by "Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
Published 02/22/2017 at 12:02
by "Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
Published 02/22/2017 at 12:02
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#providentliving
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 12:06, STARS: 1
Having a generator is nice and all...until you need it and you realize getting power to the things is a PITA. I have been tempted to get a sub panel put in, we had 4 power outages last summer.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 12:13, STARS: 0
What I am doing is clustering things that would need emergency power. Outages are too infrequent for anything so dramatic as a subpanel. What I also need to do is store things like this generator together so that I can grab everything in the event of an evacuation. It would suck to get out of town and then realize we had some incredibly provident gadget that we forgot to throw in the van. I also keep 20 gallons of stabilized gasoline on hand. And something like 3,000 litres of bottled water. And enough dee-high food for at least a month. And toilet paper and foaming hand soap. With care and rationing, I think we could readily hold out 90 days with what we have on hand.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 12:19, STARS: 0
I don’t have long term bug out plans, the realistic scenario in my mind is 3-4 days without power or some type of disaster that requires me leaving the home, in which case I have 2 other homes within 10 minutes I can bugout too for long term, or a home 2 hours away to the north, or 4 hours to the south. We have food storage, I’m just not overly concerned with its portability. I do try and keep 20L of stabilized gas handy - for the generator mostly - and most of my water storage is in 5 gallon containers that I could load up in a moments notice. I really can’t picture a scenario where I need to “bug out” prepper style. I picture it mainly being earthquake damage and associated utility outages or similar.
"TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts." (thebloody)
02/22/2017 at 12:21, STARS: 0
I have a subpanel in my garage, we lose power around 3-4 times a year so for me it makes sense. If I don’t use the old oil burner from my Series project, maybe I’ll bolt on a big ass alternator, hook it up to a transformer and have myself a whole house generator lol.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 12:23, STARS: 0
for a while I looked into what I would take to get the cruiser to output 2kw...then I gave up because it was ridiculously impractical and expensive. I like the idea of being able to high idle a truck and have a generator though.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 12:23, STARS: 0
what does your sub panel run?
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
02/22/2017 at 12:38, STARS: 1
FWIW, I recall going through a few power outages when I was a kid. Being the resourceful man that my father is, he added a breaker to the box and wired it to a 50 amp welding plug. Power out? plug the generator into the welding plug and switch off the main breaker so you’re not re-powering the grid. Switch main back on and unplug once power is restored.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 12:43, STARS: 0
Yeah, thats the basic idea, but I don’t really like dealing with AC, so I would have someone come rig it up. Its just an interupt like you described, then you just switch off high power stuff as needed. As a bonus I have discovered I can run my ARB fridge for about 4 days on battery power if needed. My generator wasn’t running last summer so it came in handy at least once. I’ve always created a loom for a small inverter to run chargers and internet for communication if needed.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
02/22/2017 at 12:50, STARS: 0
Sounds like justification to get an ARB fridge! Hmm.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 12:55, STARS: 0
yup!
"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
02/22/2017 at 13:19, STARS: 0
I have a 1000W inverter that should be able to power my fridge, and I’ve been thinking about getting one of these:
http://www.powerstream.com/inv-12dc-24vac.htm
to fire my furnace (no blowers or anything, just a gas valve and igniter for old school steam system) and thermostat, so I can have heat and cold food while the power is out. With only those things running I should be able to run for about 3 days from my Volt before I need to go buy gas again. Consider the Volt an on-demand 12V charging generator with a 9 gallon gas tank!
What I really need to do is a thorough test - rewire the heater and my fridge through a special circuit I can plug into my inverter. I am thinking that the 12VDC to 24VAC would be more efficient than 12VDC to 110VAC to 24VAC... but maybe it’s insignificant.
"Thomas Donohue" (tomonomics)
02/22/2017 at 13:29, STARS: 0
After a few years of all-too-frequent/random outages and then Sandy, I installed a manual transfer switch. I then isolated a few circuits for refrigerator, hot water (heat) pump, Fios/PC (I work from home) etc. I’ve only used it once since then, but pretty easy to roll the generator out and just plug in one extension cord. It’s amazing how much my little ~3000 watt generator can power.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 13:45, STARS: 0
Yes, same. Some major disaster or other breakdown in infrastructure. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and getting out of the Bay Area would be a trial. And I’d really have no place to go. Fortunately, we do not live in Oroville, or some other place downriver from a dam. And we are far enough from the bay that a tsunami wouldn’t get us...
