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IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

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Re: Honda Northstar 13,000 generator upgra for Generac 7000 EXL?

There is no reason the power should be out for a month at a time except for disconnection for non-payment. Most state PUCs would find that amount of unreliability unacceptable and should force the utilities to correct the situation.

The longest I've been out in my 29 years of life is three days and that was the October snowstorm. The only reason anyone should be out a month or more (except for shut-off for non payment) is a widespread disaster like Superstorm Sandy or the October snowstorm. Even in Iowa, outages were typically brief and mostly weather related. I do have a generator and I've only had to use it once since I bought it and the outage was 45 minutes.

My Generator is a portable Briggs & Stratton but I would go with Generac if I was to put in a standby generator.

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA

Premium Member

Mine was out 17 days after Isabel, 10 days after Irene and numerous other times since I bought my generator. You live in an urban area which has no relationship with the majority of the conditions in most of the country.

disconnected
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Anon

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I agree, and I've written to the PUC to complain about it since the big outage of 9/11/2002 where we had a breezy, but sunny, afternoon and the power went off for EIGHT DAYS. Our wealthy politician neighbors one block east got their power back in 3 days. Ours took an additional five.
The October snowstorm knocked our power out almost to Dec 1st. I was raising h*ll with the poco about it, but they are such a large, monolithic and protected corporate entity that my complaints had no effect. However, at least they fired the CEO for mismanagement. Help from other states would not come because our poco did not pay the bills from Irene's cleanup. Anyway, with the breakdown of society, power outages are rapidly becoming the norm, not the exception. I've been at this address for 47 years and even through Hurricane Belle, we did not lose power. Worst outage I remember in the last century was 1986 Oct snow storm, which broke hundreds of thousands of trees across town. We lost power for three days, despite the extreme devastation. Then the power company labor cutbacks in 2002 leave us with understaffed utility repair crews. C'est la vie.

Even in the 1940s-1960s, I cannot recall long duration outages. Heck, the blackout of '65 was only a few hours, despite being the entire east coast. We had some hum dingers (lost the roof of my Bethel house in the early '60s in one of 'em) but the power was always back on within an hour or two. How times have changed. And people are 'ok' with that, so it will get worse.

And, in the Massive Incompetence Dept, I have this to report: my generator is still sitting on some tractor trailer truck somewhere. It was rescheduled to be delivered today (Thurs) after Tuesday's truck breakdown. Two problems: their driver has to contact with the dispatcher due to lack of cellular coverage in town, so they can't tell me where he is. Their last communication was that he was going to wait in a parking lot downtown and expected me to somehow come up with a truck that I can drive down there to meet him. Delivery means 'deliver to my property address' not meet me in town somewhere because you moved the load from a 28' truck to some 48' trailer truck. Breakdowns are not my problem--I want my generator! (And since Wed morning, the weather has turned absolutely awful, with some of the heaviest rain I've ever seen and intense lightning.) Even if it arrived today, it would sit out in the rain until I can get the wheel kit and battery installed and roll it up the ramp to the building. My driveway never turned into a lake before, but today it did.
So next they tell me I should have paid for 'lift gate service' an extra $80 on top of the $300 or so I paid for shipping. I understood that I'd need to unload the truck myself, but just not that I'd have to rent a truck to go out and meet another truck downtown and get it!
I finally got Northern Tool to resolve the issue and absorb the costs. I've lost 3, now going on 4 days, waiting around for a shipment that never arrives. I had no idea the heavy trucking industry has declined this far in the past 25 years.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy to Jack_in_VA

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to Jack_in_VA
said by Jack_in_VA:

Mine was out 17 days after Isabel, 10 days after Irene and numerous other times since I bought my generator. You live in an urban area which has no relationship with the majority of the conditions in most of the country.

I guess living in the city does have its advantages like city water/sewer, reliable electric, cable TV, access to public transit, faster emergency service response times, etc. Another advantage is less driving to get groceries, go to the mall or the movies, and most everything is within a 10-15 minute drive.

But it does have drawbacks like air quality, crime (although police response time is quick), traffic, lack of public parking, etc.
TheMG
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Canada
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TheMG

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I've lived in a number of different places, some of them big cities, some of them small cities, and some that would be considered by many as the "middle of nowhere".

