generator project @ The Ridge
|
After last year's Northeast black-out, which lasted a few days in some places, Tom decides we need a back-up power system. Also, living on a peninsula on the water in hurricane season can make power iffy. So, we will replace the portable, unreliable little guy with a bigger, smarter unit. As usual, we go to the Internet and find a 15KW Guardian stand-by/whole house generator for the right price, oddly at amazon.com, your Internet book store (specs). It weighs 600 lbs. but, the shipping is free. Go figure. |
| The big day arrives when the truck pulls up and we find out that the free shipping is only to this guy's tailgate. It's a $100. more to put it into your backyard. |
|
Webster and West devise a way to move heavy equipment around the property. "back 'er up" |
We skid the generator into the pickup, drive to the required location, and then skid from the pickup to the ground. It works.
"Man, this thing's heavy"
peace of mind - ready to go
It runs on natural gas, automatically switches between line and generator, exercises itself every Friday at 3:00, and will supply power even if we're away on vacation.
|
The part of the "system" that seems to have been over-looked by the manufacturer is the monitoring. It's back to the Internet looking for meters. Tom finds a website which sells 4" square, 90 degree movement voltmeters and annmeters for $10./$12. What a deal! Then he notes they're located in Taiwan but, he also finds they will sell to him direct. We order 2 voltmeters, 2 annmeters, and a frequency meter. Pay $60. in postage and cross our fingers. About two weeks later, they're our's. We build a panel out of teak and birch-faced plywood and have a conversation piece. |