I have been watching this couple build their home, and they have new videos almost every day. They are building a timber frame home with SIPS, etc., and they are trying to get into the house for the winter, and out of their RV. They still have lots to do, but should be able to at least live in the house this winter, although not completely plumbed and with electricity. They have a little of it done, with a bathroom in the basement garage, and enough electricity to hook up some lights, stove, refrigerator, etc.
In today's long video (32 + minutes), he is talking about power--electrical, solar, propane, wood, and how much it has cost them to run their generator, their propane stove, etc. versus using electricity during their interim living mode.
I have read some of the comments. I am no pro, so I don't know the mistakes. I do know others do and tell them.I watched their "progress" until I couldn't take him any longer. He acts like he is all knowledgeable but keeps screwing up. The few times his wife suggested a better way he verbally slaps her down. Did you see the one about erecting the foam blocks for the foundation? He had a laser level, bragged how it would help them and did not used it on his foundation walls. Then they trimmed the top off the foam wrong and then visually guessed when they poured the concrete.
Or the time he ignore the professionally drawn blueprints because he knew of a better way...and screwed up?
Dug the water lines from the hill to the house put didn't put the water lines in. Next spring the trench had caved in and his wife was digging the trench out by hand. And he didn't use the fitting recommend and has to go back and dig up the water lines again.
The two water tanks he has above on the hill. He didn't install them on a firm foundation. The tank are connected under ground by a PVC pipe. When the tanks sift the pipe will break.
He/she hauls water from town. Generator powers the pump they use to pump the water up hill to the storage tanks, then the water flows down hill when they need it. He didn't have any problems driving his backhoe up the hill to install the underground water tanks. Why doesn't her drive his truck up the hill and gravity fill the tanks?
Backhoe has an electrical short which kills the battery. All he has to do his find the short or disconnect the battery after use or put in a battery disconnect switch. Nope, he jumps it every time.
Excellent free advise from Poster, he ignores and freely admits he doesn't read them.
The important part that I forgot to post was that their electrical panel is generator ready. That is after 15 minutes in.
I have an electrician friend that made his own transfer switch on his main panel, he made a flat metal slide plate on the dead front of the panel that only allows the generator breakers or grid power breakers to be turned on separately, actually quiet ingenious, low cost and safe. Transfer switches can cost almost as much as the generator but I have another friend that is a generator expert and salvages the electrical equipment from wood mills that have shut down and he sold me a transfer switch for $100, I have it in our solar power system shed and will be installing an outside inlet box for plugging a generator into that connects to the transfer switch. It's not automatic but it does the job. My friend told me that he could get about $300 for that used transfer switch, anyway I'm grateful that he gave me a break on the price, he also helped me get wire and wire terminals for connecting the batteries, panels and the inverter/charger. Generally the terminals go for well over a dollar a piece and wire in the gauge I needed is really expensive, however since most of the wire was salvaged wire he gave me a decent break.Yea, have someone check out that second panel. You'll want to make sure it's a "transfer switch", not a sub-panel or panel related to a demand meter.
We have a 200 amp automatic transfer switch for our Kohler generator.Yea, have someone check out that second panel. You'll want to make sure it's a "transfer switch", not a sub-panel or panel related to a demand meter.
...That is when I discovered a downside to having an auto connect genset!... cycle their outside flood lights would come on for three minutes lighting up the area not to mention the noise....
Could have been getting short bursts of grid power, even low voltage bursts. ????I don't understand what was causing the neighbor's generator to cycle on and off?
Could have been getting short bursts of grid power, even low voltage bursts. ????
I was just throwing out a possibility. Otherwise nothing I can think of makes any sense.Automatic generators I'm familiar with have an adjustable timer. Power has to out x minutes before the generator starts and utility power has to be restored x minutes before generator shuts down. At work we had generators set at 1 minute to start and 30 minutes to shutdown.
I had a good backup system (non-generator) that we sold in the house in Alabama. Used it for over 10 years.Automatic generators I'm familiar with have an adjustable timer. Power has to out x minutes before the generator starts and utility power has to be restored x minutes before generator shuts down. At work we had generators set at 1 minute to start and 30 minutes to shutdown.
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