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 13:54, STARS: 0
Unless I needed to power an iron lung or something, I can camp out in my own house as necessary...
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 13:54, STARS: 0
You could buy the 2000-watt Honda suitcase generator and score a win in all areas.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 13:56, STARS: 0
By loom, do you mean having everything on one power strip that you can plug straight into the generator? Nothing in my house draws much current.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 13:57, STARS: 0
I have the EU2000i right now. I don’t plan on investing in a new one. Suitcase generator?
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 13:58, STARS: 0
nah, I just created a DC cord with terminals that go into a small inverter (400 watts RMS) so I can run a few AC items off a deep cycle if needed.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 14:07, STARS: 0
My 900-watt Honda carries like a suitcase. I assumed the 2000-watter did as well. My little Honda will carry the fridge and the chest freezer just fine, plus, I assume, a couple of LED lightbulbs and some electronics. For this temperate climate, that sould be adequate.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 14:07, STARS: 0
And use the sun to charge it or them by day.
"TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts." (thebloody)
02/22/2017 at 14:14, STARS: 0
100A 2 phase sub panel in the garage so I have 220v for my welding equipment. I plug the generator into the 220v outlet and I turn off the main breaker. I know I should technically get an actual generator switch but I’m not sending power back into the grid so no harm no foul.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
02/22/2017 at 14:16, STARS: 0
It happens every 3-4 years here in Louisiana. My kit is similar to yours. Generator stored in the garage, gas in the side yard. Water and emergency rations in the storeroom. We couldn’t do 90 days, but 30 days is perfectly feasible.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 14:17, STARS: 0
The climate thing is the reason I would need to prioritize power. I need enough to run the furnace in the winter. Ideally the AC in the summer but thats a huge load. If I could get enough amps to run the ac compressor I could use it for heat or cooling regardless of natural gas disruptions too. (heat pump)
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 14:22, STARS: 1
We might be thinner if it went 90 days.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 14:24, STARS: 0
If I lived somewhere that was hot enough to kill you in the summer, I’d have a basement to retreat to.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 14:24, STARS: 0
I do have a basement, so I’m not as worried about heat. My wife and I lived through a dead AC unit one july when she was in her third trimester...its the cold that is the worry.
"TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts." (thebloody)
02/22/2017 at 14:28, STARS: 0
I’m not connected to any public utilities other than electricity so when you take oil heat and well pump into consideration my power needs are more than average. As it stands now when the power goes out I’m just keeping my fridge and freezer running as well as the water pumping.
Right now I have a 2.25 4 cylinder diesel that I may or may not need for my project truck, it puts out around 70bhp so I figure I could feasibly get around 50kw out of it. All I’d need to do is bolt a PTO to the trans and run a big ass alternator off it.
"TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts." (thebloody)
02/22/2017 at 14:41, STARS: 0
The problem is trying to figure out how to run a bigass alternator while the engine is in the truck.
I think if you have an agricultural diesel engine sitting outside it’s easier. Either it can be run off a PTO or you jerry rig it and connect it directly to the trans output shaft.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 14:49, STARS: 0
exactly. It sounded like a neat idea but it wasn’t practical. There used to be a company back in the day that made clutched AC phased output generators for GM trucks, but I can’t find them.
"TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts." (thebloody)
02/22/2017 at 15:09, STARS: 1
Just looking at images, it looks like the perkins 60kw generator is a perkins diesel with an alternator bolted onto where the trans should go.
Hold my hat, I’m diving into this rabbit hole.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 15:11, STARS: 0
Basically you just need a 3 phase motor and a voltage regulator.
"TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts." (thebloody)
02/22/2017 at 15:22, STARS: 0
Pretty much, from the looks of it for the price of a 9000w generator I could have a 45kw generator lol.
Granted it will piss oil everywhere but I guess that will be part of the charm?
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 15:25, STARS: 2
its especially charming if it sputters a little and the lights dim like an indiana jones theme park line.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 19:21, STARS: 0
Basement there, too. Maybe install a flue for as-needed propane-powered heat?
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/22/2017 at 19:24, STARS: 0
What I would love is a 12v powered pellet stove, but it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to have since we are under burn restrictions so much in the winter. Obviously I would burn it if I had to, I just couldn’t use the rest of the non-emergency days.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 19:31, STARS: 0
That would be a fun project. It might be easier just to buy something at auction and focus on making an elegant installation for it.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
02/22/2017 at 19:37, STARS: 0
I really love basements, especially in Summer. The best ones have some daylight opening(s) at ground level.