I didn't realize this video was going to gain as many new viewers as it did. This is why the generator doesn't power the house ua-cam.com/video/0EXjqxSqpiY/v-deo.htmlsi=-pDIpQ7u0M3sh0IH As for all the criticism I've been getting of my "overkill "systems I am aware they are not what you would usually see in a house but please understand this is my job and without them I wouldn't be able to produce this content for others. The only reason you were reading this comment is because of my decisions I have made to create a channel and focus around emergencies how they work and are installed etc.
Oddly enough, i got to your video from someone discussing generators in the general channel in the mangadex discord LOL.. apparently a lot of otakus really dont like it when the power goes out :D
I bet this guy's neighbors love him - everyone else, power goes out, peace and quiet, this guy, generators running, UPSs beeping, alarms going off, strobes flashing, and him running around videoing stuff, dog barking. There's really no point to having backup power if the only thing you're doing is going around checking your backup power, and turning off beeping alarms
At least the power company notifies you if there's a planned outage coming. Where I'm at the power distributor is CenterPoint Energy and they don't do that. They rarely do it sometimes, but not all the time. Except they give you the estimated restoration time.
Heard bad things about Centerpoint. I have PGE out on the west coast. We get notified of planned outages. An unplanned outage we get an estimate for restoration.
This is wild, man. You have so much going on, more than most people for sure. The drone footage was super cool but you’re also doxxing yourself pretty hard with this. Stay safe, be careful, and thanks for sharing about your backup systems
Power outages I think are my favorite videos from you because I like how you have these emergency lights in your house, and I am interested on how long they last for. But schedule power outages? Never lost my power for as long as I lived here in Alberta.
Hi Nic, You're obviously a tech savy consumer. Your set up looks more like what you would find in a commercial building than a home. I'm curious how you installed a relay set up to self start your generator? Like you I have a portable modified to be in a custom shed to provide back up for your home. Mine has to be manually flipped on with 4 moves. I was wondering if I could make mine so it comes on automatically? That would be great! I'm curious to know? As for the power company giving you a planned outage tells me it was for maintenance? I'm a power lineman for a living & we often will wait a little past when the planned outage will start. That gives people without generators time to bathe & start their day. Back in the old days we started without notification & would pull the plug as soon as everyone was ready to go? Nice video! Great content! Hoping your genny was able to keep the family safe during the outage?
I believe he did make a video previously about how it works, including self starting. Forget what it's called, but if you dig through his videos there is one somewhere that explains it all.
@@PowerButtonYT Maybe when I’m retired? Working full time plus for a utility company can be a very challenging position to be in. For those less enlightened….I believe the people in South Korea are the hardest working nation in the world? They average about 3500 working hours a year. American by comparison average about 2000 hours a year. So Americans by & large might be considered in certain circles lazy? Power lineman make the people in South Korea seem lazy. I’m your laziest lineman where I work. I only work the forced hours at work this year. I only worked 400 hours of forced overtime for the year. Most of those hours were suicide shifts. You’d probably ask what’s a suicide shift? Any shifts where employees are expected to work in excess of 16 hours a day with less than 8 hours off between shift. Our first day on storm we are expected to work a 24 hour shift. We typically start our day at 7 am then work until 7 am the following day on storm. We are released to go home & be back into work at 2:30 pm. Then we work 2:30 pm until 7 am the next day. We stay on that new schedule until all the customers are back on. Some of those shifts can last weeks without a day off in between. I average one 24 hour storm shift a month followed by a 16 hour shift. That’s an extra 24 hours of overtime for that week. So my typical week on storm is 64 hours. I work with other lineman that answer their phone 24/7. Those guys work all the hours I work plus overnight call outs, scheduled overtime, unscheduled overtime. Emergency work. Being on call, forced on call etc. Weekends, holidays & vacation. Yes, our employer has cancelled vacations because of storm work. Some of these lineman work up to 1600 hours of overtime. While our emergency men have been known to work upwards of 3000 hours of overtime a year in addition to the 2000 hours we all work during the day time. If I do the math right? Some lineman work upwards of 5000 hours a year. Lineman by far are the hardest working profession that I know of? Hence why I say in retirement I might indulge in doing videos. In the meantime I sit back on my leisure time to watch Bobsdecline & Magic Man. Both are lineman who shoot videos on their off hours for everyone else to enjoy. Please check them out!
@@AyesC9000 Thank you! I found it & book marked it to watch later. I’m curious how he did that? I tried to buy a transfer switch from Honda for my genny but they only make small ones of up to 8 circuits. I back feed my entire 32 breaker panel at home. I utilize an inter lock in the panel to isolate the line from the load. I have a Honda wired remote start from my genny. I can do it all within my house without having to go outside. I designed it this way so my wife who isn’t a lineman could do it herself. My wife has done it the few times it has happened. I can’t tell you how restful that is. I no longer get messages on my phone at work that the power is out at home. I can focus on my job without interruptions.
Battery capacity sounds right to me that 6v is only 30wh and realistically you get half the capacity out so 15wh. I believe you said 3 w lights x2 so 6w at 1:45 so call it 2 hours 12wh. Then add in losses and tolerances that sound in the right ball park.
Yes it is! Just odd to me. My power never goes out, it might flicker here and there but that’s it and still rare. Last extended outage I had was 30 mins and that was 2 years ago. I see them working on lines all the time and no power outage.
it sometimes has to be done, sometimes they can safely do work, other times, say for example, if they need to replace a transformer because it's old or not working as intended, or some cables need to be changed due to wear and tear (pretty rare), then they need to cut the power. It depends on a lot of factors. In this case, this maintenance required the power to be cut as they were handling the cables themselves. Kilovolts of AC power don't mess around.
We used to have those emergency spot lights at a location and they are not made to give long term lights. They are intended to give you light for enough time to evacuate a building. 15 minutes would be good but I think they can go an hour. I made a emergency light with some relays, a battery and led modules. It is in the room where my dog sleeps so I put a timer on it, it lights her corner all night and charges in the day. Battery lasts years before having to replace it but I work it to the max, that is the tru test. you have the wrong equipment for long term lighting. I like the drone footage though, good idea, I'll have to try that some time. The ups is limited, you have to watch the load you put on them, they dont last long unless you have one with a big battery. do the numbers to figure how long they will last, you might be surprised, well guess you are surprised. But thanks for the vid
Hey is there a legal reason/requirement to need all the commercial grade equipment? Just curious- I have the “IT” version of your house basically as that’s my career…
@ same here- I was just curious as you were mentioning how much the batteries were supposed to go for…thanks for your help and all the excellent content!
