Well,
It's happened again, it looks like New Zealand will be facing another power crisis, if it doesn't rain soon.
Some people are even getting in quick to buy generators to use.
This is where the link with reality,STOPS!.
Some people are buying these 3,4 or 5kVa generators and are then calling up an Electrician, to have them wired into their Main Switchboards, most of them don't like being told(forcefully,sometimes)that it can't be done.
One guy even thought you just plugged the thing into the nearest socket-outlet!
But the over-riding factor, in all of this, is the fact that, most of the people that I have spoken to, actually believe, that you can comfortably run a whole Residential Installation (63A max), on a 3-5kVa Generator! .
What do you guys,think of all this?.

Been there, although it's not common for people here to have their own generators.

Had to explain once that I would need to install a transfer switch, put the circuits that would be run on generator power onto a separate panel, and that their little 3kW unit would not run the electric range, power shower, and immersion heater as well as everything else.

he he he paul no matter where we are at it is the same story allover the places about using small generator i have fair amout of horrour stories about many peoples try to hook up the generator in illegal way some case soo disugsting that i i refuse to do it

merci marc

Trumpy when the same people sell it that generate it, Its always gonna turn to shyte!!

Appy,
You're right there mate!.
This must be the third or fourth year running that we have had this threat and yet we are told it's to do with the weather.
Before the Power "reforms", I don't think there was ever a problem with the amount of Electrical Supply Capacity and considering that another 3 dams have gone "on-line" since then, would make you wonder if somebody's bottom line isn't having a crisis, instead.

Trumpy,
They are scum, our granparents built all those Hydro's and they Thrash them running at full noise when there is no need, to lower the levels in the lakes to keep the spot price in orbit. In the mean time they have Huntly running at baseline.
Oh don't start me on Generation & Supply in this shyte hole, If only someone would build a generator that was cost effective and efficient, they could kiss my hairy you know what.

SANTA
Craig wants his own 20kVa supply for Chrissy

[This message has been edited by old Appy (edited 04-04-2003).]

How many times have you heard,

"Oh, it wouldn't cost much just to hook-up this generator to the nearest outlet?"

Then they get the shock that the heavy-duty transfer switch can cost 60 pounds alone!

The other one I've heard from time to time, is "How much cheaper electricity would be if I just used my own generator."

Paul,
That's exactly what I mean!.
Most people just have absolutely no comprehension of the cost involved in installing a Gen-set, let alone, the required maintanence, Fuel?(whats that?),
half of them want No-Break systems, but don't even know how a Gen-set works, most assume that you just switch it on and BANG, you've got full, constant Line Voltage and the same people hate being told that their Generator won't handle the fridge or freezer starting up.
Appy,
There was a guy up your way that built his own 1000VA generator from scratch, I think that he actually posted his plans on the net.

Dapo,
I've heard that a lot of places in Australia use Generators and other forms of Alternative supply, some even supplying whole communities.
Could you please tell me what sort of system is most popular?.

It's not unusual in Ireland to use CHP (combined heat and power) units in reasonably large commercial premises some of which switch over when peak usage rates etc kick in to cut costs.

Ireland's generation capacity is also being streched to its limits and the ESB seems to be actively encouraging people to get off the grid during peak times where possible.

In large commercial applications CHP can be extremely efficient from an over-all energy consumption point-of-view and when implemented correctly can cut-down on the quantities of CO2 produced as they don't waste as much energy as conventional large scale powerplants and distribution systems.

On a small scale for a single house it wouldn't really work.

One or two large industrial operations actually generate more power than they need and sell the excess back to the grid.

In Cork for example the sewage treatment plant and the landfill (dump) produce their own power from methane produced as a byproduct of their processes and sell the rest back into the grid.

I've seen shopping centres (Malls) that use CHP too though as it's cheaper than buying electricity (at least at peak times) and buying natural gas to heat seperately.

