With the likely prospect of the National Grid not coping if we get a cold
spell, I am looking seriously at providing a simple means of powering the
electrical bits (boiler control/pump/3-port valve) of my gas central heating
system, plus a couple a freezers and a few lights.

I'm not looking at permanently installed gen sets - and certainly not
automatic changeover etc. I'm considering a small portable generator (maybe
Honda eu10i or eu20i) powering a 6-way extension lead into which I would
plug the relevant devices, having unplugged them from the mains. [The
central heating is currently hard-wird into a fused spur - but it would be
trivial to change that for a 13A plug/socket (with a 3A fuse, of course)].

The generators I am looking at use inverter technology to produce a
(allegedly) sinusoidal output, and control the output voltage to 2 or 3%.

I have a couple of concerns/questions on which I would value your input.

Firstly, are there any compelling reasons why it would be a *bad* thing to
do what I suggest?

Secondly, what earthing arrangements would I need to make? [The central
heating pipes are bonded to the electricity board's earth and to a metal gas
pipe which disappears underground].

Thirdly, how sensitive are boiler PCBs to spikes etc. on the mains? Although
the mains voltage would be controlled in a steady state condition, I
envisage that there may be spikes when the load changes - such as when
freezers go on or off on their stats. The boiler, incidentally, is a Baxi
Solo 70/4 PF (MkI). If this *is* a potential problem, would it help to use
an anti-surge device such as those sold for use with computers?

TIA.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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