Chuck Hards wrote:
Well tonight the wind blew so of course Rocky Mountain Power has failed in our neighborhood. I guess the gerbil in the treadmill died, or the extension cord got pulled out of the transformer or something.
At any rate, for the first time since I got my generator (2 years ago) I'm running the house on it- and I have to say that it's more stable than the power company! Running the computer on gasoline right now (instead of coal and wind) and no complaints. I do run the generator for 10 minutes every 2 to 3 weeks just to keep it lubricated, change fuel every year and use Sta-bil in the gas.
Joe Bauman, you've been running your laptop & telescope in the field from a generator for some time now; any insights or comments?
THIS IS IMPORTANT TO THOSE OF YOU WHO USE A BACK-UP GENERATOR I also use a generator to keep essential things going in my house when "Utah Flash & Flicker" drops off the line. Wednesday morning my community arose to find the power out; it was still pretty dark so I fired up the generator. When I connected the plug I found it difficult to lock it into the receptacle, but it seemed tight so I switched all the circuits to generator power and fired up. A few minutes later while I was shaving the lights suddenly dimmed, then went VERY bright and then blew out with a bright flash and a loud pop. I could hear a loud growling noise coming from the kitchen area, so I rushed out to the generator to shut it down - I found my wife sweeping the garage floor under the area where the generator sits in waiting (I wheel it outside the garage to run, with a heavy cable that connects into the separate power panel provided for generator power). She was brushing against the cable from the generator causing it to sway gently, and that movement was apparently causing a 'make and break' in one or more of the circuits. The result was momentary application of 230 VAC across some of the 115 VAC lines. This little blunder on my part cost me: the microwave oven, a couple surge suppressors (which saved my computer, the Hi Fi equipment, and some other expensive stuff), soot stains on the carpet under the surge suppressors, and many light bulbs. If the refrigerator or the freezer had been on at the time it probably would have taken them out as well. There may still be other things that I haven't found that are smoked as well. Lesson learned: BE SURE THE CABLE IS INSERTED ALL THE WAY, AND LOCKED IN, BEFORE STARTING THE GENERATOR. I have been using this setup for about fifteen years with no problems at all. It was professionally installed to meet all codes. Only the operator screwed up... Norm