| BUFF5200 2005-05-29, 8:54 am |
| With respect, unless you have critical medical or electrical
needs, an automatic transfer switch is a waste of money for
a home backup electrical system.
Get a manual transfer switch for $100 + install.
If you have small critical electrical loads (clocks,
computers, ect) build a heavy duty UPS from Marine battery
charger, bank of industrial wet cells, and inverter. For
less than $500 (with a little scrounging)
you can build a UPS that will hold Kilowatt
loads for 24+ hours. With 1 truck size battery, I have
a UPS that supplies 1 Kw for 3 hours.
Steve & Susan wrote:
> I live in an urbanizing area of Missouri. For the first 30 or so years
> of my life, I grew up and lived around New York City, so I'm
> comfortable with a certain standard of service. I can remember only
> two significant losses of power in the old neighborhood.
>
> Things are not as good out here. We have a power failure at least once
> a week long enough for the UPSs to drain out on the computers. I hate
> running around the house resetting clocks and went to mostly battery
> operated ones except for the appliances that have internal clocks and
> timers. We also have several per year that happen during storms that
> last for several hours and one averaging out to about once in two
> years or so where power is out for at least a day. During this time,
> aside from electricity, there is no heat (furnace is propane, but the
> blowers are electric) and there is no water (water is from a pumped
> well, not from a public utility). During those times, it's like we're
> Y2K survivors.
>
> There was a time when I was considering investing in a propane fired
> Onan or Baldor slab-mounted generator with an automatic transfer
> switch to run the house. I presently have the same type of setup as
> Ken, a small gas powered Onan in the garage. I've used it to run the
> refrigerator and TV as well.
>
> If I were to buy a new home (or maybe I should say, If I could afford
> to buy a new home), I would probably add $10,000 and outfit the
> electrical system with an automatic transfer switch and generator.
>
> It would be nice having electricity when everywhere else is dark.
>
> Steve
>
> On Sat, 21 May 2005 11:48:49 -0400, poboxdc@ix.netcom.com wrote:
>
>
>
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