Power out 12/18

[kevm14]

Very windy, rainy.

Went out around 7:30 and sometime before 8:30 I was up and running. I have never put this thing out in the rain before (EDIT: scratch that, I found a pic from 2 years ago with the roof clamped on) so I started by seeing if my old plywood roof would clamp to the rails like I used to do on my old generator. Sure enough, yes. But it was driving rain. I didn't like the side exposure especially because this is filled with electronics. So I found a sheet that ended up being perfect. Just had to notch out a section for the clamp on the engine intake side and used 2 screws into the roof.

I think it is actually protecting the unit and there seems to be enough airflow for cooling. Basically I covered the engine intake side and I think they used this fan to cool the engine + electronics so it needs to be shielded from direct rain (not because of engine cooling but because of the electronics). Then I extended the roof over the front control panel quite a bit, the same way I used to do on my old generator.

Load wise, I started just by shutting the dehumidifier off as it would be running constantly in the warm, humid environment. I also let all 3 mini-split zones turn on. It is so warm out that they aren't drawing much BUT I think it is still not a good use of precious generator resources so I turned them off. If I really need heat I can just let the furnace run.

[kevm14]

Some pics. Load is shown with all mini splits heating.

[kevm14]

After turning mini splits off (and turning basement lights off which do use some power). Gives an idea of base load. Pretty low.

It should run upwards of 8 hours like this on a tank. Maybe longer? Like maybe more like 12 hours. Once the rain settles down this afternoon I'll check the fuel level. And before sunset, if still out, probably check it again and maybe shut it down to check oil and add gas.

[kevm14]

Restored around 11:15. Total outage around 4 hours.

But I ended up running the generator until 1pm because we were running the dishwasher and I had meetings.

Shows total gen runtime and hours.

Shows final energy usage specs.

Based on learning about the fuel gauge's nonlinearity I'd estimate it used less than half a tank. Crude estimates would suggest 10+ was possible.

[kevm14]

Average load 1.54kW. It was low for a while and then we ran the dishwasher. And TV. But previous data suggests it can sustain this load for 9.3 hours.

I was not able to fully run it out of gas because it started pouring. Leaving the carb bowl low but not empty is probably the worst choice (either full, or empty is best). So I need to either turn the fuel on, fill the bowl, and shut it back off, or start it cold to run it out of gas in 30 seconds....maybe I'll fill the bowl.