The 12V charger output on that generator is a dumb charger that will overcharge a connected battery without external charge management circuitry. A PWM solar charge controller that open circuits the PV connection (NOT one that shorts out the PV connection; this is safe to do for PV but not generators) when it stops charging the battery will work but you will want a snubber network on the generator connection to keep inductive current spikes from cooking the charge controller switching transistor/transistors. Some capacitors should work. Also, 15V is a safe desulfating potential for 12V nominal batteries but charging that high will kill them if done regularly.
A back up generator setup like this would be really cool and useful in South Africa because every there are planed power outages because they don’t have enough money and power station capacity to give everyone power all the time
Looks like they may be adding a transformer bank on that structure. They moved the crossarm up and added one below it. Wouldn't be surprised if they add a transformer bank for the DQ and near loads. Sure you'll see something in a few days added there.
New to the channel. Do you have frequent prolonged power outages? Or are you just a security system and whole home backup power nerd/geek? No offense meant by that last question. This setup, although cool, seems overkill. I'd love to have a backup power system like this but having just 2 UPSes and a large potable battery is fine because the UPSes get me through power blips and the large portable battery gets me through the maybe once a year hour or 2 long power outage.
With so many smal AGM/SLA batteries around the hous, in lights and several UPS, I doubt they last long!? Lead acid batteries take damage, when drained about 50% or a lower. Have you considered replacing some of them for lithium iron(LiFePO 4) 12v batteries? My 20year old 1000watt APC UPS needed batteries replaced every 1-2 years. -About 4 years back, I replaced the two 12v 17a batteries, with two 12v 24amp LiFePO batteries. Took some experimentation and adjustments of both BMS, in the battery bluetooth app (-discharge cut-off voltage, ect) -to make them play nice with an UPS designed for lead acid batteries. A bit more expencive batteries to buy, but cheeper in the long run when deep discharge. Sure UPS runtime calculation will be wrong (a flat voltdischarge curve, compared to lead acid batteries) But MUCH cheeper in long rund, and longer ups runtime. Also, lithium iron(LiFePO) batteries do not take damage, and noticably lose capacity after a deep discharge 😃 And they will probably outlast my very old APC UPS 😅
Your generator turns a quarter of it's fuel into electricity the rest into heat and exhaust heat you could recover some heat from there to heat the house. (There are people using a heat exchanger on the exhaust from a diesel heater to get another KW or two from the fuel.) You need to think of the neighbours! making them listen to that engine may require you to send them some free power. I've recently had a power outage and survived for 6 hours on a 12v 7AH battery and a 12" length of 12v LED light strip. It's silent and bright enough without the neighbours asking for help.
This is why I have two 48v golf cart batteries hooked to a 10kw 240v inverter. I also have a dual fuel portable generator connected to the same inverter. Also have 4 200w solar panels keeping the batteries charged. All of this is contained on/in a small power shed that I converted from a dog house. The generator exhausts outside, there are 2 intake fans and 1 exhaust fan set to turn on when the temperature inside reaches 90 degrees, and I have a temperature probe installed that wirelessly sends the temperature info to a screen in my office. I run the generator off of grill propane cylinders, so no danger of gasoline messing up the carburetor. The fans keep going after the generator turns off until the temperature goes down to 90 degrees. The generator and a propane cylinder take up the bottom half of the power shed, the batteries and inverter are on a custom built table and take up the top half, and the solar panels are on the roof. When I have a power outage, the idea is that I have to connect the system to the house via the generator inlet, flip the breaker interlock so the house is isolated from the grid, and have backup power available to the entire house. I had to remove the neutral/ground bond out of the generator so that the only bonding would be in the panel. Obviously, I turn off the breakers to the stove, water heater, washer and dryer, and central air system when I'm on backup. I do have a window AC/heat pump unit that can just about condition the entire house, and I can run this off the backup system. I can turn off power to the window unit and turn on the water heater if I need to. This setup had its first real test after tornadoes struck the Tallahassee area on May 10 of last year and the power company shut off the power to my area to replace around 400 or 500 power poles in other areas. The grid in my area was down for 3, almost 4 days. The nights were cool so I didn't have to run any air conditioner, so that helped. I ran the house off the batteries at night, then charged the batteries and ran the house off the generator during the day (my neighbors just ran their generator all night, and it was LOUD). It's a pretty quiet system with all the insulation I added, and the temperature stayed within the generator's designed limits. I imagine if I ever lost power during the winter, the generator would keep the batteries warm so they can charge. My only misgiving is that it's a very manual system, but I don't really trust these things to automatic systems that can fail over time.
I have to ask, why does a residential house look like a commercial building? I think you might have just went a bit over the top. 🤷♂👍🍺 I think the strobe and the light are a bit overkill on the gen house. Its going to take someone a long time to rip all that out and put it back to a normal home once you get rid of it. To help fix the split 240V load imbalance you should add a auto-former and that will balance the load back to the generator, so its happy and you don't have to worry about those individual leg loads anymore. Just keep in mind you really want to load the generator to a minimum of 50% or rated capacity all the time, but ideally 80% if you can. Otherwise you will build up carbon because its not reaching the proper loading levels on the engine. On my boat I have three generators, a 32KW, 22.5KW and a 9KW, and depending the load of the boat at the time, I can alternate to the correct size generator. That way I keep it in that 80% load, when running them 24/7 for weeks at a time for ocean crossings. I also have 8KW worth of inverters to run most load so that changing generators doesn't impact anything on the boat except large draw 240V like HVAC. Also 15-16V is way to high for cyclic use most all flooded cell manufactures will say 14.5 max. However you are using it for standby use, so you want in that 13.2-13.6v range so it doesn't boil off electrolyte. 🤠👍
@@nics-systems-electric Hey man I am 100% for it, I am glad, it just seems a bit over the top with all the commercial stuff in a residential setting, I guess its the "out-of-place" that it looks like. For sure I am envious of your fire panels. I have full online battery UPS for most of the house until the automatic full house generator kicks in, fire sprinklers, fire alarm, alarm system, full home automation systems, multiple ISP connections. Granted its all residential based, but for the most part within the 7500 sq feet none of it is visible within the home. My wife would have shot me had I run EMT conduit all over. 🤠👍
It does things that I needed and offers better reliability, capabilities and is my job. Emergency lighting comes on when the power goes out so you can still see.
