On Fri, Feb 3, 2023 at 9:36 PM Mark Tinka <mark@tinka.africa> wrote:
On 2/4/23 07:29, William Herrin wrote:
If it's just a little gasoline generator, 30 minutes is about right. It takes 10 minutes to decide the power isn't coming back soon and another 10 to drag the generator out of the shed, hook up the wires and get it going even though it's cold, wet, and hasn't been run for several months. That leaves 10 minutes to spare figuring out how to convince the UPS that the generator power is good enough to retransfer and stay.
Indeed - I was guessing given how reliable PG&E have been for Sabri, a lot is probably pre-wired. I may be wrong.
Pre-wired makes it a standby generator, which 9 times out of 10 is automatic start with an automatic transfer switch. It's running within seconds whether you're home or not. Electricians cost too much and 20kva natural gas / propane generators with an ATS don't cost enough more than the portables. Compare: https://www.costco.com/honeywell-18kw-home-standby-generator-with-transfer-s... and: https://www.amazon.com/Honda-2200-Watt-120-Volt-Portable-Generator/dp/B079YF... understanding that an electrician will cost you $2000-$3000 for the labor with any genset modification to the house wiring. Regards, Bill Herrin -- For hire. https://bill.herrin.us/resume/