Yes, another electrical question. Oh, and propane too.

[Diggin It]

Utility completely whiffed on the pole move. Said Nuh-Uh. BUT, they did a compromise of sending their tree contractor out to take off the most offending branch(es). They don't normally clear over service drops at all, so this was their compromise. I am not displeased. Guys were in and out in two hours and took down quite a bunch. Deal was that they just drop it and I have to do the clean up. That's OK with me. But I gotta say, this wood is a WHOLE lot bigger on the ground than it looked 25 feet up. I estimated 8-12" diameter, but the biggest stuff is closer to 24". Nearly solid Red Oak, so you can imagine what a 4' length weighs.

 

[Diggin It]

Moving on to shopping for generators .....


In general, do LP generators have an internal regulator where you can connect direct to the tank line, or do you need an external?

 

[rScotty]

Moving on to shopping for generators .....


In general, do LP generators have an internal regulator where you can connect direct to the tank line, or do you need an external?

You will want the generator to have it's ownlow pressure external regulator. They are inexpensive.

In general LP generators have an internal regulator to step the pressure down to their own carburation. Plus an internal on/off solenoid valve. But the generator itself should connect to a low pressure regulator - usually a dedicated low pressure regulator just like the one that feeds your house. You can have several low pressure regulators on a single higher pressure tank line. One for the house, one for the generator, one for the workshop.

If you go over 10K watts on the generator you will probably want it to have it's own dedicated low pressure regulator to the tank line anyway just so that the generator feed is a constant. Low pressure regulators are inexpensive enough to do that.
rScotty

 

[Diggin It]

^^ Cool. I haven't checked prices yet. I think 10K would do, but I've seen a couple of 12 or 14KW units for not a lot more money. Briggs, Koehler and Generac seem to be in that low end field.

 

[AnotherBueller]

Take a look at a Mil surplus 14.5 KW diesel gen set, I've seen them for $2500 - $4000 get the one with the environmental housing. They put out pure 60 cycle ac, no noise on the power line, computer safe. They are intended for 24/7 use are set for single or three phase.
Look for one rebuilt by a ex-ground power mech.