Do you own/operate a Generator?

[LCHIEN]

I assume the transfer switch will disconnect from the grid? And installing it needs an electrician?

a transfer switch allows you to safely use your house wiring for distribution. goes in front of your breaker box and selects generator or Power pole after the meter but not both. Probably best for an electrician to do.

You don't have to have one but the other safe alternative is running long extension cords to the house through doors and windows (read susceptability to heat, mosquitos and burglars and a trip hazard). Then unplugging lights and applicances from the wall and plugging into the extension cords.

There are unsafe alternatives but we won't discuss them here.

[MikeMcCoy]

One thing that throws a wrench in the natural gas systems. In Pensacola, natural gas was shut down to my area during and after EVERY storm that hit the area due to the large number of uprooted trees. I had one neighbor that put in a large tank so he didn't have to depend on commercial pipeline because of that.

Also for the portables - I used right at 4 gallons a day but I only ran during the night so the window unit could make life bearable and that was enough to get the refrigerator contents back to safe frozen levels.

[LCHIEN]

Actually had neighbor here that had house rewired so that about half the house is on "whole house" generator, natural gas. Not sure of the specifics or how it was done.

I think there are automatic transfer switchs that will put specific circuits on the generator power and leave the rest connected to the power grid. In this way, a smaller Genset than the whole house load can be used and won't trip out immediately after coming on and taking on the whole house.

For example a two story house with two AC units you might leave the upstairs A/C and heating, the pool pumps, the game room and library lighting off the generator. Only power lights in the bedrooms, kitchen and breakfast room. And power only the kitchen appliances. Oh, yeah, and the woodshop in the garage or basement.

If you use a manual transfer switch, then you can go shed loads at the breaker box before connecting and starting the genset and its not an issue.

[cabinetman]

I have a 6KW, and after Wilma we lost power for 18 days and water for 6 days. It came with a twistlock 30' extension cord with 5 -110V taps. Transfer switches should be installed by a licensed electrician.
.

[L. D. Jeffries]

22 days w/o pwr back in the 98 NE ice storm. Have a 6000w generator converted to propane, as cooking/water heater and furnace run on propane. Clean, easy starting and no worry about gas gumming up etc. Lives in the shop, back wired into house. Cut the main power in the house-flip breaker in shop and that powers the house. Works well for under $700 (98 price) With 2 80gal tanks will last a while. Up here pwr outages are pretty frequent!

[toolguy1000]

i have a generac portable generator much like this one:

http://www.briggsandstratton.com/eng...s.aspx?pid=146

it connects to the house via a 6 circuit manual transfer switch, which i installed myself. and no, i am not an electrician. an extension cord from the generator's 220 volt outlet connects the generator to a weatherproof, flanged male connector, which carries current to the main panel via the manual transfer switch. as i have no well pumps and all heat, cooking, hot water and clothes drying is nat. gas, the 6 carefully chosen ganerator circuits allow us to function quite well whenever the power goes out. there is nothing like a portable generator. it is the ultimate power tool as it makes power. if you have the need, a standby is the best for a home, but you sacrifice portabiity for the larger capacity of most standby generators.

[ironhat]

Small generators are self-excited and rely on residual magnetic field to start the
generation process. If you don't run them once in a while, the field can decay to
the point the generator won't generate. How long is once in a while? Varies on size/model/manufacturer. But if it's been 6 months or more, could be the problem.



PER Notebook

Field Flashing of Portable Generators

This tip comes from the Briggs & Stratton Customer Education Department. As an alternative to flashing a rotor winding with a battery applied to the brushes, an electric drill may be used. Follow these steps to flash the generator:

• Plug the electric drill into the generator receptacle. (Cordless drills do not work)

• If the drill is reversible, move the direction switch to the forward position.

• Start the generator

• While depressing the trigger on the drill, spin the drill chuck in reverse direction. This will excite the field and the generator will now produce electricity. If spinning the chuck one direction does not work, try spinning the chuck in the other direction as you may have the reverse switch positioned backwards.

Use caution not to get your hand or other materials caught in the chuck. As soon as the field is excited, the generator will produce power and the drill will turn on.
The reason this works is because the electric motor in the drill will act as a small generator when spun backwards. The magnets in the drill's motor induce a voltage into the motor windings, which is fed back through the trigger, cord and into the generators receptacle. From there it goes into the power winding of the stator. The voltage going through the power winding creates a magnetic field, which is intensified due to the iron core of the stator laminations. The rotor intersects this magnetic field as it is spun past the power winding, thus inducing a voltage in the rotor winding. Once current flow is present in the rotor winding the rotor has been flashed.
If flashing the field does not make the generator work, you may have additional problems, besides a lack of magnetism in the rotor. Further testing will be needed. Hopefully, this will give a simple way to field flash your generator if needed - Bruce Perrault

The Precise Engine Repair web site is maintained by Bruce Perrault
The last update to this page was made Sunday, December 07, 2006.
Copyright © 2005-2007 Precise Engine Repair, Inc.

