Quote from: CjAl on November 13, 2011, 05:58:32 PM

that generator you switched to. is that the ecogen model? is that the only model that will auto start off the invertor?

i was looking at them but they are about twice as much as the same wattage in a regular standby unit.

CjAL yes it is. Only 6000 watt. BUT it is the only generator that Generac will warranty for "off grid" application.  The other Generac generators ( standby's) the manufacturer will void the warranty if they are placed into service without grid tied power.  In addition you will have to have Generac to furnish you with an additional wiring harness to auto/remote start.  The Ecogen is already equipted with auto/remote start wiring.  While Generac voids the warranty on other standby generators manufactured by them for "off grid" use the Ecogen carries a 3 year warranty and the service interval is lot longer than regular standby's.  You ask me how I know this. Athat neighbor had purchased an 8000 Standby and had to go through the hoops that I described.  In fact I too was going to purchase the same as him until I learned the particulars regarding the warranty and auto start features. 

Even with the Ecogen you will have to supply some power to the generator to " maintain" the starting battery whether that be grid power, battery bank or additional solar power.  This is the major problem I see with their generators but one you have to go through.  I use my battery bank to accomplish this.  My neighbor uses a couple of small solar panels.

I am not real sure of the particulars regarding the engine in comparison with others that they build by it is my understanding that they are built stronger to run longer than the standby's.  They have a pressurized oil system to make sure that it maintains proper lubrication while running for longer period of time.

I use a Magnum AGS (Automatic Generator Start) control which is wired to the inverter control module.

thanks for the info. the ones i googled say 7k, wonder if they uprated the new ones.

Quote from: CjAl on November 13, 2011, 07:51:54 PM
thanks for the info. the ones i googled say 7k, wonder if they uprated the new ones.

Not real sure of that.  This is the unit that I originally had considered and one that the neighbor had purchased.

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/Generac-Guardian-5882-Standby-Generator/p4792.html

In addition to the regular equipted Ecogen I had to purchase the 240 volt breaker which split the 50 amp to two 25 amps.  Their price was enormous for the breaker and I am sure you could probably find one for 1/2 the price. I don't recall  the exact make but it was a commonly known company

i know. i used to haul for generac and i have more then a few friends who work there. im actually not a fan of the company but they make a good unit. the bigger ones anyways.

Well we gave Dogtrot a test run with a weekend overnight stay.  Friday temps were in the upper 20's to low 30's and at about 4am I turned on one of the propane heaters to maintain a decent indoor temperature.  I didn't want to fool with firing the fireplace at that time of the morning. 

Saturday night was music night.  We invited a few musicians and family for an evening of entertainment which lasted until about 1AM.  Since we were up longer firing the fireplace and wood cookstove the temperatures were confortable throughout  the night. But then again the outside temperature was a little more moderate at 40F. 

Here is a few pictures and video of night.



There always seems to be a wee little one enjoying the music.  This little fellow is the mandolin players grand daughter. She has been raised around music and it's a joy to watch this 11 month old keep time and wiggle to the tunes. Is there any doubt this little angle is from Irish decent.



And here is a little video of one of the many songs played that evening.  I believe it is known as Congress throughout the old tyme circuit

http://www.youtube.com/user/redoverfarm1?feature=watch#p/a/u/0/pTX81ZRvoSs

I do have a few other videos and may edit this post later with a few more but the down load time prevented me from doing them now.

Great playing!  Looks like a good time was being had by all . . . .  (And what a cutie!)

So, redover, are you going to live there?

Quote from: considerations on November 18, 2011, 03:12:45 PM
So, redover, are you going to live there?

Part-time.  Mostly in the above frigid seasons.

"Part-time.  Mostly in the above frigid seasons."

Its fun to have those types of choices.  I always thought it would be nice to have a car for every mood I was in. 

Nice string-pluckin' going on there! Bluegrass is deceptively challenging to play well...

Quote from: considerations on November 19, 2011, 08:40:13 PM
I always thought it would be nice to have a car for every mood I was in.

... I used to have a full set of different tires and wheels for summer and winter. 

But then the birth of  All Season Radial's.  What ever happened to "recaps"?   

I haven't heard or thought of recaps for a long long time.


My winter set of 4 were studded, sort of like these..



Of course the ice racers had studded tires too. I never got into that though...

what you mean what happened to recaps? look on the side of the road you see them scattered all over!

we run them on our semi trailers. i wont run them on the truck, i have had too many things torn up when they go boom. but with the rising price.of tires you will see more and more.$250ea sure beats $600 ea.

not too long ago i found a company selling recap mud tires. i considered a set for my jeep for about 2 minutes. figured with the 6" of lift i probably dont need a 35" recap blowing on a short wheelbase at 70 mph

Yep on trucks they are still used but for auto's and light trucks they are slowly being phased out.  I remember that we too used to run winter treads recaps on our cars and pu trucks.  In fact we used to mount the winter treads on extra rims and just change out in the summer months.  I think the price of recaps on bias ply in comparison to steel belted tires probably has a lot to do with it.  Been ages since I even priced recaps.  Didn't they make what they called a "sawdust cap"?

one of big reasons for no recap car tires is the lack of bias ply casings.

in tx its so hot in the summer i blow recaps constantly. they are very sensitive to tire psi. in the summer running 70 mph truck tires can pick up 40psi.

in the summer i lower my tire psi and dont run over 65. it gets expensive fast

It's kinda odd that my first post here is about tires, but what can I say, I'm a jeep guy.  Through jeepforum I followed EaglesSJ here and have been lurking as a guest.

