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Show Volume II , Issue III Page 5 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS December 1999 Generators for the Home There are several standard questions I am asked about generators. For instance, should I even have a generator? What kind should I get? How large of a generator do I need? How do I store gasoline? What do I do with it when the power goes out? It seems that these questions come every time the power goes out. Folks become more and more concerned. Last year during the great wind storms, many customers in the Ogden area were out of power for three days and three nights during the cold of winter. This was frightening to many. Some had frozen pipes and flooded basements. The power lines that supply residents with power were installed many years ago, and the aging lines are above ground. Power suppliers are encountering the same difficulties as many other utility companies that are struggling to keep up with rapid growth in the area. To my understanding, any heavily loaded system is more susceptible to minor elements. My advice is the same that is coming from many other organizations and governmental agencies: Be prepared. How long will a generator last and what kind should I have? There are two primary types of generators. The cheap, noisy, loud, short-lived and hard to start type, and the quality, a little more expensive, long-lived, easy to start—often with an electric starter—type. In many cases, I recommend generators with an electric start. When the power goes out and it is cold, you are frustrated and may not be thinking straight. The last thing you need is a generator that won’t start. An electric start makes starting a generator as easy as starting a car. The better generators are also usually easy to start with a pull start. Often people purchase generators that are much larger than necessary. Deciding on the right size depends on what you want to do with the generator. An average refrigerator or freezer takes about 1200 watts to start and then about 600 watts to run. A furnace is harder to estimate, but on average it could be in the same category as the fridge/freezers. If you want to simply cover the emergency essentials, a small generator of 3,000 to 4,000 watts will do fine without using a lot of fuel. However, the most popular size seems to be a 6,000 watt generator. This will run nearly everything in an average home, without too many lights on. With this size, you would need to do a little power budgeting and not run everything at once. For example, if you run the washing machine and turn on the microwave oven at the same time the kids are using their hair dryers, the circuit breaker on the generator may trip. A quality 6000 watt generator that is running under a full load will burn about .7 gallons of gas in one hour; 4000 watt about .5 gallons and a 2800 watt generator about .3 gallons. If you purchase a budget generator, expect the fuel consumption to be three times greater than these figures. Gasoline is one of the hardest fuels to store, and in some areas it is illegal to store more than five gallons. Call your local fire department for the regulations in your area. Without continuously mixing in additives, gasoline can go bad in less than a year. If it does so in your generator, it will not start without some extensive repairs. An alternative—run your generator on propane. Almost all generators can be converted to run on propane and natural gas, as well as gasoline. Propane can be stored indefinitely and, like natural gas, burns cleaner than gasoline. A home backup generator can be used one of two ways. The best way is to have an electrician install a plug and a transfer switch that allows you to plug the generator into your home and switch off from city power. If you don’t do this, your generator will be trying to supply your neighbor with power. This could be very dangerous for utility workers trying to fix downed power lines. Also, if the power comes back on at the same time your generator is running, not only could your generator be destroyed but many of your h o m e ’ s appliances as well. Having a generator p r o p e r l y hooked up to your home is very important. The second way to power your appliances is to do so individually. It is not difficult to plug your refrigerator and freezer directly into the generator. Take care not to use light extension cords, and keep the cords as short as possible. However, this becomes difficult with furnaces, because they do not simply plug into the wall. There are heating sources that do not need electricity to run; however, it seems that the good old coal/wood stove is going the way of the dinosaur. To me, though, there is nothing like the smell of wood and a nice warm fire. Note: This article was provided courtesy of Rod Hyatt of In Hot Water Heat and Power, 2639 No 3750 E. Eden UT 84310-0807 Specialty in solar hot water heating. Engineering radiant home heating systems for the energy conscious. Engineering complete power systems for home and cabins. Thermomax, Makita generators, Propane conversion, Vaughn storage tanks, Compact florescent lights, Non/electric pellet stoves, Wood/coal fired boilers and furnaces ibrodn@uswest.net 1-801-745-2009 Mountain standard time Cel is 801-791-3635 www.lightheat.com Early Bird Coupon - Early Bird Coupon a casual eatery in beautiful Ogden Canyon EARLY BIRD COUPON... EARLY BIRD COUPON... EARLY BIRD COUPON Visit The Oaks Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and when purchasing an entree receive a second entree of equal or lessor value for free. THIS OFFER IS NOT VALID HOLIDAYS. OPEN SUNDAY - THURSDAY 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. FRIDAY - SATURDAY 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner Visit our website: www.citysearch.com/slc/theoaks 750 Ogden Canyon ...........................................394-2421 Picture of the Month View from Jefferson Hunt Camp in Huntsville. Photo by Paul W. Mueller of Ogden Canyon, 1998. THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS would like to print a “Picture of the Month” in each month’s newspaper edition. At the end of the following year, we would like to print a Valley calendar using the selected pictures. The calendar will be made available for sale. So get your cameras ready and start shooting! Or, if you already have a favorite photo, send it in. Your pictures may be black & white or color, and should depict a Valley theme. Photos may also be historical photos of the Valley. Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, and the name of the person – if known – who took the picture. Also, we would like to know something about the picture, possibly the approximate date, and the who, what and when about it. Please note, collected pictures will become the property of THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS. Send your pictures to: THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS PO BOX 130 EDEN UTAH 84310 |