Generator advice
- Thread starter ban-all-sheds
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hmm i'd use a lower breaker on this cuircuit on the grounds that if your overloading it you wan't to know about that before you switch to genny power. If it were a 2KW generator i'd probablly advise using a D10 (e.g. 10A overcurrent but with a short cuircuit trip point high enough that its unlikely to neusense trip on surges)Lectrician said:
andy said:
I was going to ask that - I'm out of the country at the moment so haven't seen any news recently. What have I missed? (I know Mefeking was relieved, and Germany came 2nd in WWII - skip on a bit from there
Cheers,
Howard
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AFAIK, there's no problem using red diesel for generators, or 35 sec CH fuel. A few rural garages sell red, but if you can't find one speak to a friendly Farmer & buy a bit off him! Domestic fuel suppliers are not allowed to deliver less that 500 litres at a time, so you can't get them do supply you just a bit.
I think some small diesels will run on kerosene (28 sec CH oil), but check with the maker.
Generac make some nice small ones, but note the starting current of fridges etc means you need a larger one than you might think.
The one I have has a thermal breaker to protect from overload, much slower than a MCB, I think this is common generator practice.
I think some small diesels will run on kerosene (28 sec CH oil), but check with the maker.
Generac make some nice small ones, but note the starting current of fridges etc means you need a larger one than you might think.
The one I have has a thermal breaker to protect from overload, much slower than a MCB, I think this is common generator practice.
A diesel one sounds like it would give me the most flexibility in terms of fuel.
My only concern is, from advice in Another Place, that they don't like running on a light load. If I do get a 3 - 5kW one, it would spend a lot of time serving a few hundred watts......
My only concern is, from advice in Another Place, that they don't like running on a light load. If I do get a 3 - 5kW one, it would spend a lot of time serving a few hundred watts......
Suggest you have a word with Lombardini (01865 793299) about that. My 15LD engine seems fine on light load, but it's never run for more than 2 hrs at a time like that, so perhaps not long enough to test the result?
I don't think there's much of a "don't like" aspect as much as efficiency and control - from the efficiency point of view, the engine needs a certain amount of power just to keep itself going, and that's pretty constant, so if you're taking only a light load the percentage of useful work to overhead gets high. You may find (picking figures from the air) that it uses 2l/hr of fuel at 50% load, and 1l/hr on 10% load so it's costing a lot more per kWh on low load.ban-all-sheds said:
The control aspect is that with a light load it's more difficult to maintain the RPM where they should be, so you may see some hunting in speed, giving variations in frequency and voltage.
The only aspect that might affect the machine is that under a light load the bearings and couplings have the chance to flap about a bit, rather than being pressed in one direction all the time when there's a heavy load, but this shouldn't be a major problem if it's a decent quality machine that's not worn out.
Two-strokes are a different matter - because they are lubricated by the fuel they don't like running on low power because they can get starved of oil (it's not unknown for a bike engine to seize if you close the throttle suddenly after a fast run). But oil-in-sump engines don't have this problem!
Cheers,
Howard
Not if I buy this one and flog juice to them...numpty with a crowbar said:But that noise you hear on the cold winter night will be music yo your ears - as your neighbours shiver in the darkness
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If you live in the wilds, power cuts are an occupational hazard. Summer isn't too bad, but in winter it's a total b@llache, since it is (inter alia) cold and dark! Plus the fact that the "Lazy 'Lectric" give first priority to the whining b@stards in towns when it comes to reconnection.
We were off three days New Year 2004, and did they give a big brown one? Well, no...
Generator would certainly help a bit...
M
We were off three days New Year 2004, and did they give a big brown one? Well, no...
Generator would certainly help a bit...
M
I was asked to connect up a generator to run a customers CH inthe event of a power cut.
I worked out that to fullfill the regs it would need its own earth spike and the change over switch worked out at £100 approx.
So a pretty expensive project when you include the price of the genny.
I worked out that to fullfill the regs it would need its own earth spike and the change over switch worked out at £100 approx.
So a pretty expensive project when you include the price of the genny.
I agree it's not cheap - but what price would you put on being able to avoid being cold and dark?
Once installed, that changeover switch will last forever, and a decent genny for nearly as long, given only occasional use. If you live somewhere where cuts are frequent, what is the long-term cost per incident of having backup power?
BTW - I don't suppose anybody has a copy of BS 7909:1998 they'd like to photocopy & send to me?
Once installed, that changeover switch will last forever, and a decent genny for nearly as long, given only occasional use. If you live somewhere where cuts are frequent, what is the long-term cost per incident of having backup power?
BTW - I don't suppose anybody has a copy of BS 7909:1998 they'd like to photocopy & send to me?
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