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So... a cement truck went out of control and took down several power poles...

Supervstech

Supervstech

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So...
A major resturant i work in is down for an indetermined amount of time.
This is their main bakery, 600A 3phase setup nearly all electric cooking equipment, several walk in freezers and coolers, along with dozens of reach in coolers and freezers.

They asked me what i can do generator wise to get them functional until repairs are made.

I can get a 150kW generator delivered... eventually

The guy wants me to wait till he decides what to do.

All the while, coolers and freezers stocked with bakery and fresh food is warming.

I found a 30kW generator for a fixed fee including delivery and pickup, but fueling it would be a chore.

And here i wait.
 
He wakes me up early this morning tells me about it, i start making calls and arranging options...

And he tells me to wait until he gets update from power co...

Insane.

Its saturday.
He is going to wait, and miss window...
 
Supervstech said:
He wakes me up early this morning tells me about it, i start making calls and arranging options...

And he tells me to wait until he gets update from power co...

Insane.

Its saturday.
He is going to wait, and miss window...
Click to expand...
Yeah, and even if you do get a generator on site, it’s not like you just plug it in and push start. Tick tock baby
 
He has called...
The poles are in his parking lot, the drops are ripped off the building and needing inspections before po co can reconnect...

And he is STILL wanting me to wait before scheduling the generator...
 
Ok, he has given me the go ahead to head over and evaluate what is needed for the reconnect permits at least...

He aint getting power back to his building until tuesday at this point...

My hour meter started the second he called me this morning... weekend rate.

He wants to wait, i will wait.
But it is insane.
 
Supervstech said:
He has called...
The poles are in his parking lot, the drops are ripped off the building and needing inspections before po co can reconnect...

And he is STILL wanting me to wait before scheduling the generator...
Click to expand...
Most likely , he’s shopping the market…tryin to save money..especially if you gave him some working numbers to try and beat..
 
Oh, yeah.

When I get involved with locating faults on privately-owned buried primary at trailer parks, the park has usually been without power for a day or two while mgmt. tries to figure out a way to not pay for gennys. Sometimes longer.

A couple of instances during the summer (PHX.) the residents were so pissed that they threw empty bottles at us while we were going about our business finding, digging up, and repairing the fault. One time things were so hostile I and the Sturgeon crew left the site and told the manager to call us back after they had the folks on gennys and some cops sprinkled about to calm things down.

I now ask even before I come out:

1. How long have you been without power?
2. Do you have the affected area running on generators?

Depending on the answers to these questions I might decline service. I feel bad for the folks without power, but here in gun-crazy Arizona, I am not about to get shot at by folks who are ticked off because the situation was handled badly by some jerkoff who didn't want to pay for generators.
 
Does the insurance policy have a clause in it for spoiled food, "the insured made a reasonable effort to avoid the spoilage by seeking out a generator immediately upon learning of the power outage"?
 
Still stupid that its so low and in the air

Good that in my country all are in the ground.

We do have in the air , but so high you can not hit it.
For the rest its always beuld in place no people life
And are close for public .
 
JRH said:
Most likely , he’s shopping the market…tryin to save money..especially if you gave him some working numbers to try and beat..
Click to expand...
Nah, that’s not it.
JRH said:
Most likely , he’s shopping the market…tryin to save money..especially if you gave him some working numbers to try and beat..
Click to expand...
Nah, im his electrician.
Im sitting here at his store awaiting the generator rental to arrive...
 
DIYrich said:
My money is on when he finally makes a decision, the generator won't be available anymore. Also triple time to work on sunday.
Click to expand...
100% correct.
He wanted to just get a small one to power the walk ins, and while waiting for him to decide it was rented, and he had to get a 100K model...
 
Suijkerbuijk said:
Still stupid that its so low and in the air

Good that in my country all are in the ground.

We do have in the air , but so high you can not hit it.
For the rest its always beuld in place no people life
And are close for public .
Click to expand...
My lines are underground also, even my solar stuff, all underground. The only overhead is to the house site pole about 100 yards away or so for the grid supply. Even that is ugly.
 
Supervstech said:
View attachment 229930
So...
A major resturant i work in is down for an indetermined amount of time.
This is their main bakery, 600A 3phase setup nearly all electric cooking equipment, several walk in freezers and coolers, along with dozens of reach in coolers and freezers.

They asked me what i can do generator wise to get them functional until repairs are made.

I can get a 150kW generator delivered... eventually

The guy wants me to wait till he decides what to do.

All the while, coolers and freezers stocked with bakery and fresh food is warming.

I found a 30kW generator for a fixed fee including delivery and pickup, but fueling it would be a chore.

And here i wait.
Click to expand...

How common are 600 volt systems in your area
I never looked into it but I always thought that was of a Canadian thing.

How hard is it to find a 600 volt generator ?

On a more serious note
Yikes that’s a scary accident
Loss of life could have been terrible
 
DPC said:
How common are 600 volt systems in your area
I never looked into it but I always thought that was of a Canadian thing.

How hard is it to find a 600 volt generator ?

On a more serious note
Yikes that’s a scary accident
Loss of life could have been terrible
Click to expand...
The voltage is 208 3phase.

So it appears a cement truck clipped a low hanging cable tv/internet cable, and the tangle brought ALL the poles in the vicinity down...
 
Supervstech said:
The voltage is 208 3phase.

So it appears a cement truck clipped a low hanging cable tv/internet cable, and the tangle brought ALL the poles in the vicinity down...
Click to expand...

Yow! That shouldn't have happened...

Local utility needs these guys:

Understanding Wood Utility Poles

Understanding wood decay is the first step to overcoming it. Osmose technicians are experts at identifying and measuring decay and calculating remaining strength.
www-osmose-com.sandbox.hs-sites.com www-osmose-com.sandbox.hs-sites.com
 
OH 600 amp!!!
My bad

Ya thats good, a 600 volt generator is not an easy thing to get.
Your customer would be well served to buy a set of his own for coolers.
Maybe there's something from an old grocery store for sale....
Those tend to be well cared for
Something from Kohler with a little ford Lima 4 banger...
They made a lot of them just for applications like this and they are very nice reliable and pleasant to work on machines.
A cooler full of food is worth more than a used one these days.
 
Last edited:
I was pointing out to him, that a used 15K 3phase genset is about double what he is paying for the week rental...
 
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Supervstech said:
I was pointing out to him, that a used 15K 3phase genset is about double what he is paying for the week rental...
Click to expand...
Tell him not to buy a cheap one from the home despot.
Residential units are so hit and miss.

When I get asked these kids of questions always the name generac comes up.
They made a decent commercial unit, but the residential stuff, the things you see from big box stores and TV commercials are very cheap.
Cheap costs you more in the long run when parts get scarce.

I had a look at a cummins home unit for a young electrician I work with and I found that it was an easy fix but there are no parts available for a relatively new machine. ( the manufacturer scrapped it out and replaced it )
Lucky for the warranty...
But thats factored into the price and you are paying for a warranty and after than good luck.

A good unit will be 4 cylinder, water cooled 1800 rpm with components made by companies you recognize.
Even a used unit low hours ( 500 or so ) is better value than a new Chinese unit.
 
As a longer term solution...
I would be looking for an old portable "relatively" low hour military generator, plus a suitable transformer to go with it if necessary.
Maybe something in a container that could sit out back in the company parking lot.
 
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