Re: Whole house generators (slightly OT)

["BruceR" <razrbruce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

All good points, thanks.  I'm looking at the Generac series which has
the auto start, auto transfer and auto exercise. I like that they have
an aluminum housing rather than steel as steel rusts so quickly in
Hawaii. While aluminum corrodes too, it lasts far longer particularly
when wiped down with ACS.
 I plan to locate the unit behind the garage on an existing concrete
sidewalk so exhaust and noise should be OK. I already have a 1" gas line
running there and there's room for an LG tank too. The electric meter is
just around the corner on the garage sidewall so that's convenient for
hookup. Generac claims their unit is no louder than an idling car. To
the extent that the noise may be objectionable, I hope to win over the
neighbors by offering them reefer space for their perishables, hot
showers and a repite from the heat thereby giving them a vested interest
in having it running.

 Robert L Bass wrote:
>> Robert, Thank you VERY much. I'm actually the guy from both Hawaii
>> and Texas. The Hawaii home is where I need the big generator for an
>> 8500sf home.  The strip will be used to reboot things in TX from HI.
>
> Ah, pardon the confusion.  For that Hawaiian *hotel* perhaps you
> really do need a big genset.  Whatever you do, be sure to use
> auto-start, auto-transfer.  Otherwise, if you're on the mainland and
> a problem happens your freezers will thaw -- not so good.
> The big sets are mostly enclosed in very quiet housings so it may not
> be necessary to build a home for it.  If you decide to make it part
> of the house, be sure to implement a negative pressure exhaust for
> the compartment.  It is also essential that the muffler be located
> far from any possible return air leaks.  I built a 22-foot chimney
> around the muffler of my Winco because (1) the thing was really loud
> and (2) I wanted to be certain the fumes couldn't drift back into the
> house.  CO is nasty stuff.  I also installed Macurco CO detectors in
> each room abutting the area where the genset was.