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OT GENERAC generators

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ve1js

OT GENERAC generators

We are considering the installation of a generator here for times when,
for one reason or another, commercial power is unavailable.Our
electrician has recommended a Generac generator.

I would welcome comments from this august and knowledgeable group about
these generators regarding reliability and RFI emissions or, preferably
the lack of RFI!

Please reply off list to [hidden email]

73 TIA

John, VE1JS
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Philip Carter-3

Re: OT GENERAC generators

I would also recommend that. Very little trouble.

On Thursday, July 24, 2014 6:30 AM, John Scott <[hidden email]> wrote:

We are considering the installation of a generator here for times when,
for one reason or another, commercial power is unavailable.Our
electrician has recommended a Generac generator.

I would welcome comments from this august and knowledgeable group about
these generators regarding reliability and RFI emissions or, preferably
the lack of RFI!

Please reply off list to [hidden email]

73 TIA

John, VE1JS
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KC6CNN

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by ve1js

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

wb4jfi

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by Philip Carter-3

We also have a Generac generator, and ATS. I believe it's about 20kW, the
largest they sell that is NOT water cooled. I didn't want a car engine...

Our house has two 200A panels inside, and being in South Carolina (hot,
muggy), we have three air conditioning units, including mini-split for the
ham shack, plus all electric kitchen (induction cooktop), and other
high-current things. I tried several electricians, all of whom wanted to
install 30+kW, water-cooled generators, which I could not afford.

We finally found an electrician (as part of a kitchen remodel) that was
smarter than the average one, and he was familiar with the Generac Nexus
(sp) line of "Smart Switches". These are add-ons to the ATS that manage
generator loading by cutting back heavy loads if the generator gets bogged
down. They add a switch to each identified load, and the ATS controls how
those switches get managed.

We've had the generator run a few times, and I've seen the ATS cutting back
the load at least once. I'm usually home during outages, so I can manually
trip breakers to manage the load myself, but it's nice to see that the
system works even if we aren't home.

So far, I've been really happy with this setup.
73, Terry, WB4JFI

-----Original Message-----
From: Philip Carter
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2014 8:00 AM
To: John Scott ; [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT GENERAC generators

I would also recommend that. Very little trouble.

On Thursday, July 24, 2014 6:30 AM, John Scott <[hidden email]>
wrote:

We are considering the installation of a generator here for times when,
for one reason or another, commercial power is unavailable.Our
electrician has recommended a Generac generator.

I would welcome comments from this august and knowledgeable group about
these generators regarding reliability and RFI emissions or, preferably
the lack of RFI!

Please reply off list to [hidden email]

73 TIA

John, VE1JS
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Michael Walker

Re: OT GENERAC generators

Hi John

The easy part is the size and if it produces power. The hard part is the
RFI noise, so, somehow, you need to figure out a way to actually test this
in the field (no pun intended) so you can actually hear if there is any RFI
issues.

I would look for similar installations or reference customers from the
vendor.

Your electrician may or may not have knowledge of dealing with radio
interference. Ask the hard questions so that you get a good answer and
make sure you also write it into the purchase agreement. If you don't then
the vendor may walk away since RFI is very hard to measure for most other
than those on this list.

Good luck!

Mike va3mw

On Thu, Jul 24, 2014 at 8:36 AM, <[hidden email]> wrote:

