Generators

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Generators

Postby Mitton » Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:26 am

I recently moved into a new house and with Eskom saying they will be loadshedding for the next 2 years, I want to look at getting a generator to run my snake room as well as some of the other stuff in my house, TV\DSTV, fridges, alarm system and computers\laptops.

I have about 70 heat pads in my snake room, large and medium of various wattage.

Someone mentioned the 5.5kVA petrol generators you get at Builders but I would prefer diesel and 5.5 sounds a bit small.
I am not looking for one that will plug into the mains of my house and with auto start. I am happy to go and start it myself and run a few leads to where I need power.

Has any of you bought a generator like this that you can suggest? How do I determine what load all of the stuff I want to run pulls, especially the heat pads? I don’t have any experience with this.
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Re: Generators

Postby rolandslf » Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:43 am

Greetings Sir

I would rather go with an inverter. I reckon a suitable Inverter would set you back maybe 2-3k more than the Generator, but the pros of an inverter are what counts.

No having to pull a rope to start a Genie.
No having to supply fuel for a Genie.
No noise like a Genie.

The Inverter charges while the Eskom Power is on, and when the Power goes off, automatically switches to Inverter Power.

Just my 2 cents worth.
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Re: Generators

Postby gekosin » Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:56 am

Does the inverter not have a shorted lifespan though? I will ask a mate of mine what he is running but he uses a combination of solar and generator so it may be a small gene
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Re: Generators

Postby Ryuu » Tue Apr 21, 2015 12:14 pm

(Wattage × Hours Used Per Day) ÷ 1000 = Daily Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption

so if its 1 30 watt heating pads it will be

(30 * 24) / 1000
= 0,72 kWh

so 70 will be
( 0,72 * 70)
= 50 kWh

kW for 70 Heating Pads at 30 watt will be (30 * 70) / 1000 = 2.1 kW (thats half of a 5.5 kW Gennies potential output.

Please Note that I just quickly did this.. and Its been a while since i needed to do that.. (College Digital Electronics) also note that Im not Sure your Heating pads are 30 watt..

Nevermind I googled..

"
Kilowatts (kW)– this is the rate that energy is produced or consumed. A kilowatt is 1000 watts (W). Sometimes you may see megawatt (MW), which is a million watts.

The power of a generator is specified in kW. Devices consume electricity at a rate specified in kW. A lightbulb may be 60 watts (.06 kW).

Kilowatt-hours (kWh) – amount of electricity produced or consumed. This is rate (kW) multiplied by time (hours). Your electric bill will charge you for the number of kilowatt-hours you consumed.

For example, running a .06 kW (60w) lightbulb for 1 hour consumes .06kWh of electricity. Running a 30w bulb for 2 hours also consumes .06 kWh of electricity.

Running a .3 kW solar panel for 6 hours a day may produce 1.8 kW per day.
"

So you need to Work out whats your Total Load. and take it from there.
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Re: Generators

Postby Ryuu » Tue Apr 21, 2015 12:33 pm

Sorry the 24 hour 50kWh is actualy 24 /50.4 = 2.1kWh
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Re: Generators

Postby Mitton » Tue Apr 21, 2015 1:34 pm

Thanks for the info guys.

Roland, yesterday I did not have power for almost 8 hours, will an inverter last this long? Do you have any links to models you would suggest?
Pulling a rope to start a generator will not be an issue and neither would the noise, it will just go in the back of the yard and I won't hear it. A 30l tank will run non-stop for 3 days on a 7.5kVA diesel generator at full load, so it won't work out very expensive. How much electricity does the inverter use to recharge?

Ryuu, thanks for the explanation, appreciate it. So even if I assume all my heat pads are 30 watt which I am sure they aren't, it will only use half of the 5.5kW generator. I just need to work out on your formula what my other stuff will need, makes sense.
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Re: Generators

Postby Ryuu » Tue Apr 21, 2015 3:23 pm

Jip..

that should Work.
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Re: Generators

Postby Ryuu » Tue Apr 21, 2015 3:26 pm

another thing to note is that inverting has some wastage.. if you go that route.. i would use the dc versions of the heating pads..
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Re: Generators

Postby iiviii » Tue Apr 21, 2015 3:53 pm

Or I could sell you a 40KVA perkins that will run your whole house as well as a few houses around you, then you charge them for the fuel it uses plus a bit extra to make your money back and then no one needs eskom :lol: .
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Re: Generators

Postby rolandslf » Wed Apr 22, 2015 7:45 am

HaHa on the Perkins, we have one here at work. It has a 120 litre fuel tank, and will run for around 12 hours ( never been tested yet) flat out with a full load placed on it.
Just that with the Perkins the initial outlay is a bit on the costly side.

Mitton, the time limit on the Inverter is mainly governed by the Size of Inverter versus the Load placed on it.
I will find a link for you to some Inverter suppliers.

As stated, you will pay more for an inverter than a Generator, but then again, what if there is a Power Outage for whatever reason, and there is no one at home to start the Generator. Generators can have self starting and automatic switch over gear installed, but this pushes cost up exponentially.
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Re: Generators

Postby ewertb » Wed Apr 22, 2015 9:12 am

For more time on an inverter you just add more batteries. I bought a 1kVA inverter plus two 102Ah batteries last week for R7000. Planning to only keep the panel heater and future incubators running in the event of a power failure. At full load this setup will give me around 2 hrs backup. Currently only running 400W heater on thermostat so can get in excess of 5hrs.
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