Well I wasn't really asking if you supplied any, but more along the lines of distribution around the countryside. I've visited NS a few times. Do the folks in North Sidney and places around there have NG, or do they use propane?
How about on PEI? NG or propane? Newfoundland?
Gary
----------------------------------------------
Hey! Aren't you supposed to be working?
Quebec on west has NG distribution lines. The Maritimes have offshore NG but it all goes to the US.
Egon
Hey, wait a minute, man... What is all this trash talk about diesel? There are stabilizing additives, similar to those used for long term storage of gasoline (Stabil to name one) that keeps diesel usable for quite a time. An alternative plan would be (if your tractor uses diesel) to plumb the genny to your overhead diesel storage tank or use a pump to bring it up from a ground mounted one. If it is good enough for our tractor it is good enough for the genny. Using fuel for the tractor will require replenishing the diesel tank with fresh fuel. If FIFO is an issue and you don't store much diesel for your tractor then when you buy diesel for your tractor fill the tractor from the genny supply and put the new stuff in the genny supply. That shold keep it fresh.
Diesel availability is a lot less in question than the electric grid or the "natural gas grid." If ultimate reliability were not a consideration, then natural gas and or propane are excellent choices.
Onan makes some real good air cooled diesel gennies. I once filled a box with electronics and powered it with a diesel genny. I iinstalled a 12.5 Kw air cooled Onan diesel inside a Helicopt Hut to be carried on a duce and a half at the Army's National Training Center between Barstow, CA and Death Valley. It powered a roof mount Coleman RV type A/C, a computer, and a few hundred thousand dollars worth of electronic stuff. It was a mobile microwave spectrum analysis system. We had the same Onan units in fixed installaltions as well.
These units were used frequently as commercial power was often subject to interruption by lightning storms in the desert. We never had a failure and never interrupted the desert tank warfare (simulated combat) due to power outage.
I don't recall the exact capacity of the overhead storage tanks at the fixed installaltions but I quess the army is experienced in diesel storage and gave us (AMEX) the right specs and requirements.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
I'd go diesel to. Don't want nothing to do with NG and C3 if it's for the long haul.
Egon
GaryM,
I think I have decided to go with the 12KW 3600 RPM Natural Gas unit. I weighed all the options........
A portable unit my wife probably could not get out of the barn, wheeled over to the house and connected properly if I was not at home. Gas does go bad, besides you need to have a supply on hand for an extended outage. Diesel, same reasons. And if the area is out of power......the local suppliers won't have power either. LP........?? that would be the only thing here on LP, but that is still an option as they come prepared to work on LP or NG.
Now, for NG......?? the booster pump stations I am familiar with all have back up power. I have done all the calculations on the the gas lines we have now. We currently have a demand of 175 cubic feet/hour and will need 355 cubic feet/hour after the genset. The lines are good for 680. Think I'm good to go. Now just a visit to the credit union to do a "funds transfer" and I can place my order from http://www.electricgeneratorstore.com./
I need this to be as simple and foolproof as possible. My health in the future will never be as good as it now, so I need to take a look at the future and get us prepared [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
I didn't bad mouth diesel, I don't think I did. I just felt that propane, or NG, was a better choice for my needs. Based on convenience mostly. for my JD I buy fuel 5 gal at a time. I don't have any storage tank and don't intend to.
The folks at the Electric Generator Store were good to work with and the unit was delivered when they said it would be. I paid $30 extra for a truck with a liftgate. As it truned out my GC had his Bobcat on site with forks, but I couldn't depend on that happening.
I eliminated the portable unit for the same reasons you did. Convenience when I'm not home. I can count on the lights being on when I get there!
The cables that connect the outside box to the load center are 30' in length. In my case that's not enough. My electrician is putting a connection box in place and then continuing on from there with his own cableing. Needed another 15' or so.
Here's a picture of the 15KW unit with the cover open. Reasonable amount of soundproofing inside. BTW, you need to supply your own starting battery. Do you think those Optima batteries are any good? Oh wait, that's a different thread!
Gary
----------------------------------------------
Hey! Aren't you supposed to be working?
We (The CFO and I) discussed the Optima. I think I may try it.
Well..........the 12KW is on order........they're out right now, go figure. More should be in on Friday in Delta, OH. Might be delivered to my place on Monday.
I was out at the homesite this aftenoon to show the propane guy where I wanted the tank and where the line had to meet the house. They want the tank no further than 80' from the drive or other paved surface. I guess they don't want to drag the hose any further than that. My plumber/HVAC guy was there too, so they had a discussion about who was doing what.
The label on the 15KW unit says the NG line needs to supply 288K BTU/Hr in addition to what the rest of the house needs.
Gary
----------------------------------------------
Hey! Aren't you supposed to be working?
Gary,
288K BTU/hr sounds about right for 15KW. The 12KW unit requires 185 ft³ at full load, which is about 166K BTU depending on the gas thats supplied. Did you get the optional booster kit that goes with the 15KW unit. It makes it produce a full 15KW. Without it, you'll be somewhat less.
Jerry
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote