Generators

[Lickey]

After having 3 powercuts in the last 2 days because of a sprinkling rain?? im thinking about buying a gennerator, Ive seen a 2kw for 6.500bht in Home Pro,{Santo i think } and another 5.5kw in Global House, i think its Yanmar powered for 19,000bht,your views and comments appreciated as always, Is there a secondhand market in or around Udon for a decent gennerator? ideally i would like a Cummins 4b or a Perkins 4540 12kw silent set, or even a Dorman 12SE 1200kw, i could power half the village then!!again, thanks for any advice and help..

[old wanderer]

I lived for 8 years on a ranch with only generator power. If you can find one, something between 7.5 to 12 KW would supply everything you usually need, and have good economy.

Look for a low RPM model....(Mine ran at 1200 RPM, but i needed 60 Hz) Here in Thailand you need 50 HZ so 1500 RPM will work fine on a direct drive. My little 2 cylinder diesel consumed about 2 liters per hour of fuel.

If you have an electrical background, or hire somebody, then you can do an auto start in case of loss of power, but more expensive.

For myself I had to walk out to the shed, and maually start mine when I decided I wanted electricity. Good insulation of the gen building is necessary to keep the quite around the village. (Also bury your fuel tank and have it under the building to prevent pilferage.

I am not a fan of the high RPM gas generators, as reliability is not available.

[Khonwan]

I also previously relied on generators for 8 years - still use one during power outages. I replaced a Honda petrol genie with a Honmar diesel genie several years ago - still going strong. This Honmar gives me two hours per litre. It is 6kVA, 3,000rpm, key-start or rope-pull. Cost me 34,000 baht.

Lickey, the regular outages you are experiencing during rainfall are probably caused by old/weather-damaged insulators on PEA's electric cable supply poles. Our village suffered from this for years but PEA finally replaced all the insulators last year - we rarely suffer outages now.

[chownah]

you might do a search in the real estate forum...there's some info there on generators

[Lickey]

I lived for 8 years on a ranch with only generator power. If you can find one, something between 7.5 to 12 KW would supply everything you usually need, and have good economy.

Look for a low RPM model....(Mine ran at 1200 RPM, but i needed 60 Hz) Here in Thailand you need 50 HZ so 1500 RPM will work fine on a direct drive. My little 2 cylinder diesel consumed about 2 liters per hour of fuel.

If you have an electrical background, or hire somebody, then you can do an auto start in case of loss of power, but more expensive.

For myself I had to walk out to the shed, and maually start mine when I decided I wanted electricity. Good insulation of the gen building is necessary to keep the quite around the village. (Also bury your fuel tank and have it under the building to prevent pilferage.

I am not a fan of the high RPM gas generators, as reliability is not available.

Ow and Knownah,thanks for your replies,was gonna reply earlier today, heard a clap of thunder whilst on farm and decided to get home quick, didnt want to get my 1200Yamaha covered in mud!! got home and the power has been off for 3 hours, good rain for the farm though!! my missus has a beauty sallon and specilizes in weddings ect, 2 here tonight, but what can she do with no power,, lost about 2000bht !!! wish id bought that cheap gennie in home pro yesterday, would have powered lights and a hair dryer i suppose, Like you both, i dont trust high revving petrol engines, my trade is a diesel engineer, and last job in UK was doing stand-by repowers for hospitals,goverment buildings, you name it ect, i was always on the diesel side, battery placement,fuel delivery,tanks and bunding, worked with the elec side a bit so know a little about mains faliure switches ect, OW. i rekon your set in the states was Lister/petter powered LT2? the 2/3/4/6 cyl sets are renowned in UK for there long service and durabillity, wish i could get hold of 1 here, or just an engine and panel and generator, im sure i could build the rest,,and is that you on the bike in your profile? i had a little read, importing a bike will incur 130+tax as i wanted to bring my Kawasaki ZZR1100 here, if you are into road and track racing youve found likewise, perhaps start a post on this?? the transatlantic trophy days of the 70s, some of the best weekends of my life!!

Knownah, dont suppose youve still got that little honda gennie and want to flog it?and yes, ive heard that they are improving the elec system now, but Namsom seems to be the end of the line

[Khonwan]

Knownah, dont suppose youve still got that little honda gennie and want to flog it?and yes, ive heard that they are improving the elec system now, but Namsom seems to be the end of the line

Hi Lickey. The Honda is long dead - in pieces - but I presume you meant my Honmar. Sorry again - it's handy to have in case of emergency and for use out on the land.

Khonwan

[Lickey]

Knownah, dont suppose youve still got that little honda gennie and want to flog it?and yes, ive heard that they are improving the elec system now, but Namsom seems to be the end of the line

Hi Lickey. The Honda is long dead - in pieces - but I presume you meant my Honmar. Sorry again - it's handy to have in case of emergency and for use out on the land.

Khonwan

Khonwan, i apoligise for getting your name wrong, was replying to 2 posts at once, i did mean the Honda gennie, but if its beyond repair, ok, I think a 2kv set would keep the buisness going till our new shop opens, then i will be looking for a 10/12kva set, thanks again, lickey..

[Gary A]

I see those versatile Kubota single cylinder diesels running generators out here in the boonies. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I think those engines come in two sizes. The smaller at ten HP and the larger at fourteen HP. The ten HP should easily give you 5,000 watts of continuous power. I really haven't checked into it but I would guess they are very fuel efficient. The generating units are usually built on a small pull type wagon, The engine is also used for pumping water, the mechanical buffalo as well as generating electricity. We have had two light showers this week and lost power during both. By the time the government finds and fixes all the glitches, it's back to the dry season.

[Lickey]

I see those versatile Kubota single cylinder diesels running generators out here in the boonies. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I think those engines come in two sizes. The smaller at ten HP and the larger at fourteen HP. The ten HP should easily give you 5,000 watts of continuous power. I really haven't checked into it but I would guess they are very fuel efficient. The generating units are usually built on a small pull type wagon, The engine is also used for pumping water, the mechanical buffalo as well as generating electricity. We have had two light showers this week and lost power during both. By the time the government finds and fixes all the glitches, it's back to the dry season.

Gary, thanks for reply, I think the buffalo is one of the most versatile tractors ive ever seen, and im really thinking of buying one for use on the farm, Ive yet to see one with a gen set or a rotavator/tiller attachment, Problem is i dont know how neighbours would react to a single cyl diesel thumping away till 1/2 in the morning, not well i fear,, unless of course i could build a soundproof booth for it, again, no room at present house for this, I have considred solar panels and a ups system, but it all depends when we move to new shop, see what i can budget for, cheers, Lickey..

[Khonwan]

I see those versatile Kubota single cylinder diesels running generators out here in the boonies. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I think those engines come in two sizes. The smaller at ten HP and the larger at fourteen HP. The ten HP should easily give you 5,000 watts of continuous power. I really haven't checked into it but I would guess they are very fuel efficient. The generating units are usually built on a small pull type wagon, The engine is also used for pumping water, the mechanical buffalo as well as generating electricity. We have had two light showers this week and lost power during both. By the time the government finds and fixes all the glitches, it's back to the dry season.

Gary, thanks for reply, I think the buffalo is one of the most versatile tractors ive ever seen, and im really thinking of buying one for use on the farm, Ive yet to see one with a gen set or a rotavator/tiller attachment, Problem is i dont know how neighbours would react to a single cyl diesel thumping away till 1/2 in the morning, not well i fear,, unless of course i could build a soundproof booth for it, again, no room at present house for this, I have considred solar panels and a ups system, but it all depends when we move to new shop, see what i can budget for, cheers, Lickey..

I've used my Kubota to generate electricity many times in the past (when our normal genie required repairs). There's a good range of dynamos to choose from that you can quickly attach to the tractor-unit. I also had an inverter dynamo that could be used to generate 220V or used for welding (directly, without the need for a separate welding unit). They are noisy but great for standby. This would be an excellent choice for you if you can put your Kubota to other good uses too. Use of small dynamos helps to keep the revs down and hence the noise also. The Kubotas come in a range of HP engines from under 10 to 14; mine is 11HP.

[ozzydom]

I used to use multiple Kuboto 10 hp units to drive pumps,alternators and refridge compressors on my 17.5 metre fishing boat,they did a great job, you can quieten them right down by running the exhaust thru a water container,add a bit of detergent and you have an exhaust scrubber.

[Francis Maube]

Depending on how much you plan to use the generator you'll have the choice of petrole or diesel. The former are a lot cheaper than the later. Small Honda producing about 3 to 4 KVA are cheap and easy to maintain.