> We also have a Generac generator, and ATS. I believe it's about 20kW, the
> largest they sell that is NOT water cooled. I didn't want a car engine...
>
> Our house has two 200A panels inside, and being in South Carolina (hot,
> muggy), we have three air conditioning units, including mini-split for the
> ham shack, plus all electric kitchen (induction cooktop), and other
> high-current things. I tried several electricians, all of whom wanted to
> install 30+kW, water-cooled generators, which I could not afford.
>
> We finally found an electrician (as part of a kitchen remodel) that was
> smarter than the average one, and he was familiar with the Generac Nexus
> (sp) line of "Smart Switches". These are add-ons to the ATS that manage
> generator loading by cutting back heavy loads if the generator gets bogged
> down. They add a switch to each identified load, and the ATS controls how
> those switches get managed.
>
> We've had the generator run a few times, and I've seen the ATS cutting
> back the load at least once. I'm usually home during outages, so I can
> manually trip breakers to manage the load myself, but it's nice to see that
> the system works even if we aren't home.
>
> So far, I've been really happy with this setup.
> 73, Terry, WB4JFI
>
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Philip Carter
> Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2014 8:00 AM
> To: John Scott ; [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT GENERAC generators
>
>
> I would also recommend that. Very little trouble.
>
>
>
> On Thursday, July 24, 2014 6:30 AM, John Scott <[hidden email]>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> We are considering the installation of a generator here for times when,
> for one reason or another, commercial power is unavailable.Our
> electrician has recommended a Generac generator.
>
> I would welcome comments from this august and knowledgeable group about
> these generators regarding reliability and RFI emissions or, preferably
> the lack of RFI!
>
> Please reply off list to [hidden email]
>
> 73 TIA
>
> John, VE1JS
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
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> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
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> Message delivered to [hidden email]
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>
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>

Joshua Gould, K8WXA

Re: OT GENERAC generators

The house that my girlfriend and I are currently renting has a 14KW Generac
Guardian Series standby generator. I need to go pull the battery out and
charge it, I suspect that the battery charging circuit isn't working right
because of a bad onboard control panel. Ours powers everything except the
room where the shack is, the washer, dryer and stove. As I've never had the
generator fire up while I've had an HF radio, I have no clue what kind of
hash or other RFI will become audible when it's running.

As we live in the country, we keep our generator in manual mode and if we
decide we need it, we will fire it up. We pay for our propane as we use it,
so we'll decide if we want to incur the expense.

73,
Joshua Gould
K8WXA
EM89pn

On Thu, Jul 24, 2014 at 8:58 AM, Michael Walker <[hidden email]>
wrote:

> Hi John
>
> The easy part is the size and if it produces power. The hard part is the
> RFI noise, so, somehow, you need to figure out a way to actually test this
> in the field (no pun intended) so you can actually hear if there is any RFI
> issues.
>
> I would look for similar installations or reference customers from the
> vendor.
>
> Your electrician may or may not have knowledge of dealing with radio
> interference. Ask the hard questions so that you get a good answer and
> make sure you also write it into the purchase agreement. If you don't then
> the vendor may walk away since RFI is very hard to measure for most other
> than those on this list.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Mike va3mw
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 24, 2014 at 8:36 AM, <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> > We also have a Generac generator, and ATS. I believe it's about 20kW,
> the
> > largest they sell that is NOT water cooled. I didn't want a car
> engine...
> >
> > Our house has two 200A panels inside, and being in South Carolina (hot,
> > muggy), we have three air conditioning units, including mini-split for
> the
> > ham shack, plus all electric kitchen (induction cooktop), and other
> > high-current things. I tried several electricians, all of whom wanted to
> > install 30+kW, water-cooled generators, which I could not afford.
> >
> > We finally found an electrician (as part of a kitchen remodel) that was
> > smarter than the average one, and he was familiar with the Generac Nexus
> > (sp) line of "Smart Switches". These are add-ons to the ATS that manage
> > generator loading by cutting back heavy loads if the generator gets
> bogged
> > down. They add a switch to each identified load, and the ATS controls
> how
> > those switches get managed.
> >
> > We've had the generator run a few times, and I've seen the ATS cutting
> > back the load at least once. I'm usually home during outages, so I can
> > manually trip breakers to manage the load myself, but it's nice to see
> that
> > the system works even if we aren't home.
> >
> > So far, I've been really happy with this setup.
> > 73, Terry, WB4JFI
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message----- From: Philip Carter
> > Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2014 8:00 AM
> > To: John Scott ; [hidden email]
> > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT GENERAC generators
> >
> >
> > I would also recommend that. Very little trouble.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thursday, July 24, 2014 6:30 AM, John Scott <[hidden email]>
> > wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > We are considering the installation of a generator here for times when,
> > for one reason or another, commercial power is unavailable.Our
> > electrician has recommended a Generac generator.
> >
> > I would welcome comments from this august and knowledgeable group about
> > these generators regarding reliability and RFI emissions or, preferably
> > the lack of RFI!
> >
> > Please reply off list to [hidden email]
> >
> > 73 TIA
> >
> > John, VE1JS
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:[hidden email]
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> > Message delivered to [hidden email]
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:[hidden email]
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> > Message delivered to [hidden email]
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
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> > Post: mailto:[hidden email]
> >
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> > Message delivered to [hidden email]
> >
> ______________________________________________________________
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>

