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Posted by Jonny on January 26, 2007, 8:24 am
Live in a rural area in south central TX. Only code requirements regarding
building are of sanitation waste nature/septic tank and effluent field.
Am looking for a minimal electrical support if I lose electrical power.
Manual/user intervention is okay. My home is all electric, 1280 sq ft, 3
bedroom, central AC/heat (not heat pump). Anticipate primary winter use
based on power losses so far. Need electric heat, stove, water heater, and
water well pump (240VAC). How much and where do I get it?
BTW Have a standard phone available if the power loss is localized. Phone
service may work, but your phone won't if it relies on AC power. A cell
phone depends on the local microwave transmitter, this can be affected by a
power loss. Think ahead.
--
Jonny
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Posted by Bob Morrison on January 26, 2007, 9:44 am
In a previous post Jonny wrote...
> Am looking for a minimal electrical support if I lose electrical power.
> Manual/user intervention is okay. My home is all electric, 1280 sq ft, 3
> bedroom, central AC/heat (not heat pump). Anticipate primary winter use
> based on power losses so far. Need electric heat, stove, water heater, and
> water well pump (240VAC). How much and where do I get it?
>
Jonny:
The items you want to power are the heaviest draws on electricity in a
home. You are going to need a pretty big generator which means it
probably will not be something you install yourself. For something this
size the fuel will be either diesel or propane.
A couple of things can reduce the size needed: do you really need hot
water if the power is only out for a day or two? Do you really need to
use an electric stove? My wife and I use a single burner butane cooktop
like they use to demonstrate food in grocery stores. Is there a possible
alternate heat source you could use like adding a wood or pellet stove?
If you can get your power demand down to just the well and some lights
then a relatively inexpensive gasoline powered model will do just fine.
If you go this route make sure you install a transfer switch between the
generator and the house. This is a safety device!
--
Bob Morrison, PE, SE
R L Morrison Engineering Co
Structural & Civil Engineering
Poulsbo WA
bob at rlmorrisonengr dot com
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Posted by DanG on January 26, 2007, 6:19 pm
Bob told you right.
We lost power for 5 days. A 5000 watt generator was enough to
keep the FAG heat going, refrigerator, a few lights, etc. It was
primitive, but livable. Gas hot water and gas heat with minimal
electrical usage wasn't bad. We did not force the issue to see
how much we could run..
You're into major generating capacity to run 220 stove, pump,
stove, electric furnace, and electric hot water. Get the name
plate amp draw from each item, total them up, multiply by 110 to
get the approximate wattage that will be required.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
A live Singing Valentine quartet,
a sophisticated and elegant way to say I LOVE YOU!
valentine@okchorale.org (local)
http://www.singingvalentines.com/ (national)
> Live in a rural area in south central TX. Only code
> requirements regarding building are of sanitation waste
> nature/septic tank and effluent field.
>
> Am looking for a minimal electrical support if I lose electrical
> power. Manual/user intervention is okay. My home is all
> electric, 1280 sq ft, 3 bedroom, central AC/heat (not heat
> pump). Anticipate primary winter use based on power losses so
> far. Need electric heat, stove, water heater, and water well
> pump (240VAC). How much and where do I get it?
>
> BTW Have a standard phone available if the power loss is
> localized. Phone service may work, but your phone won't if it
> relies on AC power. A cell phone depends on the local microwave
> transmitter, this can be affected by a power loss. Think ahead.
>
> --
> Jonny
>
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Posted by DAvid Norris on January 26, 2007, 8:29 pm
Dan wrote:
> Bob told you right.
>
> We lost power for 5 days. A 5000 watt generator was enough to
> keep the FAG heat going, refrigerator, a few lights, etc. It was
> primitive, but livable. Gas hot water and gas heat with minimal
> electrical usage wasn't bad. We did not force the issue to see
> how much we could run..
>
> You're into major generating capacity to run 220 stove, pump,
> stove, electric furnace, and electric hot water. Get the name
> plate amp draw from each item, total them up, multiply by 110 to
> get the approximate wattage that will be required.
>
I use a 10000 watt miller welder with a CAT diesel and I can run
everything. $8000.00plus transfer switch I traded 6 hours labor to get
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Posted by desperado on March 22, 2007, 6:32 pm
good advice so far by the group. transfer panel is a necessity.
When adding up the volts x amps from each device, keep in mind that
motors(such as are on well pumps) are a special case. the starting current
can peak to 3 times the running current since when the starting windings cut
in the motor is not developing a lot of back emf to limit the current. My
water pump motor at the bottom of the well takes 9 amps running and thus 27
amps starting. Same for the pressure pump. Thus 54 amps x 220v would be the
worst case if both could start simultaneously. To save a bit here, one could
fill the storage tank, cut out the breaker, and use the pressure pump only
till the tank is low, but make darn sure your pressure switch has a low
pressure cutoff which disables the pressure pump motor below a minimum
amount(most are 20psi). That is necessary to avoid running the pump dry
which will kill the seals very very quickly. This is cheap insurance as it
costs about 5 bucks more for that pressure switch vice the ones which just
turn off at an upper limit and will start even at 0psi.
the 220v non motor items require the current to be multiplied by 220 when
sizing them
if the generator is in a remote shed away from the main house I needed a way
to find out when the utility power has been restored. I put a small
floodlight on the utility side of the transfer switch and switched it on
when I pulled the transfer switch after starting the generator. If you can
see the shed from the house, and the light is on, you know you can switch
back to the grid.
I think diesel is the way to go for larger setups of 10kw or higher. You
can get fuel stabilizers for the diesel too. The backup generator should be
run for a short while every week or so.
--
don paolino
> Dan wrote:
> > Bob told you right.
> >
> > We lost power for 5 days. A 5000 watt generator was enough to
> > keep the FAG heat going, refrigerator, a few lights, etc. It was
> > primitive, but livable. Gas hot water and gas heat with minimal
> > electrical usage wasn't bad. We did not force the issue to see
> > how much we could run..
> >
> > You're into major generating capacity to run 220 stove, pump,
> > stove, electric furnace, and electric hot water. Get the name
> > plate amp draw from each item, total them up, multiply by 110 to
> > get the approximate wattage that will be required.
> >
> I use a 10000 watt miller welder with a CAT diesel and I can run
> everything. $8000.00plus transfer switch I traded 6 hours labor to get
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