[RE-wrenches] Off-grid generator update?

Thu Apr 28 16:19:10 PDT 2016

Onan smallest is 20kw for 1800 rpm & water cool

Dana Orzel 2087217003
"Follow the flow of your internal river, acknowledging the put-ons & put-outs."

On Apr 28, 2016, at 5:15 PM, Ray Walters <ray at solarray.com> wrote:

I haven't seen anything from them that looks like what we're after  We'd be looking for 10kW to 15 kW  water cooled 1800 rpm. Propane fired.
Everyone makes models in the 30kW + range that fit the bill, but most off grid systems don't need anything that big.
Do you have a model that I should be looking at?

Thanks,
R.Ray Walters
CTO, Solarray, Inc
Nabcep Certified PV Installer, 
Licensed Master Electrician
Solar Design Engineer
303 505-8760
> On 4/28/2016 5:00 PM, jerrysgarage01 wrote:
> Have you looked at Cummins,  we have have great luck and no programming issues but battery charging needs to be added foroff grid
> Jerry
> 
> 
> Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S™ III, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
> 
> 
> -------- Original message --------
> From: Ray Walters
> Date:04/28/2016 7:28 AM (GMT-10:00)
> To: RE-wrenches
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Off-grid generator update?
> 
> FYI,  generally we haven't had cold start issues with propane units, as long as the pipe is sized properly ( as mentioned in another recent post) and the starter battery is kept fully charged.
> This is based on about 20 years experience in the Rockies with temps below 0, but not 40 below.  We don't use block heaters, carb heaters, etc.
> We currently have been using Generac Ecogen, but not that happy with them. Cheap air cooled motor, way too many computer gizmos, no on board charging (must have AC power or PV to charge the starting battery)  We even had to call customer service to get an authorization code to set up remote start.  This is off grid with       no internet or cell service; ridiculous.  I hope Generac reps are lurking here, because these are really not much better than the crop of stand by generators.
>  IMO  no off grid generator should have a phantom load, or require cell service to commission.  What happened to the old water cooled Kohlers?
> 
> R.Ray Walters
> CTO, Solarray, Inc
> Nabcep Certified PV Installer, 
> Licensed Master Electrician
> Solar Design Engineer
> 303 505-8760
>> On 4/28/2016 11:17 AM, Jeremy Rodriguez wrote:
>> Check out Gillette generators. Made in Indiana 
>> 12.5 kW w Subaru 
>> 
>> Jeremy Rodriguez 
>> Solar Installation And Design Expert 
>> All Solar, Inc.
>> 1463 M St
>> Penrose Colorado 81240
>> 
>> Sent by Jeremy's iPhone. Sorry for typos and shorthand!
>> 
>> On Apr 28, 2016, at 10:20 AM, Lena Wilensky <lena at nunatakenergy.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> I did some searches on the list for what folks are doing for off-grid propane generators these days, but all the threads I found were from 5-6 yrs ago, so I was hoping to get some more current info.
>>> 
>>> We're looking for about a 10kw+ propane unit (big derate at altitude), and we run into 2 main problem areas:
>>> 
>>> First is the warranty - either there are no units warranteed for off-grid use, or there are only a couple of models and the warranty is short (1 year).
>>> 
>>> Second, and perhaps larger, is all the loads that now come with the "off-grid" units.  The computer takes some, but mostly the "cold weather kit" aka carb heater must be installed in our climate (to actually start, but also for warrantee), and it's set up to be on a thermostat (read: "on all the time from Nov-April" here in the mountains).  According to the Kohler tech support it takes a steady 50W. We have set up older units to do battery charge only during the day, and have the carb heater on a manual switch, but it sounds like we can't really get at these circuits anymore since they're all pre-configured and pre-wired in the guts of the genset computer.
>>> 
>>> The Kohler and Onan support folks said both these issues are due to EPA considering off-grid use as prime power as opposed to standby, so they are held to tougher emissions standards.
>>> 
>>> Whatever the reasons, we're wondering what people are actually doing these days - still the standby units they kind-of warrantee for off-grid? 12RES from Kohler and the 13kw unit from Onan?  Generac?  Have folks been going back to the smaller gas units from Honda and running them more?  And how are cold climate folks dealing with the heating issue?
>>> 
>>> Any suggestions appreciated!
>>> 
>>> Lena Wilensky
>>> 
>>> www.nunatakenergy.com
>>> 970-642-5554
>>> NABCEP Certified PV Installer:
>>> Cert. #R02907-17
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>>> 
>>> List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>>> 
>>> Change listserver email address & settings:
>>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>>> 
>>> List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
>>> 
>>> List rules & etiquette:
>>> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>>> 
>>> Check out or update participant bios:
>>> www.members.re-wrenches.org
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>> 
>> List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>> 
>> Change listserver email address & settings:
>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>> 
>> List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
>> 
>> List rules & etiquette:
>> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>> 
>> Check out or update participant bios:
>> www.members.re-wrenches.org
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
> 
> List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
> 
> Change listserver email address & settings:
> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
> 
> List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
> 
> List rules & etiquette:
> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
> 
> Check out or update participant bios:
> www.members.re-wrenches.org
> 

_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Redwood Alliance

List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org

Change listserver email address & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org

List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html

List rules & etiquette:
www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm

Check out or update participant bios:
www.members.re-wrenches.org

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20160428/72f29189/attachment-0002.html>