N2TK

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by ve1js

John,
For a number of years I have had a 16KW Generac Quite Source. Compared to my
next door neighbor's 7.5KW B&S, the Generac is very quiet.
Power here in upstate NY seems to go out several times a year and sometimes
for multiple days.
Thank goodness I am on natural gas for the house.
Also, the battery is continuously trickle charged. Plus the generator runs
at half-speed for around 15 minutes once a week as a test. But the generator
doesn't switch over power during this test.
My 12V supplies or any other household devices do not have any issues with
the waveform coming out of the generator. Neither does my Acom 2000A. I have
not tried yet my KPA500 under generator power. I have to remember to try
that. The only issue seems to be my Geochron. It loses some time on extended
generator periods.
Once a year I use a Generac kit to replace the air filter and spark plugs.
They are cheap online. I check oil (synthetic) every couple of months.

I have detected no noise from the generator while operating.
The only thing I had to do was change the setting on my old UPS (>10 years)
units so that they were less sensitive to the waveform from the generator.
My newer UPS units did not show this problem. By the way the waveform looks
a little weird on the scope.

At the time I bought the generator 16KW was the biggest Quite Source. If I
was buying today I would get a larger quiet source so that all I would have
is a transfer switch between the meter and the 200A main Breaker box. With
the 16KW I had to add a separate switch over breaker box.
The only things not on the generator breaker box are the second air handler,
ovens and clothes dryer. So, not much of a compromise when on generator
power.

Thinking of adding a battery and charger setup so that when we get a power
glitch the K3's and other 12V devices stay on. Computers and their
peripheral devise are on UPS.

I am sure besides Generac there are other good choices in whole house
generators.
GL

N2TK, Tony

-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of John
Scott
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2014 6:30 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] OT GENERAC generators

We are considering the installation of a generator here for times when, for
one reason or another, commercial power is unavailable.Our electrician has
recommended a Generac generator.

I would welcome comments from this august and knowledgeable group about
these generators regarding reliability and RFI emissions or, preferably the
lack of RFI!

Please reply off list to [hidden email]

73 TIA

John, VE1JS
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Josh Fiden

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by ve1js

Other excellent U.S. companies making generators are Winco
(www.wincogen.com) and Gillette (www.gillettegenerators.com). I'm sorry,
I don't have direct experience wrt RFI. Maybe contact the manufacturer
directly for info.

73,
Josh W6XU

On 7/24/2014 3:30 AM, John Scott wrote:
> We are considering the installation of a generator here for times
> when, for one reason or another, commercial power is unavailable.Our
> electrician has recommended a Generac generator.

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wb4jfi

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by wb4jfi

Talk about burying the lede... I have not heard any RFI from the generator
(it is running it's weekly test right now!) whenever I have used the rigs
while it is running. My worst RFI offender is actually the Electrolux
clothes dryer. I do a lot of listening & playing with SDRs (including K3
and KX3), but have mostly wire antennas.
73, Terry, WB4JFI

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2014 8:36 AM
To: Philip Carter ; John Scott ; [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT GENERAC generators

We also have a Generac generator, and ATS. I believe it's about 20kW, the
largest they sell that is NOT water cooled. I didn't want a car engine...

Our house has two 200A panels inside, and being in South Carolina (hot,
muggy), we have three air conditioning units, including mini-split for the
ham shack, plus all electric kitchen (induction cooktop), and other
high-current things. I tried several electricians, all of whom wanted to
install 30+kW, water-cooled generators, which I could not afford.

