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Power outages around here are so common, that there's market enough for a dedicated store in the area (+/-: it's in Charlottesville), that does nothing BUT generators:
I would be interested to see how ell balanced the load is with that setup. I would not think it would be very balanced at all. Most houses only have one panel so that eliminates them from the three phase arena.
It's about the trees around here too. We are at the end of the power line here, so we're the last to get power back on. I lived here for over 7 years before power was brought out here. In that time all we had was generator power and batteries. I learned a lot of lessons using many kinds of generators then. One is that Aluminum heads are not good for long lasting engines ! The longest lasting engine I had was a Briggs & Stratton Vanguard 18HP overhead valve engine. It lasted 1.5 years. Of course I ran my generators 16 to 18 hrs a day. Every day ! I learned synthetic oil was the ONLY way to go. I changed out my oil and filters every 2 weeks .
Love Briggs & Stratton:
Yes neighbor had the same 1. We use to drive all over the coal mines of PA on it !! Boy does that bring back memories! !!
LOL...no worries-I'm learning a lot. What I'm really learning is that I REALLY want one of these. It sounds like it will be matched perfectly for what I need. The only thing I won't be able to do is run the rest of the house when heating the DHW tank, but it's an 80 gallon and well insulated. Usually one can get a decently warm shower 24-36 hours after the power has gone out, so I should be able to heat it up, then switch it off for a while. As for the poster who mentioned gas, it's not an option for me even if I wanted it, and from what I've read, since diesels operate slower they'll live longer and run quieter than gas, propane, or natural gas engines, correct?
They may not run quieter, but they will definitely last longer !
Quieter is less of a factor than longevity for me. I plan to house it in a small shed with adequate air circulation-come to think of it, I wonder if it would be a good idea to hardwire in a fan like this one:
I believe this was addressed in at lest one other thread I've run cross before. Might be worth a search, if you're looking for ideas.
Floridianson, out where I live we loose power for days to weeks ! I don't want my food in the refrigerator going bad, and usually this occurs in winter time and I don't plan on freezing to death ! I have a family to protect and that includes keeping them fed and warm. The worst was 2 weeks without power. Usually it only lasts for about 24hrs, but that happens around 5 times a year. So for me the military generator makes a whole lot of sense. If you never loose power then don't get a generator, unless your just collecting them.