For a serious low REV diesel engine I would definitively recommend Onan although I am not sure of the availability and price in LOS but I suspect there are not cheap. Mine produce 6.5KVA for about 3 liters of diesel per hour, its 15 years old and has not been maintained well in the past.

A good alternative in LOS is Kubota, strong engine burning little diesel.

[Lickey]

Depending on how much you plan to use the generator you'll have the choice of petrole or diesel. The former are a lot cheaper than the later. Small Honda producing about 3 to 4 KVA are cheap and easy to maintain.

For a serious low REV diesel engine I would definitively recommend Onan although I am not sure of the availability and price in LOS but I suspect there are not cheap. Mine produce 6.5KVA for about 3 liters of diesel per hour, its 15 years old and has not been maintained well in the past.

A good alternative in LOS is Kubota, strong engine burning little diesel.

Khonwan,Francis,Ozzy, Thankyou all for the information!! i really think im gonna get a Kubota, allready got a 2inch water pump to fit on it, it will also drive sawmill ect, will have to buy generator and specially inverter, for electric welding, bring back from farm, [1km] in case of power cut, get extended flexy exhaust pipe {Ozzy} put it one of them aums? {big clay pot full of water} to quieten it and hopefully keep the neighbours quiet too!! the other thing i need is a rotavator/tiller attachment for it, do any of you gentlemen know where i could view/buy one please, thanks again, Lickey,

[chownah]

Kubota makes a model which is a rototiller. If you don't think you will plow much but want to rototill everything then you should consider getting this one....I've never seen one in action...they're not very popular in Thailand since small farmers generally plow, disk, and harrow. You can convert any model back and forth between the two modes but it looks like it would be alot more difficult than just a simple change of attachments although I've never specifically asked about how difficult it is too do....anyway go find a big Kubota dealer and I'm sure they can fill you in on all the details.

Chownah

[Pink Mist]

My company could provide you with a remote start arrangement (starts when the power fails) or even a complete unit, the only problem is we are in Adelaide and we dont do anything much smaller than 30 kVa.

We also manufacture and sell a range of volage regulators, that can be fitted to any gen set in existence.

[Somtham]

I used to use multiple Kuboto 10 hp units to drive pumps,alternators and refridge compressors on my 17.5 metre fishing boat,they did a great job, you can quieten them right down by running the exhaust thru a water container,add a bit of detergent and you have an exhaust scrubber.

I like the sound, or lack thereof, running the exhaust through water. So some questions.

Should the water container be below, even, above the exhaust or doesn't it matter?

How big of a water container should be used?

How far down into the water should the exhaust pipe run?

Any backpressure issues that might ruin the Kubota if not done correctly?

thanks

[Maizefarmer]

Lickey - how many kilowatts do you need and whats yours your budget - could probably source a 2nd hand one for you at about 1/2 new price.

MF

[ozzydom]

I used to use multiple Kuboto 10 hp units to drive pumps,alternators and refridge compressors on my 17.5 metre fishing boat,they did a great job, you can quieten them right down by running the exhaust thru a water container,add a bit of detergent and you have an exhaust scrubber.

I like the sound, or lack thereof, running the exhaust through water. So some questions.

Should the water container be below, even, above the exhaust or doesn't it matter?

How big of a water container should be used?

How far down into the water should the exhaust pipe run?

Any backpressure issues that might ruin the Kubota if not done correctly?

thanks

The simple way is to get an exhaust shop to bend you a 180 degree x about 12"radius section of exhaust tubing,I think the small Kubota is about 11/4" outlet on top of the muffler. Take off the chrome muffler tip and fit the pipe on with an exhaust clamp, it will then be facing down. Probably a plastic drum of about 20 gallon capacity would suffice,the exhaust only has to go a few inches into the water, you lose a small amount of HP naturally, but I have used this on petrol motors as well with no apparent loss of performance.

You should end up with a sound like a V8 idling instead of the diesel bark.If you have ever driven a diesel through a creek you will know the effect.

Iwould put the water container on the ground as you could get a vacuum backflow on shutdown if it is above.

Running a generator at reasonably high revs you shouldnt have any problems,Kubota have a habit of carboning up the exhaust at low revs for long periods,but a few minutes at high revs clears the cobwebs out.

Undoubtably there will be people who have contradictions to this method but I can only speak from running 2x10hp kubotas 24 hrs a day for long periods with underwater exhausts, they had done 8 yrs work when I sold that boat.

