John Jacobs
New Member
Hi Y'All - I'd like ask for feedback on the following:
Current Situation): My wife and I have lived in an upper floor condo in SW Florida for 17 years. I5 years ago I bought a small 2800W propane generator that we stash in the bottom of a coat closet and set up on our balcony for a couple of days when the power is out following a storm. I had an electrician install a NEMA L14-30 box on the balcony and wire it to a 10-circuit manual Reliance transfer switch so that I can selectively control various 120V circuits.
We've only had to use it twice in 15 years and it did a good job of keeping our refrigerator running during the day. At night we just don't open the refrigerator, run a bedroom ceiling fan and a few LED lights. This setup works for 2-3 days.
I chose propane because I won't store gasoline indoors - after the propane tanks are filled they're stored in an outdoor shed. I'm not getting any younger and I dread dragging them up several flights of stairs to swap them out on the balcony as they empty.
Proposal A): Replace propane generator with a refurbished EF Delta Pro which I can buy relatively inexpensively on e-Bay - I need the 30A AC port for connection to my manual transfer switch. I'll have the same electrician handle any necessary rewiring and will charge the DP via house power.
Expansion Proposal B): As they become more cost-effective, I'd like to add several portable solar panels on the balcony to take advantage of the additional charge if an outage lasts more than a couple of days.
Does this approach make sense to you? Is there a better alternative I should consider? Thanks in advance...
Current Situation): My wife and I have lived in an upper floor condo in SW Florida for 17 years. I5 years ago I bought a small 2800W propane generator that we stash in the bottom of a coat closet and set up on our balcony for a couple of days when the power is out following a storm. I had an electrician install a NEMA L14-30 box on the balcony and wire it to a 10-circuit manual Reliance transfer switch so that I can selectively control various 120V circuits.
We've only had to use it twice in 15 years and it did a good job of keeping our refrigerator running during the day. At night we just don't open the refrigerator, run a bedroom ceiling fan and a few LED lights. This setup works for 2-3 days.
I chose propane because I won't store gasoline indoors - after the propane tanks are filled they're stored in an outdoor shed. I'm not getting any younger and I dread dragging them up several flights of stairs to swap them out on the balcony as they empty.
Proposal A): Replace propane generator with a refurbished EF Delta Pro which I can buy relatively inexpensively on e-Bay - I need the 30A AC port for connection to my manual transfer switch. I'll have the same electrician handle any necessary rewiring and will charge the DP via house power.
Expansion Proposal B): As they become more cost-effective, I'd like to add several portable solar panels on the balcony to take advantage of the additional charge if an outage lasts more than a couple of days.
Does this approach make sense to you? Is there a better alternative I should consider? Thanks in advance...
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