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Generators & Battery back up

bobcat93

Was thinking...
And were off!...
Last year i took my generator apart for maintenance. The float bowl froze and developed a drip and would not run correctly
I dont mess with carburetors any more.
If i have any questions about a carb i order a new one off Amazon for 20$ and toss the one in question.
Thats simple
Typical for me
New carb, spark plug, filters, oil, clean gas tank out scrub down with kerosene and blow gun, new high test fuel fill up
Now my Jenny is running sweet
I thought of building a little rustic shed next to my power pole so when the power goes out i can go outside the switch it over to generator power.
My wife came outside and said to me your using your generator the wrong way ..i said Woman! what do you know...its a scientific fact men have larger brains.
(My wife is a scientist) hahaha..
But she said stop letting the generator run all day
You need a battery bank feed off the battery bank and the generator kicks on to recharge your batteries..
I give up..where does she get off
What an absolutely brilliant idea.
And that is why i love her.
Needless to say i was standing there like an idiot with no snappy come back.

Does any one have a set up like this.
Can you post some photos of your masterpiece.
So if i have a typical mid size generac generator
Can this be done..how long does it take to charge a batter bank for a cabin, small house.
Hell how large of a battery bank do you need if i can charge it up and not listen to that rattle trap clank-n away all day durring summer winter storms power outages that can last up to 2-6 days maybe more..but ive never needed more then my generator it has plenty of power to run my little place in the forest.
This is a very very broad subject so i kind of sketch out where im at
Would love to hear some thoughts.
Im kind of a hermit now so you guys are my go to for goofy questions, and how
So ttis may be another project added to the summer list of things to do.
Im not into the solar thing yet..im not ready to go there so this is my pit stop solution
And i believe my dear wife may be correct.
Stop running that generator so hard and buy some batteries .
My wifle is brilliant, she has idea after idea on what to do..but never tells me how to do it..i guess that my part.
 
Last edited:
Well, solar is sun powered generator recharging a battery bank. I'd rekon thats a good place to look for info. I have no real world experience trying to run a home via generator as I live in a Mediterranean climate on the west coast about 38°N and 100y from a hospital, so outages are few and far in between, and when they do happen last maybe an hour or three because someone hit a power pole. Again, just kind of logical reasoning (to me anyway, but the missus might tell you I'm wrong)
 
“Needless to say i was standing there like an idiot with no snappy come back.”

That was a good morning chuckle.

Generac came out with these a few years ago, but I haven’t looked into them. They’ve been in the market long enough you’d think they have the bugs worked out.

www.generac.com

PWRcell Product Overview | Generac

Generac PWRcell is an intelligent energy storage system. Equipped with PWRview energy monitoring technology, PWRcell protects you during times of power outage and allows you to control your energy usage to save on utility costs.
www.generac.com www.generac.com
 
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IMO, the worst thing anyone can power their gas generator with is regular grade gas with ethanol, even the 10% variety. For years I used 100 LL av gas and never never had a problem with carb or starting. I switched to high test no ethanol when it became available in my area, but it isn't available state wide. larger population centers still have to put up with the ethanol junk.
 
Last edited:
I now have a propane/gas 11000kw and is going to get propane only if I can help it. Batteries are a great idea but I'm afraid the amount of times I actually need them it would be an unnecessary expense as my grid is stupid reliable for a rural area.
 
I have a similar setup except I use solar to charge my batteries. A couple of things to consider.

1. Batteries. Expensive, best if used frequently, LiOn have a slow degradation rate. Looking at my charts that I keep they are only about 72-75% efficient. Due to inefficiency of batteries don't expect to be able to use the whole stated capacity. The inefficiency will be a lot worse in cold or hot temperatures.
2. Inverter. Will be needed to convert DC to AC to power your house or AC/DC to charge the batteries. Can be set to automatically switch power from the grid to generator/batteries or vis-versa.
3. Battery voltage. 12-24-48 VDC. Each have their own pros and cons.
4. Setup. Need batteries close to the inverter due to wire size/cost. I used welding cables because of their flexibility and able to get the right sizing.
5. Battery sizing. I started with a 30kw battery bank then after using it for a year and the inefficiency of them I added another 15kw last year. You probably won't need that large of a system but the good part is it's easy to add more if needed.

If you have specific questions feel free to PM me.
PS. Once you've installed batteries and an inverter the cost of solar panels isn't that much more especially if your doing your own install.
 
I am sure you could buy several generators for what a wet cell battery bank would cost. I've had a 1000 watt generator wired into my house for 2 years and no outage... best insurance I ever bought.
 
