No, its not even remotely related to the generator. That device is solely intended to bridge / couple his home automation electronics like switches to each side of the 120 / 240 wiring in the electrical service panel.
Nothing to do with the generator per say but links both 120 legs together . . .
No, its not even remotely related to the generator. That device is solely intended to bridge / couple his home automation electronics like switches to each side of the 120 / 240 wiring in the electrical service panel.
Nothing to do with the generator per say but links both 120 legs together . . .
In a 240 volt household feed, there are two 120 volt legs. Thing of them like two batteries in series. Your household 120 circuits are distributed to connect with one leg or the other. 240 volt appliances straddle both legs. Well balanced power systems put about the same average load on each leg.
X10 comms on one leg would not reliably get to devices on the other leg without a coupler. The gray device lets X-10 signals cross from one leg to the other so all circuits devices can communicate regardless of which leg they are connected. Lacking a coupler, signals could cross only when a 220 volt appliance was on. More modern comm systems use RF to link signals across the legs.
This is off topic except for pointing out the desirability of having your household circuits wired to the generator to balance the load across the generator's two legs (aka misnomered as phases)
If you think that the natural gas delivery system will hold up next time there is this kind of weather in Texas you are dreaming. If 15% of the people that have natural gas, get natural gas generators, the natural gas delivery system will collapse. Natural gas may work for a hurricane, but not for another cold spell like this.
Get a dual fuel system, and make sure you have enough fuel for 72 hours.
If you think that the natural gas delivery system will hold up next time there is this kind of weather in Texas you are dreaming. If 15% of the people that have natural gas, get natural gas generators, the natural delivery gas delivery system will collapse. Natural gas may work for a hurricane, but not for another cold spell like this.
Get a dual fuel system, and make sure you have enough fuel for 72 hours.
I would add having a completely separate portable generator on hand for just in case. Every year there's someone who's Genny doesn't fire up or dies because its not designed or intended for extended use. Pretty much anyone who has done lots of off grid RV / Camping knows having a small fuel efficient generator is a must.
Love my little 3kW ,6HP, propane portable generator with manual transfer switch...runs lighting, TV & satellite receiver, kitchen 'fridge and garage 'fridge, coffee pot in kitchen, master bathroom lighting and exhaust fan...
Just enough to make life livable for the frequent 2 to 4 hour outages we have in this rural, national forest area with dense trees. Ran 4 days in aftermath of the April 27, 2011 tornadoes across the SE.
My favorite thing about the LPG is the little squirt can sit there untouched for 6 months and it'll start on the 2nd pull of the recoil starter (it's only 6HP, a little cast-iron Chinese engine).... but it's 10 years old and the oil is as clear as corn oil.
If it hadn't been for a $7k expense last October for a new central heat/AC system (went 16 SEER, 98% eff. with dual fuel), I would have gotten a 12kW propane whole house genny, undecided on Kohler, Cummins or Generac. When I get closer I'll dig into it more.
I will say that we lost natural gas during Hurricane Michael. We were without power/gas/water for about a week. Having a LP tank buried would be the way to go for a generator with the dual fuel type. You would basically be covered totally that way.
If it hadn't been for a $7k expense last October for a new central heat/AC system (went 16 SEER, 98% eff. with dual fuel), I would have gotten a 12kW propane whole house genny, undecided on Kohler, Cummins or Generac. When I get closer I'll dig into it more.
You think 12kW will run your AC/Heat? Or are you not concerned with that? I'm thinking if I ever do it, it has gotta be 16kW minimum to turn over the A/C.
We live with a 6500/7500 watt portable generator. It powers everything we need, heat, AC, water, lights, refrigerator, two freezers, coffee, TV, cable, surveillance and alarm systems. We use a manual transfer switch so there is a little delay before restoring power in an outage but it's certainly no big deal to us. I generally keep a LOT of gas handy. Learned that from Super Storm Sandy, so we can go a week or more if I shut it down at night. It's a Harbor Freight and still runs like a champ after about ten years.
I will say that we lost natural gas during Hurricane Michael. We were without power/gas/water for about a week. Having a LP tank buried would be the way to go for a generator with the dual fuel type. You would basically be covered totally that way.
You think 12kW will run your AC/Heat? Or are you not concerned with that? I'm thinking if I ever do it, it has gotta be 16kW minimum to turn over the A/C.
The new HVAC is dual fuel, heat pump with propane for heat if below (I think) 25 degrees; for backup heat we have a 21K BTU blue flame gas heater in LR, 10K BTU blue flame gas fireplace in MBR and 5K BTU blue flame gas heater in master bath so heat won't be a problem.
I'll double check on that A/C. though. even though I did some calcs some time ago, this new unit could demand more.. I have an electric water heater, too....it was over 14 years when it went in August and I missed a chance to go to LPG on its replacement.
I have a 7kw portable which uses propane or gasoline. I have my propane bottle plumbed so I can connect my generator. I have a whole house manual transfer switch. I like that I always have a week or more fuel on hand which isn’t going to go bad. I don’t have natural gas in my area, but it seems it could be interrupted in a major event.
If you think that the natural gas delivery system will hold up next time there is this kind of weather in Texas you are dreaming. If 15% of the people that have natural gas, get natural gas generators, the natural gas delivery system will collapse. Natural gas may work for a hurricane, but not for another cold spell like this.
Get a dual fuel system, and make sure you have enough fuel for 72 hours.
I think it will, there hasn't been a NG outage in my whole life, and even during this clusterfuck, there was no real NG outage. Some larger feeds of liquid NG froze to power plants, which caused outages
I would add having a completely separate portable generator on hand for just in case. Every year there's someone who's Genny doesn't fire up or dies because its not designed or intended for extended use. Pretty much anyone who has done lots of off grid RV / Camping knows having a small fuel efficient generator is a must.
I bought a 10.5K portable generator that runs on propane or gas. I bought it because the power in my area has historically been terrible. We've lived through many storms where we didn;t have power for days. Ever since I had the whole thing installed, ironically the power has not gone out. Oh well, Murphy lives here but one day I may get to use it
Hah! It's always been notorious for outages out here. When I bought my current generator, it was because I needed electric start now. Since I got it about three years back, we've had maybe 8 hours total of downtime on the grid. If the reason power has been so good, is that I bought this generator, it was money well spent.
I think it will, there hasn't been a NG outage in my whole life, and even during this clusterfuck, there was no real NG outage. Some larger feeds of liquid NG froze to power plants, which caused outages
I do plan on possibly getting the Honda EU7000is as a stop-gap for when the NG one is being installed, I do love toys
You pay more for a Honda but you just know its going to work! There are some Yamaha models that offer the same performance at similar price. But, again I can't stress enough regardless of the brand that you insure there's a local vendor for parts & repairs. I don't think I've ever seen a major town or city not have a Honda dealership vs a Yamaha.
A little bit off topic but have seen a few people who own a Harbor Freight Genny and Honda. They use the cheaper HF for none critical use or when it needs to be lent out. The durability of the HF genny has been pretty hit and miss based on reviews and forum threads around the web. The HF isn't going to win any awards for noise, clean power, and long term use.
But, they work in a pinch and gets the job done when there's nothing else based on availability / price alone . . .
If you can place a bit further from house, it will be quieter. Ours is OK, but one of our neighbors had his put about 30 feet away. Cost a bit more for the gas plumbing and electrical, but probably worth considering.
Remember, it will run 20 minutes every two weeks to keep itself in good condition.
One neat side effect of the system is I get a email on my phone from cummins any time my home internet goes up or down.