On the farm where I spend my summers they've got a big generator, driven by the tractor. It's hooked up via transfer switch and a wall-mount male CEE connector and feeds the entire system of the house (3ph). It was supposed to feed the 2nd building (garage, workshop and holiday apartment) as well,m but this didn't work out too well, all I got was a faint glow from the light bulbs, barely noticeable.
Otherwise I've never seen generators being used for anything but temporary power at market stands or whatever. I once used one on a red-cross training to power the fog machine. (We simulated an earthquake with fire and everything else, train accident, explosion at a chemiocal plant, I had to act injured along with many other young people from Junior Red Cross)

With the power crisis now almost reality here, there is talk of Alternative forms of energy, with the Hydro schemes being too unreliable, due to the changing weather patterns.
Some people are even suggesting that New Zealand build a couple of Nuclear reactors,
I would personally live in the dark than have one of them things just down the road.
And you can bet that they wouldn't want them to be sited in the North Island!.
Just how safe is Nuclear Power Generation and the associated Radio-active material?.
Am I over-reacting?(sorry about the pun!)

Actually a well designed and maintained nuke plant is quite safe.
The maintence costs here are very high primarly because of the excessive NRC B/S.
When I first worked in a nuke plant, it took 4 months for my security clearance to go thru. I have had to wait for several hours for the Quality Assurance people to ckeck a hole that I drilled before I was allowed to drill the next one. Because of this it took a bout 3 days to do the work I normally do in 2 hours.
A dental xray when I forgot that my radiation badge was in my pocket almost got me a LIFETIME ban from futher work in a plant.
If your regulators are reasonable a nuke plant might just be a good thing. JUst figure out what you are going to do with the old fuel rods.

nesparky,
That's my biggest concern, the waste that comes out of these things.
I always wondered if they had security checks on people that worked in Nuclear Power plants, it's the last place you'd want a person, with terrorist leanings!.

Trumpy
Well 90% of the waste generated is classified as low level. Tool, clothes, paperwork, badges, and anything else that was exposed or could have been exposed to raditation. It does not matter how much exposure was actually recieved. I have had to throw tools and test equipment into low level bins for disposal 20 minutes after unpacking it from the factory wrapping just because I used it in a exposure area. The only change occurs if the item wasted recieves enough exposure to register high enough to be classified as medium or high level waste.
You do not take your personel tools into a nuke plant and work around the reactor if you want them after that job. Security/safety will consficate them for disposal.
As far as disposal of high level waste, politics and the many panic mongers that sorid politics attracts have thoughly muddied up the debate. I do not believe those jerks will ever allow a rational political answer. Returning the uranium to the earth is the only realistic answer.
And yes they do security checks on all the people who work there. Also a taking something out of the plants is not that easy unless you are authorized. Even then you get checked on.

If it is any comfort: It is very hard to cause a serious nuclear accident. The Chernobyl (however it is spelled) disaster in Ukraine was caused not by a fault, but by deliberate mishandling of the reactor. All safety systems were shut down to carry out experiments with the reactor. The control room staff saw what was coming, but were not authorised to act. Or at least nobody dared until it was too late. The fact the reactor was was made of flammable graphite and lacked real walls around the reactor allowed the spread of contamination.

There are nuclear reactors which are even less safe than Chernobyl even closer to home, which I find somewhat disturbing. The only good news which came out of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 was that radiation is not as dangerous as previously thought. The predicted long term deaths (cancer etc.) have not happened. The deathtoll remain at a few hundred, mostly firefighters and rescueworkers.

Nesparky is right in that a well kept reactor is very safe. Accidents can happen in a nuclear powerplant in the western world too, but not a disaster. It can be noted that the Chernobyl accident only became known to the world when the contamination set off the detection system at the Swedish Forsmark plant, a thousand miles away.

Just as a sideline,
If a generator is going to be hooked up to a TN-C-S house, how on earth do you ensure that the protection will operate on occurence of a fault?.

Trumpy,
3-phase Gen sets should have their star points connected to earth. 1p sets should have one pole connected to earth. The connection should not exceed 10ohms. Wiring then proceeds as standard with the gen set earth connected to the installations earth terminal. Some people use the smaller sets without reference earth but these should generally be restricted to single circuit applications.

lyledunn,
Thanks a lot for your answer.
It seems like pretty basic stuff, but, it's not something I've really had a lot to do with, in the past.
I think that this may change in the years to come.