With Thanks - New Generator Set In Place

[W1UJR]

Fellows, many thanks for the sage advice on generator selection and sizes a few weeks back.
All just worked out wonderfully with the new generator set install last Friday.

We went with the Kohler 20RES KW whole-house model, with the RDT automatic transfer switch.
Not cheap, but well worth the security, and the switch has remote controls and status indicators,
gotta have the bells and whistles! The set may be a bit of overkill, but it will run the house,
barn and outbuildings, insuring that I can be on the air, stay warm and cook dinner at the same time!
Max load we could get with everything on was 53 amps, so looks like we have some overhead.

Both inside and outside the house the set runs nice and quiet, like a loud hum.
Testing the system I've found it takes about 10 seconds after power loss for the
transfer switch to kick in, the gen set to start and restore power, quite reasonable.
Once the mains power comes back, the switch changes over so quickly that
all you see is the lights flicker, does not even reset the clocks.

Funny story, the electrician and gas guy finished the install on Friday afternoon,
on a 5 degree day, but the Kohler rep was not able to "commission'" the set until Monday.
Late Sunday afternoon we started to get warmer weather, got up to almost 50,
so we went outside and put up the Christmas lights. In very short order it began to get very windy,
with a hard driving rain...I'm thinking we're going to get a storm. I could hear the buoy bells
ringing, raining pounding on the windows, the trees creaking, the whole scene, actually kind of liked it!
This quickly developed into big windstorm and a loss of power at 3:23 AM.
Generator set wired and in place, but not ready to go online.
Thankfully the power came back on at 7:30 AM so the basement did not flood.
Generator guy comes at 11 AM for the test and final check out of the set...go figure.
We may have missed this one, but we are safe for future outages.

Summary, I was impressed with the Kohler product line.
Seems solid, well designed, great documentation, and looking inside the transfer switch,
very well built for a residential system. The generator itself, this is where my mechanical skills
translated well, is very well constructed, easy to service, the air and oil filters on top of the engine,
and a remote drain hose and valve conveniently located for easy access.
The polymer housing seems ideal for my coastal location, surprisingly rugged, immune from rust,
and looks quite decent. The onboard digital controls have a  neat LED screen which reads out
the status of the unit, as well as a any service or fault codes. Kohler also offers a module which allows
internet control and monitoring of the system, from your computer or iPhone!


The windstorm on Sunday evening


Nancy demonstrates how she plans to stay warm and toasty with just the push of a button


Inside the case - Kohler 20KW unit

[WBear2GCR]

Gee... I thought that it was ur emergency "beverage" cooler!

                       _-_-bear

[W9GT]

Very nice Bruce!  Yes you should have plenty of extra capacity to run all your boatanchors.  Sure a nice compact unit.  I ran my whole house with a 6 KW generator after the ice storm a couple of years ago.  The only real heavy load was starting motors like furnace blower, refrigerators, and stuff like that.  It sure provides a safety net when the WX goes wild and the power goes off.
Enjoy!
73,  Jack, W9GT

[W2VW]

Just for contrast we tested a 500 KW genset/transfer switch at work last night. It feeds a pair of 300 KVA flywheel UPS units with 650 lbs spinning at almost 8,000 RPM to cushion any reduction in mains power.

The electricians managed to screw up the phase on the output of the genset

It pays to  have experienced people working on this stuff.

[W2PFY]

It feeds a pair of 300 KVA flywheel UPS units with 650 lbs spinning at almost 8,000 RPM to cushion any reduction in mains power.

Not far from here the power company is putting two such systems on the HV system for peak shaving and it is said that it will save the company millions per year in energy loss. I'm not sure how that system does it.

[W1TAV]

Bruce you did good. I missed the post where you asked questions. I am responsible for the operation of over 4000 Gensets. While most are in the 40-60 KW range, We do have a number of smaller units too. Without looking to the extremes, in your application, the worst would have been a Generac and the best is the Kohler or Onan's when you get into the consumer class generators.  It is amazing that they mostly all use the same motors, however once they get into the electrical and control side of things, some manufacturers can really screw things up!