We finally found an electrician (as part of a kitchen remodel) that was
smarter than the average one, and he was familiar with the Generac Nexus
(sp) line of "Smart Switches". These are add-ons to the ATS that manage
generator loading by cutting back heavy loads if the generator gets bogged
down. They add a switch to each identified load, and the ATS controls how
those switches get managed.

We've had the generator run a few times, and I've seen the ATS cutting back
the load at least once. I'm usually home during outages, so I can manually
trip breakers to manage the load myself, but it's nice to see that the
system works even if we aren't home.

So far, I've been really happy with this setup.
73, Terry, WB4JFI

-----Original Message-----
From: Philip Carter
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2014 8:00 AM
To: John Scott ; [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT GENERAC generators

I would also recommend that. Very little trouble.

On Thursday, July 24, 2014 6:30 AM, John Scott <[hidden email]>
wrote:

We are considering the installation of a generator here for times when,
for one reason or another, commercial power is unavailable.Our
electrician has recommended a Generac generator.

I would welcome comments from this august and knowledgeable group about
these generators regarding reliability and RFI emissions or, preferably
the lack of RFI!

Please reply off list to [hidden email]

73 TIA

John, VE1JS
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Edward R Cole

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by ve1js

I cannot comment one way or another on the Generac, though I see them
often advertised with farming equipment, so probably they are
sturdy. I think my Dad had one he ran with the tractor pto.

We chose to add a generator to our home after a cheaply built foreign
model was unable to supply even enough power for a 75w light and the
microwave. We decided to go for a generator that was capable of
running the whole house and had electric start (to make life easier
on us old folks). We bought a 6500w Honda Generator for about
$4,000. I built a "doghouse" to permanently install it near our
meter and added a manual transfer switch.

We've had absolutely no problems with the generator other than the
battery charge slowly drops in our winter temps, so I added a ac
timer and a 500ma 12v charger. It charges the gen starting battery
twice/day for 3-hours and that solved the battery discharge issue.

What I especially appreciate is the slow-run mode that extends
running time to 14-hours between refueling (about 3 gallons). Like
most Honda's it runs very quiet (I cannot tell it is running 20-feet away).

The generator is capable of supplying enough power for me to run my
8877 (about 3kW load).
It is capable of remote control in the house (we didn't opt for that)
and gen shuts down on high temp or low oil.
We do have to be careful not to run too much in the kitchen and the
well pump when in the slow-run mode else it will trip off. Never a
problem in full-speed running.

Nice to have power when the winds blow and trees take down commercial
lines (several times a year).

73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
"Kits made by KL7UW"
Dubus Mag business:
[hidden email]

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JHRichards

Re: OT GENERAC generators

How much fuel do all you guys with whole house generators keep on hand?

How much fuel does one need to, say, go for 10 days? Does everyone have
that on hand?

What next, if you run out of fuel...

[--Note - not an argument, a serious question. I know lots of guys with
generators, but I bet they have only one or two days of fuel on hand.
What does it really take? Does one need a submarine-size tank, like we
see in rural areas, to go the distance? ]

---------------------- K8JHR ------------------------

On 7/24/2014 5:22 PM, Edward R Cole wrote:

> We chose to add a generator to our home after a cheaply built foreign
> model was unable to supply even enough power for

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Earl-3

Re: OT GENERAC generators

My 20 KW whole house Generac runs on natural gas.

Earl N5ZM..

On 7/24/2014 7:40 PM, K8JHR wrote:

> How much fuel do all you guys with whole house generators keep on hand?
>
> How much fuel does one need to, say, go for 10 days? Does everyone have
> that on hand?
>
> What next, if you run out of fuel...
>
>
> [--Note - not an argument, a serious question. I know lots of guys with
> generators, but I bet they have only one or two days of fuel on hand. What
> does it really take? Does one need a submarine-size tank, like we see in
> rural areas, to go the distance? ]
>
> ---------------------- K8JHR ------------------------
>
> On 7/24/2014 5:22 PM, Edward R Cole wrote:
>
>> We chose to add a generator to our home after a cheaply built foreign
>> model was unable to supply even enough power for
>
> ____________________________________________________
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>
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>

Elecraft mailing list

Re: OT GENERAC generators

Good question.

