Your last generator Maintenance Run

[grsthegreat]

Perfect, if ya got it let it shine!!!

We had a major ice storm several years ago so I started my 25kw pto generator & turned every Christmas light on along with every other light in and on the house.
My wife said that the drive home from work was total darkness until she came around the corner and saw our house lit up like a beacon.
She came in & said you can't do that and proceeded to turn all the lights off.
I was enjoying my creation until she shut me down.
Everyone up & down our road has a generator now.
Just sayin!
90cummins

ya, i have a few neighbors that finally installed whole house systems this year. both told me that there happy they did. we had a 5 hour outage last week and a 2 hour outage last night. My next door neighbor installed a manual system 2 years ago, bit now he too wants a whole house system....he was jealous of my Christmas lights last night. after 19 years of having a manual start up generator it was nice to just sit on couch and have lights back up in 30 seconds. i may have to add battery backup ups system to my satellite and wifi unit so i dont have to wait 5 minutes for them to reboot.....im so lazy

 

[90cummins]

Thanks 90.

High resolution data - good stuff :thumbsup: With that level of instrumentation and a constant load, I wouldn't be surprised if you could distinguish runtime between using pure gasoline, and E10.

Not that I'm wishing E10 on your re-incarnated Honda ! .

Rgds, D.

Thanks for that reminder!!
The gasoline in the tank was premium non ethanol.
Looks like I may need to run another test using regular E10 to see if there is a difference.
That would be a worth while test.
90cummins

 

[90cummins]

ya, i have a few neighbors that finally installed whole house systems this year. both told me that there happy they did. we had a 5 hour outage last week and a 2 hour outage last night. My next door neighbor installed a manual system 2 years ago, bit now he too wants a whole house system....he was jealous of my Christmas lights last night. after 19 years of having a manual start up generator it was nice to just sit on couch and have lights back up in 30 seconds. i may have to add battery backup ups system to my satellite and wifi unit so i dont have to wait 5 minutes for them to reboot.....im so lazy

I have a battery backup system which supports my WiFi, heat & other essential items but I need to manually start & connect my generator for long term outages.
Working towards automation of that.
90cummins

 

[cdaigle430]

My Generac NG 16KW starts every 2 weeks, been faithful for over a year now and it gets cooooold here I n Maine. I keep a Briggs n Stratton Stratton 5.5kw storm responder just in case. Been on loan more times than I can remember.

 

[jmc]

Ran a couple of fuel consumption tests on my Honda EU2000i and I'm quite pleased/surprised at the hours per gallon that I can power the 1/4 hp high efficiency blower motor for my wood furnace along with the living room lights & tv.
The load per my killawatt meter varied between 490 & 594va.
The test ran 202 minutes (3.37 hours) and consumed 31.6 ounces / 894 grams of fuel by weight.
Gasoline per Google weighs approx 6.25 lb/gallon (100 ounces) which it consumed at the rate of 9.39 ounces / 265.54 grams per hour.
To measure the fuel consumed I placed the auxilary 3 gallon fuel tank that was connected to the Honda on my digital postal scale for continious monitoring recording the start and finish weight.
The killawatt meter showed that 1.5 kw of power was used.
According to my calculations with the load mentioned above it will operate for 10.68 hours and produce 4.76kw per gallon of gasoline.
Listed below is the basic data I obtained my figures from.
Hours run = 3.37 (202 minutes)
Grams fuel consumed = 894
Ounces fuel consumed = 31.6
Hours/gallon = 10.68
Gallons/hour = 0.09
Kw consumed = 1.5
Kw/gallon of gasoline = 4.76
Please feel free to check/verify my results for errors, I strive for accurate data and welcome feedback.
Thanks
90cummins

Good information. If I ever get a generator, I will probably do the same test.

Since you asked for feedback, the electric units for load would be 'kilowatts', like you said. But electric units for what the gasoline actually generated would be 'kilowatt-hours'.

John

 

[grsthegreat]

My Generac NG 16KW starts every 2 weeks, been faithful for over a year now and it gets cooooold here I n Maine. I keep a Briggs n Stratton Stratton 5.5kw storm responder just in case. Been on loan more times than I can remember.

you can always add the winter heating options kit if it gets too cold... my generator sounds alot happier starting up on 6f days. also the added heat keeps the snow melted around unit. i need to build a lean to over the generator next year

 

[3930dave]

Perfect, if ya got it let it shine!!!

We had a major ice storm several years ago so I started my 25kw pto generator & turned every Christmas light on along with every other light in and on the house.
My wife said that the drive home from work was total darkness until she came around the corner and saw our house lit up like a beacon.
She came in & said you can't do that and proceeded to turn all the lights off.
I was enjoying my creation until she shut me down.
Everyone up & down our road has a generator now.
Just sayin!
90cummins

She was fearing hordes of zombies ?

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Thanks for that reminder!!
The gasoline in the tank was premium non ethanol.
Looks like I may need to run another test using regular E10 to see if there is a difference.
That would be a worth while test.
90cummins

That scale should give you the resolution on the input (fuel). The tough part may be closely matching the load between the 2 tests - if you can do that, it will be interesting to compare the results.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

My Generac NG 16KW starts every 2 weeks, been faithful for over a year now and it gets cooooold here I n Maine. I keep a Briggs n Stratton Stratton 5.5kw storm responder just in case. Been on loan more times than I can remember.

