Kohler whole house test

[UncleDave]

Lost power around 830 - till about 4

Ran the well pump and 5 TON AC unit without a hitch.

Did an oil check (would anyone here expect anything less) and found no visible consumption and oil clean enough to be hard to see on the stick.

NG helps with that for sure and my super efficient AC helps no doubt.

Sun screen is an attempt to preserve the housing and maybe keep it a few degrees cooler other than it would be if fully exposed.

 

[Zaedock]

Looks good! Super clean install.

 

[Dogman]

I think the screen is a great idea.

 

[JC1]

Are the posts for that screen burried in the ground? Just asking for high winds etc that could cause it to blow away. I assume you don't get snow and frost.

 

[UncleDave]

Are the posts for that screen burried in the ground? Just asking for high winds etc that could cause it to blow away. I assume you don't get snow and frost.

Its hard to see but the cloth on top is purposefully constructed as a sunshade and its quite breathable and porous

It would take a direct tornado strike to move that base and the fabric will rip before it lifts up.

I prefer this as any future major service would be harder if I couldn't move it - as it sits I can get to all filters, the control panel, and oil.

The snow we get here does not stick.

 

[jhs914]

What caused your power outage? Being from Florida ours are hurricane related but that can't be the case in California.

 

[UncleDave]

What caused your power outage? Being from Florida ours are hurricane related but that can't be the case in California.

Good question - Last night?
Its unclear, PGE posts no reason for it but it seems to have effected about 5K poeple in my area. Some are still out near me so its weird. There was a big turbine powered chopper following power lines this morning.....

I live in the foothills of the sierras in Northern California and our grid is subject to PG&E Power safety shutoff due to fire concerns, this has been happening with regularity last year 3 straight days of PSPS.

It also rural in the sometimes a guy with a big trailer clips a post, but this typically get fixed in a half a day.

Being rural I have to deal with a well AND a new to me load - a sewage transfer pump, the house has what is basically a big black tank that pumps out to a sewer when it fills - so you cant really decide to power the water without committing to the transfer pump, or you'll end up with your front yard " full of it" .

The water pumping load and the need to drive an AC moved me away from the portables I could get by with fine in the city.

 

[JTK]

Not that it matters in times like those, but how do you figure that run time will effect your natural gas bill? An extra $50?

 

[jhs914]

I live in the country and also have a well, so no power equals no water. Septic is below ground so no problems there as long as I can flush.
I'm surprised you have natural gas available in a rural area. I wish we did.

Good question - Last night?
Its unclear, PGE posts no reason for it but it seems to have effected about 5K poeple in my area. Some are still out near me so its weird. There was a big turbine powered chopper following power lines this morning.....

I live in the foothills of the sierras in Northern California and our grid is subject to PG&E Power safety shutoff due to fire concerns, this has been happening with regularity last year 3 straight days of PSPS.

It also rural in the sometimes a guy with a big trailer clips a post, but this typically get fixed in a half a day.

Being rural I have to deal with a well AND a new to me load - a sewage transfer pump, the house has what is basically a big black tank that pumps out to a sewer when it fills - so you cant really decide to power the water without committing to the transfer pump, or you'll end up with your front yard " full of it" .

The water pumping load and the need to drive an AC moved me away from the portables I could get by with fine in the city.

and

 

[UncleDave]

I live in the country and also have a well, so no power equals no water. Septic is below ground so no problems there as long as I can flush.
I'm surprised you have natural gas available in a rural area. I wish we did.

Its an interesting set of have and have nots in this place.
The nat gas makes heating the place pretty affordable and cooking cheap.

 

[UncleDave]

Not that it matters in times like those, but how do you figure that run time will effect your natural gas bill? An extra $50?

My PG&E bill gives me daily feedback for both electricity and gas so Ill know for sure in a month or so.

Its going to be completely load dependent but Id guess between 25 and 40 bones a day.

 

[Andrew1972]

Glad your investment working out! I purchased a portable generator after suffering two separate 5-7 day outages. It has 20 hours on it in 10 years ownership.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Gotta love PGE. Burn down our forrests, give their execs huge bonuses, claim bankruptcy and charge us big bucks.

I think Dave is in or near the Gold Country.
The Gold Country is flat out beautiful. I hear people still pan for gold...

 

[oggb]

Man I'd love to natural gas. Our first home in the city had it for heat and our gas bill in the winter was never over $60/mo. We have propane now in a much larger home and that bill is my least favorite.

I keep 25 gal of gas on hand for the generator. Only gets run to fill the well pressure tank up and run the fridge/freezers every so often so that'll last 3-4 days if need be but I'd still love to have it on nat gas.

 

[UncleDave]

I dont have Sundays data, but it looks like it costs about 1.75-2.00 an hour to run

I used about a dollars worth of therm heating water and cooking so the 8.63 included that.
When sunday comes in Ill have a better picture, but as we went into the early morning the AC needed to run less so it likely used less.

Continuous use will put me into a 3rd tier. But for short bursts its pretty affordable.

 

[UncleDave]

Glad your investment working out! I purchased a portable generator after suffering two separate 5-7 day outages. It has 20 hours on it in 10 years ownership.

I hear you brother.......Murphys law.

The upside is you're prepared.

 

[UncleDave]

Gotta love PGE. Burn down our forrests, give their execs huge bonuses, claim bankruptcy and charge us big bucks.

I think Dave is in or near the Gold Country.
The Gold Country is flat out beautiful. I hear people still pan for gold...

Correct Jeff. Its absolutely gorgeous here, and there are people that still make a living digging gold out of the hills - especially when its around 2K an ounce. There are claim offices locally and assayers ready to serve them.

Dont get me started on PG&E........

 

[DwightFrye]

My power is expected to go out today at 9AM and remain off until 5PM while Southern California Edison does some maintenance work. It was out for more than 10 hours a couple of weeks ago for the same reason and they frequently shut down the power during high wind fire danger conditions.
I have a 16kW Generac that is hard wired into my main panel and it kicks in automatically and works like a champ. It is powered by LP which also runs some appliances in my house. I did an oil & filter change last winter. I checked it a few days ago after the 10 hour run and it was still on the top mark of the dipstick and the oil was still a nice light amber color.

Does natural gas or propane fuel make for a cleaner running generator ? One thing I can sure say is that the exhaust is pretty stinky. Does it need a tuneup ?

 

[UncleDave]

My power is expected to go out today at 9AM and remain off until 5PM while Southern California Edison does some maintenance work. It was out for more than 10 hours a couple of weeks ago for the same reason and they frequently shut down the power during high wind fire danger conditions.
I have a 16kW Generac that is hard wired into my main panel and it kicks in automatically and works like a champ. It is powered by LP which also runs some appliances in my house. I did an oil & filter change last winter. I checked it a few days ago after the 10 hour run and it was still on the top mark of the dipstick and the oil was still a nice light amber color.

Does natural gas or propane fuel make for a cleaner running generator ? One thing I can sure say is that the exhaust is pretty stinky. Does it need a tuneup ?

Both NG and propane burn way cleaner that gasoline- both smell awful.

Could need a jetting, but its going to stink regardless.

 

[UncleDave]

Jurys in -

8 hours of run time cost me 11.54

1.44 an hour in fuel cost.