFI plug anywhere. [This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 04-21-2016).]
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theogre
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APR 21, 01:25 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by rogergarrison:
My house, built in the 60s only has a few grounded outlets throughout from new. Most of them are not. All the ones added in the shop are grounded. There also is not one GFI plug anywhere. |
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I Had ground wires and new 3 pin plugs but morons didn't bother to connect wire to the plug.
Many Don't know a dirty PC PSU can and will crash the PC and even shock you w/o ground connected to the case. Dirt and moisture in the PSU can energize the metal case.
Is why I use simple tool to check main plugs and power strips when PC have problems.
from How To Test an Electrical Outlet, this has test button to trip GFCI too.[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 04-21-2016).]
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maryjane
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APR 21, 02:30 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by theogre:
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Is why I use simple tool to check main plugs and power strips when PC have problems.
from How To Test an Electrical Outlet, this has test button to trip GFCI too.
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Those are some really handy little tools. The first thing I pull out if I have a small appliance that doesn't work--check the outlet first.[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 04-21-2016).]
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JohnyWalter
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MAY 18, 05:26 AM
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Generac 6244 20K
beats other whole house generators because of its hands-free operation. It requires no fuel, you only need to hook it up to your natural gas source or any liquid propane source. And best of all, you never have to start it manually when the power goes off.
Good choice i think
https://www.amazon.com/gp/p...nsg-20?tag=jons07-20[This message has been edited by JohnyWalter (edited 05-18-2018).]
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ls3mach
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MAY 18, 06:31 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by JohnyWalter:
Generac 6244 20K
beats other whole house generators because of its hands-free operation. It requires no fuel, you only need to hook it up to your natural gas source or any liquid propane source. And best of all, you never have to start it manually when the power goes off.
Good choice i think
https://www.amazon.com/gp/p...nsg-20?tag=jons07-20
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Why is a link to a non available item on a 2 year old thread your first post?[This message has been edited by ls3mach (edited 05-18-2018).]
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fierofool
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MAY 18, 09:55 AM
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The thread may be 2 years old, but some advice for anyone planning to install a backup generator, check with your power company first. Fuel selection should be carefully considered, too.
Diesel or gasoline powered units stand for months or even years with only a 5-minute test run on a periodic basis. Fuel will go bad. Not every home has natural gas available. LP gas can be had practically anywhere and a 125 or 250-gallon tank will only cost you a monthly or yearly rental fee plus any fuel used. LP fuel won't go bad over time.
When we were investigating installing a backup generator, we had decided on a Generac 22K. But it really didn't matter what brand we chose, our power company would only allow 1 brand and model automatic transfer switch to be attached to their grid. I never checked to see if it was compatible with the Generac system, though I suppose it was. The problem is that it couldn't handle the size generator that we planned to install.
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