@ just get yourself a hybrid solar inverter and use it as a whole house UPS like most other people. It’s definitely neat and I guess makes sense you just use what you work with, looks professionally done. What do the local inspectors say?
@@XtheFox1 solar would require massive amounts of battery banks and is not a practical emergency power source ICE can be refused during a outage as many times as needed. batteries lack the runtime at a very high cost that is impractical for emergency usage.
@nics-systems-electric Or at least try installing relay module that shuts down your hot water tank during utility power outage (if generator is running)
Nic, been watching for a couple of months, meant to say this in a comment. In the past, you've complained when you tried to acknowledge the UPS alarm for the WiFi router, and have accidentally turned it off and had to jumpstart it? If i recall correctly, the trick there, is to HOLD the power on button when power's out to start it, rather than just press ON, and it should turn right back on. My boss has that UPS but in a larger form in our server room, and the same model running his PC, hence why I've noticed that. Figured I should finally comment that so you're aware.
Yeah I've since figured that out that if you're patient and hold it for a while it comes on I managed to silence at this time without turning it off for once lol
Nic Been Watching For a Couple Of Months Meant To Say This In a Comment. In The Past You've Complained When You Tried To Acknowledge The Ups Alarm For The WiFi Router And Have Accidentally Turned It Off And Had To Jumpstart If I Recall Correctly The Trick There Is To Hold The Power On Button When Power's Out Start It Rather Than Just Press On And It Should Turn Back On. My Boss Has That Ups But In a Larger Form In Our Server Room And The Same Model Running His Pc Hence Why I've Noticed That. Figured I Should Finally Comment That So You're Aware.
Wait, the house isn't on the generator? This video popped up in my recommended videos for some reason... and I watched it. Seems like a lot of work just to power a garage.
Is that a sealed lead acid battery if that's the case 15 is high because there's nowhere for the gas build up to go because it's you know sealed. Higher voltages aren't as big of an issue with vented or openable batteries. Besides you want a trickle charge not a dump as much as possibly as you can in their charge.
6:51 where do you get your phone wallpaper nic. i like it. could you possibly link the website you got it from if you got it from a website or something
at a batteries low point on a 12 volt battery should be at around 12.3 at most around 13.6 - 13.9 range not higher bc then its overcharging its its below the 12.3 mark then it needs to be charged up again inbetween 12.3 to at most 13.6 volts is ok any more could overload the battery or worse tbh or can Fry the battery and all with it love the setup btw find it pretty cool ya did that whole setup for a backup power source
@icy-claws Not really, most Lead Acid batteries / cells, are designed to discharge to about 1.8v per cell or 10.8v for a 12v battery. Charging around 2.3v per cell - 13.8v for a 12v battery (VRLA) flooded lead acid such as starting batteries a bit higher maybe 2.5v per cell, but that's more a 'boost' charge while engine running then it is not charged until engine running again. To keep a battery on 'float' set the charger to 2.3v per cell and you will be good. The charger is more important to make sure it is constant voltage, variable current, the current the charger supplies should be up to a max of 10% of the battery ah rating, the battery will take what current it needs to get to 2.3v per cell, then the current will drop off over time and you will find it will be less than 0.1 amp floating.....
Are you thinking about another generator to power the house? (at least, power the refrigerator(s) deep freezer, (if you have one) and furnace. (if necessary)
I went and checked out your video you referenced below. All I heard was excuses for not powering the house, no legitimate reasons though. It doesn't appear that money is an issue considering the massive overkill on the fire system and emergency lighting. Is that a NEMA 4 lighting fixture on the generator shed? If so, I know those are at least a couple hundred dollars. Emergency lights in the house are likely at least $200 each. You can buy flashlights that plug into an outlet that turn on automatically on loss of power for ~$25 each. Not to mention, in a fire you want your emergency lights down by the floor because the rising smoke will collect at the ceiling and likely obscure any ceiling mounted lighting. Standard residential smoke and/or CO alarms also come with emergency lights now for ~$30 each. An "EXIT" sign in your bedroom? Seriously? Some other things I noticed were: Battery charger strapped to the generator frame. That vibration will definitely shorten the life of that charger. Home made automatic transfer switch. That should be either a single double-throw contactor or two mechanically interlocked contactors (like a reversing starter for a motor). If using a single double-throw contactor, get one that's rated for DC voltage. The contacts have a larger gap and they are better at arc quenching, which will extend the life of the contacts when switching heavy loads back and forth and prevent arc jump between the mains and generator contacts when switching back to utility power. Generator ratings. You said that the generator will provide the "surge" rating for up to 30 minutes, that would be incorrect. You might get 10 to 20 seconds at best before the generator's breaker kicks out. The "surge" rating is only to handle the short duration (2 to 3 seconds) inrush of a motor starting up.
I'm assuming your comment is being sarcastic and I may have missed it. All the reasons absolutely were legitimate. generator cost would exceed $30,000 the fire alarm systems were all less than $4000 I didn't buy a single emergency lighting fixture more than $80. Transfer which is not homemade i'm not sure where you got that idea from but a CSA approved product that is mechanically interlock you are making up information that you don't know. If you want to argue about the "surge "rating take it up with the manufacturer that made the specifications keep in mind it's an inverter generator there is going to be different characteristics than a standard AC generator that will lose RPM quickly being your concern.
Hey, Nick, can you tell me the radio station? Info the radio station that you were playing on the radio during the video including what city it was in because I'm a radio station traveler and I'd like to listen to radio stations and right now I'm focusing on Canada, so if you can give me that information call sign name, what city. It's stationed and that would be nice. Thank you, speech. The text was used in the creation of this comment. So, there's any spelling errors. Please bear with me on that.❤❤
what i dont understand is if the pwoer goes out and ur generater needs power to start it self with all the tech in that thing to start it up u've added, how can it boot without power?