Longest power outage I can remember was approx 8 hours, and of all places it actually occured in the city. The step-down (high kV to lower kV, not sure exact voltages) transformer powering the entire subdivision faulted and had to be replaced.

We pay an arm and a leg for electricity, but at least the utility is well managed and keeps on top of things.

With exception of natural disasters, outages lasting as long as the ones disconnected has described are absolutely unacceptable.

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA

Premium Member

said by TheMG:

I've lived in a number of different places, some of them big cities, some of them small cities, and some that would be considered by many as the "middle of nowhere".

Longest power outage I can remember was approx 8 hours, and of all places it actually occured in the city. The step-down (high kV to lower kV, not sure exact voltages) transformer powering the entire subdivision faulted and had to be replaced.

We pay an arm and a leg for electricity, but at least the utility is well managed and keeps on top of things.

With exception of natural disasters, outages lasting as long as the ones disconnected has described are absolutely unacceptable.

When trees come down taking the power lines with them in a very large area the power is not going to be restored in 8 hours. Consider yourself very lucky. After Isabel Virginia had crews from a lot of states assisting the restoration effort. Crews from Kentucky performed the final effort to restore my power after 17 days. No way could that amount of labor be a norm for any utility.

How does a "well managed" utility that "keeps on top of things" alter the course of natural disasters? Perhaps they could share this with other utilities. Just think they could have prevented Sandy saving the millions of people impacted by the damage. Utilities have not been 100 percent restored to some yet.
TheMG
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join:2007-09-04
Canada

TheMG

Premium Member

Thus why I said "with exception of natural disasters".

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA

Premium Member

said by TheMG:

Thus why I said "with exception of natural disasters".

I don't think in 70 years I've ever had an outage that was not the direct result of a natural disaster event. The most recent a tree taking down the main feeder a few houses down the street.

I guess that indicates that Dominion Virginia Power is a well managed company on top of all issues that could effect their delivery of electricity. I'm lucky they are my power supplier.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

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said by Jack_in_VA:

said by TheMG:

Thus why I said "with exception of natural disasters".

I don't think in 70 years I've ever had an outage that was not the direct result of a natural disaster event. The most recent a tree taking down the main feeder a few houses down the street.

I guess that indicates that Dominion Virginia Power is a well managed company on top of all issues that could effect their delivery of electricity. I'm lucky they are my power supplier.

During the October Snowstorm, I saw crews from Alabama and Kansas in my area. Northeast Utilities disaster recovery plan entails getting the most customers online first.

»www.wmeco.com/Community/ ··· lan.aspx

disconnected
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Anon

Around here every Fallingtree could be considered a natural disaster.

Well it's Friday night, and my generator still has not been delivered. I'm probably going to cancel the order this is ridiculous.

Anyone know where I can buy a decent diesel generator in western Connecticut that's within driving distance that I can go pick up myself? I'm thinking maybe a 15 or 20 kW diesel generator set. The key thing is it must be within reasonable driving distance somewhere in western Connecticut that I can go pick it up myself. I can't deal with these lazy truckers you don't want to deliver or don't have the proper vehicle to deliver in a residential zone.

Cho Baka
MVM
join:2000-11-23
there

Cho Baka to Jack_in_VA

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A tree falling down does not a natural disaster make.

It is, however, indicative of inadequate maintenance.

LazMan
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join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

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A 20kw water cooled diesel is about a ton... Dunno if you're equipped to move that yourself...

Lowes Depot type stores do sell Generac home standby units... The larger ones are Kohler engines, which are generally excellent. That's the direction I'd head, myself...

Jack_in_VA
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join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA to Cho Baka

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said by Cho Baka:

A tree falling down does not a natural disaster make.

It is, however, indicative of inadequate maintenance.

A tree falling out of a neighbors back yard taking down the power line cannot be considered by any stretch inadequate maintenance. I don't think the POCO can be accused of lack of maintenance and it is a natural disaster if it falls because of a weather event. I don't know where you got your definitions from but mine is when the power is out. How about your defining what your "inadequate maintenance" definition is.

Cho Baka
MVM
join:2000-11-23
there

Cho Baka

MVM

The power company should be keeping the trees near the ROW trimmed to prevent them or wayward branches from taking out lines. If a tree is unstable/rotten, it needs to come down.

This is maintenance.

