Help & guidance sought

Guys,
I read a detailed loaned article this week about the problems the UK is about to face in power failures during the cold season and into 2016 due to a number of coal fired power stations being closed prematurely, leaving the national gird very vulnerable.
My question is to my fellow site friends over the pond and especially California where TESLA are based. Has anybody got a TESLA rechargeable solar battery back up system already they can rate for me.
It is not available in the UK until next year I have been reliably informed so I am seriously toying with either having a generator fitted to take over such things as the electrical initiator for the oil burner which it needs initially to start up, (as we have no gas where we are) we do however have a coal fire but no back boiler, so I was sure someone on here would have already been down this road, especially if they live off the beaten track!!

Video: Tesla announces renewable energy batteries for the home - Telegraph

I can't speak on the battery but with a generator, there are a few options. If the power outages are going to be short, a small generator would be enough to run the furnace, a couple of light/TV and the refrigerator. If they will be longer or more frequent a larger system would be better that you can switch on for most of or all of the house. If you want to get really fancy, there are full house generators that will automatically start when the power goes out. Noise might be a consideration with all types along with the exhaust issues. Solar might be another option to consider.

Thanks for that info. You are right, but whichever way we turn here in the UK, especially when it means adding a piece of kit that is going to kick in when existing electricity supplies fail or when they detect a drop in voltage, we need to have the Electricity company out to fit an interface, so on that basis I didn't want to do that twice, once now for a generator and later next year for the Tesla system, if you understand where I am coming from!!?

California didn’t want nukes or other polluting power plants. Now they buy electricity from Mexico to meet peak demand and it’s not always reliable. So you see why there’s a market for Tesla’s product in California.

We get hurricanes and tropical storms that take the power out for days. When that happens we have a small generator that runs the essentials. We also have a gasifier just in case the fuel runs out. The new single phase 220 volt generator cost $350. I made the gasifier from scrap tanks I got from the welding supply for $20 each.

The essentials have their own circuit breaker box. There is a big manual switch that is used to separate it from the main box where the power comes in. We call it the Frankenstein switch. If the power goes out I throw the switch and start the generator. It’s more trouble than having an automatic system, but the whole setup cost under $1,000. And our power is very reliable here. I haven’t used it for years. So I can’t see spending a lot of money for something I only use very rarely.

BTW. When there’s a large scale power outage criminals often take advantage it. They know the phones, alarms and surveillance systems are not working. We had a couple of them try it after the last big storm.

Gil, given the UK weather, i.e. cloud cover and hours of sunlight in winter, etc., going solar might not be your best choice. I would recommend a petrol powered generator.

I once worked for months in a location in which all our power came a small generator. It served us well. Admittedly, that was a remote location and long before the proliferation of personal electronics.

Thanks for the advice guys.
I might hangon till TESLA comes in next year, as it is a series of leisure style batteries with massive capacity topped up by a solar panel when not in use, seems just what I need in my personal circumstances, when there is no alternative power source like gas.;)

Why don't you try a wind mill generator to charge a battery that can run the initiator, a radio and even some lights. A small one (400W or 600W) is enough for what you want.

Same meat, different gravy......... I have a small 2 stroke generator that is a bit of a pig to start (on the cord-pull starter) UNLESS I drain the tank down and start it on normal leaded petrol and let it run for 10 mts or so and then add the 2 stroke oil while it's running. Then next time, start the same palava again....., drain down, start and then add 2 stroke and so on and on and on...... The Q is how long can I let it run without the 2 stroke oil before it causes some damage. Thanks chaps

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

The Q is how long can I let it run without the 2 stroke oil before it causes some damage.

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Well Peter, if there’s no lubricant on the cylinder wall damage starts after a few strokes. Think sex with women who have passed certain age.

Thanks for the laugh.