This was a very entertaining video to say the least!! This is kind of a random question but what do you think would be a good affordable carbon monoxide detector for home use?
That was one of the problems with my older firman generator was the UPS's would switch on and off of generator power sometimes not liking the distortion.
Why don't you add a timer circuit to the generator shed that will keep the exhaust fan running for maybe 15 minutes after the generator shuts down. This will cool down the generator and the shed that it is in.
It's because the fan is ran directly off the generator's power so it decreases the chances of failure due to a transfer switch over problem however the damper does stay open until the temperature goes down.
Nice for your emergency lights ditch those old useless lead acid and get some lithium ones that are readily available now same space and twice the power or more for time wise lighting
14.2 volts is nominal, 15 and 16 is over rated, but not damagingly so, don't want to see it for sure, but it's not dangerous. 17 or 18 is damagingly high, and 19-20 is dangerously so.
My brain, randomly: "I could always buy a 2nd emergency light, wire a three-prong plug to it, plug that into a UPS, and have redundant emergency lighting." I have three UPS that just need new batteries, I totally could do that. 🤣 With the generator battery charging issue... Did you try NOT using the blocking diode, but unplugging the trickle charger while the generator was running? (I ask, based on the assumption that the receptacle the battery charger is plugged into receives generator power. Having two things charging the battery simultaneously could be the whole problem.) 2:38 - I kept laughing at the door closing on you. I'm surprised you don't have a hydraulic opener (like automotive hoods/trunks/liftgates) or some sort of latch-open mechanism.
I know its unnecessary but could you connect you house fire alarm to the generator, and maybe a main fridge? Mostly fire alarm panel. (I feel like I've asked this before but i want to know)
It would be possible if I was to excavate and bury conduit etc. but in total there are eight fridges/freezers in different locations so it would be a ton of work to do them all. The fire alarm doesn't need it as it has battery back up.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I didn't realize this video was going to gain as many new viewers as it did. This is why the generator doesn't power the house ua-cam.com/video/0EXjqxSqpiY/v-deo.htmlsi=-pDIpQ7u0M3sh0IH
As for all the criticism I've been getting of my "overkill "systems I am aware they are not what you would usually see in a house but please understand this is my job and without them I wouldn't be able to produce this content for others. The only reason you were reading this comment is because of my decisions I have made to create a channel and focus around emergencies how they work and are installed etc.
Oddly enough, i got to your video from someone discussing generators in the general channel in the mangadex discord LOL.. apparently a lot of otakus really dont like it when the power goes out :D
I got randomly recommended this channel and I am glad I did, great video!
4:00
You can tell this is the most excitement he has had in ages. He has been looking forward to this for months
He deff cranked it thinking about this a few times
I bet this guy's neighbors love him - everyone else, power goes out, peace and quiet, this guy, generators running, UPSs beeping, alarms going off, strobes flashing, and him running around videoing stuff, dog barking. There's really no point to having backup power if the only thing you're doing is going around checking your backup power, and turning off beeping alarms
@@gorak9000 it is worthwhile when there are winter power outages if power is out for days with no heat or way to cook.
the generator door constantly closing was so funny xD
Its got it's own kind of door closer 😂😂😂
@VoidsDemise5443 my bedroom door is like that lol
@@PowerButtonYT that's probably cause it needs adjusted
I listen laughing
When one door closes...
It sounded like you accidentally connected your dog to the power failure alarm. Lol
I love how you show all the angles on events like this. Wish more channels did this.
At least the power company notifies you if there's a planned outage coming. Where I'm at the power distributor is CenterPoint Energy and they don't do that. They rarely do it sometimes, but not all the time. Except they give you the estimated restoration time.
Heard bad things about Centerpoint. I have PGE out on the west coast. We get notified of planned outages. An unplanned outage we get an estimate for restoration.
Technically they notified the person who owns the property. Not this guy. Lol
3:09 the door said stop talking nic
lmao, if the door closed on him it’d be way funnier tho
@@SodiumInduction-hv agreed
This is wild, man. You have so much going on, more than most people for sure. The drone footage was super cool but you’re also doxxing yourself pretty hard with this. Stay safe, be careful, and thanks for sharing about your backup systems
Yeah I’m scared of him doxxing himself. His house is extraordinarily easy to find.
0:35 SHOOTING STAR!
dust particle
Power outages I think are my favorite videos from you because I like how you have these emergency lights in your house, and I am interested on how long they last for. But schedule power outages? Never lost my power for as long as I lived here in Alberta.
Same
They sometimes need to do maintenance that requires power shut off
That door on the gen building closing on you got me laughing 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The door got me laughing my head off lol😂😂😂
Hi Nic,
You're obviously a tech savy consumer. Your set up looks more like what you would find in a commercial building than a home.
I'm curious how you installed a relay set up to self start your generator? Like you I have a portable modified to be in a custom shed to provide back up for your home. Mine has to be manually flipped on with 4 moves.
I was wondering if I could make mine so it comes on automatically? That would be great!
I'm curious to know?
As for the power company giving you a planned outage tells me it was for maintenance? I'm a power lineman for a living & we often will wait a little past when the planned outage will start. That gives people without generators time to bathe & start their day. Back in the old days we started without notification & would pull the plug as soon as everyone was ready to go?
Nice video! Great content!
Hoping your genny was able to keep the family safe during the outage?
You should also consider making youtube videos about your setup, tons of people would watch them for sure.
I believe he did make a video previously about how it works, including self starting. Forget what it's called, but if you dig through his videos there is one somewhere that explains it all.
