On Sun, 16 Nov 2014 18:05:38 -0800 Denis Heidtmann <[email protected]> dijo:
>I assumed you already had a generator which could produce power OK for >the refrigerator and furnace. Then you could add a small >inverter-style to power your e-toys. But that brings to mind--can >you take dirty power from a generator, power an inverter, and get >clean power? Yes, sort of. All the inverters I have ever seen are designed to turn 12VDC into clean 120VAC. And every generator I have ever seen has a 12VDC output at a fair number of amps. The usual purpose is to use the generator to charge car batteries, but I suppose one could run an inverter off the 12VDC output. I don't know how this might work out cost-wise. >But I am choosing inconvenience over $ for my solution. The idea of >natural gas is appealing, but getting it to an outside >weather-protected site would not be easy. How long can you run a >generator on propane? Propane offers the same carburetion advantages as natural gas, i.e., it won't bung up your carburetor. But, while it is vastly safer to store and won't degrade over time, the containers are expensive. I don't have any experience with propane generators, but while shopping I found this web site that has a handy calculator for this kind of question: http://propane-generators.com/propane_usage.php My take is that running a generator on propane is somewhat more expensive than gasoline, and quite a bit more expensive than natural gas. You say that getting natural gas to an outside weather-protected area would not be easy. Do you have natural gas at your home? It is legal to tap into the line outside as it enters the house and run a line along the outside of the foundation. Also, NWNG charged me nothing for moving the meter when I rebuilt the new garage, and adding the lines to my water heater, range, and outside patio area, because I was adding new gas appliances. All I had to pay for was the permit. This was a number of years ago, but it might be worth a call to see what you can get for free. _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