OK here are the stats on my 30 KVA Generac. Consider a normal day winter time and the power goes out at commute time. After the calls to PG&E (in my area), we settle down to a evening without power, UNTIL. The word comes that the power will be off for up to 24 hours. The freezer is good for over night so unless wife wants to watch TV, we set it out over night.

In the morning, I manually fire up the diesel and check the 25 gal tank level. 2/3 full approx 16 gal. Switch over the manual mains and we are on full power load.

PG& E was wrong on the estimate and did not have a solid eta on restored power. After running the Generac until everyone has had their showers, etc. I shut it down for the night. In the morning I check the fuel and it is at a little over 1/3 or 8 gal. I crank it up, start the day. About 3PM the indoor NE2 lamp on the commercial side of the panel comes on and I switch off the Generac. I refill the diesel fuel tank. Estimate time on the RTM is about 21 hours running on 8 gal of diesel. Yes, it has a idle mode but keeps the voltage above 100 VAC.

Not bad.

Mel, K6KBE

On Thursday, July 24, 2014 6:20 PM, Earl <[hidden email]> wrote:

My 20 KW whole house Generac runs on natural gas.

Earl N5ZM..

On 7/24/2014 7:40 PM, K8JHR wrote:

>
>

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Joshua Gould, K8WXA

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by JHRichards

We have what ever is in the 500 gallon propane tank. If it were generator only, I don't know long it would last. Add in the furnace and it would probably only last a few days. Getting more would be a call to the propane company if they were still operating.

Joshua Gould
K8WXA

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 24, 2014, at 20:40, K8JHR <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> How much fuel do all you guys with whole house generators keep on hand?
>
> How much fuel does one need to, say, go for 10 days? Does everyone have that on hand?
>
> What next, if you run out of fuel...
>
>
> [--Note - not an argument, a serious question. I know lots of guys with generators, but I bet they have only one or two days of fuel on hand. What does it really take? Does one need a submarine-size tank, like we see in rural areas, to go the distance? ]
>
> ---------------------- K8JHR ------------------------
>
>> On 7/24/2014 5:22 PM, Edward R Cole wrote:
>>
>> We chose to add a generator to our home after a cheaply built foreign
>> model was unable to supply even enough power for
>
> ____________________________________________________
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wb4jfi

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by Earl-3

Mine too. Unless Charleston has another earthquake, I should be okay.
Terry, WB4JFI

-----Original Message-----
From: Earl
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2014 9:18 PM
To: K8JHR ; [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT GENERAC generators

My 20 KW whole house Generac runs on natural gas.

Earl N5ZM..

On 7/24/2014 7:40 PM, K8JHR wrote:

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Charlie T, K3ICH

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by JHRichards

On huge advantage of a gasoline powered generator over a tank fed propane
unit is that you can always syphon a few days worth of gas out of your car,
but if the roads are closed and your LP tnak runs dry, your screwed.

That said, the longest we've EVER been without power hear in northern
Virginia is 4 to 5 days from some nasty hurricanes. Typical storm damaged
lines around here are restored in a matter of hours.

73, Charlie k3ICH

----- Original Message -----
From: "K8JHR" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2014 8:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT GENERAC generators

Edward R Cole

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by ve1js

From: K8JHR <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT GENERAC generators
Message-ID: <[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

How much fuel do all you guys with whole house generators keep on hand?

How much fuel does one need to, say, go for 10 days? Does everyone have
that on hand?

What next, if you run out of fuel...

[--Note - not an argument, a serious question. I know lots of guys with
generators, but I bet they have only one or two days of fuel on hand.
What does it really take? Does one need a submarine-size tank, like we
see in rural areas, to go the distance? ]

---------------------- K8JHR ------------------------

I keep three 5-gallon plastic gas cans with fuel. That is for
running the lawn tractor (mows and snowblows) and the generator (also
very occasional use a chainsaw and brush cutter).

That is sufficient for most power outages. Fuel consumption in the
econo-run mode is 0.2 gal/hour so 24 hours continuous use would use
just over 5 gallons. But we usually shut down the generator when
sleeping unless it is during the cold of winter and we need to be
concerned about freezing the water lines.

