Generators

[seffieuk]

Ok, am now getting more and more worried about power cuts - so am thinking I have to go buy a generator - as my brother in law said to Trod the other day, ' do you really want to leave it to chance that everything will be ok!)

So:

I don't want to spend a fortune and I haven't got a clue what sort of thing to buy, so 'give us a clue' guys, what the heck am I looking for?

Seffie x

 

[degsod]

Ok, am now getting more and more worried about power cuts - so am thinking I have to go buy a generator - as my brother in law said to Trod the other day, ' do you really want to leave it to chance that everything will be ok!)

So:

I don't want to spend a fortune and I haven't got a clue what sort of thing to buy, so 'give us a clue' guys, what the heck am I looking for?

Seffie x

What do you want to run off the generator? Is it only a fish tank or do you want to run the whole house (Expensive)

Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[TigerIssey]

Unfortunately I have no idea how much the one we have would cost, my next door neighbour got a new larger one not long ago and gave us this one.

I am guessing this would be in the hundreds.

I will photograph it later to show you.

I know the cheaper ones available from Macro will run the essentials on the tank but not alot else, they are about £60-70.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Watching with interest as I have been thinking the same recently.

 

[mike os]

what are we talking... lights? or just heaters & pumps?

 

[TigerIssey]

This is 2-3 times the physical size of those little ones you can get in Macro but I think its the CC that matters.

Sorry until Andrew comes home from Tatton Park (Working) I don't know what cc it is.

This I am reliably told will run my marine tank, my Freshwater Tank, the fridge freezer and a 46" LCD TV with Sky box.

 

[seffieuk]

Thanks Guys, Tina that looks a beast!

Didn't realise Makro sells them, great

I really only want it to run the powerheads and heater not that worried about the lights

So, can someone tell me what I would need to buy to run the above for say approx 5 - 15 hours, pleeeese

I don't even have clue what to look for, I understood CC but.............................

Seffie x

 

[Morri]

What power heaters have you got?

Also which power heads are you using and how many?

Can work it out with them numbers.

I have one from when gloucester was flooded which will easily run mine cost new £150 but think you will need more.

 

[Tolak]

Add up the wattage of the appliances you need to run, then add 10% to 15%. This will tell you what size you need. They will run continuously as long as they have gas. For an extended outage you may want to consider getting one large enough to run some household appliances, the upgrade will be paid for if you save a refrigerator full of food.

I have a 5kw unit that will run my fishroom, a couple of refrigerators, sump pump, furnace blower, and a few lights or a radio.

 

[TigerIssey]

I think the ones that Macro sells will run those items but may not run a fridge freezer on top.

Machine mart and Screwfix are also reasonably priced for them.

 

[Morri]

The issue running anything like a tv and a skybox is that petrol gennies tend to vary there output a bit, if they go below 210v if I rember correctly, the tv and sky box shut down then fire up again which is not very good for them, you need ideally a battery ups to smooth the voltage not needed on powerheads and heaters, though you can listen to the gennie whine as the heaters kick in.

A very wise investment though I would not like to guess what I have spent on Corals alone in a nano just to loose them because of a power cut, when we flooded here there was no power for in excess of 10 hours and we were lucky.

 

[TigerIssey]

Ours is good for them, my next door neighbour used this genny for a fair few yrs before giving it to us. I believe it is the full 240v, also has a reasoble sized petrol tank.

 

[seffieuk]

Thanks guys, I understood some of that

One heater would be enough so: 200 watts and then if I could also run the Polario - will have to check the wattage on that - right it is 80 watts

so now what

Can you give me a clue about, petrol, diesel and Ben said something about starters a while back, oh heck...........

seffie x

 

[TigerIssey]

Spark plugs seffie, need to have spares.

Most run on unleaded, same as chainsaws.

 

[Morri]

300 watts is very little most will cover that any of the 2.0 Kva + generators would cover your needs plus more petrol is my preferred option you can get ultra quiet ones but there are more expensive, a quick look at flea bay and there are some there for £140 new.

Petrols are generally easier to start as they dont need as much force to start them but both are good maintenance on my petrol is a bit of oil and run for 30 mins every few months just to make sure
it works when/if needed