Anybody got a generator?

[Countdown]

I’ve been idly thinking about getting some kind of back-up for the electricity in the house. I don’t live in the middle of nowhere or anything, it’s more of a “nice to have “ rather than anything else. Now, given what has happened in Spain I’m wondering if it would be worthwhile having either a generator or maybe some kind of powerwall battery thingy just in case the SHTF.

Has anyone got either? If so, how much did it cost and how easy was it to install/ integrate?

[Actual]

I have a EcoFlow DELTA Max 2000 which I keep charged up and have used a couple of times to power individual items during a power outage.

It is 2016 Wh.

It will boil a kettle but can't cope with the in-rush current of the coffee machine.

[Countdown]

I was thinking of something that sits in line with the power supply and seamlessly jumps in when the power fails. Like a mahoosive UPS

[Lefty]

Yeah but we do live out in the sticks a bit and regularly get power cuts for days at a time. No power = no water for us, we’re not on mains water.

Pramac P9000 single phase. It’s diesel and runs two houses, my shed and two well pumps with no problem.

I got a sparky to fit external plugs and switches in each house, I wheel the thing out of my shed when needed.

Gennie was about £3000 I think, switches and stuff were a few hundred per house. We didn’t fit auto switches but I don’t think it’s difficult or expensive.

[Countdown]

Cheers Lefty I shall google.

Does it kick in automatically?

Whoops ignore me, I misread

[h0b0]

I have a 20Kv whole house generator. It can run everything indefinitely. It is plumbed into the house gas so no need to top up fueling. It has run for over a week when the power went out.

[Lefty]

No but it can be set up to do so.

It’s literally just plugging in a patch cable and turning the key though.

I make a point of starting it every month and service it every year. Not let us down yet!

[-Cappo-]

I have a 77kWh battery sat on the drive but as yet no way to power the house with it!

I do however also have an American RV with its own generator, solar, and all mod cons, so if the SHTF we’d just decamp to that for the duration. Might have to think about stocking it up with tins and dry goods.

[Countdown]

Lefty said:

No but it can be set up to do so.

It’s literally just plugging in a patch cable and turning the key though.

I make a point of starting it every month and service it every year. Not let us down yet!

[LimaDelta]

My view on generators (we have regular winter blackouts) is that you are just delaying the inevitable, unless you have a huge tank or run it on your heating oil supply. I have a camping hob, and enough wood to last a lifetime. Potable water is not a problem for us, but hot water is, as our boiler still requires electricity to run, so cold showers all around and then sit in front of a wood burner to warm up. Character building for the kids

[shirt]

Countdown said:

I was thinking of something that sits in line with the power supply and seamlessly jumps in when the power fails. Like a mahoosive UPS

It’s only massive if you think domestically. A 60kva UPS and inverter is about the same size as a fridge freezer.

If I was to have a knee jerk reaction to the news I’d be looking at a second hand commercial online ups and then building my own battery pack for it. There’s no real tech or value in the latter.

[paralla]

My PHEV has an 18kwh battery and a 1500W inverter with a 3 pin plug socket. 1500W is enough to run the fridge, IT equipment, laptops and lights. Not super convenient but better than nothing. Hot water and cooking is by a gas AGA that doesn’t need electricity to run.

[h0b0]

Countdown said:

I was thinking of something that sits in line with the power supply and seamlessly jumps in when the power fails. Like a mahoosive UPS

Generally, a UPS is there to bridge the gaps in power. I have UPS on the critical computers that take over seamlessly when the power goes out. They only have about 20 minutes of power but the Generator kicks in after 2 minutes. I know we have powerwalls now that can last a lot longer but still the same gap. I think in some sunnier places the solar can top up the powerwall sufficiently during then day but that is very unlikely to happen in the UK.

The only flaw in my system is that I forgot to put the router on a UPS so my automated alert system/wife screams "WIFI is down" when the power goes out.

[dazzalse]

We've had a 120Kva generator that has been here for 21 years from new, I run it once a month so its always ready but it only done 79 hours from new, 48 hours of that when we had big storms here earlier on in the year, and power was out in the whole village, it powers the whole house. Its a nice to have, but is it needed, probably not. Automatically kicks in after about 60 seconds, we have various UPS battery back up's in the house for sensitive equipment, pumps and CCTV etc. We are very rural but generally power has become more reliable so probably not needed.

[shirt]

h0b0 said:

Generally, a UPS is there to bridge the gaps in power. I have UPS on the critical computers that take over seamlessly when the power goes out. They only have about 20 minutes of power but the Generator kicks in after 2 minutes. I know we have powerwalls now that can last a lot longer but still the same gap. I think in some sunnier places the solar can top up the powerwall sufficiently during then day but that is very unlikely to happen in the UK.

The only flaw in my system is that I forgot to put the router on a UPS so my automated alert system/wife screams "WIFI is down" when the power goes out.

A UPS will have a peak rating (w, kw) and duration (/hr). Just add more batteries to increase duration. Call it a UPS or a BESS, same same for all practical purposes.

[foliedouce]

I've got one, where I live, power outages are not unusual and this is a brilliant piece of kit, runs on gas and powers the whole house inc air con units. As soon as the power is down, she automatically starts up.

[Hereward]

I've got this. It's really noisy (the cheapo diesels, like this one, run at 3,000rpm), if you have neighbours they will kill you.

[TheRainMaker]

Countdown said:

I’ve been idly thinking about getting some kind of back-up for the electricity in the house. I don’t live in the middle of nowhere or anything, it’s more of a “nice to have “ rather than anything else. Now, given what has happened in Spain I’m wondering if it would be worthwhile having either a generator or maybe some kind of powerwall battery thingy just in case the SHTF.

Has anyone got either? If so, how much did it cost and how easy was it to install/ integrate?

Yes, only by luck though.

My parents had one on their boat, and when they sold it, they took it off and gave it to me.

It is around 3000 watts with two 16-amp sockets. I bought two extension cords and fitted the correct plugs. It would run a few things in the house, like the fridge, etc.

I'm not sure I would buy one myself, but it has come in handy several times.

The down side to the small generators is run time and noise, they are pretty loud.

[MDT]

I had the same thoughts a couple of years ago. Did some looking about and yes watching many a youtube vid on the topic. I came to the conclusion that if we lost power for a few days then all I would be looking for would be lights, TV and the central heating to work. I know the over and power shower would be off limits and the fridge freezer would need to be manged with being switched on for a period when other things were off.

Also aware of not wanting a loud unit working away.

so went with a 1200w "suitcase" unit off Amazon. £200 and guess what. it's been cracking.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B083L715TM?ref_=ppx_hz...

It is 1000w continuous, dose not drink much and it is really very quiet. I have had a change over switch fitted and while I have only had a test run of this powering the house it's been a shock to see how much you can power off this before it trips.

In short for £200 + the change over getting done it's nice to know you have an option.

we have a few 5-10 min power cuts a year here and got a small UPS to maintain the Wi-Fi which is fine for 30 mins which is handy when WFH on the laps top.

[Evanivitch]

-Cappo- said:

I have a 77kWh battery sat on the drive but as yet no way to power the house with it!

I do however also have an American RV with its own generator, solar, and all mod cons, so if the SHTF we’d just decamp to that for the duration. Might have to think about stocking it up with tins and dry goods.

VW group car?

https://triplesolar.co.uk/shop/sh074-sigenergy-ev-...