:thup:

Peter 2 stroke fuel goes stale after a period of time also what you need to do is each time you stop the generator turn the fuel off first and let the motor run the carby dry as when the fuel evaporates it leaves this gunge from the mix that can block the jets of the carby also 30% of an engines wear will happen in the first few moments with a dry bore so starving it of the lubricant is not a good practice. The stuff with the 2 stroke I know because I had a 250cc 2-stroke Honda Elsinore and had let it sit for ages after a full day of trying kick start it, to bump start it, stripping the carby down looking at the jets, cleaning the air filter pushing it up and down a hill (Steep) I read in the manual about stale 2 stroke fuel. Changed the fuel to a fresh mix hey presto first kick that's how I learnt about stale 2 stroke mixes. Also if you do get a little condensation in the tank tip a bit (small ok) of metho into tank metho helps destruct the water make up helping it mix with the fuel I had to do this with a V 8 falcon panel van I had got a crap tank from the 44 gal drum I was using on the farm so I put a liter of it in a full tank car ran a tad rough but cleared after a while. Just my 5c worth

UNPROFOR1994,
Phew, thats a handle and a half and know where it originated, but I bet your names Jim too:lol:
Wind turbines are a no no here in the UK even small ones because you need planning permission. If you are not in a farm yard or a remote location you have no chance. Everybody seems to be opposed to them no matter what size. Where I live its always windy and would make infinite sense, but those who would allow it, do not have any!!

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Originally Posted by Gil Boyd

Wind turbines

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Here there are bylaws controlling them, the size would be just under the smallest size available. You'd have to completely re-engineer the impeller...or it's prohibited.

Thanks for the info on teh 2stroke all. It is probably gummed up carb I suspect as detailed by Cinders. Will take on board about the dry cylinder walls but I do try to lube with jelly of course!!!!!!!

My brother owns an old Bedford QL lorry and keeps the battery fully charged by using a spare MGB generator on his garage roof that has a cooling fan blade attached to the armature in place of the pulley wheel. The generator is now wind powered and whenever the wind blows, it's slowly keeping the battery trickle charged. No my idea of sound economics but.......

There is a tubular type of wind turbine blade mounted vertically that looks a bit less obtrusive/awful than the standard things

Funny thing is people become HAM operators and have aerials sticking out everywhere and TV antennae but as soon as someone tries to better their life and be comfortable in a time of a crisis (power outages) every seagull cries foul play????
The question is why is that........!

Have you considered portable solar panels (the sort most camping/4WD stores sell or can source) for powering things like mobile phones, laptops, and other smaller appliances?

I appreciate that's not going to keep you warm in the depths of an English winter, but at least you'll still be able to complain about how cold you are together with your friends on social media :p

As someone mentioned earlier, I'm not sure the sun is out enough in the UK to make a house-mounted system worthwhile (they're very popular here in Australia, though, for obvious reasons).

Perhaps have a look at a camping or 4WD store to see what sort of heating options they have? Otherwise, I'd suggest a petrol generator; they're not outrageously expensive and generate quite a bit of power, I'm told.

I have a 6.5kW portable diesel generator. If the power goes out, I wheel it out of the garage and hook it up to a socket on the outside of the house that feeds, via an isolation switch, directly into my breaker board. It can run the whole house (apart from the AC) as if the mains power was still on. I watch for my neighbours' lights coming back on so I know when to switch it off and throw the isolation switch back over to the grid.

Wish it was that simple here in the UK. Health & Safety stop us doing that easy to remedy trick here, unless you live in the boonies!!

The best bet for most is a inexpensive generator and from reading countless posts on longevity you really don't have to spend the big money and buy something like a Honda. Apparently the key is to change the oil very frequently for the first few hours you run it. IIRC the first oil change should be after a couple hours running or less and then do it two more times in the next 4 to 6 hours of use. There are people who have done this and have used the same inexpensive generator over 10 years with no issues. From what I read it appears that lower priced generators do not have the care taken during manufacturing particularly in remove every tiny bit of loose metal from the manufacturing process. Changing oil very frequently is the trick to getting all the tiny bits removed before they do damage?

The wiring to use it has to be done properly and where I live any electrical contractor is allowed to do the work.