Wow, quite a setup, especially at TSE.

I'm considering getting a permanent standby generator installed at my 
house, probably 10 or 12k.  Any recommendations?  Will be running off 
natural gas.  Need to be able to run central AC and heating, stove, 
FIOS and alarm system.  Also want to run the TV and fridge.--Matt, N1IBB

At 01:34 PM 11/14/2012, you wrote:
>All,
>Sorry about the delay answering.  I'll try to reply to all the questions in
>one message.
>
>First, my generator is a 4KW model, a Sportsman GEN4000LP.  It was available
>in a Labor Day Home Depot sale, internet only.  UPS delivered it right to my
>door.
>
>Second, a 20 pound propane tank will run it for about 10 hours.  As I ran
>mine for about 8 hours a day, I got a little over a day from each tank.  I
>have several tanks.
>
>Yes, it has to be located outside and you have to run extension cords into
>the house through the door or window.  I ran it on the patio outside my
>kitchen door.
>
>As was pointed out in other messages, 4KW will not run the whole house.  I
>ran the heat and sump pumps as the priority but did turn them off and then
>run the refrigerator too.  I have FIOS telephone/internet service and that
>fiber service requires power at home.  The home fiber interface box has a
>jell cell battery for short power outages but that only lasts 6 or 8 hours.
>So, the generator also powered the phone/internet and my Wi-Fi router.  One
>of the advantages of being blind with a blind XYL is that you don't need to
>expend Watts on lighting and can allocate the whole power budget to heat,
>refrigeration, and communications.  We used a battery lantern to give our
>dogs some light when needed.
>
>As for here at The Seeing Eye, we have three large diesel generators, two
>for the main campus and one for the breeding station.  These are really
>large, 12 cylinder machines and they can power everything on the two
>campuses.  We did have some uncertainty about fuel delivery but worked
>through that.  We scheduled intentional blackouts at the breeding station to
>conserve fuel and two litters were born on consecutive nights by flashlights
>while we had the generator powered off.
>
>The current class of students continued training with their new dogs without
>interruption except for the actual day of the storm.  They all completed
>training and are going home on schedule.
>
>73,
>Jim, KY2D
>