Posted: 9/14/2015 1:37:47 PM EDT
| It's fine and dandy to make plans and buy stuff for emergencies, etc, but things don't always work out as planned. Today, I decided to dig out the Yamaha EF2000i and power my garage all day. I work from home and have set up the garage to be online if the power goes down. I haven't had a power outage since completing the setup, so I decided to simulate one today. I'm going to work all day today on generator power and see where the weak points are. I'm 3 hours in and no issues so far. All of my essentials are connected to a UPS (Cyberpower 1350AVR) and I have the UPS connected to the generator. Voltage and frequency are looking good and I'm averaging about 240 watts. Runtime at 1/4 load is supposed to be 10.5 hours, so I will see how accurate that is. |
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I also work from home, and have generators capable of running the office. I run a laptop (which is ideal. This has been discussed recently here in the SF), but 2 laser printers. Those things are energy pigs compared to everything else. I can also run the A/C, so I don't sweat all over my keyboard  . I've converted and organized so I can run literally everything from any 12VDC source. You should look into that if you are only running computer equipment. I can actually work from anywhere I get Verizon 4G signal. When the grid power is down here, so is the internet so I can run everything off my Verizon smart phone as long as Verizon is operating.Good job testing it all out, make sure you have contingencies for landline and local internet not operational (if you use them). |
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Ok, so I just finished about an hour ago. I didn't want to stop the test until the generator was completely out of fuel. I maintained a pretty steady 240 watt load all day. I left everything on after I was done working thinking the generator would be out of gas soon. I was wrong. The generator ran about 13.5 hours, 3 hours longer than I expected. I added another 500 watts to the load the last hour and a half when my electric heater came on. I was quite impressed and that is more than enough time to get me through the day.
Things I ran into. 1. The generator was outside (of course) about 8' from the exterior wall with the exhaust pointed away. I was inside with the side man door open and screen door shut. The first few hours of the morning were fine when the wind was blowing, but then it stopped. The smell of exhaust started creeping in. I went outside and moved the generator about 4 more feet away from the wall. That helped a little but not much. There was this pocket of exhaust outside and a little bit of it would float around the corner and come through the screen door. I could have closed the solid door and "solved" the problem, but I am interested in how to deal with exhaust when the air is completely still. This also gives me something to think about when I get a generator for the house. I was planning on getting something bigger to power the house and was planning on putting it about 8' away. I have a fence nearby, so I can't get further from the house. Not sure I want something bigger so close to my house when a much smaller generator, further away made the exhaust smell so noticable. 2. It started to rain. I've always wanted some sort of portable shelter to keep my little generator safe from rain and snow. Well I still don't have one made and it's something I need to do now so I'm prepared. I made a temporary shelter with cinder blocks and wood sheeting, but I would like something nicer in the future. My thoughts of maybe using the roof overhang for protection are gone since experiencing the exhaust gas accumulation. Idea I have an area on the property where I've thought about making a dugout style shed that would house all of the generators. It would keep everything protected, away from the house and help reduce noise. I'm now more serious about implementing the idea, my only problem is getting natural gas to it. (Would eventually do tri fuel conversions so everything could run on NG) I did the gas piping in my house and I left several connections available for future expansion/ideas, but I'm not sure I'll get enough flow from the house to where I'd like to put the generator shack. Will have to work on design and calculations. Conclusion I was surprised by the exhaust accumulation issue. It wasn't like I couldn't breathe or anything, but it was just noticable after a while. Except for the sudden rain, it was an uneventful exercise. The generator purred along all day without a hiccup. It got to the point where I forgot all about it, until the kids came home and asked what I was doing. In a power outage situation, I don't see an issue in being able to continue working at my job. I will make plans for a portable outdoor shelter for the generator this week and build it this weekend. I can't let that slide any longer. I plan on doing this exercise again this winter, preferably when it's very cold and snowing. |
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Quoted:
I also work from home, and have generators capable of running the office. I run a laptop (which is ideal. This has been discussed recently here in the SF), but 2 laser printers. Those things are energy pigs compared to everything else. I can also run the A/C, so I don't sweat all over my keyboard . I've converted and organized so I can run literally everything from any 12VDC source. You should look into that if you are only running computer equipment. I can actually work from anywhere I get Verizon 4G signal. When the grid power is down here, so is the internet so I can run everything off my Verizon smart phone as long as Verizon is operating.
Good job testing it all out, make sure you have contingencies for landline and local internet not operational (if you use them). I kick around the idea of solar panels and batteries, but I don't think I can really do much with that right now. So many other projects right now, the $$ just isn't going to be there for a while. Thought about 12V lighting and stuff when building the office, but never did it. We'll see what the future brings 
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Couple thoughts: Don't know what that Genny is like, but could you clamp on a temporary exhause pipe and run it away/up? They make that flexible stuff pretty small. I know we all want to take care if our stuff from elements, but I am guilty of leaving my generator outside while camping in rain and snow. It doesn't care. I wouldn't be so worried about it sitting outside during use, even in rain or snow. |
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Quoted:
Ok, so I just finished about an hour ago. I didn't want to stop the test until the generator was completely out of fuel. I maintained a pretty steady 240 watt load all day. I left everything on after I was done working thinking the generator would be out of gas soon. I was wrong. The generator ran about 13.5 hours, 3 hours longer than I expected. I added another 500 watts to the load the last hour and a half when my electric heater came on. I was quite impressed and that is more than enough time to get me through the day. Things I ran into. 1. The generator was outside (of course) about 8' from the exterior wall with the exhaust pointed away. The smell of exhaust started creeping in. Consider getting a carbon monoxide detector to add to your generator kit. Good overview, too. |