We power our cabin with just a generator (running non-ethanol fuel). We have looked into doing solar panels with a battery bank. We can run everything with a 2500W generator as our water heater and fridge are both propane.

I have a good friend who put panels (6 of them) and a battery bank in at his cabin. The total install cost was around $25K two years ago. He is looking at getting another battery bank so he can convert his fridge over to electric from propane, and so he can run a small window unit AC at night in the summer. The prices he is getting are in the $8K range. He also has a 3300W Generac that he can use if his panels are covered in snow (the only time they are not charging). He can get 2-3 days of use on his battery currently and if he uses his generator to recharge, it takes about 6-12 hours depending on what other loads he has going.
 
How much does you homeowners insurance go up when the insurance company finds out the fire department can no longer put out a fire? Lithium-metal batteries and water can be explosive even lithium-ion batteries have some lithium metal which mixed with water release hydrogen and HEAT.
 
bobcat93 said:
Was thinking...
And were off!...
Last year i took my generator apart for maintenance. The float bowl froze and developed a drip and would not run correctly
I dont mess with carburetors any more.
If i have any questions about a carb i order a new one off Amazon for 20$ and toss the one in question.
Thats simple
Typical for me
New carb, spark plug, filters, oil, clean gas tank out scrub down with kerosene and blow gun, new high test fuel fill up
Now my Jenny is running sweet
I thought of building a little rustic shed next to my power pole so when the power goes out i can go outside the switch it over to generator power.
My wife came outside and said to me your using your generator the wrong way ..i said Woman! what do you know...its a scientific fact men have larger brains.
(My wife is a scientist) hahaha..
But she said stop letting the generator run all day
You need a battery bank feed off the battery bank and the generator kicks on to recharge your batteries..
I give up..where does she get off
What an absolutely brilliant idea.
And that is why i love her.
Needless to say i was standing there like an idiot with no snappy come back.

Does any one have a set up like this.
Can you post some photos of your masterpiece.
So if i have a typical mid size generac generator
Can this be done..how long does it take to charge a batter bank for a cabin, small house.
Hell how large of a battery bank do you need if i can charge it up and not listen to that rattle trap clank-n away all day durring summer winter storms power outages that can last up to 2-6 days maybe more..but ive never needed more then my generator it has plenty of power to run my little place in the forest.
This is a very very broad subject so i kind of sketch out where im at
Would love to hear some thoughts.
Im kind of a hermit now so you guys are my go to for goofy questions, and how
So ttis may be another project added to the summer list of things to do.
Im not into the solar thing yet..im not ready to go there so this is my pit stop solution
And i believe my dear wife may be correct.
Stop running that generator so hard and buy some batteries .
My wifle is brilliant, she has idea after idea on what to do..but never tells me how to do it..i guess that my part.
Click to expand...
Bobcat -

Howdy !

Say…. How ‘ bout taking a ride out to Amish country? If they are like their NE Indiana brothers, whole bunches of them are running sizable solar photovoltaic cell arrays.
The juice is then routed to batteries banks, and to run functions like cell phone charging, electric fences; and whatever else “ English “ technologies Merve Schmucker can hide from “ Das Elders “.

I visited the Sauder Farm over in Archbold, and took a tour through the original farmhouse. It was one of the first houses in the area to have been configured for electricity. In the basement, they had batteries in the form of ( what looked like ) large Mason jars, with cathode / anodes submerged in absolutely clear electrolitic fluid.
Heck… it looked much akin a kid’s “ electricity from a potato “ science fair project !
I am used to seeing corrosion in varying forms and levels, in battery systems.
This whole antique system was whistle clean, even down to the wing nut attached leads.
And… they could still use it after all those intervening years !

Off the top of my head… a key feature of the system you develop for your homestead would be / should be the switch-over sensing system, that tells the battery system when it is time to come on line… and its associated power routing hardware. If you already have a General, perhaps some of these subsystems are already present ?

You might consider putting up a small wind turbine, as a method of generating some electricity ? There a couple of “ off gridders “ living near us, located on the edge of the local Amish population. These cats put up small 2 blade turbines for their use. By law, the power company has to buy electricity from these guys; when / if they can contribute to some the area’s grid.

When you idle the generator, you’ll need to develop a workable generator inspection and repeated generator operational test retiming; to ensure the generator is constantly available for eventual use.

Don’t forget the gas additives, to keep that gas April fresh !