@@PowerButtonYT Maybe when I’m retired? Working full time plus for a utility company can be a very challenging position to be in. For those less enlightened….I believe the people in South Korea are the hardest working nation in the world? They average about 3500 working hours a year. American by comparison average about 2000 hours a year. So Americans by & large might be considered in certain circles lazy? Power lineman make the people in South Korea seem lazy. I’m your laziest lineman where I work. I only work the forced hours at work this year. I only worked 400 hours of forced overtime for the year. Most of those hours were suicide shifts. You’d probably ask what’s a suicide shift? Any shifts where employees are expected to work in excess of 16 hours a day with less than 8 hours off between shift. Our first day on storm we are expected to work a 24 hour shift. We typically start our day at 7 am then work until 7 am the following day on storm. We are released to go home & be back into work at 2:30 pm. Then we work 2:30 pm until 7 am the next day. We stay on that new schedule until all the customers are back on. Some of those shifts can last weeks without a day off in between. I average one 24 hour storm shift a month followed by a 16 hour shift. That’s an extra 24 hours of overtime for that week. So my typical week on storm is 64 hours. I work with other lineman that answer their phone 24/7. Those guys work all the hours I work plus overnight call outs, scheduled overtime, unscheduled overtime. Emergency work. Being on call, forced on call etc. Weekends, holidays & vacation. Yes, our employer has cancelled vacations because of storm work. Some of these lineman work up to 1600 hours of overtime. While our emergency men have been known to work upwards of 3000 hours of overtime a year in addition to the 2000 hours we all work during the day time. If I do the math right? Some lineman work upwards of 5000 hours a year. Lineman by far are the hardest working profession that I know of?
Hence why I say in retirement I might indulge in doing videos. In the meantime I sit back on my leisure time to watch Bobsdecline & Magic Man. Both are lineman who shoot videos on their off hours for everyone else to enjoy. Please check them out!
@@AyesC9000 Thank you! I found it & book marked it to watch later. I’m curious how he did that? I tried to buy a transfer switch from Honda for my genny but they only make small ones of up to 8 circuits. I back feed my entire 32 breaker panel at home. I utilize an inter lock in the panel to isolate the line from the load. I have a Honda wired remote start from my genny. I can do it all within my house without having to go outside. I designed it this way so my wife who isn’t a lineman could do it herself. My wife has done it the few times it has happened. I can’t tell you how restful that is. I no longer get messages on my phone at work that the power is out at home. I can focus on my job without interruptions.
@AyesC9000 it's called "turning a portable manual generator into an automatic standby generator"
Hey Nic can you please make a video on your Milwaukee Pack out system is set up. I really want to see how you have it set up. Thanks
you gotta put springs on that door lol
Edit : I love that generator starting sound!!
the work that you do is amazing! the things that you have done.
Hey nick I got inspiration from you and I made my own snap circuit fire alarm instead of an actual one, but it’s still really cool
I agree with his statement about not going over 14.2 Volts.
Battery capacity sounds right to me that 6v is only 30wh and realistically you get half the capacity out so 15wh. I believe you said 3 w lights x2 so 6w at 1:45 so call it 2 hours 12wh. Then add in losses and tolerances that sound in the right ball park.
Glad you live somewhere warm. I don't think I would want them to turn off the power here right now.
10°F Outside, Feels like -5°F today
Yes we've had a quite mild winter so far only been down around 28°F or -2°C very warm compared to last year.
Good to see you and your house survived the power outage🥵
Wow your power company really needs to get it together! But it is exciting for the emergency equipment!
Planned maintenance is common and necessary
Yes it is! Just odd to me. My power never goes out, it might flicker here and there but that’s it and still rare. Last extended outage I had was 30 mins and that was 2 years ago. I see them working on lines all the time and no power outage.
@@nics-systems-electric on your auto generator app I wish it had the generator gas tank indicator and tells you how much gas you have left
it sometimes has to be done, sometimes they can safely do work, other times, say for example, if they need to replace a transformer because it's old or not working as intended, or some cables need to be changed due to wear and tear (pretty rare), then they need to cut the power.
It depends on a lot of factors.
In this case, this maintenance required the power to be cut as they were handling the cables themselves. Kilovolts of AC power don't mess around.
We used to have those emergency spot lights at a location and they are not made to give long term lights. They are intended to give you light for enough time to evacuate a building. 15 minutes would be good but I think they can go an hour.
I made a emergency light with some relays, a battery and led modules. It is in the room where my dog sleeps so I put a timer on it, it lights her corner all night and charges in the day. Battery lasts years before having to replace it but I work it to the max, that is the tru test. you have the wrong equipment for long term lighting.
I like the drone footage though, good idea, I'll have to try that some time.
The ups is limited, you have to watch the load you put on them, they dont last long unless you have one with a big battery. do the numbers to figure how long they will last, you might be surprised, well guess you are surprised.
But thanks for the vid
Hey is there a legal reason/requirement to need all the commercial grade equipment? Just curious- I have the “IT” version of your house basically as that’s my career…
No not required just an interest of mine and what I do for work.
@ same here- I was just curious as you were mentioning how much the batteries were supposed to go for…thanks for your help and all the excellent content!
The 12V charger output on that generator is a dumb charger that will overcharge a connected battery without external charge management circuitry. A PWM solar charge controller that open circuits the PV connection (NOT one that shorts out the PV connection; this is safe to do for PV but not generators) when it stops charging the battery will work but you will want a snubber network on the generator connection to keep inductive current spikes from cooking the charge controller switching transistor/transistors. Some capacitors should work.
Also, 15V is a safe desulfating potential for 12V nominal batteries but charging that high will kill them if done regularly.
That gen door really does pop a joke
I really wanted to see how long the one in the bathroom of the garage would've lasted. They all did really well
A back up generator setup like this would be really cool and useful in South Africa because every there are planed power outages because they don’t have enough money and power station capacity to give everyone power all the time
The winter storm we just had down south shut my power down. At least the battery backup on my demonstration fire alarm systems worked as intended,
Power went out next to Dairy Queen. Might of gotten something to eat. Probably why it took long to cut power.
Lol
I hope the ice cream didn’t melt
@@tomewatsonlol
Looks like they may be adding a transformer bank on that structure. They moved the crossarm up and added one below it. Wouldn't be surprised if they add a transformer bank for the DQ and near loads. Sure you'll see something in a few days added there.
Wearing shorts this time of the year? In Canada?
Hasn't gotten that cold yet
I love the generator you made good job. Good thing my power goes out almost once a year where I live
Best time of all to put the entire system to the test.
I love your videos a lot it’s so cool to see the generator start.