Also. Sandy is a natural disaster. An earthquake is a natural diasater. Any random tree that falls due to weather is not a natural disaster.

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA

Premium Member

said by Cho Baka:

The power company should be keeping the trees near the ROW trimmed to prevent them or wayward branches from taking out lines. If a tree is unstable/rotten, it needs to come down.

This is maintenance.

Also. Sandy is a natural disaster. An earthquake is a natural diasater. Any random tree that falls due to weather is not a natural disaster.

The POCO has no right to go into anyone's yard and cut down trees period. It was a tall tree in full foliage that was rotten at the base under the soil line.

It is not maintenance to usurp private property rights.

Sandy is a natural disaster. An earthquake is a natural diasater.

OK if you say so. Your definition doesn't match mine. I'll just go on record as strongly disagreeing with you. Any weather related event that disrupts utilities is a natural disaster. No other way to define it unless you don't think that weather is a natural event.

LazMan
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join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

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LazMan

Premium Member

said by Jack_in_VA:

The POCO has no right to go into anyone's yard and cut down trees period.

Up here, anyways, you'd be wrong... Within the utility easement, they don't even need to give you notice to trim or remove trees, although they usually do... Even off the easement, any growth that impinges on the utility structure can be removed without notice.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy to Jack_in_VA

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to Jack_in_VA
If you have utility facilities running through your yard, they have an easement that they can occupy and enter. The only exception would be the drops that connect the individual customers.

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA to LazMan

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said by LazMan:

said by Jack_in_VA:

The POCO has no right to go into anyone's yard and cut down trees period.

Up here, anyways, you'd be wrong... Within the utility easement, they don't even need to give you notice to trim or remove trees, although they usually do... Even off the easement, any growth that impinges on the utility structure can be removed without notice.

The tree was in the middle of his back yard and the easement is parallel to his property along the road. I assure you the POCO cannot go into the yard off the easement. They can trim limbs hanging over the easement but no further. As no limbs were over the line that was taken down there was nothing the POCO could do even if they had identified it.

Here they must give notice of the intent to trim. If you are not home they have a card they put on the door to notify you. Been that route with them and know for a fact. If you are not notified then no work can take place.
Jack_in_VA

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said by IowaCowboy:

If you have utility facilities running through your yard, they have an easement that they can occupy and enter. The only exception would be the drops that connect the individual customers.

This main feeder line was not running through any yard but on the right of way easement along the roadway.

disconnected
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Anon

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It is now Saturday morning, and my paid for generator is still not delivered. I decided to cancel the order. I won't give my business to a company that cannot even get a shipment done, and hires a trucking firm that doesn't know how to deliver to residential area.

So I'm now looking at Aurora Generators. This one in particular:

»www.auroragenerators.com ··· 13428540

I like the features, build quality and the company philosophy and approach to designing their own generators.
I've put in a request for how they would handle a shipment. Everything hinges on their answer.

In the meantime, I have to buy the appropriate parts, any special tools and start tearing down the Generac's engine for a rebuild of the cylinder and piston ring replacement. If anyone knows of a good resource for small engine parts and any specialized tools, that would be helpful.

I don't like the Home Depot stuff because most of it requires natural gas. I looked at the consumption rate, and it appears that a 100lb LPG cylinder would last about a day at half load. I need something that can run for a month straight, without refueling--that would be my ideal case. The Aurora, with it's 100 gallon + fuel tank would approach that goal, while using less fuel at twice the load, than my Generac gasoline genset. And its noise level is at least 10dB lower than competing generators, at 57dB @ 21 feet. In bad times, it is best that passers by don't know you have a generator at all. Sure don't want a noisy gas generator echoing through the forest with its 80dB noise levels. I figure maybe I ought to really do this right and just blow my entire savings and get the Aurora, if they'll deliver it to the house. A flatbed with a boom/winch, similar to what septic tank delivery trucks use, would be ideal--then they could set it on the concrete slab and all I'd have to do is wire it and load crankcase oil and diesel. Maybe I'm dreaming. Or maybe I'm just getting senile and having illusions that I'm rich enough to afford a generator. I only paid $800 for the Generac 7000EXL back around 2003, used. Transportation.. that's the hiccup with these types of purchases though.

PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD

PSWired

Member

You sound pretty handy so here's what I'd do:

First, to get you going right away, I'd get your generac unseized or put a new (used) engine in it. Take it to a small engine place in town and get it done on the cheap. Anything to get it up and running quickly so you've got something to keep you going while you get a real generator sorted out.

Next head over to www.smokstak.com and take a look at the Onan forums. There's a ton of experience there with older Onan generators. You don't need to spend $5k+ to get a decent 10kw diesel generator. Find a used Onan, spend some time getting it fixed up, and install it in your shelter. This time work out moisture control with a sump pit and a dehumidifier. You'll end up with a system that you can run reliably for months on end, and can use home heating oil to power. If you do it right, it'll be quiet too.
TheMG
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Canada
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said by disconnected :

So I'm now looking at Aurora Generators. This one in particular:

»www.auroragenerators.com ··· 13428540

I can't help but notice that the alternator on this genset looks almost identical to the Stamford Newage brand alternators found on many of our smaller gensets at work, but this one has the Chinese brand "Dingol" on it.

Just saying.

Jack_in_VA
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join:2007-11-26
North, VA

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Jack_in_VA

Premium Member

said by TheMG:

said by disconnected :

So I'm now looking at Aurora Generators. This one in particular:

»www.auroragenerators.com ··· 13428540

I can't help but notice that the alternator on this genset looks almost identical to the Stamford Newage brand alternators found on many of our smaller gensets at work, but this one has the Chinese brand "Dingol" on it.

Just saying.

Not only the Dingol generator but the Laidong 4L22BD engine is also. This genset is Chinese.

The generator will also be expensive to operate.

50 percent load: 0.45 gal/hr
100 percent load: 0.79 gal/hr

I don't know what diesel fuel is there but it's over $3/gal here.

disconnected
@108.247.170.x

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Anon

It's not really a problem with seizure. It's a problem with blogger oiler rings. The generator is burning all the crankcase oil. The motor runs but the oil extinguishes the spark.

I thought .45 gallons per hour wasn't too bad at half load. And that would be about an 8000 W load. My Generac uses about half a gallon per hour with about a 2500 W load. So what diesel generators can do better than .45 gallons per hour with an 8000 W load?
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The building had been missing the door for a couple of years, as the wood frame rotted and there was nothing for the hinges to attach to. I had a sheet of plywood leaned up against the building, but it obviously wasn't air tight. There's no electric service available in that building unless the generator is running, so a dehumidifier can't be powered. I plan to finish with hydro-lock paint on the inside and am rebuilding the door jambs this week. The door is filled with concrete and weighs over 100lbs, so it's cumbersome to work on.

I'm looking at the 'silver lining' in this situation as an opportunity to upgrade from the inadequate 7000/12000W genset to something that can handle more than one load at a time.

Re: finding a used generator, if transporting it wasn't half the cost of the generator, I would easily consider it. But for a unit with who knows what level of wear and what problems may be just hours in the future, I'm reluctant to risk that. I'm not a certified diesel mechanic. 15 years ago, there was one 900' down the road from me that the local FM tower was getting rid of, but I didn't try to buy it because I had no means to move it. Probably weighed 3 tons and was the size of a small mini-van.

I had thought of using the heating oil, but I read that heating oil may contain sulfurs and dyes and other chemicals that can damage a diesel engine. Also the fact that my oil lines are underground and under the concrete slab of the basement doesn't make hookup very easy to do. If the generator's water jacket were coupled to the hydronic heating system in the house, I could run on generator and have plenty of heat, too. I thought of that about 30 years ago, when I installed the first generator, a 5500W B&S. Back then, oil was about 30-cents/gallon and much more practical.

PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD

PSWired

Member

I will say that I've used heating oil to power my generator at home for 5 years. It only runs for 48-72 hours a year or so though, except for last year with the 5 day derecho outage. It's true the sulfur content is higher than road diesel, but I've not come across a generator that requires ultra low sulfur diesel. I've heard that motor fuel contains an additional lubricant package that heating oil doesn't have, but the consensus seems to be that it's not a big deal.

Also, when sizing, don't forget that many of the higher quality (Onan/Cummins, Kohler, etc.) diesel sets are rated for prime power production, so their standby ratings will be even higher. I can run my well pump, 3.5 ton AC, and the usual household odds and ends on a 7.5kW Onan. I'd never be able to get away with that using a standard single cylinder gasoline generator. The flywheel on the Onan weighs more than a whole 7kW gas generator
TheMG
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TheMG to disconnected

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said by disconnected :

I thought .45 gallons per hour wasn't too bad at half load. And that would be about an 8000 W load. My Generac uses about half a gallon per hour with about a 2500 W load.

