Okay, we're going to put this in the "You Gotta Be Shitting Me" category.
Evidently, in the Great Blizzard of 2023, Generac whole-house generators are shutting down due to over heating. It seems that if they get covered with snow, the air-cooled engines can't breathe sufficiently to sustain operation.
I would think that if a generator gets covered with snow, it would generate enough heat to melt the snow, bathing the generator in cool melt water. But, evidently that is not the situation.
Blancalario reports:
4 comments:
PawPaw,
I'm looking to install a whole house generator to ensure electricity to my preemie granddaughter who needs O2 to breathe. I was advised by the electrician I'm using that Generac was not his first recommendation. That problem was one of the reasons.
Just sayin'.
I don't think either of us has to worry too much about excessive snow, but...you never know.
Mine had a fuel feed problem. The system was only a few months old and did a self tests every week - appeared to be fine. When we got the freeze in the Hill Country a few weeks back, the power went out at 9 am and the Generac lasted until 2 am, then cut out. It would appear that when you actually put a LOAD on the generator it had problem. Various people told me it was mis jetted (NG vs Propane) or the regulator was bad. Either way, if you have generator installed MAKE SURE you regularly test it WITH WITH A LIVE LOAD. To their credit, Generac did answer the 1-800 help line at 2:30 am and did walk me through some steps to try and get the generator running again. Also found the next day, out of desperation, that if I cut the electrical load to a minimum, I could get the generator to run - my house is all electric (Heat Pumps & water heaters). I was able to get lights, refrigeration and one heat pump running.
I watched that video and my interpretation was the overheating was due to the volume or depth of the snow. But other commentators point out the shortcomings of this brand which I was unaware of. Good to know.
I wonder if the heat off the generator is melting the snow where the snow is against the shell protecting the generator, but the cold mass of the snow beyond that refreezes it into ice.
Kind of like the inside of an igloo. And if it does ice up, that means no air flow.
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