New to the channel. Do you have frequent prolonged power outages? Or are you just a security system and whole home backup power nerd/geek? No offense meant by that last question. This setup, although cool, seems overkill. I'd love to have a backup power system like this but having just 2 UPSes and a large potable battery is fine because the UPSes get me through power blips and the large portable battery gets me through the maybe once a year hour or 2 long power outage.
Mostly to make videos and for fun power is out between probably 15-30 hours a year.
it looks like a commercial building. Im interested in the systems so thank you for that but you live in this place? wow
Hey Nic what mhz Is your key fob for the door access control?
13.56 MHz
@ ok thanks did you see the other comment I posted I think 6 days ago?
Do you really need an exit sign in a BEDROOM? Really? What is that for? After you get Alzheimers?
No it's not required.
Fire alarm : bro my power gone can get power thank you
Fire alarm 2 : hey me too bro
Great power outage video. I love these kind of videos
When are you going to do January monthly testing?
August 14, 2003 the best day in my career as an electrician.
This is a very good video. I love your content. You are the best UA-camr ever.
What device are you using to read the battery voltage on the cell phone? Thats not included with the generator itself i dont think.
That's the module that automates the generator.
Power stations are the best!
Yeah theyre nice and easy to build
Are you planning on expanding the gen set to the house?
No
Do you plan on setting up a generator for the house 🏡?
No
Sealed lead acid float voltage for a 12v battery is 13.6 to 13.8volts.
With so many smal AGM/SLA batteries around the hous, in lights and several UPS, I doubt they last long!?
Lead acid batteries take damage, when drained about 50% or a lower.
Have you considered replacing some of them for lithium iron(LiFePO 4) 12v batteries?
My 20year old 1000watt APC UPS needed batteries replaced every 1-2 years.
-About 4 years back, I replaced the two 12v 17a batteries, with two 12v 24amp LiFePO batteries.
Took some experimentation and adjustments of both BMS, in the battery bluetooth app (-discharge cut-off voltage, ect)
-to make them play nice with an UPS designed for lead acid batteries.
A bit more expencive batteries to buy, but cheeper in the long run when deep discharge.
Sure UPS runtime calculation will be wrong (a flat voltdischarge curve, compared to lead acid batteries)
But MUCH cheeper in long rund, and longer ups runtime.
Also, lithium iron(LiFePO) batteries do not take damage, and noticably lose capacity after a deep discharge 😃
And they will probably outlast my very old APC UPS 😅
I would likely be doing it if the equipment was meant for charging them and was listed for it.
Do you use ubiquity for your networking equipment in your house?
Access points yes
Will you have your house connected to the generator or is it mainly for the outdoors and garage?
No it's too much load, I've done a video on that explaining.
Your generator turns a quarter of it's fuel into electricity the rest into heat and exhaust heat you could recover some heat from there to heat the house. (There are people using a heat exchanger on the exhaust from a diesel heater to get another KW or two from the fuel.) You need to think of the neighbours! making them listen to that engine may require you to send them some free power.
I've recently had a power outage and survived for 6 hours on a 12v 7AH battery and a 12" length of 12v LED light strip. It's silent and bright enough without the neighbours asking for help.
This is why I have two 48v golf cart batteries hooked to a 10kw 240v inverter. I also have a dual fuel portable generator connected to the same inverter. Also have 4 200w solar panels keeping the batteries charged. All of this is contained on/in a small power shed that I converted from a dog house. The generator exhausts outside, there are 2 intake fans and 1 exhaust fan set to turn on when the temperature inside reaches 90 degrees, and I have a temperature probe installed that wirelessly sends the temperature info to a screen in my office. I run the generator off of grill propane cylinders, so no danger of gasoline messing up the carburetor. The fans keep going after the generator turns off until the temperature goes down to 90 degrees. The generator and a propane cylinder take up the bottom half of the power shed, the batteries and inverter are on a custom built table and take up the top half, and the solar panels are on the roof. When I have a power outage, the idea is that I have to connect the system to the house via the generator inlet, flip the breaker interlock so the house is isolated from the grid, and have backup power available to the entire house. I had to remove the neutral/ground bond out of the generator so that the only bonding would be in the panel. Obviously, I turn off the breakers to the stove, water heater, washer and dryer, and central air system when I'm on backup. I do have a window AC/heat pump unit that can just about condition the entire house, and I can run this off the backup system. I can turn off power to the window unit and turn on the water heater if I need to.
This setup had its first real test after tornadoes struck the Tallahassee area on May 10 of last year and the power company shut off the power to my area to replace around 400 or 500 power poles in other areas. The grid in my area was down for 3, almost 4 days. The nights were cool so I didn't have to run any air conditioner, so that helped. I ran the house off the batteries at night, then charged the batteries and ran the house off the generator during the day (my neighbors just ran their generator all night, and it was LOUD). It's a pretty quiet system with all the insulation I added, and the temperature stayed within the generator's designed limits. I imagine if I ever lost power during the winter, the generator would keep the batteries warm so they can charge. My only misgiving is that it's a very manual system, but I don't really trust these things to automatic systems that can fail over time.
I have to ask, why does a residential house look like a commercial building? I think you might have just went a bit over the top. 🤷♂👍🍺 I think the strobe and the light are a bit overkill on the gen house. Its going to take someone a long time to rip all that out and put it back to a normal home once you get rid of it.
To help fix the split 240V load imbalance you should add a auto-former and that will balance the load back to the generator, so its happy and you don't have to worry about those individual leg loads anymore. Just keep in mind you really want to load the generator to a minimum of 50% or rated capacity all the time, but ideally 80% if you can. Otherwise you will build up carbon because its not reaching the proper loading levels on the engine. On my boat I have three generators, a 32KW, 22.5KW and a 9KW, and depending the load of the boat at the time, I can alternate to the correct size generator. That way I keep it in that 80% load, when running them 24/7 for weeks at a time for ocean crossings. I also have 8KW worth of inverters to run most load so that changing generators doesn't impact anything on the boat except large draw 240V like HVAC.
Also 15-16V is way to high for cyclic use most all flooded cell manufactures will say 14.5 max. However you are using it for standby use, so you want in that 13.2-13.6v range so it doesn't boil off electrolyte. 🤠👍
You wouldn't be watching the video without it. It's just my job and my interest making videos on how systems work.