Your gasoline Generac used more fuel for a much lighter load because diesel engines are much more efficient than gasoline.
said by disconnected :

So what diesel generators can do better than .45 gallons per hour with an 8000 W load?

Generally speaking, a smaller one. A 10kW set powering an 8kW load will be more efficient than a 16kW set powering the same load.

Also keep in mind that it is not good to operate a diesel genset for long lengths of time with a very light load. The generator should be sized such that the average load is greater than about 30% of its capacity. Light loads are ok if the set will be intermittently loaded up to at least 70% (for example, say your load is 10% but when the A/C kicks in, the load becomes 70%, that would be ok, but running at 10% all the time without heavily loading the generator from time to time is not good).

Prolonged operation at low loads will lead to a premature engine rebuild being required, due to glazing of cylinder walls and excess carbon building.

So while having reserve capacity is nice, this is something that needs to be considered. Diesel generators run best with a substantial load.

This is a problem we're running into at work. Several of our sites have old generators that are loaded to less than 10%, due to equipment being upgraded over the years with more efficient modern equipment. For instance, some older transmitters used to be only 40% efficient while the newer ones are 90% efficient. So we're replacing the old large gensets with smaller sets to bring the load within 50-80%, as a preemptive measure.

Disconnected
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Anon

I am familiar with the phenomenon of wet stacking. a broadcast transmitter is a pretty steady load at least with an FM transmitter. The problem here is that we have very dynamic loads we can have a 2500 W load just computers and a few led lights or we have a load they could exceed 30,000 W if my sound system is running at full tilt and electric dryer is in use. When are well which has a 92 amps LRA is another problem starting up with generators. This has always been a situation that gives me pause when considering a diesel generator.

disconnected
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Anon

Click for full size
Generator Waveform
It's been a long time coming, with the delays and constant no shows from the freight company, but I finally was able to meet the truck at a warehouse and, with the help of the warehouse forklift, transfer the generator from their truck to my truck.

Got it home, laid the ramps and dragged the carton down the ramps. Uncrated just in front of the generator building.
The first issue I discovered is that they forgot to include the rubber bumpers that are part of the handle assembly. Worked around it by stuffing cardboard in the space between handle pivots and frame of generator.

Before I go further, I must tell you what happened to my Generac 7000EXL: I brought it to a small engine repair shop in town, thinking it would need to be rebuilt. He called me the next morning to report that the engine was fine--but that it was "hydro-locked". He went on to state that this was caused by ethanol in the gasoline. While 10% ethanol is okay, he personally tested the gas at area stations and found that some have up to 18% ethanol in the gas. Ethanol is added after the raw gas is delivered. The station operator adds it, and often the measurements are inaccurate or carelessly performed, resulting in wrong mix of ethanol to gasoline ratio. Ethanol amount, he said, is not regulated by the state. He was able to flush out the crankcase (he said there was 1.5 gallons of gasoline in the crankcase) and put in new oil and filter. The engine runs fine now.

Back to the Northstar:
I assembled the wheel kit and found out that the dimensions published by Northern Tool are WITHOUT the wheel kit. With the wheels installed, it would not fit through the door! I made a quick run to Home Depot and purchased two large, heavy duty straight casters, some 1/4-20 stainless hardware and came back and drilled and screwed these to the bottom plate of the frame, enabling mobility without the wide wheel base, as these are under, not beside the frame.

I filled the crankcase with synthetic oil, checked the dipstick and then installed the automotive sized battery. After some final checking, I fired it up. It sounds like a jet engine and is nearly as loud, at close range. I got out my sound level meter and measured 105dB at 3’, 94dB (unweighted) /87dB a-weighted @ 20’. This thing is loud! But it's not engine noise so much as fan noise. The Honda V-Twin has a huge squirrel cage fan, about 12" diameter on the front. It puts out a white noise of a turbofan engine, but without the whine.

