I haven't seen anything from them that looks like what we're after We'd
be looking for 10kW to 15 kW water cooled 1800 rpm. Propane fired.
Everyone makes models in the 30kW + range that fit the bill, but most
off grid systems don't need anything that big.
Do you have a model that I should be looking at?
Thanks,
R.Ray Walters
CTO, Solarray, Inc
Nabcep Certified PV Installer,
Licensed Master Electrician
Solar Design Engineer
303 505-8760
On 4/28/2016 5:00 PM, jerrysgarage01 wrote:
Have you looked at Cummins, we have have great luck and no
programming issues but battery charging needs to be added foroff grid
Jerry
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S™ III, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: Ray Walters
Date:04/28/2016 7:28 AM (GMT-10:00)
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Off-grid generator update?
FYI, generally we haven't had cold start issues with propane units,
as long as the pipe is sized properly ( as mentioned in another recent
post) and the starter battery is kept fully charged.
This is based on about 20 years experience in the Rockies with temps
below 0, but not 40 below. We don't use block heaters, carb heaters, etc.
We currently have been using Generac Ecogen, but not that happy with
them. Cheap air cooled motor, way too many computer gizmos, no on
board charging (must have AC power or PV to charge the starting
battery) We even had to call customer service to get an authorization
code to set up remote start. This is off grid with no internet or
cell service; ridiculous. I hope Generac reps are lurking here,
because these are really not much better than the crop of stand by
generators.
IMO no off grid generator should have a phantom load, or require
cell service to commission. What happened to the old water cooled
Kohlers?
R.Ray Walters
CTO, Solarray, Inc
Nabcep Certified PV Installer,
Licensed Master Electrician
Solar Design Engineer
303 505-8760
On 4/28/2016 11:17 AM, Jeremy Rodriguez wrote:
Check out Gillette generators. Made in Indiana
12.5 kW w Subaru
Jeremy Rodriguez
Solar Installation And Design Expert
All Solar, Inc.
1463 M St
Penrose Colorado 81240
Sent by Jeremy's iPhone. Sorry for typos and shorthand!
On Apr 28, 2016, at 10:20 AM, Lena Wilensky <l...@nunatakenergy.com>
wrote:
I did some searches on the list for what folks are doing for
off-grid propane generators these days, but all the threads I found
were from 5-6 yrs ago, so I was hoping to get some more current info.
We're looking for about a 10kw+ propane unit (big derate at
altitude), and we run into 2 main problem areas:
First is the warranty - either there are no units warranteed for
off-grid use, or there are only a couple of models and the warranty
is short (1 year).
Second, and perhaps larger, is all the loads that now come with the
"off-grid" units. The computer takes some, but mostly the "cold
weather kit" aka carb heater must be installed in our climate (to
actually start, but also for warrantee), and it's set up to be on a
thermostat (read: "on all the time from Nov-April" here in the
mountains). According to the Kohler tech support it takes a steady
50W. We have set up older units to do battery charge only during the
day, and have the carb heater on a manual switch, but it sounds like
we can't really get at these circuits anymore since they're all
pre-configured and pre-wired in the guts of the genset computer.
The Kohler and Onan support folks said both these issues are due to
EPA considering off-grid use as prime power as opposed to standby,
so they are held to tougher emissions standards.
Whatever the reasons, we're wondering what people are actually doing
these days - still the standby units they kind-of warrantee for
off-grid? 12RES from Kohler and the 13kw unit from Onan? Generac?
Have folks been going back to the smaller gas units from Honda and
running them more? And how are cold climate folks dealing with the
heating issue?
Any suggestions appreciated!
Lena Wilensky
www.nunatakenergy.com <http://www.nunatakenergy.com>
970-642-5554
NABCEP Certified PV Installer:
Cert. #R02907-17
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
<mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>
Change listserver email address & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List-Archive:
http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
List rules & etiquette:
www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
<http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm>
Check out or update participant bios:
www.members.re-wrenches.org <http://www.members.re-wrenches.org>
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
List Address:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Change listserver email address & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List-Archive:http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
List rules & etiquette:
www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
Check out or update participant bios:
www.members.re-wrenches.org
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Change listserver email address & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List-Archive:
http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
List rules & etiquette:
www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
Check out or update participant bios:
www.members.re-wrenches.org
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Change listserver email address & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List-Archive:
http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
List rules & etiquette:
www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
Check out or update participant bios:
www.members.re-wrenches.org
