Thinking about this as my next home improvement purchase.

Power Backup Generator

I wonder if it's as good as UPS for the computers. IOW is it instantaneous fire up on main power loss or should I invest in UPS for the studio too.

Wonder what Herb The Flash has to say about this?  

Yeah... that company has asked me if I'm interested in being a dealer for them... All I have to do is buy one and put it in somewhere to become a dealer... and I was asking them, how bout if you give me your local leads and that might work... they're like.... NO... we don't work that way....

So... yeah, a home generator large enough to run more than a table lamp is always a good idea. 

I have a rather small 5000w 120/240 (Lowes special) that I keep handy. I've wired into my shed for a 240v line and when we have a storm...like yesterday, all I do is wait a few minutes to be sure the power will be out long enough to warrant dragging out the generator. 

When I have made that determination to start the generator, I shut off the HVAC units (3 of them), the water heater, the instant hot water heater, and throw the 200 amp main which disconnects me from the power company, then I plug in the special twistlock connector in the shed, fire up the generator and plug in the 240 plug to the generator and we have lights.

I did not turn on the studio DAW while on the generator this time.... mostly because there was so much other stuff going on. A generator puts out a pretty solid sine wave so the biggest danger with a computer is if the generator happens to run out of gas, or another heavy load switches on, like a microwave and then you get a dip in the voltage.

The big thing with the generator you showed in that link is they require a natural gas connection to run properly and reliably. They say they run on LP too but here in NC that means a tank and having a truck deliver to keep the tank full. I recall looking through the company literature and a tank of LP would not last very long with that thing running 24/7 in an emergency. 

If we had natural gas from a utility, I would probably have already installed one of the 20KW units... I like the auto switching.... currently, I have to turn mine on and then rely on someone...a neighbor to tell me the juice is back on.... 

You would still want the UPS on the computer because it takes about 10 seconds to sense the power is out, start the engine, stabilize the voltage, and switch it over. 

If I ever move to a place that has natural gas this will be on my list of things to do. 

As far as the UPS goes.... the larger the VA (volt/amp) rating of the UPS the longer it will be able to ride through the power outage. The time will depend on the age of the battery and the load on the UPS. 

As batteries age, their ability to deliver a given current decreases as the capacity of the cells are diminished. In the alarm business, I check my customers batteries when I'm onsite for other service issues. 

As far as the load goes, the lower the load the longer it will stay on line. So if you have the monitor plugged in to the backup side, it will reach the end of standby faster than if you have the monitor plugged into the non-backup receptacles. When I install CCTV systems with a DVD and cameras and monitor, I rarely plug the monitor in to the UPS. The bigger the monitor, the more current it requires. 

On my desktop DAW, I do have the monitor on the UPS so that when the power blinks or shuts down, I can still work on the project, get to a good stopping point, save the data and shut down the DAW.  I run the UPS's on my systems for 2 reasons. One is to avoid the crash and possible damage from an abrupt power failure, and two, so that the computer is protected to some degree against the little surges that are coming down the line, all day, every day, not including the big ones from storms. 

Also, many of the UPS's on the market now have software and a USB connection. This allows the UPS to initiate a shutdown upon a power failure unattended. 

New circuits: Most computers draw a couple of amps at most... (check the nameplate rating of the power supply for the actual amount) so putting several on a circuit is not a big problem.   It is considered safe to place up to a 16 amp load on a 20 amp circuit for continuous duty.... (on for 3 hrs or more at a time)  So in a recording studio, you would very likely meet that continuous duty requirement. So calculate the number of required circuits accordingly. 

That said, most home studios will easily run on a single 20 amp circuit. Add the new circuit if you need it. But I would be more inclined to say you needed a new circuit or outlets for convenience rather then sheer need, but hey, 2 circuits lightens the load on the remaining circuits. 

Back to the VA rating of a UPS and what it means without getting too technical. If a UPS has a 450VA rating, that is akin to saying the UPS is "technically" capable of delivering 450 VA for 1 hour.  So if you have a device on it that draws 450w, theoretically, it will run for 1 hour with a totally charged, new battery that has not lost any of it's original capacity..... theoretically of course.  The reality will be somewhat less. So when calculating how many UPS's you need for a given number of computers...add the nameplate loads..... 2 computers @  450va + 800va = 1250va total... on a 650va UPS will give you something under 30 minutes standby under ideal conditions..... then add a monitor that draws another 150va to that UPS and you're now under 20 minutes (+/-) again with ideal conditions. 

It's a good idea to test the UPS from time to time.... use a lamp or something, not a running computer... plug the lamp in, pull the power cord of the UPS, and time it until the lamp dies. Replace the UPS battery when it needs it. For this test, use the floodlights like on the corner of a house... the ones that are 100w or 150w rated and not the tree hugger equivilent... use the real Edison style carbon burning planet destroying ones.... otherwise you won't really load the UPS down and you'll be there a long time waiting for the thing to power down. 


I just checked my UPS's before the storm... and found the one on my IT gear was really in bad shape. It had some shorted cells. 

Another essay.... oh well.... 

Based on my limited experience I'd only use a portable generator for lights and appliances. I've had 2 customers bring in amps that got lightly toasted by generator power. I tested one of the offending units and found the output voltage was swinging from 90 - 130 VAC. And that's on a fairly expensive Honda generator.

Are there any units that are high quality and affordable?

Good point about using gen-set power for the essentials like lights and TV... (is TV an essential... round here it is... not for me of course...) 

I have a TV in the kitchen that is now not working properly, and both my phones on the biz line are not ringing.... but a different phone plugged in does ring.... dang surge..... And I really like that kitchen undercounter TV.... I need to check those 2 items out.... 


but I believe right now a generator surge may be the culpret. That's why I did not turn on the DAW while on Gen set power. 

Good points Michael.

Maybe the UPS (to protect the computer investment) is the better "next H.I. project".

The last house I bought came with a huge 15kva natural gas generator with a nice battery enhanced switch box.   Well, actually that's not completely accurate...  I bought the house with the generator, but it was stolen by the sellers the day before I was given the keys.

Fortunately, the entire neighborhood had had their electrical wires put underground a couple of years earlier so I didn't have many issues with power outtages (and the personal UPS' for the computers, phone and internet allowed me to continue polluting posting to forums, even in the dark).

Wow, I have to say that that is the most impressive graphical highlighting I've ever seen!
 
Guess I'll have to update my suit...
 

I think I'd rather want a propane powered one and have a tank. If there is ever a natural disaster such as Earthquake etc ... their going to kill the natural gas supply to avoid fires.

Unless they stockpiled tanks.  I'm just sayin'...

^ really a sheep dog!

Herb couldn't just install a automatic switch box between the gen set and the main power?

Oh never mind, i would not imagine that most 5000 watt gen sets are electric start.

Karyn

 

And who is the guy in the supermansuit standing next to you?

Not sure, but he makes me nervous...

How are we supposed to tell that you're happy with your face buried in the grass?




Oh...   Yeah..........







Never mind.










You are the one third from back on the right, aren't you?

Forget the generator....I want one of those suits like Craigs...uhhh the red and blue one...I'll make my own power with that. Never mind, me wife's sewing as I type. Up, Up and awaaaaaaayyyy...........zap!.............damn....static....bad,bad static. Back to a portable generator....maybe.