Having "acquired a self start 20KVA 3 phase generator I was having
thoughts of running the bungalow mains off one phase in case of power
outage (commoner than I expected here in the sticks, we lost some rare
eggs that were hatching TWICE this year,,,). Does anyone have links to
how an auto start and switching arrangement could be contructed? I assume
I can isolate the boards electric input on "our" side of the boards fuse
and meter, and have a switching arrangement to bring on the gennie. Needs
careful failsafe handling, any ideas? Thanks
--
Best Regards,
Chris.

Chris Wilson wrote:
assume I can isolate the boards electric input on "our" side of the
boards fuse and meter, and have a switching arrangement to bring on
the gennie. Needs careful failsafe handling, any ideas? Thanks

That's the way to go. I would just switch the house supply so you can
choose which main to use, the generator or your electricity board, that's
the safest and most bomb-proof solution. It'll mean a manual changeover in
the house, rather than an automatic one. That's the arrangment we have, it
works fine.

Try to evenly load the demand for each of the three phases though.

Just keep the governor on the generator serviced - With an unexpected 550V
output I managed to melt every transformer in our house last winter when
ours failed. Baby alarms, phone chargers, even the microwave - all kaput!
Still, it was an education to see just how bright a 60w bulb can go before
it gives up the ghost!

Andy

On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 22:59:42 +0100, Chris Wilson wrote:

Having "acquired a self start 20KVA 3 phase generator I was having
thoughts of running the bungalow mains off one phase in case of
power outage

Depending on how much load you put on that single phase the alternator
may start to object to being out of balance electrically. Remember
that that 20KVA is almost certainly across all three phases so each
one is probably only 6KVA...

Does anyone have links to how an auto start and switching
arrangement could be contructed? I assume I can isolate the boards
electric input on "our" side of the boards fuse and meter, and have
a switching arrangement to bring on the gennie. Needs careful
failsafe handling, any ideas? Thanks

Does this "aquired" gene come with any switch gear? It may already
have the required bits, though things that are "aquired" are generaly
old, (beyond commercial economic repair) and thus using said switch
gear might not be a good idea. B-)

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message .1...
On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 22:59:42 +0100, Chris Wilson wrote:


Does this "aquired" gene come with any switch gear? It may already
have the required bits, though things that are "aquired" are generaly
old, (beyond commercial economic repair) and thus using said switch
gear might not be a good idea. B-)

If it's been 'acquired' then generally the attached lights going
red-red/amber-green-amber-red are a dead giveaway during a power cut....

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message .1...
On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 22:59:42 +0100, Chris Wilson wrote:


Does this "aquired" gene come with any switch gear? It may already
have the required bits, though things that are "aquired" are generaly
old, (beyond commercial economic repair) and thus using said switch
gear might not be a good idea. B-)

If it's been 'acquired' then generally the attached lights going
red-red/amber-green-amber-red are a dead giveaway during a power cut....

On 1 Sep 2003 21:52:13 -0700, Conrad Edwards wrote:

If it's been 'acquired' then generally the attached lights going
red-red/amber-green-amber-red are a dead giveaway during a power
cut....

grin but not 3 phase 20KVA... Having had a set of temporary lights
just up the road the gennies in them are just single cylinder diesel
plunkers might be 2KVA or there abouts.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail