Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread James Jefferson Jarvis
On 4/3/2015 9:32 AM, drake.chamber...@redwoodalliance.org wrote: We are dealing with a generator that absolutely won't start when cold, so I was considering a block heater. Below 20 deg F it has proven worthless, and we can see -20 F on occasion. I had a generator like that. Below zero it

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread drake . chamberlin
We are dealing with a generator that absolutely won't start when cold, so I was considering a block heater. Below 20 deg F it has proven worthless, and we can see -20 F on occasion. My concern is using power from a low battery on a cold cloudy day to heat a generator. How long does it take to

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread Jerry Shafer
You may want to contact the gen set manufacture to see if the genny can go cold freeze protection at sub zero because it may be required to operate 24/7in that condition. you may be able to install a thermostat to control the block heater, this way its not always on. PS I would use the Outback

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread Larry
About the carb heat idea...LP is a liquid at -44°F. The liquid does not combust, it must be vaporized. As the ambient temperature drops closer to the LP liquid temperature, there would be a reduction in how fast liquid is vaporizing and therefor a reduction in volume. What you need in cold

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread jay peltz
Hi guys, I don't live in super cold. I'm curious about the block heater part. With the good synthetic oils that are thin at really cold Is the issue heating the block or battery or heating the intake for propane units? Thanks Jay Peltz power On Apr 3, 2015, at 8:21 AM, James Jefferson

Re: [RE-wrenches] PV step-up transformer design

2015-04-03 Thread don
Kelly- You've got phase-balancing issues that will not be entirely solved with 3-phase breakers, but that's a good place to start. As Jarmo wrote, some inverters will talk to each other to shut them all down when one stops. Many manufacturers are now building 3-phase inverters to solve this

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread Chris Mason
Heating the regulator won't help if the propane is not vapourizing. You would need to heat the tank. However, you do not need to heat it very much, just enough to let it vapourize. Think about putting it somewhere with a little heat, or burying it. On Fri, Apr 3, 2015 at 1:51 PM, Larry

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread d...@solarwork.com
At our high elevation installs the generator gets installed indoors with the balance of the offgrid system we utilize the heat for the room Dana Orzel 208.721.7003 Encourage Free Thinking Self Responsible Free Range Children On Apr 2, 2015, at 8:47 PM, Gary Higbee g...@windstreamsolar.com

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread RE Ellison
A block heater and off grid will not mix well at all. Might want to look at a Wabasto heater It is a mini furnace designed for over the road trucks. Reasonable on fuel and power consumption. I think it is www.webasto.com Just a thought, Bob -Original Message- From: RE-wrenches

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread Larry
Chris, After I hit the send button, I thought about how a small generator or gas grill will use tank pressure through a vapor regulator. If this generator is plumbed that way, there lies a problem that your solution of heating the tank will work with. Personally I would not plumb a generator

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread Larry
Hi Chris, LP will boil (vaporize) at -44° so until your ambient temperature is below that it is vaporizing. Heating the tank will increase the liquid and vapor pressure in the tank but it is still liquid, not vapor, that is plumbed to a cold regulator, or vaporizer if they have one, where the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread Benn Kilburn
Hi Dana, I have an off-grid client (central/northern Alberta) who tried this but the heat from the gen would shut down the magnum inverter due to over temp. This was in an enclosed room (~15'x15') in a much larger shop. The gen was being exhausted outside but it was an air-cooled unit, so blew

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread Allan Sindelar
I too have an off grid customer with a Quad Stack, who has plumbed his Onan 20kW (industrial) unit as a heat source to his home's hydronic system. We installed his system in 2005; later he became the CEO of Solar Logic, the state-of-the-art solar-hydronic controls

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread Dana
My apologies for the brief response I was on the road. There are two options I have done. I normally try to get batteries stored in a heated room, so adding the gen if there is room there is an initial easy fix. We vent the exhaust air with a motorized louvered damper controlled by a room

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread Kevin Pegg
We have successfully plumbed in RV-style hot water heaters with tiny tanks in them, and set the thermostat to kick in at -20C (or whatever is required). Locating the hot water heater on the floor beside the generator it thermosiphons. One site has been working like this for 8 years unattended

Re: [RE-wrenches] PV step-up transformer design

2015-04-03 Thread August Goers
Hi Kelly, Sounds like a doozey. As others have posted, it sounds like an imbalance issue. However, it might be possible to solve the problem without replacing the major equipment (could just be wire size, phasing, fuses, etc?). Do you have a single line diagram you can share? Best, August

Re: [RE-wrenches] PV step-up transformer design

2015-04-03 Thread Jerry Shafer
Wrenches We just had a utility side issue that had the same transfomer damage on only neutral wire. This was a larger 3/0 inverter 333 k but the utility may be a direction to look at. This was one of three systems, none of the others showed damage either. There should be next to nothing on that

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread Tump
We have installed many low ambient temp propane genset and here are a few suggestions. I would recommend underground 1k propane tank this allows constant 50* temp improves the evap rate of liquid propane and prevents fuel starvation /lean burn conditions due to low evap rates. Primary reg set

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread dan
We have had good luck with a product called "Kim Hot Start". We have one install that runs 24/7 and tokes some 800W (When it cycles). Another is set up for manual control (on a switch) that needs to be turned on a few hours before a start. I've been noodling with an Aux controlled contactor for

Re: [RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

2015-04-03 Thread dan
OBTW, I do have one off grid customer that has the water jacket from his diesel genny plumbed into his heating system. So no only can he dump heat from the engine into his thermal storage tank, he can also treat the engine as a zone and heat it from the wood furnace.dbDan BrownFoxfire Energy