Fwd: Backup power supply

On 15/03/2024 10:51, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
 >>     Make that 5 minutes * 500W/5W or 500 minutes which is indeed a
 >> long time but a lot shorter than the 150 hours you were expecting.
On 3/15/2024 6:43 AM, druck wrote:
 > If you want 150 hours, you need to be looking at a backup generator,
 > so your UPS only needs to last as long as it takes for your generator
 > to fire up.
 >
 > That's usually a couple of minutes for professional diesel ones, but
 > as its home setup it might take you a few minutes to connect it up and
 > pull the starter cord on a cheap petrol one.
 >
 > It might then take a few more minutes to drain the tank of the sludge
 > that used to be fuel last time you used it, and to run to the garage
 > to get some fresh petrol.
 >
 > It might take a few more minutes if your spark plugs have been fouled
 > as you didn't clean it after use, and your air filter has a hundred
 > different types of bugs living it.
 >
 > So make sure the UPS lasts an hour or 2.
 >
 > Oh and once you've managed to get it going, and it's making a
 > tremendous racket, just remember everyone else in the neighbourhood
 > who is without power will be turning to look in your direction...
I read this and feel first-world superiority for having last year installed a 14kW Generac system, powered by our municipal natural gas supply. In case of a power outage, it kicks in within about 10 seconds. When the grid comes back up, it syncs the AC to the grid before pulling the relay to reconnect. And every other Wednesday, it tests itself for 10 minutes, synchronizing before going off-grid as well as before going back on-grid.
In case the muni gas is down, my electrician will come over and install the propane conversion kit. (I don't have a good place to keep propane tanks.)
-- Lars