EMERGENCY! Anyone in Middle Georgia have a generator?

[rdnelson]

JeF4y;804902 wrote: When it comes to generators, price is by how clean the power is, how small the generator is and how QUIET it is.

You can get a genset for a couple hundred bucks that will run your tank but it's gonna be noisy & not the cleanest power you've ever seen.

Want cleaner power, take a shower. Oh wait, that doesn't work as nice as your sig line does it. hehehehe

While harmonics may play a role in a cheap gen-set it should not have any lasting effects on any equipment for a reef tank with the possible exception of a controller. Even then, I wouldn't be afraid to run one off any gen-set. Everything should be more than capable of running on a voltage range of +/- 10% for a decent amount of time. I would suspect that you would actually get a steadier voltage range from a generator than the utility. Changes in consumption near your home can affect what you see in your home. Especially in metropolitan areas.

 

[jef4y]

rdnelson99;804907 wrote: Want cleaner power, take a shower. Oh wait, that doesn't work as nice as your sig line does it. hehehehe

While harmonics may play a role in a cheap gen-set it should not have any lasting effects on any equipment for a reef tank with the possible exception of a controller. Even then, I wouldn't be afraid to run one off any gen-set. Everything should be more than capable of running on a voltage range of +/- 10% for a decent amount of time. I would suspect that you would actually get a steadier voltage range from a generator than the utility. Changes in consumption near your home can affect what you see in your home. Especially in metropolitan areas.

This is true. Even with the controller, it's getting low voltage from the bus itself so it shouldn't matter much at all so long as you start the genny and let it come up first and then plug everything in.

 

[rdnelson]

JeF4y;804917 wrote: This is true. Even with the controller, it's getting low voltage from the bus itself so it shouldn't matter much at all so long as you start the genny and let it come up first and then plug everything in.

Yup. The big key is not having overvoltage for long periods or large spikes. But once it is up to speed the RPM and therefore voltage should not fluctuate much.

 

[acroholic]

After three years I just added some VorTech battery backups to my tanks. They will run an MP40 for 24 hours, or two 40s for 12 hours each, or an MP60 for 12 hours. Probably an MP10 for a couple days.

If you run any Vortechs, you might consider adding one.

 

[1mbrews8]

I do have mp40wes' (2 0f them in the DT), but I also have the other 1/2 - 3/5 water volume down stairs in the basement that would need circulation. That is why I was thinking of just running the return pump (and a few misc) which moves all the water at least a bit..

I think everything will pull through. Nothing looks really bad as of now so wheeeeeew! )

Thanks for the posts/help with the situation today. It was the first time this generator has failed in maybe 3-4 power failures.. (

 

[jead85]

I have been looking at stand by generators for my house. A small 7kw standby generator that uses natural gas runs around $2000. I'm going to seriously consider doing this so its pretty much a no worry situation.

 

[eagle9252]

Propane or natural gas is way better on the generator as the gas we have will gum up the carb as it sits not used for a while. I suggest if you do use a gas powered generator to drain the tank and run it till it uses all the gas in the carb
Stable is not the best thing to use to protect from moisture. Also if you will take some mixed gas to start it up with it will help lube the gaskets and orings.

But a honda is the best IMO

 

[rdnelson]

jead85;805069 wrote: I have been looking at stand by generators for my house. A small 7kw standby generator that uses natural gas runs around $2000. I'm going to seriously consider doing this so its pretty much a no worry situation.

They also make tri-fuel. They will run on Natural Gas, Propane or Gasoline. Look into Winco if you are going with one that size. They make some very good generators. When it comes to the small portables the ones with Honda engines are the best but when you get into the larger ones I would stay away from Generac. They are very good in the large sizes but in smaller sizes they will not stand up for long.

 

[jef4y]

rdnelson99;805076 wrote: They also make tri-fuel. They will run on Natural Gas, Propane or Gasoline. Look into Winco if you are going with one that size. They make some very good generators. When it comes to the small portables the ones with Honda engines are the best but when you get into the larger ones I would stay away from Generac. They are very good in the large sizes but in smaller sizes they will not stand up for long.

Yeah, 7kw is a weird size. It's bigger than you'd need for a tank, but smaller than you'd need for a whole house system.

If you're going to spend a good amount of money, I'd go for a whole-house system with auto switching. At that point I'd want CNG, propane or Diesel (in that order). You're looking at upwards (if not over) $10k for a whole-house system with auto-switching, but you'll never lose power for more than a 1-2 minutes.

If I were spending anyone's money, I'd buy everyone Honda EU-2000 generators. They are tiny, CRAZY powerful, silent and use almost no gas. And of course they are "Honda" reliable.

Think of the EU-2000 as the MP-40 of generators. It's something that you really can't understand until you experience.

 

[rdnelson]

Depending on the size, an automatic transfer switch will add $1k or more to the equation. In most cases, you wouldn't need the entire house. To do the entire house you would need to go with 35KW (35,000 watts) for a standard size house. If it is a larger house that would increase. The key to a generator for a home is to determine what would have to powered and forget the rest. In my previous job we provided and installed 10-15 per year because of the proximity to Big Canoe (affluent retirees in an area prone to power outages). Everyone starts by saying they want the ENTIRE house on the generator until they start to see what the costs are. Pretty soon they decide they can do without this and that. LOL