The power has been going out on a regular basis this summer. I am considering having a transfer switch installed and buying a generator for the extended outages. Are the troy-bilt generators sold at Lowes any good? The 5500(8500 surge) watt is $699 and the 7800(surge?)watt is $1198. We live in a rural area and I am concerned that we would be on our own for a while if we get a hurricane similar to the one that hit our area in 2003.

 

I have a Honda 5500 gen in the race trailer. Ready to hook up to the house if I ever need to. Not sure what to tell you on the Troy Built, but I LOVE my Honda.

 

We have an Onan generator taken out of a computer warehouse....i recomend that...we can rune a 2800sq/ft house 3 sheds 3 barns a oil burner and a well....and if we wanted the 4 miles down the road ....ITs great....I just like hearing it start up

 

(Sri I didnt mean to sound cocky or arrogant) NO OFFENCE

 

This is the larger of my standby gensets:
It is a military MEP003 10kw single AND 3 phase generator. It is powered by a 4 cylinder ONAN/ cummins DJC air cooled diesel engine. It is somewhere in the 170 cid range. It weighs around 1,700 lbs..
If I do not need to shake the neighborhood, I also have a 4kw Onan 4.0cck genset and a later model 5kw RV type which both are gasoline powered and are MUCH MUCH quieter

All of my computers, surveillance DVR server, camera power supplies are powered by several UPS units with the main one being a BEST industrial 4kw with extended runtime courtey of 3 battery pods each rated at 48 volt 375 ah. for a combined 1125.0 ah.

 

Where does a fella get himself hooked up with somethin like that Jim?

 

I bought it off of a guy who had won several at a government auction.
It did not run, the starter was shorted and some of the covers were missing. I paid $400.00 for it. I had to have a starter built because it is 24 volt and reverse rotation. That cost me $300.00 and that hurt. I got it running with no problem then I just had to hunt down the missing parts.

Check E-Bay for them also watch for government auctions. This one came out of Barstow, Ca.
I have heard of people pay up to $15,000.00 for these units.
There is a newer unit designated as a TQG "tactical quiet generator" it is much quieter, EMP hardened and has almost ZERO heat signature. Very important when you are concerned about being hit with a heat seeking missle.

Also check out this site.
Jim.
http://www.colemans.com/generator.htm

 

Thanks for link!

 

Generators:
Here is the other link I was looking for. You can get a lot of neat things there.
Closest base around here was in Barstow Ca.
It sort of works like E-Bay but sometimes you get a single unit and sometimes it is a container full.
http://www.govliquidation.com/list/c7210
Jim

 

FWIW, if any of you folks have a tractor around, you might consider using a PTO driven generator such as this:






I got it after hurricane Fran made a mess of NC. I was without AC for a week . . . . . . screw that plan!

I run mine with a John Deere 5210. With a 45HP input, it developes 25KW continuously, with 50KW surges. That equates to 109 amps at 240vac all day long. Naturally, I don't need that much power contiuously, but it will start the 3ton heatpump with no problem . . . . . with the stove and clothes dryer running to.

If you do go to shopping for something like this, you'll fine there are cheap ones, and expensive ones. They typically fall into two catagories; low RPM (1800 four pole), and high RPM (3500 two pole.). The lower RPM types cost more as they are built more robustly and will last much longer.

I ended up building a noise reducing shed to put it all in. That way I can let it rip 24/7 without upsetting the critters.

 

Also, be aware that most generators are actually of the 220vac wiring (two hot wires, and a neutral).

Like this:
Where "WWWW" represents the generator winding(s).


In most cases, when they talk about a given generators power ratings (Watts), it's typically both windings combined. Meaning that, if such-n-such generator's good for 5Kw, anyone of the 120vac outlets is good for only half the total rating. In this example; 2500w.

YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY. Check your particular units owners manual.


My point of all this is; to get the full capacity of your gen-set, try to evenly distribute your load to both groups of receptacles (phase A, and B).

You might end up with a couple of lights and the refrigerator on phase A, a light, TV, and the freezer on phase B. In doing so, you'll be using the full capacity of your investment.


On the subject of refrigerators, freezers, small AC (window units) and the like. Those motors are tough to start. By that I mean they may require as much as five (5) times the rated running wattage to start. If your gen-set is borderline in supporting your expectations, you'd do well to start those heavy loads first, then add the lights and TV.


As a further side note, if you're into these kind off things, you're aware that by bridging those two 120vac lines with a 220vac recpticle (of the correct rating), you'll have just that: 220vac. With that, you can install another breaker (again, of the correct rating) to back-feed into your home power panel.

BE AWARE!! You can kill a line-man working down the road if you don't first turn off the main, incoming power breaker. This is why they make and insist on folks using a transfer switch. Like I said, this is only for those into this kinda thing.


BE CAREFUL!

