Ira Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 We had a power outage yesterday, lasted about an hour and a half, power company said it would probably be 4-6 hours before the power comes back. I gave it an hour and then I decided to set up the generator, got all the tanks plugged into the generator and it up and running. Took me half an hour to do that...So as anyone that's good at math can see the power came on about exactly as I got everything running. Strangely the generator, just a little gmc one from bunnings, dies if I have all the tanks plugged into it even though they're under the 550 watt continuous rating. I might have needed to let it warm up a bit more first though. Not a big deal if I need to let it warm up for more than a minute or two before plugging everything into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossco Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 If you want to hear the motor struggle try plugging a kettle in..! :oops: Gotta keep the caffeine levels up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneo Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 At the mo' they are undergrounding our power, and they reckon in about 3 weeks we'll have no power for a day ( 8-9 hours I guess ) so got to borrow inlaws gene in advance. Chimera & Mike you should check and make sure it doesnt affect you guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 Last week after the big storm the power went out at the Qroom for about 5 hrs luckily I had my little bunning genny in the car so that powered the main pumps while i went home to get the Big Gennny, course I just got it going & the power came on!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 At the mo' they are undergrounding our power, and they reckon in about 3 weeks we'll have no power for a day ( 8-9 hours I guess ) so got to borrow inlaws gene in advance. Chimera & Mike you should check and make sure it doesnt affect you guys! cheers shane, but have had power off here for about 12 hours about a year ago and tank temp only dropped about 2 degrees. going to get battery powered powerhead to come on if power goes off anyway, purely to oxygenate the water should it happen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 Yeah, it's not temp I'm worried about, I forgot to plug my tank's heater back in after I did a water change yesterday. It took from about 7pm-6am for the temp to drop from about 26.5 to 24 where the low temp alarm goes off. Circulation and aeration is what I want it for. So I hope to run the FW tanks cannister filters and the marine's return pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostface Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 those little bunnings GMC generators seem to have quite an erratic power output - does anyone use a power conditioner with their generator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 I tried a UPS on one of them and it wouldnt have anything to do with it, just kept flashing AC fault. Whatever you do use as many surge protectors as you can lay your hands on. A mate has had 2 go braindead and rev up and blow things plugged into it up (one case was a set of party lights, the other was a junk tv set) - They take them back without asking anything so I guess its something they expect. If all you care about is filters and powerheads then perhaps an inverter and just leave the car idling to stop it running flat is a better option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 A 300 watt inverter is way more than the cost of the generator. And an idling car's alternator won't put out enough amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostface Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 I do like the idea of a 300bhp twin turbo generator though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 Ive been pulling 250 watts on an inverter at idle and the alternator was still holding it at over 13 volts, so it wasnt discharging the battery. Dunno about the cost thing but it works fine here for power cuts, plus I dont have to worry about fuel going stale or even worse, the damn think not starting when needed like the infrequanlty used lawnmower does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 So far we've had power cuts every day since friday. this tuesday it was another hour long one. The others were just little blips of a few seconds. This is getting Swearing Removed (Bill .. Mod) ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 Have you discussed a credit for the line charges with your energy supplier yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubbles Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Make sure you push them hard for credit. I suffered a 4 day power cut earlier in the year, and even then they put up a real struggle. Got there in the end though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Today it was from 12:30-1:20. Called them up and asked why, "No idea." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Not all power outages are there fault, we had a case at a mates bach where the power was going out for hours at a time, turns out some asshat kids were flipping the big switches on the power poles that are used to isolate whole suburbs. Problem stopped after school holidays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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