[Novalug] UPS/Generators

William Sutton william@trilug.org
Sun Jul 15 18:28:06 EDT 2012


Good info, thanks.  I'm so far out in the boonies that it's LP, Gasoline, 
or solar :-)

William Sutton

On Sun, 15 Jul 2012, Roy Wilson wrote:

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>> I have LPG, so was thinkin about something in the LPG category.  I've
>> heard a lot of Generac commercials lately on WTOP, but as they sell out of
>> Lowes, my guess is that the corresponding quality is...maybe not so much.
>>
>> My office (I work for a very large company) just purchased an Kohler
>> industrial generator (think building-sized), and I know they have
>> residential units.  Any thoughts on those?
>>
>> William Sutton
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> Roy:
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>     Generac's are pricey, and IMO you're paying a premium for the Name.  Kohler makes *very* nice units, and they're very clean power - I suspect there's some filter circuitry in them that actually *works*. :)  They're also one of the higher-priced manufacturers.
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>     Fuels...
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>     By far, gasoline is your best bet for *portable* generators, and about the worst for static use - not just fuel price, but oil changes every 10 hours of run time, they're hard to fire up after sitting a long time (Note to anyone who already has a whole-house generator:  Fire it up at *least* once every six months for half an hour - every 3 or 4 months if it's electric start, just to keep the battery topped off).
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>     I used to (15 year back) recommend diesel for home use, I'd stick them in a basement, plumb the exhaust outside, pull off the fuel tank and tee it directly into the house's 275g heating oil tank(s).  Obviously, at over $4/gallon now, that's no longer the case.
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>     LP is terrific, clean burning, quiet, exhaust is mostly water vapor and CO2.  The downside?  PRICE.  They tend to run 2-3 times as much as the same unit in gasoline powered.
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>     I haven't installed any NG units yet, there's no viable source for fuel up here at the moment.  We *are* getting a main feed line through in the next year or three, and with the price/efficiency differences from LP, it may be the best way to go for static-mounted units.
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