Quote:
Originally Posted by Dubyagee
It looks like a propane tank right next to the backhoe.
From another forum.
"The Kohler 12kW uses about 2.5 gallons of propane per hour at idle speed which is also 50% power output. When we lose power my genset never needs to accelerate beyond idle spreed. At 2.5 gal/hour I can run for 2-3 days assuming I let it run continuously. I have a 500 gallon burried propane tank but assumed that it would be at 40% full when we got the outage which is 200 gallons. These are all assumptions that I made when deriving my needs. You can get smaller above ground propane tanks (e.g. multiple 100 gallon tanks) and that might work just fine depending on what your backup needs. You can also manuallly turn the genset on and off to extend the operating life if you know the outage will be longer than the fuel you have. "
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No offense to the poster - but this sounds fishy. Most AC generators never change "speed" - they run at 720/900/1800 (or 3600 in the old day) rpm and keep running at that speed reguardless of load. If your genset were some kind of DC generator with inverter (like those small 2000w red things) then you'd change speed with loading, but I'm guessing that its going to be difficult for a homeowner to check their generator loading by listening to it - you'd have to hear the exhaust note change (as load was added) or look at a load/watt/amp meter mounted on the generator (which I'm sure they all have). I just don't think they are going to change speed when you turn the A/C on (other than a momentary dip as the regulator catches up).
Thank you for the writeup - but did you say that this thing exercises and performs 2 switchovers weekly ? that sounds excessive to me- I thought that monthly was sufficient. I'd be a bit concerned because every electric motor in your house (that is running during the switchover) will get a small hiccup when the power switches from the line to the generator (and back). This won't hurt anything by itself but I'd be concerned that doing it 2x a week might shorten the lifespan of refrigerators, blowers, pumps etc. Is there a 'test monthly' option ?
(you are not the first person to buy one of these though, so I'm sure its not a big deal)
-John