On Sun, 16 Nov 2014 09:29:11 -0800 Denis Heidtmann <[email protected]> dijo:
>How much power do you need for all the electronics you want to run >during a power outage? I suspect this is much lower than the 7KW >produced by the GX 390. Does or will DMC convert a much smaller >inverter generator to gas? Have you looked into conversion kits? (I >too would be interested in a natural gas fueled generator.) CMD will convert a lot of generators to natural gas for you. You send them just the carburetor and they return it as a tri-fuel carburetor. This voids the warranty (except for Yamaha engines), but if you already have an older generator that is out of warranty anyway, then it might make sense. CMD is not the only one out there that will provide this service, plus you can buy kits online and just do the conversion yourself. As for the amount of power you need, bear in mind that electric motors (think refrigerator and freezer) take two or three times as much power when starting up. Consider also that, with the exception of inverter type generators, the Hz is controlled by the engine speed, so if the engine lugs down because the generator is near the top of its rated capacity your power will not be as clean. And there is also the matter of convenience. A 2,000 watt generator is enough to run a refrigerator or freezer, but not a lot of other things that you want to keep running at the same time. I don't want to have shut down all my computers and peripherals in order to run the refrigerator a couple times a day. [Pro natural gas rant] As for natural gas, it's the only fuel option that makes sense if you have natural gas in your house. Schlepping around gallons of gasoline and/or storing it is a PITA and dangerous as well. If someone from the fire department sees that you have 20+ gallons of gas stored in your garage you're probably going to get a reaction. And even if you are willing to put up with storage issues, bear in mind that you have to recycle it continually through your car lest it turn into explosive sludge. And it will gum up your carburetor unless you run the engine dry after using it. In 1998 I took out a building permit to demolish the garage that was falling down and build a new one adjacent to the house. At that time I also took out an electrical permit to add a new service entrance and to rewire the house, and a mechanical permit to move the gas meter and switch the water heater and range to gas, and to add an outdoor gas connection to the patio behind the house. While chatting with the inspector about the gas connections he mentioned that I would not have needed a permit if no more than ten feet of new gas line had been added. I don't know if that is still true, but I must say that working with natural gas lines is very easy. The only thing you need is a pressure tester, which are inexpensive and available at the box stores. [End rant] _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
