ggww said:
Dunstabe. MA is in the same boat and I didn't see too many lights going south in rt3 and north 495 to 93. The radio
said this is one of the worst and it may take days to restore power to 95,000 of us (I think that was in MA alone).
What are you using for a generator? I may pick one up since I work in Quincy and I doubt there will be a run
on generators here.
Guy
Harman Insert
If you buy a generator, get one that has positive oil pressure pump and the screw on automotive oil filter. The automatic throttle down feature is very nice too. Auto throttle means that if you do not pull an electric load, the generator will drop down to idle instead of running at 3600 rpm constantly. The automatic engine off on low oil switch will save your engine when you forget to check the oil every time you refill the generator.
REMEMBER THAT THE CHEAPER GENERATORS ARE DESIGNED FOR INTERMITANT DUTY ONLY.
THEY WILL NOT WITHSTAND 24/7 OPPERATION, BUT INSTEAD WILL THROW A ROD AFTER 2 OR 3 WEEKS.
If you want your engine to last, only run it for 3 hours with a 30 minute cool down.
5w30 dinosaur oil should be used below 30 deg and down to 10 deg outside temp when you do a cold start up of your generator.
10w 30 is used from 45 deg to 10 deg but is too thick to lubricate below 10 deg
sae 30 is used from 99 deg to 45 deg
SAE 5W30 SINTHETIC IS USED TO MINUS 50 deg
I recommend against buying a gen that uses a splash oiling system. the 3.5 to 7 hp B&S;or tecompsha cheap lawn mower engines, These engines are light duty intermitant service only
& were throwing rods right & left back in the power outage of 98 after only 2 or 3 weeks of continious duty. of couse, the engines were abused & miss used by owners trying to opperate them continiously, 24/7 when the engines were only designed for a 2 or 3 hour run time & then 30 min. cool off period. And the owners forget to check the oil with every tank of gas.
Checking the oil with every tank of gas is very important because these engines use more oil faster than you think. remember, a lawn mower runs for a hour or a hour & a half, but not for
3 or 4 hours continious, yet these are lawn mower engines. and they usually are down on oil after only 2 hr run time.
a 4000 watt generator will allow you to run 3 or 4 appliances as well as a few lights but you must check the current or wattage ratings of the appliances and add up they amounts & this must be less than the rating of the generator.
a 1000 watt gen will only let you run 1 applaince and maybe/ maybe not , a light bulb as well.
appliances should be hooked direct to the generator with extension cords unelse a generator
disconnect switch is used to prevent the generator from back feeding electricity into the power lines on the street. We dont want to electrocute line men who think that the power lines are dead because you hooked a generator into the circuit breaker box without a power line back feed cut off switch.
the transformer on the street pole steps up the 120 volts from your generator to 3000 to 5000 volts on the downed power lines, so use and extension cord hooked direct to the generator and dont wire into the house fuse box without a feed back disconnect switch.
