backup generator specs... [RE-wrenches]

[Roy Butler, Four Winds RE]

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Jim,

Even more dittos from me on the 2 wire start being absolutely essential 
and the LP as the preferred fuel.

Another thing.....some machines such as the Kohler do not have an 
alternator and require a seperate 5 or 6 amp battery charger to keep the 
start battery charged. This means a 120 volt AC circuit must be 
installed along with everything else.....so watch for that. FYI....the 
logic circuitry for the auto start is a parasitic load.

And the elephant in the living room.....warranty. Not many generator 
companies will honor the generator warranty when it's used in an off 
grid application. And believe me...they'll know what it's been used for 
by the amount of hours on the machine. This is the primary reason I 
backed away from offering generators to my off-grid customers.

I'd still say that Kohler is one of the better ones. Out of the 50+ 
off-grid systems I maintain, 18 use Kohler generators. Here in NY and PA 
they do honor their warranty for off-grid...and have even offered 
extended warranty packages.

And finally...watch the fuel consumption specs at various loads. I find 
with medium sized inverter systems (3.5 to 7KW) that the 12 KW size is 
about right....usually a good balance between fuel usage and charging 
while running some loads. But of course the customer may have loads such 
as those famous Texas air conditioners or the pumps in those 750+ foot 
deep wells that may dictate a larger one.

Have fun!

Roy Butler
NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer®
NYSERDA eligible PV & wind installer 
Four Winds Renewable Energy, LLC
8902 Route 46
Arkport, NY 14807
607-324-9747
www.four-winds-energy.com



Jim Duncan wrote:

>A customer, building a small 1kW PV off-grid weekend home, insists that 
>he can get a better deal on a backup generator than I and insists that I 
>won't get to make that choice. So wanting to at least have some 
>oversight in what he buys, told him I would forward some technical info 
>to him since all generators are not created equally inverter friendly. 
>Where can I find a list of specs, on the www, relating to the do's and 
>dont's of generator selection? Combing thru the archives of the Wrenches 
>site was really slow and cumbersome and only turned up specific genset 
>related issues. 
>Come to think of it, I could use an update on the subject with so many 
>different brands currently on the market and the fact that I rarely do 
>off-grid installs. 
>
>Thanks as always
>Jim Duncan
>North Texas Renewable Energy Inc
>Fort Worth, Texas
>
>
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