No Heat For 13 Hours

[Taxmantoo]

No wonder the guys with boilers need power....can't heat with gravity.

When my parents' sole source of heat was a wood boiler in the basement, we'd manually open the solenoid valves and have plenty of heat. Just had to keep a close eye on boiler temp because the automated controls were down and we had to control the air intake manually. Overheating wasn't generally a problem because we'd cook ourselves out of the house long before the boiler hit 200.

The generator ran the freezer and refrigerator. When it was time to water the cattle, we'd wire a plug to the well pump controller and plug it into the 240 outlet on the generator.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

dual fuel

http://www.propane-generators.com/type_2.htm

can switch while running

 

[RacerX]

http://www.generlink.com/about_generlink.cfm

easy way to hook up generator just turn off extra stuff . easy and safe

That's a good low cost solution. I wonder how many utility companies would actually allow you to use one of those.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

pepco and dominion power market em

they sell em lease em install em. its safe and no changes to house wiring you can power any existing circuit. and it automatically keeps you from backfeeding.

 

[John D]

Ive run my wood boiler on just a EU2000i honda, for a few hrs last winter when the power went down.It also ran the fiances computer so she could continue to work from home....I think the total needed to run the OWB and circs on my baseboard hot water system is only about 400 watts,you could get by with a small invertor,and run it off your idling vehicle or deep cycle batteries for short bursts....my OWB circ is 110 watts,loop is 57 watts,heat circs are 80 watts each...x3.That isnt a whole lot,esp when you can "start" them at different times to help reduce starting amperage..
If your just trying to keep the house warm,and need little else but a light or 2,a small 2K gen is plenty,BTW my little honda will run about 10-15 hrs on a gallon of fuel putting out only a few hundred watts....If I did it on a regular basis,I would have a 15amp 120v plug installed in the utility room,a loop for the entire furnace circuit,when power goes down,unplug the cord,plug it into the ext cord,and to Genny,just make sure you have a 12/2 cord if its over 50ft...

 

[CrappieKeith]

When my parents' sole source of heat was a wood boiler in the basement, we'd manually open the solenoid valves and have plenty of heat. Just had to keep a close eye on boiler temp because the automated controls were down and we had to control the air intake manually. Overheating wasn't generally a problem because we'd cook ourselves out of the house long before the boiler hit 200.

The generator ran the freezer and refrigerator. When it was time to water the cattle, we'd wire a plug to the well pump controller and plug it into the 240 outlet on the generator.

I guess I was talking about owb's not indoor furnace as you guys may be able to take advantage of thermo syphon.

 

[Dale]

13 hours eh ??? I'm currently on day 6 with no power. Thank gosh for my Hearthstone Soapstone stove, as it is keeping us all comfortable as far as climate. I am able to match-light the burners on my propane stove to cook, and I borrowed a generator which I am running a lamp, refrig., and a TV. I have to use my quad to fill buckets at a spring on my farm, then empty the water into my bathtub at home in order to flush toilet, wash a few dishes/utensils, etc... I also have to make runs into town to buy Gas to run the generator, 15 gallons per day. So other than everyone getting on each others nerves (and not being able to bathe), we're making out. I'm hearing we won't be restored until 02/15.

 

[headleyj]

13 hours eh ??? I'm currently on day 6 with no power. Thank gosh for my Hearthstone Soapstone stove, as it is keeping us all comfortable as far as climate. I am able to match-light the burners on my propane stove to cook, and I borrowed a generator which I am running a lamp, refrig., and a TV. I have to use my quad to fill buckets at a spring on my farm, then empty the water into my bathtub at home in order to flush toilet, wash a few dishes/utensils, etc... I also have to make runs into town to buy Gas to run the generator, 15 gallons per day. So other than everyone getting on each others nerves (and not being able to bathe), we're making out. I'm hearing we won't be restored until 02/15.

at least you have the important things covered so you can post here while the power is out!

 

[Cowboy Billy]

On a generator, engine RPM and load are not related. Sure, you can bog it down with a load and you can have small fluctuations when it tries to correct itself.
It's not a very smart idea to ever mess with the RPM on a generator.

Do not do it unless you enjoy spending money replacing stuff. It's not worth being a tight wad to save a few bucks on fuel.

A generator is set at a certain RPM based on the frequency it's supposed to be driving.
F=N*P/120
What's that mean?
F means frequency
N means RPM
P means # of poles on the generator head.
We are 60Hz here.
60=3600*2/120
if it's a 4 pole generator, the RPM gets cut in half.
60=1800*4/120

Sparky you are absolutely right!!!

I did not think that someone might think I recommended idling down a store bought generator that is designed to run at a specified rpm. Which would drop voltage and hz. Causing electronics and motors to burn out.

I guess what I should have said that for a emergency situation. One should figure out what critical systems need to be running and how much power they need to run including startup power. And buy a generator that will supply that power with a little safety margin. Buying a generator large enough to run the whole house like you are on line power will burn a lot more gas when gas may be hard to come by.

