Best diesel generator

[Timbo]

It's called load balancing and as long as the phases are used independently no issue at all with safety

Domestic regs entirely prohibit multiple phases within one dwelling

 

[ollie989898]

Is there a long life diesel available (non biodiesel) that wont go off in a standby generator?
Or is the trick to change the fuel ever 6 months, or run it dry?

Yes. Buy and specify GTL diesel for anything that will be sat for a long time.

 

[Wellpark]

Domestic regs entirely prohibit multiple phases within one dwelling

Quite right , you can run seperate phases to seperate buildings though

 

[Wellpark]

Yes, I think you could, but with care, the OP could power each property with a different phase, or in our case (we have split phase here) power the buildings with one and the house with the other.
Don't think that having two phase in a 240v property would be right though.
That setup wouldn't manage our 480v split phase drier or bruiser though.

You can connect 2 phases to your split phase supply and use the third phase for a single phase supply
480 volt motors won't like it much though but it does work where you have 240 volt motors running of 1 phase of the split phase
480 volt motors run hot and blow diodes

 

[TheTallGuy]

Domestic regs entirely prohibit multiple phases within one dwelling

Which regs are those? Plenty of 3 phase installations around & more on the way to power heat pumps & EV chargers...

 

[Hilly]

After being without power for a couple of weeks due to the recent storm we've decided to invest in a generator to plug direct into the supply, ready for future emergencies.

What's anyone's experience with diesel ones big enough to run ideally the farmhouse and a bungalow on basic essentials.

Any input much appreciated.

I’ve a 15kva mobile diesel , runs two bungalows never know the electric was off, mines an arcgen I’ve it 25 years

 

[TheTallGuy]

Something that folk often overlook is that a 3 phase genny might have say 30kva, but when using single phase you can only get a third of that output.
We have a 10kva single phase pto genny running on an 82hp old International on the 1000 shaft so it's just ticking over.
Tractor maybe isn't for everyone but if you have an old tractor sitting about it could be an option.
Will run the house no bother and I must admit uses very little diesel, much less than I expected.

Actually, depending on the alternator you can get a bit more than a third off of a single leg, although the older type alternators can fall out of Regulation with unbalanced loads.

 

[TheTallGuy]

My diesel gennie is a single cylinder engine with a pull start with decompressor.... kicks like a bloody mule....

Easy Start stored close by

I do have an older single cylinder Petter that takes a bit of winding at times - that's a big reason why I switched to the JCB!

 

[Hilly]

Surrounding neighbours leccy was off with Arwen, so I thought I'd loan the 8kva Kubota Genset and 2kva Honda. Long story short, Kubota injection pump had seized and the Honda carb had been borrowed. Baden Powell wouldn't be impressed

In 2001 when the needle hit -20 and power was off for a week, the Honda kept the kero central heating going and provided light with extension cables daisy chained through the letterbox and through the house. As mentioned above, the proper way is with a 'manual transfer switch' / 'crossover switch', and with the rising reliance on renewables and imported gas then it's not a bad idea to add it to at least the domestic supply.

I like the look of these, good bang for buck, and a huge step in price to the next size up:

hyundai-dhy8000selr-diesel-generator-long-run

View attachment 1002779

To small.

 

[Elpresidente]

I bought this one the other day for my 93 year old mums bungalow, she heats it to subtropical levels so if the power went off it would be a disaster. It’s about 7kva and runs off petrol or propane. I’ve got 4 full cylinders of propane in case of emergencies, no fear of it going off. I tested it and it happily ran the boiler electric fire and kettle simultaneously. Thank goodness my dad had the foresight to have a proper changeover switch fitted years ago. It cost about £1200 with the handle kit. I bought this to replace a similar output petrol Hyundai which is impossible to get spares for.

 

[fermerboy]

Actually, depending on the alternator you can get a bit more than a third off of a single leg, although the older type alternators can fall out of Regulation with unbalanced loads.

I believe you, I go on a third of the plated output as a guide. We've only single phase gennys here(10kva tractor, and 2.5kva Honda) and bloody glad of the both of them a couple of weeks ago.

