Advice--Generators: Built-in/Town Gas VS. Portable/Gasoline

Posted by on December 19, 2008, 3:25 pm

> > > Just about everything these days can take considerable variation in
> > > voltages. =A0Some stuff even works on 220 without changing a switch. =

=A0I agree

> > > that you need to make sure the voltage is reasonably close but they a=

> > > calibrated at the factory. =A0An extreme overvoltage is obvious when =

you

> > > connect an incandesent light to it.
> > > Hvac people just like to find reasons to blame things, I've never met=

a more

> > > full of themselves field. =A0The fan motor in an air handler can take=

> > > voltage variation of 10 to 15% either way. =A0The control board is po=

wered by

> > > a low voltage circuit. =A0If the manufacturer's engineer was any good=

at all

> > > he put a voltage regulator in the pwoer supply circuit. =A0They are a=

dime a

> > > dozen. =A0Even if he didn't, the transfomer is going to reduce the ov=

ervoltage

> > > by a factor of 10. =A010 volts over will be 1 volt over on the low vo=

ltage

> > > side. =A0Hardly a catastrophy. =A0The rest of the parts on the board =

should also

> > > be rated for at least 30% over the working voltage or again you had a=

moron

> > > for an engineer.
> > > Most modern electronics today use switching power supplies because th=

ey are

> > > cheaper and ligher that a suitably sized transformer. =A0Switching po=

wer

> > > supplies can take huge input voltage variations.
> > > Admittedly you need a little common sense and a basic understanding o=

> > > electricity to use a portable generator. =A0But again, thousands of p=

eople use

> > > them all the time without problems.

> > Yes. =A0Besides, there is a fundamental flaw in quoting results seen by
> > the insurance and HVAC bunch. =A0Statistically, *THEY* will be the ones
> > to see the trouble and have the troublesome stories. =A0The vast
> > majority of cases where there was no incident remains under the
> > statistical radar.
> > It's like asking someone who works in the ER if there are a lot of
> > motorcycle accidents. =A0Of course they will see that.
> > There is an implication to be further cleared up as a result of
> > ransley's post too. =A0The reason that I am looking for as low a
> > maintenance item as possible is because as a stay-at-home dad my time
> > is limited. =A0I cannot be burdened with something that only works if I
> > twice a year run to the hardware store to get the items I need to
> > service the thing.
> > Regarding this: From most people I've spoken to, Honda engines
> > maintain a nifty magic to it that makes it "start of the first
> > pull" (non-electric starters) almost regardless of the amount of time
> > it has been left alone with old gas or stabil'd. =A0Empirically, My
> > Honda motorcycle was meticulously kept so it's ability to always start
> > was understood. =A0But my honda snow blower had that one-pull magic to
> > it and I rarely use it and never did anything except change the oil
> > once.- Hide quoted text -
> > - Show quoted text -

> The point is its not a lawnmower "Under the radar" Then why have the
> only 3 Ive seen been set up poorly, because nodody checks these things
> and maybe that "tester" at Co.X is hung over or quiting in a week and
> doesnt care. Knowing it means simply putting a volt meter on it before
> you first turn it on and see how it operates under no load load. That
> is the basics all need to follow. Once you know what it does its not
> something to test or fix every time. Leaving gas in it even with
> stabil will eventualy crud up the carb, so go propane or Ng. 3600 rpm
> is needed for 60hz 120v most units have govenors that easily go off,
> Do what you wish.- Hide quoted text -
> - Show quoted text -

I've messed with about a half dozen of the cheaper ones and every one
of them worked just fine out of the box and continued to work years
later. Even with electronics.

The carb crudding up is why I recommend to people that after
disconnecting the power lines they shut the gas off and let the engine
run until it quits. That gets a lot of the gas out of the float
bowl. SImple instructions.

Posted by George on December 17, 2008, 11:09 am

Thomas G. Marshall wrote:

> I can calculate the wattage needed by my house (including surges for
> the water pump, etc.), but I'm stuck on the fundamentals.
>
> 1. Is there ever a power outage where the town gas itself is shut
> off? It seems to have survived (was always on) during the recent uber-
> blackout here in central mass.

