[BC] Generators and power

[Mark Humphrey]

On Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 7:03 PM, SteveOrdinetz <hykker at wildblue.net> wrote:

> Just be careful with those HD Generacs.  They don't always play nice
> with UPSs, though if you can lower the sensitivity on the UPS they'll
> usually accept it.

We have a 15 kW Generac "Guardian" with OHVI engine at WCJW and it has
performed well everytime we've needed it-- although, as Steve
mentions, we did need to reduce sensitivity on the UPSs to keep them
from cycling back to battery.    The 15 kW unit has sufficient
capacity to run the air studio, oil furnace, servers, all building
lighting, rack equipment, 600 W FM translator, and our Gates Two AM
transmitter at reduced power.    The AM transmitter isn't too happy at
the full output, but we get at least a stable kilowatt.

We bought the Generac and companion automatic transfer switch several
years ago when Home Depot was offering big incentives to open a charge
account and they were collaring everyone who set foot in the store.
This entitled us to something like 10 or 15% off on the first
purchase.  When the bill showed up, we paid in full and canceled the
card.   Propane and tank rental are traded out with one of our
advertisers.   In our small market situation, this arrangement works
well.

Keep in mind that the residential-grade transfer switches don't
provide auxiliary contacts for remote status monitoring.  So  I just
ran one side of the generator output line through a current
transformer which is connected to our remote control, and set a "first
high limit" alarm to call me when it senses at least 1 amp.

Mark