cheepsk8
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So I've been thinking about getting a genny for backup purposes. My house is all electric. The furnace, water heater, range, everything. how do I size a generator for my needs?
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Generator suggestion
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porkysplace
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There might be some useful information in this thread.
You need to figure start-up loads and maximum load for each thing you want to run and start adding them up.
You need to figure start-up loads and maximum load for each thing you want to run and start adding them up.
If your comfortable with this suggestion, I find it useful to get a real amperage number of your needs. Get an Amprobe meter and check your mains coming into your electrical panel. You basically clamp the meter on to the wires coming in from the street. Slowly start turning things on or have an assistant turn them on while you take notes of what the readings are when each appliance/draw comes on. If this doesn't make sense or your not comfortable with electricity don't do this.
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Or if you know what your largest draw items are in your home... go look at their manufacturer data plates. All appliances have them, that deliniate volts, amps, watts, etc. Easy to convert between two of three, to figure out total consumption.
Based on your location, and the fact that you are all electrical... you will probably far exceed the output of an MEP-802A (6250w @ 100%, and peak up to a little under 7.5kw). The MEP-803A (12.5kw @100%, and peak up to 15kw) will probably be what you need.
Based on your location, and the fact that you are all electrical... you will probably far exceed the output of an MEP-802A (6250w @ 100%, and peak up to a little under 7.5kw). The MEP-803A (12.5kw @100%, and peak up to 15kw) will probably be what you need.
stugpanzer
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Also...decide what you want to run. Do you want to run the entire house or just vital circuits? That will make a difference on what you choose.
Kenny0
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How long would be your normal usage? Hours at a time, days at a time or weeks or more? Imo the shorter time of usage the more you can use some load managment to help keep costs down. With that a 803a or 003a should be okay, they put out 52 amps at 240 volts. An 802a or 002a only put 26 amps at 240 volts. I have an 802a, but am all gas with a well pump.
Kenny0
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813 is 400Hz. Do not get this unless you have a special purpose. In the civilian world the only thing this can be used for is resistive loads only. Can not be hooked up to any inductive load.
Isaac-1
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Given your location, the first thing you do is find a different source of heat, running a generator to supply electricity to convert back into heat is a terribly inefficient use of fuel. I don't know what size electric heater you have, however I can tell you my elderly mother lives in a fairly large all electric house in Louisiana. I installed a 33KW diesel generator at her house about 10 years ago, it will power the house life as normal in the summer, running 3 central air conditioner units 2, 2.5 and 3 ton, plus water well, electric water heaters, cooking appliances, etc. However in the winter time only 2 or the 3 electric furnaces can be powered by the generator, and if cooking, laundry etc. is going on it is a good idea to turn off all but 1 of the electric furnaces. Thankfully though the house is well insulated and it rarely gets below 20 degrees outside here. I don't recall the exact sizes of her electric furnaces, though I do recall one of them is connected by a 70 amp 240 volt breaker. 70 amps at 240V is 16,800 watts.
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Bmxenbrett
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You have electric heat or the furnace needs electric/gas/oil? Thats the big variable i see here. I can run my electric dryer with my 802 but use a wood stove for heat. I have an electric stove and the 802 can also run that. If you have a gas/oil furnace and dont mind not running everything at once then the 802 should do what you need.
Assuming you don't have electric heat or a heat pump, the water heater could be the biggest constant load at 4500-5500 watts. This could be enough to put you into a MEP-803A.
However, buying a load manager using CTs and relays could easily help you size down since that water heater isn't always on.
However, buying a load manager using CTs and relays could easily help you size down since that water heater isn't always on.
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It would be probably be cheaper to go with an MEP-803a from the start and build a load bank as a ballast load that could be added or subtracted to the total load giving him the capability of having the higher KWs at hand if needed.
A load bank can be built for +- a hundred dollars and can also be used during monthly/quarterly test sessions.
If the OP has electric heat, an 803a is the minimum he should be looking for.
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cheepsk8
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My furnace is electric. As in electric heating element.
Ouch, how many kW? If it's anything like electric heat strips used with heat pumps, there's a lot of variety.
Bmxenbrett
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The mep803 will most likely be to small for your needs.
1800 Diesel
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I would go with an MEP-003A. Lower purchase cost, simpler to operate and repair and extremely reliable. The 803A is a nice unit but since Puerto Rico they're selling for "stupid money". For either one of these, you would likely have to do some load management so you couldn't just run everything in the house as if you were on the grid. You'd have to determine your full load amps needs as others have mentioned.
You didn't mention any outbuildings or shop that would need power but if you need additional power beyond the house loads, my favorite is the MEP-004A, configured for single phase or left as delivered and with two phases connected to the house and the third phase to the shop (120v only). If you needed 240v for the shop that's another plan.
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Fermont design, White engine, the 004A and 005A just are hard to beat for bigger loads.
1800 Diesel
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Agree--I love the sound of a D198 or D298 running at load. They just purr even at full load or overloaded a little. I only have Libby or JR Hollingsworth in MEP-004A or 005A models--either way they're both champs!
Don't think I have any Fermonts except in the 80X series.
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You are right. I meant Hollingsworth.
My only problem with the White engine is main seals. Front and rear. In ADA, we put mega hours on the 15 KW sets. The cranks were the problem, in the end. We kept putting standered size seals in the engines, and they would start dripping a few hundred hours later. I complained to CECOM, or rather TROSCOM at the time, and they sent two egg heads to my shop to shut me up. They gave me the runaround for about an hour. It started with, "You must be mistaken". Then "your people are not capable of putting in main seals". That one almost got them lynched. And then, "you didn't lube up the seals first, before running them". It went on and on. That's when I rolled out three crank shafts. Gave the butt heads calipers, and told them to measure and compare the readings to the Tech books, (civilian books) and the TM's. Then one of my highly pissed off young soldiers could no longer restrain himself, yelled "You dumb as*! You don't need a caliper, run your finger nail across the dam* thing!!" The engines we were getting, had been rebuilt so many times, that the cranks were just a tad worn, and leaked like a bucket with a hole in it. The QA/QC never caught it, as they only ran he sets for a few hours. At the time, Toole, Utah, Depot did ALL generator rebuilding. They were real good on some sets, and on others, it was not so good.
I just started to order a different seal, and that was that. It never occurred to me to check the crank, in the beginning. We just pulled the engine, pulled the seal covers and popped in new seals. In the almost 9 years of working on the MEP-113A, (400 hertz, Precise gen set) and the MEP-114A, (400 Hertz Precise gen set) I only saw one engine destroy itself, And it probably had help. Just one. Not bad at all. And yeah, what a lovely sound.