[sparkeyjames]

BIL is moving out of town, and has a 5700 watt Generator to sell. He bought from Walmart after Hurricane Wilma but never even unpacked it. He paid $550 and just wants to get rid of it, so I listed it on CL for $350.

LOML was wishing we could take it ourselves, but I feel it'd be a liability. The chances of an extended power-cut are low, and even then I'd rather not deal with the hassles of managing a Generator just to get some fan going. If I had to run the 'fridge with it, I'd need to lug it all the way to kitchen ( !) , or run an extension cord, right? Not safe, I'd say.

So how big is your generator and how do you use it?

Lets see you... Live in Hurricane country? Check. Have a refridgerator with food in it? Check. Live in an area with higher average temperatures? Check. You need the generator. Remember the boy scout motto.

[crokett]

I assume the transfer switch will disconnect from the grid? And installing it needs an electrician?

Yes it will disconnect from the grid. No, if you know what you are doing no electrician. I installed mine myself. The way it works is the load (the wiring coming from the outlets, lights, etc) runs through the transfer switch before running back to your main panel. Durning normal operations you are feeding the circuit from the main panel. When you want to get power from the generator you switch the transfer switch so that power is now coming from the generator.

[radhak]

Thanks everybody for all the info.

In the meanwhile, 'Robinson Megan' has emailed me :

"Thanks for getting back to me. I'm currently in UK and want to ship the item down here. There won't be any problem with the shipment 'cos my shipping broker will handle all necessary things,I will like to know the current condition and will appreciate it if you can send me some recent pictures Let me know. Thanks!"

! Dunno if these would-be scamsters even read the post they are trying to game; he wants to ship a 212-lb generator to the UK?!?!! What next - how about shipping the land somebody wanted to barter?

[Uncle Cracker]

The words "your item" or "the item" are scamspeak for "I don't know what you are selling, and I don't want it, anyway. I only want to con you out of your money..."

[tseavoy]

Generator

I also have 5500 watt generator -- a devilbliss that I got from HF. The way I use it is not recommended. To connect it I open the outside switch disconnecting the house from the grid, and the panel breaker, for good measure.
I feed the generator into the 240V shop receptacle (opening the shop breaker first) then by closing the shop breaker it goes into the house. When power comes back I have to make sure the generator is disconnected so grid power doesn't feed into the (stopped) generator.
I wouldn't recommend the HF generator. I found that in order to get the engine started I had to heat the intake pipe with a butane torch first. If I had a lot of money I would get a Honda generator with electric start.
The transfer switches are very expensive. I see HF has a Cutler Hammer dpdt switch which does the same job for less. Unless your electrician will work on a hot circuit he has to have the power company disconnect power while he wires in the transfer switch.

Tom at Marrowstone

[LCHIEN]

I also have 5500 watt generator -- a devilbliss that I got from HF. The way I use it is not recommended. To connect it I open the outside switch disconnecting the house from the grid, and the panel breaker, for good measure.
I feed the generator into the 240V shop receptacle (opening the shop breaker first) then by closing the shop breaker it goes into the house. When power comes back I have to make sure the generator is disconnected so grid power doesn't feed into the (stopped) generator.
I wouldn't recommend the HF generator. I found that in order to get the engine started I had to heat the intake pipe with a butane torch first. If I had a lot of money I would get a Honda generator with electric start.
The transfer switches are very expensive. I see HF has a Cutler Hammer dpdt switch which does the same job for less. Unless your electrician will work on a hot circuit he has to have the power company disconnect power while he wires in the transfer switch.

Tom at Marrowstone

you are backfeeding the line.
One mistake in sequencing and you can blow up your generator or kill a lineman working on what's supposed to be a dead power line near your house. if you ever disconnect your generator cord from the wall when the genrator is running, you'd have what looks like a normally dead plug instead live with exposed prongs.
Very dangerous in multiple ways and not recommended. Putting your life at risk is one thing, someone elses is another.

[Uncle Cracker]

I have a mechanical disconnect wired downstream from my meter box. I can take the grid offline and lock it in place, so that nobody (including the power company) but me can put me back online. Then, the keys to the disconnect are mounted on the generator, so I can't accidentally unlock the disconnect without going to the generator (to disconnect it) first. Simple, but effective. The keys also have the warning "Think" tagged on them, just to be on the safe side...

[thestinker]

Dad got a great deal on a 5500 watt. I have 2 110 feeds with plugs on them, and each one goes under a 220 v 2 pole 30A breaker in the garage sub panel. This breaker doesn't power anything else. It is in the off position unless the generator is running. I use it to run the fridge, tv, fans, microwave and other small appliances during long outages.

1. kill main breaker and breakers to large items like AC, and the dryer. I have all these marked with small colored stickers in my main panel.
2. Start generator and plug in the 2 leads.
3. turn 220 A breaker in sub panel on and the juice flows to the things I want to operate only.

I run it about an hr a month to keep it in running shape and change the oil about every 40 to 50 hrs.

Riley