The Joker
Thread Killer MKII
Ours is hooked up to the mains of the house, and yeah I use a ups and my psu has surge protection built in.
Woo! Load shedding, woo!
- Thread starter Jan
- Start date
Ours is hooked up to the mains of the house, and yeah I use a ups and my psu has surge protection built in.
The Joker
Thread Killer MKII
5.5KVa is perfect for pretty much running your whole house apart from maybe the stove/oven.
We have a 10kva generator and we use a full on solar geyser system.
HavocXphere
New member
Safety PSA: Just remember guys the generator through a power socket method is decidedly sketchy. A 3.5kva generator already *exceeds* the maximum rating of a power plug. And that's assuming the wiring is up to scratch. Also might void your insurance if the place burns down.
mk786
New member
Been using this method for a while. plug doesn't even heat up! so far so good!
Blazzok
New member
The trip on your switchboard should trip as soon as you exceed the amperage rating on it (usually 15 - 20A), but yeah not the best method. It does work though
But thanks for the PSA mate.
murfle
New member
Nice. Is it solar electricity powering an electric geyser, or is it the kind with the copper tubing that heats in the sun, which heats the water? Both are cool, just curious.
We had an electrician do one of our buildings up. I think he wanted R5000 to install a switch to go between mains and generator. So we went the cheap option and had a new breaker installed with a power chord hanging off of it. Power goes off, turn of the mains, plug in the running generator, then turn on the new breaker. Just make sure the panel is locked up and there's sufficient notices and warnings not to have both the mains and new breaker on at the same time.
Nimatek
New member
This, works like a charm! Does anyone know other makes than Honda for some decent compact gennies ? 3 to 4 vka should be fine.
Blazzok
New member
I'm not sure, but I was looking at this one http://www.adendorff.co.za/Products.aspx?cat=318.
Don't know the brand, but this is one of the first times I found a 4kW generator, usually I find up to 2.5, and the next one I see is 5. It is a lot of money to part with though.
HavocXphere
New member
Murfle - the issue is how its connected not where. Most residential stuff is only rated for 15w. So you might want to eyeball that power cord you have carefully to make sure it's one rated for more
Nimatek
New member
That doesn't look half bad actually. However I think that is the standard type, so going to be too loud for intended area.
Will give them a shout Monday and find out though.
murfle
New member
We had it installed by a qualified electrician, but I'll double check. It is a heavy duty cable though. Thanks
HavocXphere
New member
Yeah companies really need to make a plan on how to manage this. No point in keeping people there. I know currently most get the staff to do springcleaning during cuts but there is only so much cleaning one can do.
ViperGTI
New member
If plugging the generator into a wall socket, I would suggest getting a proper cable. Standard leads are only 0.5-1mm thick. Standard house-wire is 2.5mm so getting the proper thickness (although, quite a bit more expensive) will prevent the cable from heating up or burning out.
It is better to have a switch installed though. Then both plugs from the generator are connected to the house, power supply is more stable and you simply flip a switch to switch between generator and municipal power. That switch shouldn't be that expensive, although can't remember what I paid back in the day. Getting something that starts the generator automatically when the power goes off... now that's expensive.
The only thing with these 5.5kva generators that you get from Game, Builders Warehouse, etc. is that the power isn't always very stable. My PC is connected to a UPS and that is connected to the power and a lot of times when the power went out, when running off the generator, the UPS would keep beeping as the power wasn't stable enough to keep it charged. Anyway, used that setup on the farm back in Nelspruit.
Now here in the city, I have a small Inverter Generator from Ryobi which provides enough power for my computer (with 3x 32" LED TVs), router, a energy saver light and my whole TV / DSTV / Home theatre system. The big difference is though that it provides very stable power for electronics.
It is better to have a switch installed though. Then both plugs from the generator are connected to the house, power supply is more stable and you simply flip a switch to switch between generator and municipal power. That switch shouldn't be that expensive, although can't remember what I paid back in the day. Getting something that starts the generator automatically when the power goes off... now that's expensive.
The only thing with these 5.5kva generators that you get from Game, Builders Warehouse, etc. is that the power isn't always very stable. My PC is connected to a UPS and that is connected to the power and a lot of times when the power went out, when running off the generator, the UPS would keep beeping as the power wasn't stable enough to keep it charged. Anyway, used that setup on the farm back in Nelspruit.
Now here in the city, I have a small Inverter Generator from Ryobi which provides enough power for my computer (with 3x 32" LED TVs), router, a energy saver light and my whole TV / DSTV / Home theatre system. The big difference is though that it provides very stable power for electronics.
ViperGTI
New member
I think they almost all come with AVR... The one I had, had AVR... Didn't make a difference on my UPS.
blaaislaai
New member
Anyone being loadshed tonight?
The announcement was made around 17:00 for stage1, i got lucky this round as usually it would be from 16:00 - 18:30 for me. JUST missed it!
The announcement was made around 17:00 for stage1, i got lucky this round as usually it would be from 16:00 - 18:30 for me. JUST missed it!