[TenTec] emergency power via generator

[Gary Hoffman]

My hot water heater is 4 kw like Jerry says.  My 6 kw ( 8 kw peak) genset
can handle it, if I manage load aggressively.  What I do is power it off
part of the time and save lots of load that way, while still having some hot
water.

I have my own water and sewage pumps (we live in the country) and I don't
find the surge loads from starting to be an issue with this size generator.

It is economical, insofar as I manage my loads well.  If I load it right up
of course, then it uses more gas.  Economy is not my issue at all.  I need
to do what I need to do, and outages are short enough and rare enough that
the annual gasoline bill for the generator is not worth worrying about.

Gary


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dr. Gerald N. Johnson" <geraldj at storm.weather.net>
To: <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 2:45 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] emergency power via generator


> On Wed, 2007-03-07 at 13:27 -0500, John wrote:
> > OK guys I thank all of you for the battery back up for emergency power
information.
> > I have received the OK from the xyl to use some household funds to buy a
generator
> > if it can also be used for some household appliances i.e..  Freezer,
hotwater heater
> > some electric etc.  My question is this ... disregarding size what must
I have in
> > a generator to be able to run my Ten Tec Orion II and computer ( re
thought the
> > use of amplifier emergency use means I would be listening more and
transmitting
> > less )  as well as some household items .  I may even be considering a
propane
> > generator.  I am concerned in providing clean power to my radio and
computer
> > what should I insist on in order not to damage my equipment ?  Thanks
again
> > de   John Molenda  kb2huk
>
> The water heater is the killer. Likely 4 KW. Fortunately unless its very
> poorly insulated and the family insists on long showers, it can hold
> half a day or a day without power. An insulating jacket is generally of
> benefit unless its a recent high efficiency (e.g. well insulated) model.
> The insulation pays anyway.
>
> The orion and computer need probably less than 500 watts.
>
> The furnace and its computer if new may demand clean power without too
> much distortion of the waveform. That can knock out some low priced
> generators.
>
> As for power rating, its a trade off between starting motors (furnace
> fan, A/C, freezer and refrigerator) and light load fuel consumption.
> Starting most motors takes a surge current 5 to 6 times running current.
> Starting them all at the same time gets tough.
>
> I'm seeing 10 to 13 KW generators being installed on TV home shows, but
> these are a bit on the upper end of scale.
>
> In any case a major hunk of the cost is a manual or automatic transfer
> switch to isolate the emergency loads from the power line (for safety to
> the linemen and for the generator, you can't supply the whole
> neighborhood).
> -- 
> 73, Jerry, K0CQ,
> All content copyright Dr. Gerald N. Johnson, electrical engineer
>
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