Longest power outage has been about three days. We live only two
miles from one of the power company generator sites so not likely to
be out long-term.

When we run thru 15 gallons of fuel (might stretch five days
intermittent running) then we drive to a gas station and
refuel. Unlike the lower-48 many gas stations have their own backup
generators in case of power loss. Here in AK we try to keep the cars
fueled with at least half a tank so we could drive quite a distance
if we needed to find an open station. In a major disaster we would
not have enough fuel to last two weeks (unless we siphon from one of the cars).

House heats on natural gas but we opted to stay with a gasoline
powered generator. Less dependent on gas supply that way.

Here's a question for the rest of you: How much emergency food and
water to you have? One winter an avalanche cut off truck deliveries
for three weeks and we almost ran out of dog food (had six sled dogs,
then). We had power thru that period.

A small town about 100 miles from here lost their electric and phones
for that period and also all road deliveries (only one gas station in
town). National Guard air-lifted them a large gen-set and relief
food (local grocery freezers thawed and there as no resupply for a long time).

73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
"Kits made by KL7UW"
Dubus Mag business:
[hidden email]

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N2TK

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by JHRichards

My 16KW Generac uses natural gas 170-245 Cu ft/hr, depending on load.
If using LP the usage is 1.55/57 to 2.51/92 gallons per hour/cubic feet per
hour, depending on load.

N2TK, Tony

-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of K8JHR
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2014 8:41 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT GENERAC generators

How much fuel do all you guys with whole house generators keep on hand?

How much fuel does one need to, say, go for 10 days? Does everyone have
that on hand?

What next, if you run out of fuel...

[--Note - not an argument, a serious question. I know lots of guys with
generators, but I bet they have only one or two days of fuel on hand.
What does it really take? Does one need a submarine-size tank, like we see
in rural areas, to go the distance? ]

---------------------- K8JHR ------------------------

On 7/24/2014 5:22 PM, Edward R Cole wrote:

> We chose to add a generator to our home after a cheaply built foreign
> model was unable to supply even enough power for

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Elecraft mailing list

Re: OT GENERAC generators

In reply to this post by ve1js

If you want quiet I would stay away from Generac. We had a 5K one for backup power for our house in Colorado. First time I fired it up for a test my neighbor from 1/2 mile away came down to ask me what was wrong. We've since used the Honda quiet generators in Quartzsite for several years and you can carry on a conversation within 5 feet of one. Biggest problem is you have to have several linked together for any higher power requirements but they are very quiet. (and stolen a lot.)

A friend of ours had a propane powered generator in his cab over. Didn't like it at all because it ran off the same tank as his heater and stove. Biggest problem with it was propane has less power per volume than gas.

We use 320 watts of solar on our RV when camping out in the desert with an 3 cylinder diesel backup generator by Onan if the sun don't shine for a while. Runs off the diesel tank in the MH and seems to last forever. Fairly quiet too as it is a DC generator feeding a 8kw inverter. Only runs as fast as it needs to to supply enough DC for the inverter so you can tell by the sound of the engine when it's loafing along. I could probably figure a way to plug it into the house if we needed to in an emergency. (or just live in the motorhome for a while.)

My choice would be to have some of everything, solar, wind and backup generator. Whether gas or diesel generator would depend on the ease of supply.
A friend of mine has solar and a wind generator and I've seen it put out 35 amps but it can be scary in a high wind.

Art

KC7GF

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Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT

Re: OT GENERAC generators

Propane, in a sealed tank under pressure, tends to have good shelf-life.

Gasoline, stored in a vented tank, tends to turn to varnish.

A tank of diesel will support bacteria growth, which clogs the filter
(when you need it most).

If we're talking about an emergency generator that is used infrequently,
then propane is a really good choice.

73 -- Lynn

On 7/25/2014 6:40 PM, Acbross via Elecraft wrote:
> A friend of ours had a propane powered generator in his cab over. Didn't like it at all because it ran off the same tank as his heater and stove. Biggest problem with it was propane has less power per volume than gas.

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