I run Treadwright MTG's on my Cherokee.  About $100 each for 31's, and if you request Goodyear MTR cores, it's very difficult to tell the difference.  I have no complaints so far, and they are quite popular among the budget minded off-road crowd.  I haven't heard of any tread separations yet.

Quote from: mgramann on November 22, 2011, 03:26:44 PM
It's kinda odd that my first post here is about tires, but what can I say, I'm a jeep guy.  Through jeepforum I followed EaglesSJ here and have been lurking as a guest.

I run Treadwright MTG's on my Cherokee.  About $100 each for 31's, and if you request Goodyear MTR cores, it's very difficult to tell the difference.  I have no complaints so far, and they are quite popular among the budget minded off-road crowd.  I haven't heard of any tread separations yet.

Thanks for that bit of info.I was looking at a set for my Ranger.


Sorry for the thread jack. 

Another sad day on the Mountain.  A good friend of 73 years young passed away.  He has battled cancer for the last two years.  You might recall a couple years ago that I had helped a neighbor finish the stone work on his fireplace flue.  It was his flue that I finished.  I am glad that I was able to help him with this project which was just one that he didn't have to worry about in his last couple of years.  Although just a summer residence he was a constant companion helping me with Dogtrot since it's beginning.  I was honored that he made the trip (several hours away) to Dogtrot for the house (cabin)warming back in the middle of October.  I had spoke with his daughter just hours prior to his passing and she said that although his life was labored he was listening to a video of my son playing on that night that he was at the cabin.     I have been blessed with so many people in my life who have lended a hand while building Dogtrot  I just wish a few would hang around a little longer to enjoy it with me.  This makes three dear friends that I have lost in the last couple of years.

(((Hugs))) The blessing is in his life and you were a part of it....

Working at the cabin intermittently lately.  Discovered a problem with my generator.  Had the Generac service personel at the cabin the other day and determined that the lower oil seal was leaking on the drive shaft.  They were on another service call and agreed to take a look at mine. I had noticed oil leaking out from under a lower shield.  All the fittings and filter were dry.  I called their office and they agreed to take care of the problem as soon as they received a service manuel and parts
from Generac.  This is a newer model than the manuels they have.  He advised that he would contact me to arraign to pick the unit up.  Well I guess that will be the determining factor on winterizing the cabin as far as shutting down the generator/inverter and battery bank. In the meantime I have been trying to get my batteries equalized.  With the help of Mountain Don I think I am getting there.

I went up on top of the Mountain today to retrieve my friends (recently passed away) Generator and Lawnmower Battery.  He had a problem with the charge being down and froze last year and they had to be replaced.  While up their I decided to take a few photographs and try out the telephoto lense. 

This picture was taken from on top toward my house some 2-3 air miles away



Here is the same but with the telephoto lense. If you look in the center of the previous photo you can barely see this 



Just a few inches of snow the other day but it still lingers on the north side of the cabin.  The "witch hat" is working as designed. Be interesting to see when a major snow hits.



Found a pretty interesting tree out the bedroom window that I thought others might like to see.  I just wonder how it became to grow this way.  Better hide it from "Poppy" or he would be taking it to Ohio to use as cruck beam.

I have watched this build from the beginig and I must say it is one of my favorites.
I hope some day to build something like it .
You have came along way Redover I bet it is nice to have it so far along.

Happy New Year,W

Quote from: Whitlock on January 01, 2012, 03:15:53 PM
I have watched this build from the beginig and I must say it is one of my favorites.
I hope some day to build something like it .
You have came along way Redover I bet it is nice to have it so far along.

Happy New Year,W

Thanks Whitlock.  Yes it is a good feeling (bitter/sweet) that the majority is finished and am enjoying the fruits of my labor. Still have the railings to build sometime in the near future.  Still have plenty of other projects to do at the house which will soon occupy my time.  Winter is closing in here so I am undecided what to do as far as  Dogtrot is concerned.  I will just have to play it by ear and see.

I went to the cabin today to unhook the generator so that it can be picked up.  So for now it looks like it will be at least a couple of weeks before I get it back and re-installed.  What a pain.  Oh Well that's life . 

I was just talking to Glenn and inquired about you the other day and your progress. You need to bring everone up to speed on your built.  Inquiring minds would like to know.

Take care my friend.

John

I guess I missed something somewhere. What happened to your generator?

Quote from: ChuckinVa on January 01, 2012, 09:43:20 PM
I guess I missed something somewhere. What happened to your generator?

When everything is working right watch out.  Something is about to go wrong.

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=3613.msg149316#msg149316