Posted on 01/03/2022 8:00:39 AM PST by rktman
<>Recurrent reliability problems: EV drivers face recurring problems at chargers such as breakdowns, software bugs, delays in syncing the mobile application with the charger, charger output being significantly lower than advertised, and outright failures.<>
<>This is in addition to the problem of vehicles blocking (or “icing”) EV charging spots.<>
<>Online forums are full of comments from drivers expressing frustration about these problems. Moreover, our first-hand experience confirms the existence of these problems.<>
“Han never said he could reach light speed.”
How wrong you are my good sir!
“She’ll make point five, past light speed. She may not look like much, but she’s got it where in counts, kid.”
Said Han Solo to Luke and Ben when they first laid eyes on the Millennium Falcon, in docking bay 94, Mos Eisley Space Port, Tatooine.
Also Han Solo
“Go strap yourselves in, I’m gonna make the jump to light speed.”
Said to Luke and Ben in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon when fleeing from Imperial Star Destroyer above Tatooine.
Although people who sell generators push this myth all of the time... a 5000 watt generator is perfectly adequate for a typical household. But go to my second to last paragraph if this seems to contradict what you believe, because it might not.
I speak not from theory but from 30 years of experience and living in an area where the power goes out frequently. We had a larger generator, all it did for us was use a great deal more fuel.
If your load is lopsided even a 7500 watt generator can perform poorly. We can have 2 large wattage loads running at the same time and often do, but you are pushing your luck with a 5000 watt generator if you exceed 2500 watts on one side of your 240v circuit especially if they have high starting loads such as an air compressor.
That said the situation can be similar to when you buy an $18 1/2” impact wrench at Harbor Freight and need to remove lug nuts from wheels that have not been off your 3/4 ton pickup for the last couple of years. It might not be a happy day. The 5000 watt generator that we have been using for the last 30 years was an industrial quality item with an engine rated for industrial use.
If you buy a cheap Chinese generator with a Chinese Honda clone engine it may or may not put out the amount of power that it is rated for. The Chinese are known to exaggerate just about all of their specs. On the plus side Chinese Honda clone engines are typically quieter and more fuel efficient than a similarly sized Briggs & Stratton. But you might need to get the 7500 watt size to actually get 5000 watts of continuous problem free power generation.
I use two multifunction watt meters with built in memory to monitor our output and trouble shoot whatever difficulties that we occasionally have. Without metering you really have no idea what is going on with your generator. You need two to monitor both sides. They are $20 a piece on Amazon and other places. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JB9B2QL/
Question……
If you go to generator power, can you run your entire household, washer-dryer-stove-microwave-hvac-anything else, at the same time as you do when you’re home is on the power grid?
“nuclear, wind, solar. Only the last 3 are carbon free”
Wind and solar are far from carbon free. Their manufacturing is carbon intensive.
As far as the economics currently our natural gas costs slightly more than a dollar a therm. A gallon of gas contains 20% more energy than a therm but because natural gas burns more efficiently in our generator we use about the same number of therms as we do gallons of gas. We typically use 8 to 10 therms of natural gas or 8 to 10 gallons of gasoline per day. We pay about 10 cents per kwh so our electricity normally costs us $4 or $5 a day depending largely on the time of the year. When we are running the generator on natural gas our electricity comes to $8 to $10 a day. If we were running the generator on gasoline at the current $3.70 a gallon that would come to $30 to $37 a day.
The only “disadvantage” to natural gas in our case is that it limits our peak load just a bit so if that if we do put just a little too much load on one side of the circuit the generator starts bogging down and things start browning out. If we put too much load on one side of the generator when it is running on gasoline it will usually trip a breaker on the generator before it bogs down.
This is actually more convenient than running outside to reset the breaker on the generator. So for example... if my wife turns on her hair dryer and things start getting wonky she knows to plug it into a different outlet. And the house doesn't go black and yours truly does not have to run outside and reset the breaker on the generator.
We typically end up using the generator several times a year, usually for just a day or two and sometimes for just a few hours. It is a little noisy, but does not keep me awake. Some of our neighbors have systems with electric starters and automatic transfer switches that turn on automatically when the power goes out and back off when the power comes back on.
All of our neighbors have generators. Some of them have really large ones and had to pay a lot of $$$ to get a larger natural gas line to their house. Ours is small enough that the line we already had was perfectly adequate. They complain about how much fuel their generators use but if it wasn't for the noise, they wouldn't even know the power was out.
Of course the most fuel efficient generators are those with an inverter built in but they cost more and add a layer of complexity. But looking it up for my response to you I found that Harbor Freight now has a descent sized inverter generator for a reasonable price. I have to admit that this one is very tempting to me and might be helpful to people who want to run a heat pump or electric oven in addition to their normal load.
To convert ours I bought a regulator, some hose and fittings and printed a bolt on venturi of my own design on our 3D printer for the carburetor on our generator and use a motorcycle air filter on that. But I am not sure that it was worth the extra effort to save a few bucks.
You’re obviously incapable of answering a simple, Yes or No, question, so....whatever
OK, Yes, running on a generator causes very little disruption to our life or routine. I apologize, I did not realize this was an argument. I mistakenly assumed that you wanted information and were not trying to make some kind of inane point.
But, if you want to have the exact same capabilities as the power line coming into your house from a 20kw transformer, then you should buy a 20kw diesel generator set. At $3.75 a gallon your fuel consumption rate and expense will cost you ten times as much as natural gas, but hey you obviously have money to burn.
Egg-sactly......My original question was about the F150 Lightening. If it could it could power a house, as shown in the commercial and, if so, how long?
Easy Peasy....sorry that was so difficult for you.
But, once again, you fail to answer my simple question...no worries.
Look at post #72... If you want the same exact capabilities as the 20kw transformer sitting on top of the pole in front of your house, then buy a 20kw diesel generator set. Is that good enough for you? And I told you that the F150 lightning could likely power your house with the same limitations as a portable generator for about a day maybe a little more depending on your usage pattern. If you want a simple yes/no answer to a fairly complicated situation it indicates only that you are an ignorant newbie.
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