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Post by cmdrcody on Jan 16, 2024 18:56:11 GMT -5
Well it got to below zero the other day. So on Monday when my standby whole house generator was supposed to exercise, it went eh eh eh putz…..
After putting a new battery in it ($254) it’s happy again.
My wife asked it it was under warranty.
I had to say no because it was the original AGM battery from when the generator was installed in 2010.
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Post by woodyb on Jan 17, 2024 14:43:41 GMT -5
My house is connected to the gasline like most houses in my country. Because of the war in Ukraine gasprices have gone up a lot. But thankfully I have a wood stove and large supply of wood my grandfather has gathered over last 15 years. It’s free accept for some sweat and hard work. So I keep the gasbill down. More money to spend on ammo and whiskey!
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Post by woodyb on Jan 17, 2024 14:45:41 GMT -5
Also, I’ve heard that you need to let a generator run once and awhile. To make sure it runs when you need it. So the engine doesnt seize
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Post by cmdrcody on Jan 17, 2024 20:58:01 GMT -5
Yes my generator runs for 15 minutes to exercise each Monday at 5 pm. It just didn’t have enough voltage to crank with the extreme cold.
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Post by CXM on Jan 19, 2024 18:40:04 GMT -5
The new generators are pretty amazing. Ours runs every Wed afternoon. After it shuts down it sends me an email telling me it ran and that it is ok and ready to operate. If somthing is wrong it tells you what is wrong and you can have it serviced before you need it in an emergency... I like this feature a lot. Our old generator told me the battery was bad and I had it replaced. Not many weeks later we had a hurricane and we needed the generator for several days. The hurricane before that we needed it for nine days... we were VERY happy we have it. When I put it in, a couple of neighbors sort of laughed... thought I spent too much money, not worth the trouble etc. After a couple of days without power they were not laughing much... too busy begging for ice...  FWIW Chuck |
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Post by Mister Coffee on Jan 20, 2024 11:38:24 GMT -5
The new generators are pretty amazing. Ours runs every Wed afternoon. After it shuts down it sends me an email telling me it ran and that it is ok and ready to operate. If somthing is wrong it tells you what is wrong and you can have it serviced before you need it in an emergency... I like this feature a lot. Our old generator told me the battery was bad and I had it replaced. Not many weeks later we had a hurricane and we needed the generator for several days. The hurricane before that we needed it for nine days... we were VERY happy we have it. When I put it in, a couple of neighbors sort of laughed... thought I spent too much money, not worth the trouble etc. After a couple of days without power they were not laughing much... too busy begging for ice... FWIW Chuck That new generator sounds really terrific. When I think of generators, I think of the portable ones. Yours sounds like it might be more involved. Is it permanently installed in a structure or shed next to your house? |
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Post by CXM on Jan 23, 2024 12:37:50 GMT -5
Mine is a GENRACK 24KW permanent installation on a concrete pad. It powers the whole house. It runs on LPG (Propane) though they have diesel and natural gas versions. We have a 1000 gal. tank buried near the generator. The manufacturer says it should use 22gal of propane a day though in practice it uses a good bit less because the estimate is based on the power consumption of all the appliances in the house, which of course don't run all the time. For example, in the summer our house is shaded by a lot of Oak trees so the A/C units don't run anywhere near all the time.
The generator is bolted to a concrete slab next to the house enclosed by an iron fence. It would not be easy to steal, though thieves will steal everything and anything given the opportunity... I expect this would be too much trouble and they would move on to easier targets.
I think the generator would handle stoves ok but we don't use them in a power outage... we mostly use microwaves when on generator power and we have several portable single burner gas stoves that use aerosol size disposable cans of gas...
The system is self starting. When power goes out it starts it's self and is power is back up in 14 seconds. When power comes back it shuts it's self off more or less instantly.
We are extremely pleased with this system. We recently replaced a 10 year or so older system by the same maker and really appreciate the much quieter operation compared to the older system There was nothing wrong with the old system we just wanted the newer features. The dealer offered a good trade in program so we went for it.
The old system used cell phone technology to monitor the system during it's weekly self start and test run. The new system uses WIFI technology. If any problems are encountered it sends me an email telling me what the problem is and what corrective action is needed.
The only down side is the power produced is expensive compared to the city provided power... But in an emergency I'm not worrying about the cost of power, I'm just glad to have it. During hurricane Irma we were without city power for nine days... I can tell you we were VERY glad to have the generator.l
FWIW
Chuck
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