@@nics-systems-electric Hey man I am 100% for it, I am glad, it just seems a bit over the top with all the commercial stuff in a residential setting, I guess its the "out-of-place" that it looks like. For sure I am envious of your fire panels. I have full online battery UPS for most of the house until the automatic full house generator kicks in, fire sprinklers, fire alarm, alarm system, full home automation systems, multiple ISP connections. Granted its all residential based, but for the most part within the 7500 sq feet none of it is visible within the home. My wife would have shot me had I run EMT conduit all over. 🤠👍
Something else I would (if i was you) try would be finding lower wattage LEDs for the e-lights to get them to run for longer.
not that it NEEDs it
Nic, do you have beef with the door? Lol
Probably
30 mins in America for EM Lighting , in the UK it needs to last 3 hours minimum . That’s insane 🤔
America is 90 minutes
@@nics-systems-electricwhat happened
@@Gamer1Real in regards to what?
@ Why they had to shut down the power
Would be interesting to see if you could stretch your fuel supply by using a power station/solar generator.
Uhhh I’m very confused… why do you have a commercial fire alert system and emergency lighting in a residential building?
It does things that I needed and offers better reliability, capabilities and is my job. Emergency lighting comes on when the power goes out so you can still see.
@ just get yourself a hybrid solar inverter and use it as a whole house UPS like most other people. It’s definitely neat and I guess makes sense you just use what you work with, looks professionally done. What do the local inspectors say?
@@XtheFox1 solar would require massive amounts of battery banks and is not a practical emergency power source ICE can be refused during a outage as many times as needed. batteries lack the runtime at a very high cost that is impractical for emergency usage.
I look forward to your up coming exploding battery fire video.
What does the UPS in your room power?
Probably the light in his room
Pretty much nothing but I was tired of it sitting on the floor in the garage just phone and laptop chargers and lamp
Nic, when is you annual fire alarm systems test video coming out or do you have a time set yet?
He has all year
He usually does it in January. That’s why I’m asking.
When he gets a time to do it.
@62773_lifts He probably is waiting until he has the house to himself. He probably is also busy this year.
What do you use to edit? You do an awesome job!
Final Cut Pro X
Nic, do your parents work in the electrics/fire alarm industry also? Or do they just let you install what you like at the house? :)
They did not.
what kinda drone is that??? i need it
DJI mini three pro. They don't sell it anymore but there's newer versions.
@@nics-systems-electricThanks. i got a DJI much smaller it can’t handle ANY wind.
Yep never overload the battery past the factory specs
my question is why do you need so much fire stuff and emergancy stuff
Just my job and interest I wouldn't have this channel if I didn't
7:26 Why don't you reconnect the hot water tank to your house breaker panel so you don't need to turn it off manually every time you are on generator?
That would be a ton of work and would not be practical at all. Not sure if it would even be legal.
@nics-systems-electric Or at least try installing relay module that shuts down your hot water tank during utility power outage (if generator is running)
Nic, been watching for a couple of months, meant to say this in a comment. In the past, you've complained when you tried to acknowledge the UPS alarm for the WiFi router, and have accidentally turned it off and had to jumpstart it? If i recall correctly, the trick there, is to HOLD the power on button when power's out to start it, rather than just press ON, and it should turn right back on. My boss has that UPS but in a larger form in our server room, and the same model running his PC, hence why I've noticed that. Figured I should finally comment that so you're aware.
Yeah I've since figured that out that if you're patient and hold it for a while it comes on I managed to silence at this time without turning it off for once lol
@@nics-systems-electricoh trust me, I've accidentally shut down the UPS for our office and our client's servers by accident by doing this same thing😂
Nic Been Watching For a Couple Of Months
Meant To Say This In a Comment. In The Past You've Complained When
You Tried To Acknowledge The Ups Alarm For The WiFi Router
And Have Accidentally Turned It Off And Had To
Jumpstart If I Recall Correctly The Trick There
Is To Hold The Power On Button When Power's Out Start It
Rather Than Just Press On And It Should Turn Back On. My Boss Has That Ups
But In a Larger Form In Our Server
Room And The Same Model Running His Pc Hence Why I've Noticed That.
Figured I Should Finally Comment That So
You're Aware.
Wait, the house isn't on the generator? This video popped up in my recommended videos for some reason... and I watched it. Seems like a lot of work just to power a garage.
No, to much load and other reasons I've done a video on that.
Is that a sealed lead acid battery if that's the case 15 is high because there's nowhere for the gas build up to go because it's you know sealed. Higher voltages aren't as big of an issue with vented or openable batteries. Besides you want a trickle charge not a dump as much as possibly as you can in their charge.
6:51 where do you get your phone wallpaper nic. i like it. could you possibly link the website you got it from if you got it from a website or something
All pictures I've taken
at a batteries low point on a 12 volt battery should be at around 12.3 at most around 13.6 - 13.9 range not higher bc then its overcharging its its below the 12.3 mark then it needs to be charged up again inbetween 12.3 to at most 13.6 volts is ok any more could overload the battery or worse tbh
or can Fry the battery and all with it love the setup btw find it pretty cool ya did that whole setup for a backup power source
no a fully charged 12volt led acid battery fully charged is 12.6 and can take up to 15.5 volts and most alternators output 14.7
@icy-claws Not really, most Lead Acid batteries / cells, are designed to discharge to about 1.8v per cell or 10.8v for a 12v battery. Charging around 2.3v per cell - 13.8v for a 12v battery (VRLA) flooded lead acid such as starting batteries a bit higher maybe 2.5v per cell, but that's more a 'boost' charge while engine running then it is not charged until engine running again.
To keep a battery on 'float' set the charger to 2.3v per cell and you will be good. The charger is more important to make sure it is constant voltage, variable current, the current the charger supplies should be up to a max of 10% of the battery ah rating, the battery will take what current it needs to get to 2.3v per cell, then the current will drop off over time and you will find it will be less than 0.1 amp floating.....
Are you thinking about another generator to power the house? (at least, power the refrigerator(s) deep freezer, (if you have one) and furnace. (if necessary)
No i've done a video on that.
your videos are amazing nic such a big fan also when are you going to do the 2025 verification
I can’t tell exactly, but does that outdoor emergency light on the garage always stay on even when the generator is running?
