Dont forget to watch "Buying the War" tonight on PBS
- Thread starter evince
- Start date
So, they were successfull in preventing certian peopel in Colorado from seeing the program... I am suprised there was not a nationwide poweroutage!
damo, how do generator's work? specifically portable generators? i am clueless, i even asked the guy at home depot and still came away clueless...
let's say i buy a portable generator that has 5000w-7500w and runs on gasoline....
what precisely do i need to do once i get home with it or when i lose electricity, if i want my oil furnace to work or if i want my water pump to work, or my refrig?
i really am clueless as mentioned.... do i plug something from this generator in to my house so that the specific circuit breakers that are for the things above, are on????? do i plug something from my house in to the generator?
am i suppose to hire an electrician?
i need help!
care
uscitizen
Villified User
Care,
The best way to go care is to have a select few circuits connected to a transfer switch which will switch those circuits from commercial power to the generator which will sit outside and plug into the transfer switch.
Ie those circuits which power some lights , your furnace and refridgerator. A small generator like that should run the essientials, but no clothes dryer or electric water heater.
Once the switch is wired in by an electrician you will just flip the switch and pull the generator out of the garage or wherever, plug it into the transfer switch and start the generator.
I have a 7500 watt one , but no transfer switch and wind up with extension cords all over when the power goes out. You can of course go that way, but your furnace will have to have a plug on it.
NOTICE: Never "back feed" thru your existing electric panel. It is dangerous to service people and illegal and they can cut off your electricity for doing it.
If you get serious, I can find you a link.
The best way to go care is to have a select few circuits connected to a transfer switch which will switch those circuits from commercial power to the generator which will sit outside and plug into the transfer switch.
Ie those circuits which power some lights , your furnace and refridgerator. A small generator like that should run the essientials, but no clothes dryer or electric water heater.
Once the switch is wired in by an electrician you will just flip the switch and pull the generator out of the garage or wherever, plug it into the transfer switch and start the generator.
I have a 7500 watt one , but no transfer switch and wind up with extension cords all over when the power goes out. You can of course go that way, but your furnace will have to have a plug on it.
NOTICE: Never "back feed" thru your existing electric panel. It is dangerous to service people and illegal and they can cut off your electricity for doing it.
If you get serious, I can find you a link.
You need an adapter installed onto your home's electrical system that includes the input and breakers to feed the power to your house. You need a grounding rod stuck deep enough into the ground to touch ground moisture (actually hard to get here). You have to ground the generator to that grounding post on the appropriate pin on the housing. Then you need a cable that goes from the generator to the adapter.
First you turn of the main breaker to the outside power so that your system isn't overloaded when power returns. Then turn off all the other breakers. You plug the cable to your generator and to the adapter making sure all of those breakers are shut down as well. You do not want to apply any power while starting the generator. You start the generator. Then turn on the breakers on the adapter. You then can begin turning on the breakers to the house one by one (leave the main breaker to outside power off at all times while running your generator). Only turn on the ones that are most vital. Refrigerator, water pump for the well, heater/air conditioner if necessary, water heater, lights in the major areas of the house.
Each things that turn on takes a first large drain on the generator (this is why you do one breaker at a time). The largest drains will be the water pump for your well, and your refrigerator. Do not turn on any unessentials while running the generator.
Does this help you Care?
OrnotBitwise
Watermelon
Or you can just go the aforementioned extension-cords-all-over-the-place route.
Or you can just go the aforementioned extension-cords-all-over-the-place route.
Hey, that's what I do.
I haven't started my generator in 2 years. I definitely need to clean it up and get it started. The kid is old enough to go camping now....and I don't camp in the summer time without my air conditioner.
yes! thank you and uscit!
is there benefits to having a permant generator vs a portable or visa? any drawbacks to one over another? we don't have a garage yet, so we will have to keep whichever one, just out in the back yard....don't have the shed yet either.... right now garden tools and lawn furniture are outside under a couple of tarps...
care
uscitizen
Villified User
yes! thank you and uscit!
is there benefits to having a permant generator vs a portable or visa? any drawbacks to one over another? we don't have a garage yet, so we will have to keep whichever one, just out in the back yard....don't have the shed yet either.... right now garden tools and lawn furniture are outside under a couple of tarps...
care
Permanent generators are harder to steal
and all you would have to do is flilp the switch to go with them.
They will cost more, but have their own "roof".
Generators should be kept dry. If outside covered with tarp also put plastic underneath to keep moisture from rising and being trapped underneath by tarp.
Leaning:
I just dumped the gas out of my genny a few weeks ago into my tractor and refilled the genny with premium gas with stabil, and ran a while.
Yeah extension cords all over here too, had to add a plug and socket on my furnace....
Feeding those generators are darned expensive though...
Thinking of going with 4 golf cart batteries and some inverters for short outages....
We had a 13 day outage in the winter of 2000. I used extension cords for my television at night.....I had to have something to do by the end of this ice storm, besides OU won the championship game that year while we watched on the generator powered TV..... and for my freezer, which I hooked up the the generator for 2 hours each day. It all worked out fine. I put Staybil in my when I downed it the last time but I know it needs checking out.
When we have short outages, which we do from time to time here, I just use coal oil lamps and play my guitar for entertainment....well, at least to me it's entertaining, maybe not to those that hear me.
uscitizen
Villified User
I need someting a bit more stabil than the genny hookup I have now since I usually work my paying job from home over the net...I think enough batteries and inverters for 6-8 hours. I have a UPS on my PC that will run it about 1 hour.
gotta unsolder the little sonalert inside the UPS though, drives me crazy when the power is off.
Or just squirt a tube of superglue down inside it
gotta unsolder the little sonalert inside the UPS though, drives me crazy when the power is off.
Or just squirt a tube of superglue down inside it
Yea, those things are aggravating. Beep, beep, beep.... Ugh!