Auto start/transfer is great to have at home, but a portable gen is plenty handy too.... even just for helping out neighbours or friends.

Rgds, D.

 

[Dakota_male]

Before installing a generator we lost power regularly but It have been over a year Since we installed our std by generator and we have not lost the power, but it tests itself every week so i installed a timer during the cold months to turn the block heater on 2 hours before the engine starts to ease the starting because it is cold in the east . Changed the oil to 5W40 syn. instead of 10w30 , summer tests once a month. I know it will start with old 10W30 at -22 so I have no fear of it not starting anytime it is needed.

 

[90cummins]

Good information. If I ever get a generator, I will probably do the same test.

Since you asked for feedback, the electric units for load would be 'kilowatts', like you said. But electric units for what the gasoline actually generated would be 'kilowatt-hours'.

John

Thanks
90cummins

 

[3930dave]

Before installing a generator we lost power regularly but It have been over a year Since we installed our std by generator and we have not lost the power, .

That's a common outcome , once again proving that Murphy is still alive and well.....

With our Winter temperatures, I'm a fan of synthetics in small engines..... starters and batteries appreciate it being used.....

Rgds, D.

 

[grsthegreat]

Had our 3rd outage in a few weeks last night. Generator kicked in and ran over 3 hours. This things getting a run for its money this year,

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Generator kicked in and ran over 3 hours. This things getting a run for its money this year,

So will your "wallet" when you get the fuel bill for all those outages... lol

SR

 

[grsthegreat]

So will your "wallet" when you get the fuel bill for all those outages... lol

SR

Na... a few gallons per hour. We paid $1.37 for propane last time. Have 1000 gallon tank.

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^Not to get too far off thread...

I have seen this repeat many times when it comes to cost.

Know someone that bought a very large genset for their large million dollar home back in 2004

She wanted it automatic and to be able to run everything... had a large hardwired UPS installed and the genset required the utility to upsize the gas meter to a commercial size... takes a lot of gas at load.

The first time the generator ran it was for most of the night... a vehicle accident took out a utility pole and then transformers blew...

Anyway.. she was shocked at the cost of the extra natural gas to run it and this was a night when everyone was sleeping...

A genset to run everything may be too expensive to run

Also had a tenant that wanted me to put in a new electric service... the original was circa 1922 and she was having lots of issues... they also were into salt water fish... large Aquariums...

I upgrade the service and she is a happy as can be... until the first power bill arrives... those heaters, pumps, etc... add up fast.

 

[grsthegreat]

My 22 kw runs my 4000 sf house. Burns between 2.5 - 3.9 gal propane per hour depending on load. Personally i could care less, but some people might balk at the cost. Id rather have lights and comfort than pay price for propane. Mind you i shut mine down when i go to bed unless its 5f outside ive logged 13 hours on generator in past few weeks. Thats not too much $$$ to worry about inorder to have comfort.

I agree about huge generators. I service a house that has a 130 kw generator that sucks down up to 22 GPH of propane at full output....that would be nuts.

 

[ultrarunner]

What surprises me is many that are new to Gensets really don't have a clue as to how they function or cost per hour to operate.

I would think someone spending over 20k for back up power would have a ballpark idea of cost per hour of run time and annual maintenance...

Honest... I know people that bought homes with units that are totally clueless... but these are also the ones that can't come to work when the power is out because the garage door will not go up...

 

[grsthegreat]

What surprises me is many that are new to Gensets really don't have a clue as to how they function or cost per hour to operate.

I would think someone spending over 20k for back up power would have a ballpark idea of cost per hour of run time and annual maintenance...

Honest... I know people that bought homes with units that are totally clueless... but these are also the ones that can't come to work when the power is out because the garage door will not go up...

good one..... i always tell my customers about fuel usage. For the most part most dont care. To be out of power up here when you have a well, have animals, and its 20 degrees outside is pretty dangerous. If i lived in the city without horses, it would be different matter.

 

[ultrarunner]

I think "Country" living comes with a steep learning curve... some embrace and others want no part of it.

The home I rent out is wired for a generator... two of my last tenants owned generators... in the 4 to 6k range...

A few years back there was a huge Ice Storm... power was out for a week and temps were single digits... the problem for my tenant was keeping the generator fueled and keeping the 3 fire places going... the kids actually enjoyed it... it is something they will never forget...

They cooked on the flat surface of the living room fireplace insert, put the frozen goods in a Ice Chests in the snow bank... played cards, ate smores, went to bed early and got up early... they said it was their pioneer week... really the only essential was water and by being careful the genset was able to power one of the two water heaters...

My new tenants had the power go out for a couple of hours... they are all upset because they had no water... well, they had no water as soon as the pressure in the tank was down.

They are demanding I furnish a generator... as the home is not habitable without electricity... there is no way I'm going to furnish a genset from 800 miles away...

The property has a 400 amp service circa 1978... to run Everything would take a large unit...