Generator

[Koevoet]

Generator - Cape town vicinity

Which one to buy for that 2-3 hrs emergency's, any advice welcome.

Any suggestions

[DarkHelmet]

What do you need to power? List what you need and we can make a plan

[Koevoet]

Just some lighting in my house, pc, tv, fridge. (not the heavy stuff like geyser stove)

I saw a guy plugging the geny into one of his house sockets, NB NB NB :U have to put your main and the geyser off on the mainsboard.

It works fine.

[DarkHelmet]

Received an advert for one of these at R6000 for a 5.5kVA generator. But the company is JHB based. It gets wired into your DB board for approximately R3300. Put a UPS on your PC for approx R800 and then run to the garage and flick the switch to turn the generator on.

I ran into Demon at a client today and he had a generator in the boot of his SUV. Demon? What is your plan?

Will advise about installations in Cape Town

[DarkHelmet]

Eish - the electric he does not kom halfway thru the shave... I reverted to a blade, a bald head is much better on a 34yo than half a head of hair

[RV4ker (RIP)]

5KVA should do the trick. Get Petrol as Demon said.

This 3kva one from Mica for R3500 discounted to R3000 for CASH... (That before the 12 days of darkness (as opposed to the 12 days of Christmas)


Saw a nifty remote controlled Chineese takeaway yesterday. Power goes out you drop all the non essential breakers, flip the FU Eskom switch and druk the remote and switch to genie power. No running to Garage...

Installation of R3300 is a bit steep unless cable is long from board to genie?

PS
Beware. If it not locked up the battery she will get feet. Had the battery stolen from one of our tenants machines while it was running in front of their shop. When they tried to switch it on after running out of fuel the battery she was gone and they can see the genie through the window

If you want to run the aircons, stoves, pool heater and your mates houses you need one of these... and a beeeeg checkbook

[grostek]

Hi Guys,

Have a look at this excell spread sheet and work out your generator size needed for your household.

Hope it helps someone.

Kind regards,

Gunter Rostek

[Koevoet]

Going to settle with the one at midas, seem gona do the trick.

My wife ask me, how come u put that topic on this forum, why not ask a electrician.

I said to here pilots must be multi talented they will know.

U all proved it right today.

Thanx a lot guys

[Robin Hood]

A client here in Klerksdorp had his service station burn down when he plugged in the generator to the existing circuit. Put the power back on without thinking and WHAM. Insurance turned down claim because of that. Be careful.

[RV4ker (RIP)]

We install a switch which switches between Gen and Eskom. (Called Eskom FU Switch in our office - they are scarce at moment)

[Thunderboy]

waiting for the elctrician to come do an assesment of factory to see what we need, as we use 3 phase

Apparantly Sandton City is going to put one in fo 60bar

[RV4ker (RIP)]

We run a couple 3phase big jobs (Cat, John Deer, Scania Cummins, Lister engines) at the centres. Mostly 500kva jobs. R750-bar and they pull just the supermarket.

We got "new" post 12 days of darkness quotes and prices are on the up. Not uncommon to add 25-30% week on week. Seems there is vast difference between Chineese and brand names.

Depending on what you pulling you in for about R1000 per kva once it goes past say 200kva. (250kva for R250K, 500kva for R500) excl. installation and diesel tank) The smaller ones are significantly more per kva. Always check what the next size up costs as often it same motor just different alti etc. and may be worth it to spend a little more. We got quote for 33kva and the 40kva was only R5000 more.

Plan for 75% of rated output. Once it goes over that the genie get WARUM and can go boef. Lights also flicker and the power spikes (causing general chaos). Obviously depends on your needs....

PS
If not necessary for all wx casing exclude it (if it standing under roof for eg). Transport is also hugely expensive. If you have the capacity fetch it yourself ex works.

[RV4ker (RIP)]

Ash I type it goes off for 3rd time today. Only had power for 1h43min since 8am today and we pay bulk demand charge of over R100g's a month. FOR WHAT!!!!

[Koevoet]

Kerels ek weet nie hoekom ek gekla het oor krag nie, want as ek die briewe so lees is daar ouens met helse probleme met krag onderbrekings.

Ons sn gelukkig net so 2-3 keer pr week.

Dankie eskom, moet seker ma ons wyn wees.

Voorspoed aan julle kant.

[Bennie Vorster]

I would not settle for a Gennie that supply les than 5.5 KVA

Do remember that at start up of your appliances it ups orbs about 3x the indicated Wattage indicated as a normal usage on that appliance. IE. 100Watt = About 300Watt at start up on some appliances.

I would also not simply plug the generator into the normal wall plug coz you will only supply power to one phase of your 3 phases on your distribution Bord and should be still sitting without lighting if your wiring is done correctly in your distribution Bord.

You also have to get a Generator with self starter if you plan on fitting a AMF.

AMF Panel is meant for Controlling DG set START/STOP Sequence in accordance to the availability of utility power supply. This AMF Control panel is for controlling two DG sets, Master DG and Slave DG.
AMF Control System provides:
1) Consistent Power supply to the load.
2) DG set Protection.
3) Smooth Start/Stop Sequence.
4) Audio/Visual indication of various fault conditions.
5) Protect the Load from Voltage fluctuations.
6) Auto/ Manual modes of operation.
7) Mains failure and voltage fluctuation detection.
User / operator friendly

If you need to only power Lights you can always use an Inverter to step up 12Volt DC to 220V AC. You will get them from 120 Watt and more but setup cost is about double the cost of installing a Generator. You can re charge the 12 Volt Battery bank with a normal Car battery charger while the mains is still in supply from Escom or for longer power outs you can recharge with solar or wind power. You can also simply use 12 Volt LED Globes, powered directly from a 12 Volt battery supply.

For Geysers you can install Solar Heat systems that will set you back some ware between 10K and 20K. Depends on how many Liters per hour you need. NS. Escom is busy looking at subsidising a part of your costs for your installation soon. Else you can always switch back to gas geysers and home appliances.

My 2c.