[Lickey]

Lickey - how many kilowatts do you need and whats yours your budget - could probably source a 2nd hand one for you at about 1/2 new price.

MF

MF, its primary use would be to keep the salon going so we talking couple of hairdryers,small water heater [about 2kw} few flurescents and a fridge, Perhaps 6/7kw would do the job,if you could find s/h one near the 10,000bht mark, that i feel would be a good investment, theres nothing like a shop with lights on to attract customers in a blackout, thanks for any help you can give, Lickey.

[Khonwan]

Lickey - how many kilowatts do you need and whats yours your budget - could probably source a 2nd hand one for you at about 1/2 new price.

MF

MF, its primary use would be to keep the salon going so we talking couple of hairdryers,small water heater [about 2kw} few flurescents and a fridge, Perhaps 6/7kw would do the job,if you could find s/h one near the 10,000bht mark, that i feel would be a good investment, theres nothing like a shop with lights on to attract customers in a blackout, thanks for any help you can give, Lickey.

Lickey, are you Scottish too?

[Lickey]

Lickey - how many kilowatts do you need and whats yours your budget - could probably source a 2nd hand one for you at about 1/2 new price.

MF

MF, its primary use would be to keep the salon going so we talking couple of hairdryers,small water heater [about 2kw} few flurescents and a fridge, Perhaps 6/7kw would do the job,if you could find s/h one near the 10,000bht mark, that i feel would be a good investment, theres nothing like a shop with lights on to attract customers in a blackout, thanks for any help you can give, Lickey.

Lickey, are you Scottish too?

Scottish?? no mate, East Anglia UK born and bred, and a fully qualiefied diesel engineer with generator experience, thrifty,yes, hope that helps

[DanBlack]

I just bought a generator (dynamo)15 KW for my boat from China but it is not compatable with the engine. I paid 22,000 and will sell it cheap

[Lickey]

I just bought a generator (dynamo)15 KW for my boat from China but it is not compatable with the engine. I paid 22,000 and will sell it cheap

Hi Dan, in what way was it not compatible? direct coupling or engine revs? cheers, lickey,,

[DanBlack]

It is a little technical for me, but it did not have an AVR, and trying to get an AVR compatable to the generator was a problem

[Lickey]

It is a little technical for me, but it did not have an AVR, and trying to get an AVR compatable to the generator was a problem

Know exactly what you mean Dan, automatic voltage regulator, as soon as a a generator is decommishened, there would be a race for the jewel in the crown, the AVR, so handy to have as a spare in the van to test other generators, and so difficult to identify once missing, you will need the original build spec to get the right one, ive got some mates in UK who if they were with Genset, could determine the right AVR for it, apart from that, good luck in flogging it, Lickey,,

[69_68iou1]

I have never seen a 240 AV generator for a thai tractor but quite a few people in this forum say you can get them. Any body know of any shops near udon that will sell one?

Been in a few of the shops and they seem to sell the water pum, tractor and parts but no 240 Ac generators.

[elkangorito]

If 'transfer switches' are needed (manual or automatic), I can design & build them according to the load & installation requirements.

Click the below link for other info;

Selecting a generator

Edited March 18, 2007 by elkangorito

[Lickey]

Lickey - how many kilowatts do you need and whats yours your budget - could probably source a 2nd hand one for you at about 1/2 new price.

MF

Mf, good to see you back here, glad you enjoyed your break, we all need to get away at times, justwondering if you managed to source a S/H gen set, about 6/7kw for 10000bht, please dont worry if you are busy, thanks, Lickey..

[Maizefarmer]

Lickey - how many kilowatts do you need and whats yours your budget - could probably source a 2nd hand one for you at about 1/2 new price.

MF

Mf, good to see you back here, glad you enjoyed your break, we all need to get away at times, justwondering if you managed to source a S/H gen set, about 6/7kw for 10000bht, please dont worry if you are busy, thanks, Lickey..

Hang on till next week - I'm back Saturday - will make some enquries.

[macb]

THis Topic is intertesting reading when we get the winds or a hint of rain off goes the power: People tend to think the Electricity companby turn it off in advance to prevent any damage or extra expense, the other day it went off at midday when it was 37 c and no rain it remained off, in the evening we had thunder storms and wind when this had passed at about 2200 hrs it came back on again