Rob Keeble
Member
- Messages
- 12,633
- Location
- GTA Ontario Canada
I have been busy on and off for the past few weeks getting my new shop insulated and sorted especially dedicating time to it to get it ready for winter.
Now the question has arisen as to what i do for power.
Here is status quo and thoughts
1) I am renting, dont expect to be here for more than i have to at present its a year but in all likelyhood probably gonna be 2 by the time we out given all that has to transpire for this to happen.
2) Current shop power in fact house power is disgusting to say least. Current owners parent (deceased) was supposedly and electrician. Its an old house and panel is at the very end of the basement furtherest from the garage side of the house with basement ceiling all sealed up with a type of ceiling that makes access today not possible without destructive damage that is not repairable since system used is no longer on market.
Current shop has one receptacle wired off the lights of which there are 4 light bulb receptacles attached. So i can run one machine barely and watch lights dim (meaning my power tools (even electric drill i was using) are not getting the right voltage for the current they using.
Entire garage is detached from house by i am guessing 15 feet and then after full length garage the "new" shop is an extension out the back end of the garage. So you could not have a longer line from the panel all the way to the single receptacle and i cannot tell what guage the wire is its that old stuff thats coated with woven material.
3) I have already sunk more than i would like into this property which i will not get back. Its my part of saying heck i need my shop fix and sanity so what. Owners will not entertain change generally. To give you an idea i had offered to have a contractor upgrade the bathroom at my expense but they would not go for it. (Bathroom and kitchen do not even have extractor fans....but i am dealing with that my McGyver way in such a manner that when i go they will be removed )
So i am pretty constrained but that has never stopped me before and it aint gonna do so now. So....
I been thinking......
given the good neighbors i have and the distance that seperates us together with the fact that the house at the rear is vacant waiting for builder to demolish and rebuild (whole area is undergoing lots of this kind of upgrading....very good area just old)
given i do not at the moment posses a generator of any kind and as a good boy scout i have always wanted to have one to be prepared for an emergency when power is out (only experienced once in 10 years)
given i have plans to move to country land where i suspect power authorities will far sooner cut power to save their necks and infrastructure
a generator may be a good plan to buy.
I am not and never do think in terms of small generator. If i go this route my own electrical knowledge will have me getting one that is beefier than i need and will have a 220v output on it too.
Thing is i aint a generator specialist but what i do know has me worrying about running our machines on it. Running lightbulbs off a generator no biggie. But plant and machinery well we get into the quality of the sine wave it generates and its no load to full load response and ability to hold the voltage pumping out amps.
Its been more years than i care to think of since i had anything to do with this kind of kit and heck i dont want to spend all winter procrastinating and becoming a small generator expert in order to buy without having remorse after. Also dont want a thumping big unit that i cannot move on my own and need it to be relatively quiet when its running. My thoughts are running it in winter for the duration i am likely to do so will not be an issue with the neighbors as to noise given we all close up tight on double pain windows in winter.
So my question to you all is what your thoughts are in this respect. Can any of you offer experiences you have had running our type of woodworking machinery on a generator like must happen in the case of jobsites where power has not been supplied and only ends up being supplied late in the day of the build.
Things i am most concerned about are items such as say the variable speed controls on something like a router. Its not a simple pot anymore to do this variable speed and i have no idea what the power tool front end expects the quality of the ac input to look like.
Also any recommendations on generator brands or preferably specifications in the generator output i should look for.
Thanks for any and all suggestions.....
A heavy duty and i mean using purchased cable extension has cross my mind except the means to gain access to both the house and panel just has it dead in the water.
Yeah Bill i know hand tools dont need power. But i want to do some lathe work before Xmas and i am not going to be making a foot powered lathe
Now the question has arisen as to what i do for power.
Here is status quo and thoughts
1) I am renting, dont expect to be here for more than i have to at present its a year but in all likelyhood probably gonna be 2 by the time we out given all that has to transpire for this to happen.
2) Current shop power in fact house power is disgusting to say least. Current owners parent (deceased) was supposedly and electrician. Its an old house and panel is at the very end of the basement furtherest from the garage side of the house with basement ceiling all sealed up with a type of ceiling that makes access today not possible without destructive damage that is not repairable since system used is no longer on market.
Current shop has one receptacle wired off the lights of which there are 4 light bulb receptacles attached. So i can run one machine barely and watch lights dim (meaning my power tools (even electric drill i was using) are not getting the right voltage for the current they using.
Entire garage is detached from house by i am guessing 15 feet and then after full length garage the "new" shop is an extension out the back end of the garage. So you could not have a longer line from the panel all the way to the single receptacle and i cannot tell what guage the wire is its that old stuff thats coated with woven material.
3) I have already sunk more than i would like into this property which i will not get back. Its my part of saying heck i need my shop fix and sanity so what. Owners will not entertain change generally. To give you an idea i had offered to have a contractor upgrade the bathroom at my expense but they would not go for it. (Bathroom and kitchen do not even have extractor fans....but i am dealing with that my McGyver way in such a manner that when i go they will be removed )
So i am pretty constrained but that has never stopped me before and it aint gonna do so now. So....
I been thinking......
given the good neighbors i have and the distance that seperates us together with the fact that the house at the rear is vacant waiting for builder to demolish and rebuild (whole area is undergoing lots of this kind of upgrading....very good area just old)
given i do not at the moment posses a generator of any kind and as a good boy scout i have always wanted to have one to be prepared for an emergency when power is out (only experienced once in 10 years)
given i have plans to move to country land where i suspect power authorities will far sooner cut power to save their necks and infrastructure
a generator may be a good plan to buy.
I am not and never do think in terms of small generator. If i go this route my own electrical knowledge will have me getting one that is beefier than i need and will have a 220v output on it too.
Thing is i aint a generator specialist but what i do know has me worrying about running our machines on it. Running lightbulbs off a generator no biggie. But plant and machinery well we get into the quality of the sine wave it generates and its no load to full load response and ability to hold the voltage pumping out amps.
Its been more years than i care to think of since i had anything to do with this kind of kit and heck i dont want to spend all winter procrastinating and becoming a small generator expert in order to buy without having remorse after. Also dont want a thumping big unit that i cannot move on my own and need it to be relatively quiet when its running. My thoughts are running it in winter for the duration i am likely to do so will not be an issue with the neighbors as to noise given we all close up tight on double pain windows in winter.
So my question to you all is what your thoughts are in this respect. Can any of you offer experiences you have had running our type of woodworking machinery on a generator like must happen in the case of jobsites where power has not been supplied and only ends up being supplied late in the day of the build.
Things i am most concerned about are items such as say the variable speed controls on something like a router. Its not a simple pot anymore to do this variable speed and i have no idea what the power tool front end expects the quality of the ac input to look like.
Also any recommendations on generator brands or preferably specifications in the generator output i should look for.
Thanks for any and all suggestions.....
A heavy duty and i mean using purchased cable extension has cross my mind except the means to gain access to both the house and panel just has it dead in the water.
Yeah Bill i know hand tools dont need power. But i want to do some lathe work before Xmas and i am not going to be making a foot powered lathe