I lived in Pensacola for 16 years. Went through 3 major hurricanes. Did not even keep track of the others. Swore to never EVER live on the gulf coast again. Problem with generators is you need gas. Stock it up in cans big time ahead of major storms because power will be out everywhere, including gas stations. So no gas. They will reopen some strategically after 2 or 3 days but the lines will be 6 hours long and they only allow 3 cans per car. And that's just a small part of dealing with this crap. 10 days without power in your home for a major would be correct. Hopefully you will be luckier than us.
I wasn’t sure where to classify this…
So this isn’t specifically audio focused, but people here understand things like
power management, THD and so on.
I moved from So-Cal where all I had to worry about was having a UPS for a 30 second or less power outage. Now I live in So-Alabama where hurricanes could potentially take power out for up to 2 weeks!
in said situation, whole house backup generators are extremely
pricey! I have a regular construction generator I want to use as an emergency backup, as well as a battery backup UPS on my computer.
this is a non-inverter generator, so it’s dirty power. lol my
UPS protect my computer etc, and regulate the large THD issues, or do I need something to help adapt? Since this is for backup, and I don’t plan to run my high end theater equipment on it, it’s merely asking advise on equipment that would help me not fry my computer in a 5-10 day power outage with dirty power. Is the UPC enough? Do I need more?
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@baylinor my generator is dual fuel and will run off propane. I have 5 propane tanks full atm, which would get me through a few days, and to my understanding, propane is easier to get after a storm than gas. @thecarpathian my generator is dual fuel. @barjohn of course I’d have a service disconnect. Would never want to be responsible for injuring a lineman! That said, I’m very capable of installing it myself :). I’ve replaced commercial panels myself and wired up 90% of those 200 amp 3 phase panels while hot. I know my way around electricity :) |
A few years back, we lost power in a small village in NY less than an hour fron NYC. My parents home was out for 11 Days. My brother set up his diesel arc welder that had a 50A 120/240V output to power the main house, garage, and tenants house. It ran fine, except needing to shut down for 100 hour maintenance including oil changes. Your generator sounds plenty big enough for your needs. The power is "dirty" because the frequency isn't stable. This won't make a difference to switch mode power supplies. But, get UPS units that will run on, and clean up, the dirty generator power so you can keep them on-line and get the batteries charged right away. You can put your entertainment system on an appropriate sized UPS to run that as well. My system has 2 x ARC D200, a Parasound A21 and a Kenwood M1 as the major power users. I figure a single 3KVA or 3 x 1500VA would suffice to power the entire system. |
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