With regards,
357Mag
 
We decided to put in a grid tied solar array, back up 5K battery at our house 4 years ago. The array keeps the batter full. When grid power fails, which it does quite frequently in the stormy Winter where we live, the battery automatically kicks in. It will power our house...lights, well pump, furnace for about 25 hours if used uninterrupted. Most of the time the grid power is back on before the battery is anywhere near exhausted. When it looks like the outage may be longer than 5/10 hours we use the generator and let the battery fill if the sun shines or it isn't too cloudy. Works darn slick!
 
rayporter said:
if you throw enough money at it you can make it work.
Click to expand...
Power rates where I am have gone up 150% int he last year and a half. That sure speeds up our break even point on the solar array. However, that was not the motivating factor in installing it. The ability of a lot of homeowners, depending on their location, to get the ok on a grid tied system is problematic. Lots of areas have had commercial solar farms proliferate gobbling up all of the current distributions ability to absorb new grid tied input.
 
Coyotefurharvester said:
How much does you homeowners insurance go up when the insurance company finds out the fire department can no longer put out a fire? Lithium-metal batteries and water can be explosive even lithium-ion batteries have some lithium metal which mixed with water release hydrogen and HEAT.
Click to expand...
Homeowner insurance has gone up terribly, people are scrambling here on how to find something affordable.
 
bobcat93 said:
Was thinking...
And were off!...
Last year i took my generator apart for maintenance. The float bowl froze and developed a drip and would not run correctly
I dont mess with carburetors any more.
If i have any questions about a carb i order a new one off Amazon for 20$ and toss the one in question.
Thats simple
Typical for me
New carb, spark plug, filters, oil, clean gas tank out scrub down with kerosene and blow gun, new high test fuel fill up
Now my Jenny is running sweet
I thought of building a little rustic shed next to my power pole so when the power goes out i can go outside the switch it over to generator power.
My wife came outside and said to me your using your generator the wrong way ..i said Woman! what do you know...its a scientific fact men have larger brains.
(My wife is a scientist) hahaha..
But she said stop letting the generator run all day
You need a battery bank feed off the battery bank and the generator kicks on to recharge your batteries..
I give up..where does she get off
What an absolutely brilliant idea.
And that is why i love her.
Needless to say i was standing there like an idiot with no snappy come back.

Does any one have a set up like this.
Can you post some photos of your masterpiece.
So if i have a typical mid size generac generator
Can this be done..how long does it take to charge a batter bank for a cabin, small house.
Hell how large of a battery bank do you need if i can charge it up and not listen to that rattle trap clank-n away all day durring summer winter storms power outages that can last up to 2-6 days maybe more..but ive never needed more then my generator it has plenty of power to run my little place in the forest.
This is a very very broad subject so i kind of sketch out where im at
Would love to hear some thoughts.
Im kind of a hermit now so you guys are my go to for goofy questions, and how
So ttis may be another project added to the summer list of things to do.
Im not into the solar thing yet..im not ready to go there so this is my pit stop solution
And i believe my dear wife may be correct.
Stop running that generator so hard and buy some batteries .
My wifle is brilliant, she has idea after idea on what to do..but never tells me how to do it..i guess that my part.
Click to expand...

For the first 13 years, my 600 sq. ft. cabin (now home) was off-grid with solar panels, a battery bank, a Trace 12v dc to 120 ac inverter, and a gasoline powered generator. I live in central Maine, so well below zero winter nights and hot humid mid-summer days are normal. Both of those caused a lot of problems with that system.

Example ... the battery bank had about 800 amps available with a full charge. At 32 degrees that becomes 400. At zero it's 200, and for every degree below zero, it loses another 1-3%. A 120v, 1/2 hp deep well pump draws 6-8 times more starting current, than when its running. Many times during frigid weather the pump crashed the system. Then it's a trudge out in the cold to start the generator. Lot'sa fun pulling that starter cord when it's -20 F. (NOT!) Electric start? Battery would not crank engine fast enough to start it, when it's that cold.

Then there's hot weather. The 6,500 watt window ac draws 54 amps running wide open. No can do on batteries alone, so the generator had to run for that.

This type of system takes a lot to maintain. In 13 years it went through 3 generators, 3 sets of batteries, the inverter quit working several times, and had to be sent to the west coast for repair, cable connections corrode, etc., etc., etc.

Takeaway? Something is ALWAYS going wrong, so it's just NOT WORTH IT!

A year before I retired, the power company extended a line to the place. It cost around $7,000. I paid 1/2 up front and the rest, $31 a month for 10 years, as part of the power bill. Knowing what I know now, I should have done that at the outset.

Every situation is different, but it sounds like you can get by with just a generator. So, save yourself a lot of hassle. Just buy a brand name one that runs on propane and at 1,800 rpm's instead of usual 3,600 rpm's. With a good muffler and the slower rpm's, you'll hardly hear it running.

SJ
 
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