Whole House Generator

Discussion in 'Energy & Fuel' started by Beth Gallagher, Mar 24, 2021.

  1. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2018
    Messages:
    20,309
    Likes Received:
    42,296
    That's basically how a system in an RV works... 12 volt/110 power, generator, and an inverter with battery bank. We are quite versed in that gasoline generator/inverter setup but the whole-house system will be a whole new ballgame.
     
    #31
  2. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2018
    Messages:
    20,309
    Likes Received:
    42,296
    I was mostly responding to the "pilot light" remark and I'm aware that there must be an electronic igniter since we have a gas furnace, gas water heater, and gas stove in our house now. The water heater has a pilot light so we have hot water in a power failure, and I can light my stove with a match. The furnace has an electric blower so it needs more than an igniter to work in a power outage.

    I suppose since I have had natural gas in every home I've ever lived in, I have no fear of it. It is "odorized" and I know that smell very well. :D
     
    #32
  3. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2018
    Messages:
    20,309
    Likes Received:
    42,296
    LOL. The "dealer" said they are better... I'm shocked. :D:D Interesting about the exercise reset; we have frequent power blips in our area so I hope that won't be a thing. Thanks for sharing your experience.
     
    #33
    Boris Boddenov and Faye Fox like this.
  4. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2016
    Messages:
    9,297
    Likes Received:
    10,619
    @Beth Gallagher

    Sorry, I guess I got ahead of myself, and gave you a befuddled account of different application. To clarify, I meant any device using natural gas or propane as a fuel to provide HEAT requires some kind of ignition source to ignite it, pilot or electric spark in most modern applications. To run an engine (generator) on the stuff only requires that it be metered into the engine. BUT for the larger generators, some means of turning it over to start it must be provided, such as a battery-powered starter. Mine was a 16 HP pull-start, and it was a BEAR to start!

    Frank
     
    #34
    Faye Fox and Beth Gallagher like this.
  5. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2018
    Messages:
    20,309
    Likes Received:
    42,296
    Hey bud. I think we both understand this; just didn't express ourselves very well. :D I've had natural gas appliances for years and know there has to be an ignition source. I'm glad to learn more about how the whole-house generators work, though.
     
    #35
    Faye Fox and Frank Sanoica like this.
  6. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2016
    Messages:
    9,297
    Likes Received:
    10,619
    @Don Alaska

    Your description tells exactly how I hooked up our generator to the house. Disconnect from the grid was done manually at the main circuit breaker. I back-fed 220 volts into an outdoor outlet I had installed previously; this fed 220 into the mains of the house breaker panel. With the generator running, I could then control which appliances and lights would be powered up. Water heater and kitchen stove had to be ON separately, only 3500 watts available. Couple of ceiling lights and we got by.

    Frank
     
    #36
  7. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2016
    Messages:
    9,297
    Likes Received:
    10,619
    @Beth Gallagher

    When I was growing up, gas appliances were prevalent all around our area. Not for heating the home, however, due to supply limitations. When my Dad converted over from coal-fired hot water boiler, we had to burn oil for about a year; it took that long for permitting for gas heat. Travelling through the country once, we came upon a huge construction/excavation operation which my Mother promptly identified as the new "Big Inch" gas supply pipeline being run from Texas, I think it was, clear on up to Detroit.

    "The Big Inch and Little Big Inch, collectively known as the Inch pipelines, are petroleumpipelines extending from Texas to New Jersey, built between 1942 and 1944 as emergency war measures in the U.S. Before World War II, petroleum products were transported from the oil fields of Texas to the north-eastern states by sea by oil tankers. After the United States entered the war on 1 January 1942, this vital link was attacked by German submarines in the Operation Paukenschlag, threatening both the oil supplies to the north-east and its onward transshipment to Great Britain. The Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes, championed the pipeline project as a way of transporting petroleum by the more-secure, interior route.

    After the end of the war there were extended arguments over how the pipelines should be used. In 1947, the Texas East Transmission Corporation purchased the pipelines for $143,127,000, the largest post-war disposal of war-surplus property. The corporation converted them to transport natural gas, transforming the energy market in the north-east. The Little Big Inch was returned to carry oil in 1957. The pipelines are owned by Spectra Energy Partners and Enterprise Products and remain in use."


    So, with the emergency measures employed during the War, a pipeline crossing the entire U.S. was accepted by it's populace. Today, we dare not build even a short link. Go figure!

    Frank
     
    #37
  8. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2018
    Messages:
    11,062
    Likes Received:
    20,443
    I have an electric-start 10KW generator that I store in the garage to keep it warm in winter. I simply roll it out and connect it to the outlet on the side of the house. It is not quite enough to completely operate the house, but it will operate the furnace and the well pump, as well as most of the lights and outlets. When I was younger, we could go down to the lake and fetch water through holes in the ice in winter to flush toilets and such. Now that I am old and somewhat feeble, I don't want to rely on hauling lake water and the wood stove unless it is a true emergency. A big earthquake in the dead of winter here would be a true catastrophe, but we a re as prepared as we can get at the moment. I am concerned every spring with the wildfire season too. Living here isn't for weaklings:).
     
    #38
  9. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2016
    Messages:
    9,297
    Likes Received:
    10,619
    @Don Alaska

    "Now that I am old and somewhat feeble,"

    This hits home. Along with my kidney failure has come a peculiar enfeeblement limiting the extent of physical ability I took for granted all my life. Things having reasonable weight, such as a bag of sugar which I lifted and carried about I can now barely lift. Everything seems much heavier than it should.

    Frank
     
    #39
    Beth Gallagher and Faye Fox like this.
  10. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2018
    Messages:
    11,062
    Likes Received:
    20,443
    Yeah, I was pretty active until I fell off the roof and broke my back. That aged me 10 years.
     
    #40
  11. Boris Boddenov

    Boris Boddenov Very Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2021
    Messages:
    413
    Likes Received:
    299
    I should have clarified, he also sold and still sells Generacs. In fact, he sends out monthly newsletters and even today reports occasionally on some problem with them , as well as solutions.
     
    #41
    Beth Gallagher likes this.
  12. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2018
    Messages:
    20,309
    Likes Received:
    42,296
    Well apparently the whole-house generator biz is hoppin'. It's been over 2 months and we still don't have an estimate. :rolleyes: Of course, hurricane season starts next week so even more people will be lining up for generators.
     
    #42
  13. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2021
    Messages:
    10,272
    Likes Received:
    9,315
    Our neighor has a whle house generator and they use propane for fuel.
    We have a small solar system but haven't ever used it.Bought it about 8 or 10 years ago.Still packed up.
     
    #43
    Beth Gallagher likes this.
  14. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2021
    Messages:
    10,272
    Likes Received:
    9,315
    Wish we had of thought of using propane ours is gas.Another one of those hind site things for us.
     
    #44
    Frank Sanoica likes this.
  15. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2018
    Messages:
    11,062
    Likes Received:
    20,443
    Many whole-house generators can switch back and forth from propane to natural gas with the flip of a switch. My brother has one that does, but he has never used the propane mode, as his natural gas has never failed him.
     
    #45
    Marie Mallery and Frank Sanoica like this.

Share This Page