Stays on for 15 minutes after power is restored.
35:15 he says it’s stays on for 15mins after the power comes back on.
I went and checked out your video you referenced below. All I heard was excuses for not powering the house, no legitimate reasons though. It doesn't appear that money is an issue considering the massive overkill on the fire system and emergency lighting. Is that a NEMA 4 lighting fixture on the generator shed? If so, I know those are at least a couple hundred dollars. Emergency lights in the house are likely at least $200 each. You can buy flashlights that plug into an outlet that turn on automatically on loss of power for ~$25 each. Not to mention, in a fire you want your emergency lights down by the floor because the rising smoke will collect at the ceiling and likely obscure any ceiling mounted lighting. Standard residential smoke and/or CO alarms also come with emergency lights now for ~$30 each.
An "EXIT" sign in your bedroom? Seriously?
Some other things I noticed were:
Battery charger strapped to the generator frame. That vibration will definitely shorten the life of that charger.
Home made automatic transfer switch. That should be either a single double-throw contactor or two mechanically interlocked contactors (like a reversing starter for a motor). If using a single double-throw contactor, get one that's rated for DC voltage. The contacts have a larger gap and they are better at arc quenching, which will extend the life of the contacts when switching heavy loads back and forth and prevent arc jump between the mains and generator contacts when switching back to utility power.
Generator ratings. You said that the generator will provide the "surge" rating for up to 30 minutes, that would be incorrect. You might get 10 to 20 seconds at best before the generator's breaker kicks out. The "surge" rating is only to handle the short duration (2 to 3 seconds) inrush of a motor starting up.
I'm assuming your comment is being sarcastic and I may have missed it. All the reasons absolutely were legitimate. generator cost would exceed $30,000 the fire alarm systems were all less than $4000 I didn't buy a single emergency lighting fixture more than $80. Transfer which is not homemade i'm not sure where you got that idea from but a CSA approved product that is mechanically interlock you are making up information that you don't know. If you want to argue about the "surge "rating take it up with the manufacturer that made the specifications keep in mind it's an inverter generator there is going to be different characteristics than a standard AC generator that will lose RPM quickly being your concern.
Over paranoia about the whole situation 😂😂😂
Hey, Nick, can you tell me the radio station? Info the radio station that you were playing on the radio during the video including what city it was in because I'm a radio station traveler and I'd like to listen to radio stations and right now I'm focusing on Canada, so if you can give me that information call sign name, what city. It's stationed and that would be nice. Thank you, speech. The text was used in the creation of this comment. So, there's any spelling errors. Please bear with me on that.❤❤
what i dont understand is if the pwoer goes out and ur generater needs power to start it self with all the tech in that thing to start it up u've added, how can it boot without power?
Electric start from battery. Same as your car uses battery to start the engine.
and for the next system test/ verification you should activate it from the shed nuder the stairs
This was a very entertaining video to say the least!!
This is kind of a random question but what do you think would be a good affordable carbon monoxide detector for home use?
Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed. I am really not too sure I don't have any experience with purchasing any unfortunately.
@ okay. thank you
Why do you have a commercial fire alarm in your house. Just for tinkering?
because he wants one ig, no reason not to its fun and safe and more reliable than standerd onces
Only a perfect sine wave generator would keep the UPSes online!
That was one of the problems with my older firman generator was the UPS's would switch on and off of generator power sometimes not liking the distortion.
Why don't you add a timer circuit to the generator shed that will keep the exhaust fan running for maybe 15 minutes after the generator shuts down. This will cool down the generator and the shed that it is in.
It's because the fan is ran directly off the generator's power so it decreases the chances of failure due to a transfer switch over problem however the damper does stay open until the temperature goes down.
Nice for your emergency lights ditch those old useless lead acid and get some lithium ones that are readily available now same space and twice the power or more for time wise lighting
Some of them are but I don't find them any better it's more so a pain when it comes time to replace batteries although they do have a longer life
5 Ah at 6 V nominal = 30 Wh
If they're 4 W heads, 16 W draw... yeah that checks out
When powe did go out when their was a windstorm for me my ups didn’t last
when are ya going to do the 2025 annual
Soon
Where is this located?
British Columbia
14.2 volts is nominal, 15 and 16 is over rated, but not damagingly so, don't want to see it for sure, but it's not dangerous. 17 or 18 is damagingly high, and 19-20 is dangerously so.
Idk man I would be worried about 16 V degrading my batteries.
My brain, randomly: "I could always buy a 2nd emergency light, wire a three-prong plug to it, plug that into a UPS, and have redundant emergency lighting." I have three UPS that just need new batteries, I totally could do that. 🤣
With the generator battery charging issue... Did you try NOT using the blocking diode, but unplugging the trickle charger while the generator was running?
(I ask, based on the assumption that the receptacle the battery charger is plugged into receives generator power. Having two things charging the battery simultaneously could be the whole problem.)
2:38 - I kept laughing at the door closing on you. I'm surprised you don't have a hydraulic opener (like automotive hoods/trunks/liftgates) or some sort of latch-open mechanism.
In October 9th early morning at 1 am power outage has started 3 hours long using steam deck arch linux
The generator door was a paid actor
Generator door needs to F off
My generator doesn't use a tank it's hooked to the ng line for the house and has a single cylinder Briggs engine with automatic transfer switch
Definitely a nice option if you have natural gas
My mothers company lost power once but I think they have power now
I recognize 2 beeps in the video, cyberpower and APC UPS
I have the same UPS seen at 10:20, mine has 2 lifepo4 batteries.
I know its unnecessary but could you connect you house fire alarm to the generator, and maybe a main fridge? Mostly fire alarm panel. (I feel like I've asked this before but i want to know)
It would be possible if I was to excavate and bury conduit etc. but in total there are eight fridges/freezers in different locations so it would be a ton of work to do them all. The fire alarm doesn't need it as it has battery back up.
omg you have EXIT signs in your bedrooms! LOL
Just mine it's like a nightlight
@nics-systems-electric that's cool, I just had to giggle a little.
The generator door is trying to fight him after he pushed it