I see you are using propane, what size is your tank?

It's good to keep your generator loaded. One of the things I advocate is using it in conjunction with batteries and an inverter. So you don't have to run the generator all the time and you can get the biggest bang for your buck on fuel. (this is a good on the air topic)

Personally I have an old CCK series Onan on LPG for the house up in Maine. Because we are off the grid, most of the load runs though an inverter, so the output of the genset is of little concern. For my home here I have a 30 KW Diesel (4 cly White) Certainly overkill for a home, but the price was right!  I still need to put in an ATS. (I currently use a Manuel switch I put in for future solar use)

Steve

[N4LTA]

Glad it worked out for you.

BTW - I just specified and bid a 40 KW residential diesel. The genset was about $23,000 for the unit and ATS. Bid was between Cat and Cummins

Just bid a 1000KW unit  - about $200,000 with a service rated ATS

Pat
N4LTA

[W1UJR]

Bear
Beverage cooler, sure does look like that!
I'm just psyched that I don't have to paint it in 2 years.

Jack
Sounds like you've got a good set up there, I would have
not minded a smaller unit, in fact I find power loss fun,
did it for 5 years with only a wood stove. The down side
is that after a day or so goes by and I need to take a shower.
Nancy on the other hand had some specific requirements,
like being able to cook, clean, not have to feed the wood stove,
watch TV...so..we bought the bigger unit.

Steve
Underground bottle is 1,000 gallons I think, the propane
guy was not sure, was installed 5 years ago. Seems to be
sized well for the load, there was concern about the diameter
of the fuel line, 3/4" being large enough for the boiler, generator,
cookstove and Rennai heater in the barn. Seems to work ok at
this time, too late in the season to run new underground now.
Did not know you had a place in Maine?

Pat
I really do appreciate your professional opinion and suggestions.
I know that this was a small scale project compared to what you
are used to, but it helped to have a pro let me know I was on
the right track.

[W2VW]

POCOs are changing to peak demand some places. Millions? Maybe they get whacked with multiple motors starting up. Yow.

It feeds a pair of 300 KVA flywheel UPS units with 650 lbs spinning at almost 8,000 RPM to cushion any reduction in mains power.

Not far from here the power company is putting two such systems on the HV system for peak shaving and it is said that it will save the company millions per year in energy loss. I'm not sure how that system does it.

[K1JJ]

Bruce -

Always a first class, A1 installation!  All of your infrastructure and rigs are detail-oriented and unusual - out of the mainstream.

There's a minority, handful of guys who strive to do this: Joe/PJP, Chuck/KW,  Gary/INR, Nick/IR, Robert/VMC and there's others.

You are on that list.   Keep up the nice work, OM.

T

[W1UJR]

Bruce -

Always a first class, A1 installation!  All of your infrastructure and rigs are detail-oriented and unusual - out of the mainstream.

There's a minority, handful of guys who strive to do this: Joe/PJP, Chuck/KW,  Gary/INR, Nick/IR, and there's others.

You are on that list.   Keep up the nice work, OM.

T

Thanks OM, add yourself to that distinguished list.

I'll send you your endorsement fee early next week. 

[K1JJ]

Tnx Bruce, but no, I'm not one of those guys on the list. Like many, my excuse is I don't have the patience to do the FB detailing work. I really don't. My stuff is built strong and robust, but will never be a showpiece when looked at closely.

Just like in the military, they pin medals on a few for everyone else to take notice and strive for higher goals. And so, we do the same thing here and some of us will strive to do better work as a result.

Just like any endeavor, ham radio homebrewing, restoration and infrastructure setup results can vary in skill from extremely JS to extremely professional. It's as varied as there are people. Some will argue it's results that matter. Some will say it's appearance. I think it's a little of both.

T