I'm no sparky though, just know enough to be dangerous.

 

[PSQ]

To small.

Depends on what you’re trying to do. Base load for this house is 1.4kW including fridge, central heating boiler, kero Aga and some LED lighting.
The little GX200 petrol Honda (£320 new iirc) is big enough to cope with the base load, and it cost £320 iirc, new now about £600. It won’t boil a kettle, and it won’t run a washing machine or drier, but it does allow the house to function when all around are living by candle light and no heating.

The 35kVA mentioned in a previous post will run all domestic appliances at the same time, but a new one will cost upwards of £10k.

An 8kVA (6.6kW) should run the house, and allow 1 larger device to run at a time: washing machine / tumble drier/ dishwasher.

 

[Bury the Trash]

approx. a 15 kva pto one would be got under 2k still i reckon,

remember its the engine that drives the alternator that as important as itself, the engine needs power to spare and plenty. little petrol engines dont have much torque do they and to keep a competitive price an engine can be skimped on, whereas with the tractor ,if you have one available you can control that side of it yourself.

 

[Netherfield]

approx. a 15 kva pto one would be got under 2k still i reckon,

remember its the engine that drives the alternator that as important as itself, the engine needs power to spare and plenty. little petrol engines dont have much torque do they and to keep a competitive price an engine can be skimped on, whereas with the tractor ,if you have one available you can control that side of it yourself.

Better sometimes that the alternator is boss of the engine, we had a tractor driven generator, when bought the biggest tractor was approx 70hp, which if too much load was applied would lose revs.

Then came the 6 cylinder100 hp tractor, I was away on honeymoon, someone just kept piling more load on until smoke came out of the alternator, by which time it was too late to rescue the generator.

 

[Timbo]

Better sometimes that the alternator is boss of the engine, we had a tractor driven generator, when bought the biggest tractor was approx 70hp, which if too much load was applied would lose revs.

Then came the 6 cylinder100 hp tractor, I was away on honeymoon, someone just kept piling more load on until smoke came out of the alternator, by which time it was too late to rescue the generator.

Under volting and under frequency is alot more damaging to electronics and motors than running them at the correct or slightly higher figures.

Always have an ammeter and more HP than needed to keep rpms bang on irrelevant of load- a tractor also doesnt have an ideal fixed speed governor and they will always droop more than is ideal.

 

[Fergieman]

Better sometimes that the alternator is boss of the engine, we had a tractor driven generator, when bought the biggest tractor was approx 70hp, which if too much load was applied would lose revs.

Then came the 6 cylinder100 hp tractor, I was away on honeymoon, someone just kept piling more load on until smoke came out of the alternator, by which time it was too late to rescue the generator.

Theres a trip switch fitted in our change over switch box. Switch too much on and the trip goes. Trip is 75amp and the genny is 80amp

 

[Hilly]

You need plenty spare with a generator if your running them on capacity your walking a tight rope ! Plenty spare is the key imo, you can be to small but won’t be to big

 

[agrimax]

I'll throw this in here, if anyone might know. Been offered a big lump of a metal lathe at handy money. Three phase with 10 KW motor. I have a 16 KVA 3 phase genny(Lister 2 cyl and Brush alt). Will the genny be able for it? Or plan B , put an engine on it...

 

[PSQ]

I'll throw this in here, if anyone might know. Been offered a big lump of a metal lathe at handy money. Three phase with 10 KW motor. I have a 16 KVA 3 phase genny(Lister 2 cyl and Brush alt). Will the genny be able for it? Or plan B , put an engine on it...

For electric motors, is the starting current not about 3x the running current?
3 x 10kw = 30kw?
Is it fitted with a 'star delta' / 'soft start' ?

 

[PostHarvest]

Regardless of which brand you buy, test run it regularly and check it carefully each autumn. There is nothing worse than a generator that won't start when you need it, because when you need it you really do. Witham Auctions near Grantham often have military surplus gensets for sale.