getting ready for more icy weather..

[cath]

so I bought a small, portable generator...

and I go deeper in Reef Debt...say, is there a 12 step program for this?

[Alice]

Why yes there is, Cath. The first 9 steps take you away from the LFS, the next 2 take you away from Home Depot, but sad to say, I haven't figured out that last step yet!

Alice

[Jimbo]

Since you mention it Walmart has Air Conditioners for $100 on up. going to get one for the reef room

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/searc...ir+conditioner

[Rick O]

Originally posted by Alice
Why yes there is, Cath. The first 9 steps take you away from the LFS, the next 2 take you away from Home Depot, but sad to say, I haven't figured out that last step yet!

Alice

[MontanaRocknReefer]

Like Alice has said cath, there is no last step that will cure our addiction!

[RWD]

Repete after me: My name is _ _ _ _ _ and I'm a reefaholic.......

[Junkzoo]

Originally posted by cath
so I bought a small, portable generator...

Cath,hope not too
SMALL

you kinda want one that'll run the tank at bare minimum, heater ,pumps ,mebbe a lil lights,,etc.

also , is it large enuf to run your house heating sys.?
if it's not big enuf, you can rotate what you want to run,,

mine can run the whole house, if need be, as long as everything does not start up at the same time(turn off freezer,frig,that kinda stuff)

can you "backfeed" you home elect. sys.?(be careful! if done wrong you could "light up"
the poor utility guy on the pole down the street, if you leave your main breaker in,not to mention fry your generator if/when power is restored,,,

sounds like you have a lil generator, probably just enuf for the tank and a few other things,,,,

'nother thing, did ya do a "dry-run" with the generator? practice will make things ez'ier when ya gotta actually put it in service.

only had to use mine once , for about a hr,,(after waiting a hr,just in case power came back)

i can roll my generator to the back of the house, plug it into an outlet, backfeed my elect panel,,and i'm good to go
(i made sure to turn on my front porch lights ,just to rub it in to the non-generator neighbors ,,,,LMAO! )

hope you never need to use yours,,
but don't forget to do a practice run tho,,,

[tdwyatt]

I am ready...


btw, Cath, get a grounding rod and attach the generator frame to it with some 6 gauge copper wire.

[cath]

thanks for the advice Jeff and Tom!

what I bought is a 1000 W Generac, a portable. I'll go out to the work shed and look for copper wiring. It does have a wing nut on the generator for grounding.

instructions say to use No. 12 AWG stranded copper wire ..


you bet I'll do a dry run!

[triggereel]

Oh no not more ice again
I forgot I am down south now
They dont know how to handle the weather down here
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Junkzoo]

Originally posted by tdwyatt

btw, Cath, get a grounding rod and attach the generator frame to it with some 6 gauge copper wire.

OOPS! (and i'm a Electrician ) thanks Tom,,,ditto that Cath!
Cath, they say stranded wire cuz, if your wire was to get a nick in it (solid) ,could create a weak spot/weaken the wire prior to opening in two, stranded is more flexible,and if a strand opens up /breaks you'll still be go to go,,,
solid is used a lot of times when movement is not a issue,,,
Technically , either would work , but IMO ,go with stranded

[cath]

Ruh Roe...I've got it all set up and did a mini-trial run. Why just a mini? I can't find any No. 12 copper wire....local Ace Hdwr is closed due to icy conditions, so I went to Wally World. They didn't have any copper wire. Co-worker (electrical engineer) said that I could strip the insulation off (strip it about 2" at both ends) a no-longer used extension cord , and connect it to the copper tubing at my water heater. BUT...I can't find an extension cord long enough. Hmm...I do have 16 guage brass (solid, not stranded)..would that work? In any case, I need wire/cord about 15 feet long.

[Junkzoo]

Cath, dumb question time ,,,you have "city" water or well?if city, you ought to have a ground strap on a pipe (around the meter) that's a good place to connect,,,,how about ,,, do you have a ground rod outside near your elect meter? there's another great spot.if not,,,prob elect code for you is a 8ft. ground rod in da ground,,,mebbe you have one,,,
look for a clamp type connection on a water pipe or somewhere off your outside elect. meter,,,,
on the ext. cord ground,,,yup , sorta , it'll work inna pinch,,,,but by rights you want a 12 or 10 guage ground wire for the real one,,,,
on the copper tubing deal,,,,yup , that'll work ONLY if the pipe is grounded somewhere else correctly (it oughta be)

[tdwyatt]

Cath:

I'm sure that either Irwin's Hardware on Fernwood Dr or Bullis on Cannon's Campground Rd (both within short driving distance from you) will have the wire you need. If all else fails, there IS Home Despot...

[cyberchef]

If you can find a "grouding" rod at one of the places Jeff mentioned, provided that everything else will reach (distance wise) outside and put the generator near it (say within 4-6 feet). Then in a pinch, if you have "jumper" cables for jump starting a car, you can use these to connect the frame of the generator to the grounding rod and you'll be good to go. More than ample wire gauge for your use, just make sure they are clamped onto a good spot where they won't slip off.