I would have thought so but recently my brothers natural gas and power
were shut off for many days. He lives next to a low lying area that
occasionally floods. Last winter there was flooding and the gas and
electric utilities simply turned off both the gas and electric to a
pretty wide area.

>
> 2. Any words of wisdom of a house generator running on town gas /
> propane (permanently installed outside box) vs. a portable one on a
> cart running on gasoline?
>
> 3. Are there brands more likely than not to remain functional year
> after year without maintenance?

Like any mechanical device you need to exercise/maintain it if you want
reasonable assurance it will work when you need it.

>
> THANKS!!!!!!!!!

Posted by ransley on December 19, 2008, 2:06 pm

> I can calculate the wattage needed by my house (including surges for
> the water pump, etc.), but I'm stuck on the fundamentals.
> 1. Is there ever a power outage where the town gas itself is shut
> off? =A0It seems to have survived (was always on) during the recent uber-
> blackout here in central mass.
> 2. Any words of wisdom of a house generator running on town gas /
> propane (permanently installed outside box) vs. a portable one on a
> cart running on gasoline?
> 3. Are there brands more likely than not to remain functional year
> after year without maintenance?
> THANKS!!!!!!!!!

59 died frpm Co from generators last year, thats also Under your Radar.

Posted by Thomas G. Marshall on December 19, 2008, 3:11 pm

> > I can calculate the wattage needed by my house (including surges for
> > the water pump, etc.), but I'm stuck on the fundamentals.
> > 1. Is there ever a power outage where the town gas itself is shut
> > off? =A0It seems to have survived (was always on) during the recent ube=

> > blackout here in central mass.
> > 2. Any words of wisdom of a house generator running on town gas /
> > propane (permanently installed outside box) vs. a portable one on a
> > cart running on gasoline?
> > 3. Are there brands more likely than not to remain functional year
> > after year without maintenance?
> > THANKS!!!!!!!!!

> 59 died frpm Co from generators last year, thats also Under your Radar.

Yes, as it should be. What could possibly be the interpretation of
this? Are you defending your point by now saying that I don't qualify
to own a generator because 59 people died from CO? *HUH*?

Your posts seem emotionally charged.

An unweighted statistic devoid of population context is meaningless.
How many generators are out there *without* incident? How many of the
CO deaths were because of ignorance? How many of the CO deaths were
because of faulty equipment?

There are simply *no* facts that speak entirely for themselves without
interpretation. And statistical interpretation REQUIRES the context
of the sampling population and the resulting interpretation.

Posted by on December 19, 2008, 3:27 pm

> > > I can calculate the wattage needed by my house (including surges for
> > > the water pump, etc.), but I'm stuck on the fundamentals.
> > > 1. Is there ever a power outage where the town gas itself is shut
> > > off? =A0It seems to have survived (was always on) during the recent u=

ber-

> > > blackout here in central mass.
> > > 2. Any words of wisdom of a house generator running on town gas /
> > > propane (permanently installed outside box) vs. a portable one on a
> > > cart running on gasoline?
> > > 3. Are there brands more likely than not to remain functional year
> > > after year without maintenance?
> > > THANKS!!!!!!!!!

> > 59 died frpm Co from generators last year, thats also Under your Radar.

> Yes, as it should be. =A0What could possibly be the interpretation of
> this? =A0Are you defending your point by now saying that I don't qualify
> to own a generator because 59 people died from CO? =A0*HUH*?
> Your posts seem emotionally charged.
> An unweighted statistic devoid of population context is meaningless.
> How many generators are out there *without* incident? =A0How many of the
> CO deaths were because of ignorance? =A0How many of the CO deaths were
> because of faulty equipment?
> There are simply *no* facts that speak entirely for themselves without
> interpretation. =A0And statistical interpretation REQUIRES the context
> of the sampling population and the resulting interpretation.- Hide quoted=

text -

> - Show quoted text -

We have way more co deaths around here because people take charcoal
grills into their house when the power is out. Maybe we should limit
the use of charcoal grills to experts?

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