Finally get to use my generator....

[acer]

hey - north hills ( Wexford, Pine/Hampton townships) had no power outage= Yeah- great advice on the generator maintainence- I just leave mine in the garage.

 

[vlangel]

yeah we run ours monthly and have a additive and never ran into issues.

When looking for a generator make sure its going to be
1> big enough to run your tanks (there is a calculator on this site)
2> able to run your magnetic pumps, cheap generators can quickly damage these items

3>go for the LARGE muffler for the quiet one.

I got this one:
http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-G...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

And am overall pleased. It seems to run everything but my koralias

 

[vlangel]

Hey, thanks for the info. I've been thinking about a generator for awhile since I have 2 tanks. Especially the reef tank, its upstairs and I worry about heat as much as aerating it, although my tanks have battery back up aerators. I had no idea what generator to consider so your info was helpful, and the price seem to be about in the ballpark of others I looked at.

 

[vlangel]

P.S. Do you think it would be safe with a chiller? I suspect that that is a delicate piece of equipment and could be damage easily.

 

[AHDOnline]

i think the biggest problem with the chiller is going to be startup watts needed. Im sure it has a hell of a draw on power when its running full force.

Home depot has them go on sale a lot. I bought a giftcard at GE and then got the generator total i think about 400 to my door with a free tank of gas.

 

[ironwill723]

I got mine at Aldi's a few weeks ago. Mine is a 3600w with two outlets and they were on sale for $199. Tested it but have not needed it yet.

 

[mikesin]

Vlangel- read up on modified & pure sine waves. Most generators use alternators and I could never get a straight answer from anyone if they produce pure or modified sine waves. So before we bought ours, HD agreed that I could return it if it would not run our aquarium equipment which includes the lights as there seems to be problems with modified sine waves and balasts. Anyway our gen runs everything with no problems. We run our computers and tv etc. With our gen (anything that's connected to the pre selected circuits), no problem, however, the PC's are on a battery back up which also "conditions" electric. From what I remember reading modified sine waves cause interference with sensitive equipment such as LCD tvs etc.
As mentioned make sure the generator you purchase is large enough to handle your load in watts. Also, a generator is rated by running watts & surge watts. Most appliances don't show watts.
A quick way to figure out watts on the chiller ( or anything) is look on the tag/plate
Volts X Amps = Watts
Ex: 120 volts X 8.5amps = 1020 watts
Some motors such as a chiller can use up to 3 times the running watts when started (surge).

Hope this helps

 

[mikesin]

A little safety goes a long way!

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/portgend.html

 

[vlangel]

Vlangel- read up on modified & pure sine waves. Most generators use alternators and I could never get a straight answer from anyone if they produce pure or modified sine waves. So before we bought ours, HD agreed that I could return it if it would not run our aquarium equipment which includes the lights as there seems to be problems with modified sine waves and balasts. Anyway our gen runs everything with no problems. We run our computers and tv etc. With our gen (anything that's connected to the pre selected circuits), no problem, however, the PC's are on a battery back up which also "conditions" electric. From what I remember reading modified sine waves cause interference with sensitive equipment such as LCD tvs etc.
As mentioned make sure the generator you purchase is large enough to handle your load in watts. Also, a generator is rated by running watts & surge watts. Most appliances don't show watts.
A quick way to figure out watts on the chiller ( or anything) is look on the tag/plate
Volts X Amps = Watts
Ex: 120 volts X 8.5amps = 1020 watts
Some motors such as a chiller can use up to 3 times the running watts when started (surge).

Hope this helps

 

[vlangel]

Thanx Mike, I will check that out. Our house is situated on the grid that we are rarely out of electricity more than an hour but still, ya just never know.

 

[Drone]

Thanx Mike, I will check that out. Our house is situated on the grid that we are rarely out of electricity more than an hour but still, ya just never know.

Until some sleepy over-worked jagoff like me comes around the corner and falls asleep and hits the telephone pole and knocks the power out in your neighborhood for two days like me. LOL. I mayhem....lol


I was glad I had one when I did that!

Kevin