Inductive loads like pumps (or anything rotating) are not good for most quasi/pseudo sine wave invertors, and I would not advise using them. Check your wattage rating of your pump and central heating boiler and buy a small genny to match.
Might be a problem if you live in a flat?
They work perfectly well with pseudo-sine wave inverters. The ones they'll have problems with are the crudest square or bi-square wave outputs. Even then it'll work, you just have to de-rate the output (considerably).
I ran an oil system (circulation pump and blower fan) for a couple of winters with a 300W inverter of the very crudest sort. I think 3 days was the longest continuous run, with a few battery swaps for charging.
Nah, Just hang it out the window....... and reel it in every couple of hours for a re-fuelling
Nick
If you want a genuine standby generator where you're likely to have long power cuts, a 600 watt one simply is a waste of time. Think about a 3kW diesel minimum. That can be run on red diesel to keep costs down.
In article , chris French writes
apologies for not googling but was the upshot? I have bought a small generator for various other things but thought I would use it in case of a power cut to run the CH and a couple of lights. I planned to throw the main switch, connect the genny and run that until the power came back on and then disconnect and go back on the grid, anything wrong with that?
Hmmm, I hadn't thought about fumes. I suppose that's the two-stroke oil. I see Screwfix does a 2kW Wolf four stroke generator for £299. It's getting a bit expensive now, unless one comes up cheap somewhere.
I'll definitely fit a gas hob, that can produce >6kW of heat as well as being good for cooking. I've got a log fire and a pile of wood, and a shedload of 45 hour church candles. On top of that it's either the genny, or, I've had a look at pressure lamps, such as Tilley or Vapalux lamps, they last 10 hours on just over a pint of paraffin, put out 60W of light with their mantle, and dump 1kW of heat simultaneously. One jerry can of paraffin would last ages and the lamp would provide a useful amount of heat.
That lot would heat one large room easily, plus the kitchen, and could also light and heat a couple of bedrooms in an emergency.
Only trouble is paraffin pressure lamps are £80 each brand new. Also useful for other things though, like camping/fishing/garden lights etc.
Andy.
Hi,
I'd have thought one of those Microgen microCHP boilers and a cold start UPS would be ideal for power failures. Would also help keep electricity bills down the rest of the time.
cheers, Pete.
A small turbojet coupled to an alternator is more of a visitor attraction though. ;-)
Aaah, just installed a Vaillant Turbomax combi a couple of years back, otherwise, good idea. Q: Do they need a power supply to turn on? That would be ironic, if they could supply enough energy to light a few bulbs but needed the mains to start up! Next time.....
Andy.
In message , David writes
TBH, don't really remember as it wasn't really of particular interest to me at the time.
dunno, i know there was discussion about the 'right' way to do this.
| In article , chris French | writes | >I I was bothering about it I'd have generator and have it rigged up so | >that I could switch over to it quickly - this has been discussed her | >before at length. | | apologies for not googling but was the upshot? I have bought a small | generator for various other things but thought I would use it in case of | a power cut to run the CH and a couple of lights. I planned to throw the | main switch, connect the genny and run that until the power came back on | and then disconnect and go back on the grid, anything wrong with that?
Make ***ABSOLUTELY*** sure that you throw the switches in the right order. Putting a generator in parallel with mains will result in a **BIG** bang. I would go for a changeover switch, with center off, and do it slowly.
As someone else mentioned, they can be got on eBay maybe cheaper than that. If you wanted a hobby you could buy a few nackered old ones and restore them with the bits that work and new seals and stuff.
The other thing to consider is noise - Neighbour relations if you are worried.. During a power cut everything goes considerably quieter, and because the TV and radios go off, most houses go quiet inside and people can hear what's going on outside - a generator could be a bit annoying after a while unless you don't have neighbours
Nick
It /can/ be done, we did at work on a regular basis (with suitable safeguards) for years until someone got it wrong. I've seen small generators synchronised using two bulbs in series to detect synchronism. It's not generally a good idea, as the leccy board dont like back feeding into wht they may take to be dead.
Two sockets, one on each supply, and a plug is the easiest way.
Don't forget the earth, and the neutral bonding.
They'd probably enjoy cups of tea/coffee heated by said gernerator though.
Particularly when you've got heat and light and they haven't!
| On 21 Oct, | Dave Fawthrop wrote: | | | > Make ***ABSOLUTELY*** sure that you throw the switches in the right order. | > Putting a generator in parallel with mains will result in a **BIG** bang. | | It /can/ be done, we did at work on a regular basis (with suitable | safeguards) for years until someone got it wrong. I've seen small generators | synchronised using two bulbs in series to detect synchronism. It's not | generally a good idea, as the leccy board dont like back feeding into wht | they may take to be dead.
I have seen a large synchronous motor (same as a generator but run the opposite way) drop out of sync, by being switched off in the wrong way. It took a *large* factory off line :-(
In which case can I commend the following fine establishment...
Battery starts diesel generator that starts a gas turbine that allows other power stations to start. Never had to do it yet...
Keep warm,
Andy
A similar procedure is regularly practiced in the UK at a few places designated for black start capability "just in case" Last time I saw one back in 2000 the diesel failed to start due to a defective relay :-)
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