Going on the Grid-How much?

[Cord]

I talked with the field engineer and was told the cost would go up if anyone else did the clearing because they would have to be supervised. They are even charging me for past quotes. This is BS.

That's pretty much where I figured it would head. You have to get your self into a mode where you can deal with this stuff and think your way out of the corner. So they quoted you to have the trees cleared to put the lines in. If you clear them then they'll have to have somebody supervise the work. Fine. You're not under contract so just let the proposal rest. It's your property, so clear the trees and then in a year or two have them quote to put the lines down this really nice cleared lane. Now the problem goes away. Remember, these people are not hired to solve problems. They are hired to work within some very well defined rules and they don't want to get in trouble for breaking any rules.

 

[3930dave]

Sure did. I'd want at least 2 full days of juice stored, preferably 3, before I'd have to fire up a generator, and that means 6 of those puppies minimum. We have a farm, our electric bill is stupid. I told my wife run the air conditioner like heck this summer, just to spite the Co-Op and not let them buy electricity from us at pennies on the dollar.

Fair would be giving us the spot wholesale price on a KW, plus a sub-station credit, and not charge us to take the juice back. I accept that their should be a distribution fee on the juice we import.

Curious - what is the problem with firing up the generator once a day ?

If you have that big of an operation, why not just have a controller auto-start the generator as needed ?

Asking partly to add some options for OP to review...

Rgds, D.

 

[civilian]

Question in general. Are propane generators cost effect? Better or worse than diesel? Just wondering. Thanks, Jon

 

[mike69440]

Curious - what is the problem with firing up the generator once a day ?

If you have that big of an operation, why not just have a controller auto-start the generator as needed ?

Asking partly to add some options for OP to review...

Rgds, D.

We are just a hobby farm, but Bucket heaters, pumps, etc several freezers, huge house with double kitchen washer dryer, welders, wood shop, green house, etc we use about 2000KW/month, sometimes a bit more. I do not have a diesel auto start generator. We have day jobs, and ok, I'm lazy and forgetful.

 

[mike69440]

Question in general. Are propane generators cost effect? Better or worse than diesel? Just wondering. Thanks, Jon

Dependable, but a bit expensive to run, fuel wise, great for emergencies.

 

[3930dave]

We are just a hobby farm, but Bucket heaters, pumps, etc several freezers, huge house with double kitchen washer dryer, welders, wood shop, green house, etc we use about 2000KW/month, sometimes a bit more. I do not have a diesel auto start generator. We have day jobs, and ok, I'm lazy and forgetful.

Thnx for the 411, and honesty :thumbsup:.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Question in general. Are propane generators cost effect? Better or worse than diesel? Just wondering. Thanks, Jon

For producing a lot of power, I'd expect diesel to win $ wise.... but there are regional aspects - propane seems to vary in price quite a bit, depending where you live, and can swing seasonally in areas with harsh Winters - if you can bulk store propane, you may be able to catch a deal.

For limited/random power generation, use patterns and existing fuel needs probably matter the most. One really nice thing about propane is that it stores reliably as-is, for a really long time. If you store stabilized diesel for other reasons, then you already have an existing source to draw from - easy if you already have a large tank at home for tractors....

One thing to keep in mind if you start with 20# tanks, a manifold with at least dual tanks is a good idea for reliable northern Winter use - you need that increased area of dual tanks (both turned on) to ensure propane vapourization at low ambient temperatures. Nick had a good posting on a decent low cost dual manifold he set up recently in another thread (might have been my Last Generator Maintenance Run thread, or one Nik(daFish) started lately (?)...).

Propane can be harder to source; esp. in an extended emergency I'd guess that diesel would be easier to acquire...

If you are already up to speed on maintaining diesels in cold-climates (not really all that hard, but not common consumer knowledge Can/USA), then adding another one is no big deal. Running a generator purely on propane should be a no-brainer for an avg consumer today, with the one note being pay attention to the Operating Hours - ie. don't rely on dark looking oil to indicate Change Now.

Rgds, D.

 

[oosik]

When we moved here in 1982 I had power run in, one mile, from the main line on the county road. At that time it cost $4600, which I thought was pretty high. I guess now its about 3X that amount.

 

[zmountaineer]

I must be lucky. Our co-op gives 250 ft and 1 pole "free" as well as tree clearing. Then another 125 feet for service. It would be $3 per foot after that. My run was 440 feet and was not charged a dime.

 

[fitter1]

There are 3 other land owners that will have poles on their properties which involve easements that I didn't mention. I will most likely get a diesel water cooled 1800 rpm generator for back up. But running a generator 24/7 with low hr. warranties is not going to happen.