[Closed] Talk to me about back up generators

Can you access [url= http://www.generatorsales.com/wattage-calculator.asp ]this[/url]?

Search on here - there was a similar question a month or two back. It isn't so much how big the load (although that is VERY important), but how long you want to run it for at a time. 'Emergency' and 'standby' can be very different in terms of longevity and cost.

I would give up on thinking you will ever be able to run your cooker tbh and stick to thinking about what you can microwave

I would advise a 3 kw generator if you want to run a baoic house
Heating fridge, microwave a couple of lights and TV if you are lucky
problem is it will use loads of fuel- circa a litre an hour at a guess

you then need to have a way to plug it all into your mains to power everything

If you want to run your whole house then you need to go round all your rooms and list your plugged in devices and how much power they take. There isn't really a shortcut and whenever I see people miss out that step they end up having to buy a second generator because their guess was way too small

The back of every device which normally I have either a power rating. Use that.

Your cooker will be a killer. So will a tumble drier, dishwasher, washing machine and under sink heater. Each might not take a lot on average but your gennie needs to be rated to cope with them at the same time (unless you an work out how to avoid using some while others are running)

Edit: once you've done that you'll be able to get an idea of what you need and will be able to do the trade offs that you need eg. Can you not run dishwasher/tumble drier for a few days. Can you microwave etc.
Bigger generators can also be a bit noisy :(. You'll need an electrician to wire it in for you although and I think that the thread linked to earlier also had a link to suitable switch boxes. I worked in a place in Tajikistan where someone just connected it to a plug and plugged it into a spare socket 😯 .I'm trying to think of a more dangerous way of doing it but can't

Lights are a surprising killer - especially if you have 10 or so 'feature' halogen lights in your bathroom/kitchen

Instead of a gen it might be better to look at an invertor; you have a bank of big lead acid batteries, fully charged off the mains. When there's a power cut they run a 12v to 240v invertor, where you exchange amps for voltage and that is enough to run light domestic appliances for as long as the power cut lasts.

My colleague in Nigeria gets by with a combination of gen and invertor but there they often don't get any power for a week or longer. They have heavy current users in the split ACs.

Instead of a gen it might be better to look at an invertor; you have a bank of big lead acid batteries, fully charged off the mains.

You don't get long from lead acid batteries, even large rooms full of them. Plus you need a fire proof, vented room to store them in. They also cost a small fortune.

If I were doing it, I'd buy a large generator and connect the appliances I needed to it eg Fridge, Freezer, CH and some lights using either extension leads or a separate ring main installed just for the back up systems - that way you wouldn't have someone plugging in a fan heater tripping the generator.

I'm no expert but some relatives in Africa have a buzzer and switch wired to the mains to let them know when it comes back on. Seemed like a really neat idea but might be better for short daily power cuts?

[i]I'm trying to think of a more dangerous way of doing it but can't[/i]

When I was in Ouagadougou they had a couple of stripped wires on the end of the cable from the generator that they held into a convenient socket with some twigs.

if you've got a disabled child, then you should be on the electricity suppliers priority services register.

If it were me and it was only a couple of times a year I would have a small generator (e.g 3kw) and extensions cables all ready in a box ready to go. When you need it you just have to run the cable round to standard lamps rather than use the ceiling ones and plug in thos appliances that you need e.g. Tv, Fridge etc. It might mean extending the leads on those to make that easy. Then you know what you have plugged in and can control it.

I would only bother with a bigger system if it were going to happen regularly

what leffeboy said. You can get long cables with sockets and circuit breakers on - they sell them for campers in tents to use.

When I was in Ouagadougou they had a couple of stripped wires on the end of the cable from the generator that they held into a convenient socket with some twigs.

I've seen mobile phone base stations connected like that by China Mobile!

When I was in Ouagadougou they had a couple of stripped wires on the end of the cable from the generator that they held into a convenient socket with some twigs.

I hope the moistened the twigs first to make them a bit squishy, maybe with some diesel or the such like

It's horribly scary really. It's like people trying to weld spurs onto the local gas line for themselves

When I was in Ouagadougou

Is this you?

[img] [/img]

No, Zulu Eleven, I'm Too Shy.

Brilliant comeback 😆

🙂

johnikgriff - Member
As I sit in my powerless house (for the 3rd time in the 6 months since we moved back here), with 2 children off sick. I'm getting to thinking about a back up generator. We live in a rural location so where never a priority when this happens in a storm and as i have a disabled son it could get very important in the wrong circumstances. Normally google is my friend, but as my Internet it currently restricted to my phone I thought I'd ask the all knowing STW. So

How big a generator would I need so I could run my fridge, lights, heating (gas, so not much), Cooker (electric so loads), tv, phone etc.
How much fuel is it going to take for say 24 hours.
Best way to get it wired into my ring main.

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST

Hi John, it may be worth getting in touch with your local electrical supplier with regard to your situation with your son. I have worked with and for generator hire companies who are contracted to supply and install temporary/emergency power supplies to households were there are disabled persons, normally in the event of an outtage either planned works or network faults etc. they prioritise a generator connection, an engineer will arrive isolate the main incoming and connect the generator.
I was working in the North West/Merseyside - Scottish Power Manweb Region, this was a regular occurrence in rural areas.
Best of luck

hi cheekyboy. Out of interest, how big were the generators you would hook up?

tx

Cheers cheekyboy, funny enough I live just outside chester and they are indeed my supplier. I'll give them a call and have a chat. Maybe we'll meet 🙂

leffeboy - Member
hi cheekyboy. Out of interest, how big were the generators you would hook up?

tx

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO #

On a house it would be around 30-40kva however these were industrial, canopied mobile sets, if you were to size a generator for your home then you would be better going off the current rating of your mains isolator as a rough guide.

However when we connected to a domestic property we would isolate at the mains, remove the connection from the isolator to the consumer unit completely, we then connected the generator o/p cable, we had the sanction from the electrical board to do this..
Never connect a generator to your mains supply!
If you want to fit a standby system to your home get a decent electrical company in to sort out a changeover unit.

johnikgriff - Member
Cheers cheekyboy, funny enough I live just outside chester and they are indeed my supplier. I'll give them a call and have a chat. Maybe we'll meet

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST

John if you don't get any joy from whoever when you call drop me a mail (in profile) an i will give you another line of enquiry.

Zulu-Eleven - Member
if you've got a disabled child, then you should be on the electricity suppliers priority services register.

What ZE says here ^^^ except its not the supplier you'd be calling, but the local Distribution Network Operator. The guys who own and manage the wires. They will have a priority register and it sounds like you should be on it. It has the potential to work wonders!

Found the form on SP Energy Networks site. Filled in and Emailed over. Thanks guys

thanks for the reply cheekyboy. I've connected up a few but never one that big - was just curious as to size. Wherever I've set them up I've always used a changeover and there have never been enforceable local regs to worry about so I only cared about safety.

We used to suffer irritating power cuts at our farm in Devon. We had a generator that hooked up to the PTU of a tractor and supplied a special consumer unit.

However, the point is that after sufficient whining at the electricity company they changed our transformer to one that automatically clears its faults and resets after 2 minutes. I've seen it struck by lightning and click back on 120 seconds later.