The generator I belted down was home made. So after I put a larger pulley on the engine. I used a hz meter and voltage meter and set my governor according to that.

This is the generator I am using at the farm. 20hp chingfa diesel with a 12kv generator head. It is designed to run at 2200 rpm. We dropped the engine speed to 1000 rpm which is too slow as the governor barley works and if I put a big load on it I have to raise the rpm manually. If I could find a pully to run the engine at 1250 rpm I believe that run it just right for what I am using it for.

And this is the generator I am setting up for home. 14hp lister diesel with a 12kv generator head. This engine is cool as it will burn diesel vegetable oil or used engine oil (after filtering). And puts out 9500 watts burning 1/2 pint of diesel per 1000 watts of output per hour.

Billy

 

[Buckethead]

I am also in the "just the essentials" camp.

I have a 5KW Generac gasoline unit that was given to me when my father upgraded to a 10KW unit. I am set up to power my well, fridge, furnace, water heater and some lights. When I added the fireplace insert 4 years ago the furance became far less important.

Currently, I back feed my panel through the welder outlet so I MUST be sure the main breaker is off to prevent feeding to grid. I have a generator panel almost installed that will allow me to proper feed my essential circuits when I'm done.

I keep the generator filled with avgas to help reduce the "bad gas" issues. I run it twice a year and change the oil during one of those runs. I also try to keep at least one full 5 gallon can in the garage.

So far the longest I've been on generator power is 4 days. Most of my outages are only about 12 hours

 

[gwiley]

I know this sounds paranoid, but please rethink storing gasoline in the garage - unless it is a detached structure. I have had rodents chew through the plastic gasoline cans - WHILE THEY WERE FULL OF GAS, resulting in a few dozen gallons of fuel dumped on the ground. Accidents happen too that might cause a spill and gasoline is just way to crazy volatile to be safe stored in a home.

It is inconvenient, but I built a wooden box that I use as a fuel dump about 50' away from the house - I keep 30 gallons of gas there.

Don't be a statistic - find another place to store fuel.

 

[WVwoodsman]

Cow boy Billy, I like those, sweet!

 

[Sparky8370]

Sounds like you got a good understanding of it CowboyBilly, and some nice equipment.
Again, just didn't want someone getting the wrong idea.

 

[Buckethead]

I know this sounds paranoid, but please rethink storing gasoline in the garage - unless it is a detached structure. I have had rodents chew through the plastic gasoline cans - WHILE THEY WERE FULL OF GAS, resulting in a few dozen gallons of fuel dumped on the ground. Accidents happen too that might cause a spill and gasoline is just way to crazy volatile to be safe stored in a home.

It is inconvenient, but I built a wooden box that I use as a fuel dump about 50' away from the house - I keep 30 gallons of gas there.

Don't be a statistic - find another place to store fuel.

gwiley,

I hear ya. I know there have been several members here that have mentioned the rodent and gas can problem. Fortunately, we also store the horse grain in tha garage and the kids spill enough on the floor so that the rodents are either too distracted by the grain to go after the gas cans or too fat to be bothered with the gas cans

I do understand your concerns...maybe it's time to clear a place in the shed...

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Thanks WVwoodsman

It really is a neat project. My brothers worked out the setup and found the engines and generators. And I just jumped on the wagon after they got it going. I started with the chingfa engine. And the plan was was to run them on vegetable oil in the winter. And pipe the heat into the house from the engine and water cooled exhaust. That way we would get our electric and some of our heat and save money. My dad and brother bought a seed press to press the oil out of soybeans or sunflowers. But our farming skills leaves much to be desired and so far the deer have ate all our oil crops. Then we found out the listers would run on used motor oil which we can get for free and all we have to do is filter it and heat it. The lister is a low speed diesel and really quiet and a lot of fun.

Howdy Sparky

Thanks again for clearing that up. I have been so involved with the project and know what and why I am doing it. I just did not realize I was leaving things out. Which could mislead someone into doing unsafe and damaging to their equipment.

Cool Buckethead

So I am not the only one that has horse feed scattered through the garage!

 

[RAF]

A buddy of mine had a lister about the same size it was new in the crate. So of course I asked him how this was. It seems from what he told me that India makes this unit now. The person he bought it from was able to get it before they stopped shipments to the US. Again this is what he told me was the deal. Interesting engine and definitely quieter than a new gas gen.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

they sell em lease em install em. its safe and no changes to house wiring you can power any existing circuit. and it automatically keeps you from backfeeding.

Allegheny Power had no clue about these...oh well, they are being bought out anyway.

 

[Dale]

Who is buying Allegheny Power ? They're my provider.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Who is buying Allegheny Power ? They're my provider.

FirstEnergy...Allegheny sold out in Ohio too.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Who is buying Allegheny Power ? They're my provider.

Allegheny is selling all former Pepco assets in my end of Va. to two different cooperatives.