What i did this weekend

[powerboatr]

Installed this entire RV surge and power monitor.
Its spliced into the power output of the transfer switch panel, so it monitors both shore power(city utilitiy) and generator ouput.
Got to play with 6 ga wire and no sparks

it has a nice monitor panel that reads both input line volts on both 30 amp inputs and amps being used on each line.
felt like appollo 13 watching amps climb as i turned stuff back on.
priced about the same as good tuner, but now protects us from power spikes, power outages and brown outs. plus has a timed delay to not re-establish power for a few minutes to protect the A/C


its no more burned up micro waves or wavy TV pictures

 

[bushpilot]

Interesting stuff...strangely enough the house we just bought
in tomball has a whole house surge protector installed...

i can see the need in an RV situation but was shocked to see
something included in a newly constructed house.

 

[powerboatr]

Yep i know what you mean, Our house in Pensacola florida, had one as an OPTION when we had it built,
I like to think it saved the fridge many times, we had a ton of power surges and spikes the first 6 or so months in this new developement, tured out to be squirrels leaping across the conductors and not quite making it. it was hilarious when the line men finally told us about it.
what gets me is the rv industry should be putting them in as a standard piece of gear, or at least option them upfront. for the time it took to install and set up it was not that costly.

 

[whatabudro]

Its a big deal in Florida to have one in your home, being the lightning capitol of the world.

 

[powerboatr]

Its a big deal in Florida to have one in your home, being the lightning capitol of the world.

if it isnt lightinging (sp) its hurricaning (new word)
i dont miss that part at all

 

[bushpilot]

From having lived in texas (houston) before I can certainly
see the need for a surge protector (although i never personally
had ANY equipment damage)...

whats strange is the subdivision build out it nearing
completion...the builder is only recently begun
including/installing these (not an option)

if its anything like when i lived there 6yrs ago i suspect
we'll be adding one or two portable generators...i like
the whole house fail over stuff but if your WHOLE house
is gone those things become INSTANTLY WORTHLESS

 

[powerboatr]

for some weird reason up here in bama out power surges and flickers very often.
I have seen as high as 133 volts, and then OFF

we are not that far from the hyro dam either you would think it would be steady?

 

[WD40]

Sounds like something I need to look at when we get the new one. Just don't know when that will be. I am thinking about a 6.5 or a 7 KW with a diesel power plant on it. Can use 6 gal boat gas tanks for the diesel fuel.

 

[bushpilot]

heres my issues w/ GAS *OR* Diesel...most 7-8kw generators can burn a gallon
an hour at 1/2 their maximum rated load...even if you ran a generator every other
hour or so you could EASILY consume 10 or 20 gallons a day.

when the powers out the gas station down the corner doesnt have power
to run their pumps EITHER...

so i figured i'd want enough fuel around to get us thru a minimum of 3days
i dont necessarily want to be sitting on 50 gallons of any kind of fuel not to
mention youd want to "turn your fuel, inventory" so that it doesnt get
old, contaminated or stale.

Whole house generators offer a good solution...by running on natural
gas...assuming you have natural gas @ home (we do)...but if your
house is blown away or flooded...well youll have a boat anchor on your
property that you PROBABLY cant use much less take W/ you to a new
location....

my solution has been to consider PORTABLE TRI-FUEL
generators...gasoline, propane or natural gas @ the flip of a switch.

any gasoline based generator can be converted by your average
DIY/Shade Tree mechanic.

Natural Gas seems to be a fairly consistant & reliable source when
the power is out (i dont have to keep fuel on hand & i dont need
electric to get MORE fuel)...and im not consuming the fuel from my
ESCAPE vehicle.

I figure in the event of a more serious disaster i can load up the generators
and relocate, loan our generators to friends or family (who may be
w/out power)...or just plain use the generators for camping etc.

toughts & feed back would be welcome...

 

[powerboatr]

we have a 6500 watt LP gen in the rv, it will run both a/c's and all teh goodies
but it does burn a fair amount of fuel, we get between 8-10 hrs of LOAED run time on a 30lb tank (80%) of LP.
but its quiet, dont stink. I would have liked to get a Diesel gen for the truck but the $$ is to high right now.