Generator Maintenance is very important in florida( the Weather is humid & saltair) will wreck your generator and void your Warranty. Clean the housing,check the oil, air filter,battery and run check at lest once a month. 1 or 2 time a year change the oil, (full synthetic oil) oil filter,air filter, spark plugs and load test on the generator and transfer switch. Inspection the generator and transfer switch. Some time adjustment is needed to bring the unit back to factor specification. LOW or HIGH voltage or HZ can weck air conditoneror , refrigerator/freezer,tv,etc.or shorton there life. Air- cooled generator need more maintenance and there values adjustment more offing then Liquid-cooled
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Generator facts / how to pick a generator
Generator Break-in is very important for problem free and long unit life.It is very important for air- cooled generator to get broken in right. If not you will have noting but problem and a short unit life.The best way is to ues a load tester ( big toaster) the loads go like this 25% 1hr,50% 1hr, 75% 1hr and 90% of the generator the last hour. It is not a good ideal to use the house load for break-in. If you have problem with the generator you could damaged your electrical devices.Its a good ideal to break-in the liquid-cooled generator for a lest 2 hours with a load tester even if the factor specific no brake-in
How to pick a Generator : you get what you paid for : First ,what do you want to keep power on ? Circuit protection, you pick which circuit you want power on. From one circuit , and up to the whole house /power system ( the generator run everything). fuel: LP,NG,DIESEL.: LP vapor have the hightest power rating,(more KW for the same generator) you need a tank for it and you have only what in the tank.: N.G (natural gas) its habve a little lower power ratingthen L P but its pipe to you . it is cheaper to install and cheaper to ues. : Diesel easy to get, cheapest to install,unit price is the highest for generator. : Air-cooled or liquid-cooled ? : air-cool is the cheapest , at 1/3 the price of liquid-cooled and smaller up to about 16 KW, made to run or a few hour at a time, need to be rested from time to time and check the oil every 7 to 10 hour of run time,need more maintenance and need to be broken-in right.: liquid-cooled about 3 time the price of air-cooled, larger, (15kw and up) have longer run time ,loger life then air-cooled and lest maintenance then air-cooled but it a higher price. : Calculating the load. When calculating the load use the Starting load, not the Running load. The starting load is the wattage it take to start a load like air-conditioning, well pump ,refrigerator/freezer, any motor load .Running load is wattage after every thing have started a is up to speed. Here are some loads: STARTING LOAD RUNNING LOAD 3 ton air-conditioning 3 ton = 6.1kw 3 ton = 5kw 4 ton air-conditioning 4 ton =8.6 kw 4 ton = 6.5kw 1/3 sump pump S.P = 1kw S.P.= 400 wat 3/4 sump pump S.P.=2kw S.P.=700 wat 1/3 well pump W.P = 2kw W.P. = 1kw You sould never have more then 80% of the generator full load for your starting load . If you do ,get the next bigger size generator. 60% running load is the ideal load size for the generator. For peck fuel and generator performance. Some County will make you buy a whole house generator by the load calcuated as in NEC 2005 / 2008 articl 230 witch means a bigger generator
Fact; when you buy from a Service Dealer and have them install the generator, your warranty start on start-up . If you get it from any other place like a home improvement store or on line store ,your warranty start at date of puchase. If you are buiding a home you could lose months of warranty.Some service compay charge up to $100 to come and $120 a hour .We don't do that. And the warranty don't cover Bad installation or start-up, some generator are hard to start the first time and you may wreck the starter. If you are not trained for the generator you are installing the odds are its will be install wrong. the air cooled package unit are the one that get install wrong the most. Last of all some home improvement stores can have down graded models for lower price. know what you are buying ! YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. if you dont buy from a service dealer you may have trouble getting some one to work on it. even if you buy from a home impovement store. With the new electrical code come out , you may never get your generator pass inspection. Also you need some one who can size the generator right! not make a sales! Some County will make you have the load calculated as in NEC 2005 / 2008 article 230 to pass
Fact: a Generator Dealer doesn't have to be a license Electrical contractor ! They don't have to be a license ANYTHING! You do have to be a license electrical contractor, to pull the permit. Non electrical contractors have to sub it out, (cheepest bid), and may not be factory trained for that generator, WHO WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE?
picking a generator made easy! if you are buying a briggs & stratton or a G E generator in florida ( other brands you may need a bigger unit). if you have up to 1600 sq feet ,with up to a 4 ton heat pump a 15kw should do it, up to 3300 sq feet & up to 2, 5 ton ac units with no more then 10kw electric heat. a 20kw should do it. any bigger ,you need to go liquid-cooled. This is only a rule of thumb to help you out . you need an authorized dealer to do a sight check before ordering