 

That is a real nice setup you have.
How do you have the exhaust routed to the outside of the shed?
How long can the unit run and how much of a load are you pulling?
I know of a couple of people who use the "backfeed method" (a pigtail from the generator with a dryer plug that they plug into the dryer recieptle after they throw the mains breaker.)
But I do not trust or ever recomend this method, during a stressful situation like a tornado or whatever something usually will screw up.
You are right about being able to energize the utility line from your house through the transformer (pole pig) 240 volts X 7,200 volts and endangering the life of a poco worker. (Last year a POCO worker was electrocuted by a generator backfeeding the line after the hurricane.)
Also if by chance you forget to trip OFF the mains breaker and the POCO restores the power to the line you will be seeing fireworks when your generator head expoldes as it is fed with full power.
Most of the local POCO have a program where they will install a automatic transfer switch behind the meter head where you simply plug in your generator and when it senses it is producing power, it will automaticly switch over.
I prefer automatic or manual type myself. I have 3 standby generators I maintain for work.
The smallest is 100 kw with a turbocharged white engine and the other 2 are 250 kw with turbocharged cat engines.
I like when these engines start, unlike ours they don't start at an idle but at WOT against the governor then back to 1800 RPM. LOUD
Ours have to be online and synchronized within 10 seconds.
http://www.heartland-rec.com/semi_au...fer_switch.htm

 

I went down to a local muffler shop and had them fold me some pipe so that I could connect to the tractor with a short piece of flex, and have the exhaust go through a second muffler on its way to shine in the main ventilation blower (and to the out of doors).







I made sure to follow all the standard noise reduction practices: Mass/Glue/Screws/Mechanical isolation to control low frequency noise, and gasketing/fiberglass to control the high frequency noise.

In the following image, you can see where I introduced noise blanketing by way of 45 degree angles with the cooling air intake. If you could imagine the walls (inside & outside skins) as being drum skins, I've constructed things so as to minimize any mechanical connections between the two (decoupled). The list goes on but suffice it to say, with the system functioning, it is VERY quiet outside.





Fuel consumption?

A little less that a gallon an hour (rough average). That's with John Deere 5210 3 cylinder diesel (53hp at the flywheel, 45hp at the PTO) puching a 3 ton 16SEER heat-pump w/10KW aux strip heat. The usual refrigerator, freezer, electric stove, clothes dryer type mess. (That and a butt-load of computers. 17 ATM). Where possible, I've converted ALL the interior lighting to fluorescent, and the exterior to high pressure sodium fixtures. Frankly, this setup allows me to run the home as Business As Usual.

The neat thing about it is I don't have to look at a $15,000 (or more) wasp nest shelter most of the time as with the dedicated stand-by GenSets. That and the added insult that that same unit may not start my heat-pump due to lack of reserve capacity.
I suppose the biggest downside of this arrangement might be that below a certain power demand, the fuel consumption remains the same [a subtle load is lost in the basic running load (mechanical)].


A word of warning: Even with this level of durability/capacity, Murphy's law will not be outdone! The danged power never so much as flickered for the next three years after bringing this mess on-line.

 

Yep. We bought a generator 5 years ago and have used it to power the house one time. We fire it up every year to make sure it still runs and change the oil.

Gotta admit I'm a member of the suicide cord club. That dryer outlet sure was tempting.

 

Yep, I too am a member of the male-to-male suicide adapter cord club.
This year I obtained a used Light Tower with a Kubota powered 6kw genset inside complete with a big fuel tank for 60hr full-load runtime.
Recently I kicked my preparations in high gear as we had a hurricane scare that had a possibility of hitting the Coastal Bend of Texas.
I put in a 30A 120/240V Hubbell twistlock receptacle with 25A breakers in my load panel just for my "special" power cord. Unfortunately, I am now likely to be drafted into the hurricane skeleton crew at my work place the next time around.
I have no problems handling which breakers need to be opened and closed in what order. But if I am stuck at work while my wife and kids are at home without power during a blow, I don't like the thoughts of her messing up putting the genset online.
On utility transfer switches:
Our utility down here doesn't provide ANYTHING for free! Not only that, our municipality makes life difficult via the electrical building code permitting/inspection proce$$. So, WHEN I run across a reasonably priced manual transfer switch, I'll probably have to break down and have it legally in$talled by a local electrician with a city licen$e, and let HIM fight the city hall battle. It's only money right?

Jim:
We have 3 gensets here at work and I have one in my unit. It too starts at WOT. It is a ONAN/Cummins turbocharged K-14 , 400kva genset with a Kim Hotstart heater package.. If you don't hear that little faint "click" about 1/2 second before those dual starters light off, you'll have plenty adrenalin circulating around the old bloodstream to help get yourself out of that concrete room! MAN oh MAN is that LOUD!
I've seen the UPS alarm log from loss of utility power to genset breaker closure, 4seconds!

Keith