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Recommend a diesel generator.

broadgage

About 20 KVA, for domestic and home business standby use.  New preferred, but good, low hours used considered.

Weatherproof enclosure not needed as to be installed in a purpose built brick outbuilding.

Push button electric start required, not auto start.

Reliability, and user serviceable at least for minor services, are the most important features.

Parents
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    This is not my generator, but that of a neighbour. I did the electrical part of the installation and they did the building work themselves.

    They have several thousand liters of red diesel stored for heating mainly. Except in an emergency, part full tanks are never “topped up” One tank is used until nearly empty, and then the supply is taken from one of the other tanks. The near empty tank is then filled from a road tanker. After filling and standing for a few days, a liter or two is drawn off from the sump to remove any water or sediment.

    Reliability is paramount. Spare parts are stored on site, and I have duplicated the starter battery. The battery in service is kept charged by the charger built in to the control panel. The spare starter battery is kept charged by a solar panel. This protects against charger failure.

    Each battery is of twice the recommended capacity, they are of different brands as protection against manufacturing defect. The batteries are NOT mounted on the frame of the machine as I suspect that engine vibration may shorten the life.

    Room lighting is duplicated, one circuit from mains and the other one direct from the generator. Each circuit consists of 6 B22 lamp holders, mixed incandescent and LED lamps.

    Emergency lighting is four 12 volt 5 watt LED bulbs, supplied from the starter battery and controlled by a Columbus time lag switch to avoid needless battery discharge.

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  • 0

    This is not my generator, but that of a neighbour. I did the electrical part of the installation and they did the building work themselves.

    They have several thousand liters of red diesel stored for heating mainly. Except in an emergency, part full tanks are never “topped up” One tank is used until nearly empty, and then the supply is taken from one of the other tanks. The near empty tank is then filled from a road tanker. After filling and standing for a few days, a liter or two is drawn off from the sump to remove any water or sediment.

    Reliability is paramount. Spare parts are stored on site, and I have duplicated the starter battery. The battery in service is kept charged by the charger built in to the control panel. The spare starter battery is kept charged by a solar panel. This protects against charger failure.

    Each battery is of twice the recommended capacity, they are of different brands as protection against manufacturing defect. The batteries are NOT mounted on the frame of the machine as I suspect that engine vibration may shorten the life.

    Room lighting is duplicated, one circuit from mains and the other one direct from the generator. Each circuit consists of 6 B22 lamp holders, mixed incandescent and LED lamps.

    Emergency lighting is four 12 volt 5 watt LED bulbs, supplied from the starter battery and controlled by a Columbus time lag switch to avoid needless battery discharge.

Children
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