The next step was load test: Connected to the existing NEMA 30 amp plug (just bought a 14-50P for this generator and will wiring that in shortly) and transferred the house to generator power after confirming 240V on the generator's meter. The first thing I noticed is that my LED lighting doesn't flicker, the way it did on the Generac. The second thing is that heavy loads don't disturb the speed or voltage much. I turned on one 18K BTU a/c unit. Smooth running. Turned on a second a/c unit. No strain at all. Turned on the oven on preheat mode. Still no strain. Ran the water and waited for the well pump to kick on. Barely noticed the voltage dip. It seemed as if we were on utility power.

Went to my lab and probed the ac outlet with my scope and a 10X probe and got this waveform:

After comparing with consumer grade generators, I see why the lights don't flicker on generator power now.

Now, on to the generator in ergonomics: two issues: Oil filler very hard to reach. Included funnel is too short.
Handles are not rigid in the lateral direction. They are just held with a single bolt through a round tube steel frame. They wobble side to side with lifting the generator. Not rigid and solid like the Generac handles.

Now the noise. Northstar claims 79dB. But they don't say from how far. A block away would be my guess. It was still quite painful at 20'.

Fortunately, this is going into a concrete bunker, which I built in 1986 for our first generator. As the exhaust is conveniently on the side, I chiseled an opening in the wall and inserted 2" iron pipe, coupled into a 2" to 3" step up coupler, to a 3" iron pipe. Each section is 6" long. The coupler is inside the wall. One wheels the generator into place, then slides the handles to the left until the muffler port enters the wall pipe. A high temperature grommet will complete the seal and prevent metal to metal rattling. The 1" exhaust port of the muffler fires into the 2" iron pipe. The stepped up 3" pipe is lined with 3" fiberglass steam pipe insulation. This will eventually fire into a 8-10" diameter drum filled with fiberglass baffles and another 3" pipe for the final exit, but I tested the configuration today and was amazed at how effective just a short length of fiberglass is at deadening exhaust sound. About 18dB drop at all frequencies, compared to unlined bare iron pipe.

Ventilation will be provided by a J&D 12" shutter exhaust fan rated at 1840 CFM. Intake will be a 12" power shutter at the opposite end of the building, near the generator head. The exhaust fan will be mounted near the ceiling and the intake near the floor, opposite corner. Therre is already a 6" air intake pipe in the floor, which could be routed to the air intake of the generator, for separate air supply, but I suspect there will be ample air supply with the wind tunnel blowing across the generator, using my fan setup.

I did a brief test with the door (made of concrete) closed. About a 40dB drop in noise level resulted. The generator system is barely audible from the end of my driveway.

Acoustic treatment that I've planned includes lining the inside walls with 1" Poly Acoustic Panel (STC) which offers 7 Sabines of absorption at 500Hz and double that at 5KHz and is waterproof and made of glass beads. Exhaust noise will be nearly banished with a silencer that I'm designing with a metal canister filled with rigid fiberglass baffles. Back pressure will be kept low by the use of progressively larger apertures down the length of the exhaust.

Since most of the fan noise is above 1KHz, it will be easy to absorb that with the PA panels above. I'll build baffles around the ventilation fans to prevent direct reflection of sound and all internal wall surfaces will be damped with panel absorbers.

Just waiting the 10 days or so it takes Industrial Fans Direct to build the fan and shutter. Should have this all done in about 2 weeks.

The remaining wildcard is how much fuel will it use at lower loads than the 1/2 load specified. It's about a gallon per hour at 50% load, which represents full load on my old generator. My old generator at 1/3 load would run 16 hours on 7 gallons, or about .45 gal/hr. This generator will be running about 20% capacity static continuous load (mainly computers and lab test equipment), so will use less than the 50% load fuel rate, but how much less remains to be discovered. It has an hour meter on it, so I can track by how many gallons I loaded, what the run time is.

I think it's turning out nicely. Very pleased with the performance, quality of the power, regulation and ability to run just about everything in the house. I will probably upgrade the 4AWG wire I'm currently using to link it to the panel with something much heavier--the wire got warm after my load test! The noise mitigation strategy of mass loaded concrete and slowing down exhaust gas flow is working better than expected. When I finish building my silencer canister, the system should be inaudible at the end of the driveway. It was around 60dB with the door closed and a 3' length of fiberglass pipe insulation shoved into the 3" exhaust port pipe. Without the fiberglass, close to 80dB.

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

garys_2k

Premium Member

More pics! Let's see this baby installed.