Running brewery from generator

Secla · Post by **Secla** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:12 pm

I'm considering moving my kit to the garage, the only problem is there's only a 20amp supply and il struggle with that and I'd rather not use gas ! As its a rented house I can't really add any more capacity so I was considering using a large diesel generator.

I'm not really up on my electrical knowledge but I guess at max il using 7kw max
How much overhead would I need to keep things going ? And will the fuel cost end up being ridiculous ?

GrowlingDogBeer · Post by **GrowlingDogBeer** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:27 pm

Can you not use bottled gas, I'm sure that would be easier. That's what I did. I ran my boiler on bottled gas but my HLT on electric as that only needed 10 Amps.

Secla · Post by **Secla** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:34 pm

I was planning using electric to get the hlt started on a timer in the morning.
If I used gas I imagine some kind of extraction would be needed plus it would need to be supervised 100% of the time

LeeH · Post by **LeeH** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 9:16 pm

Well is gas or this.

http://www.generators-direct.co.uk/sile ... AvG58P8HAQ

That will run 2 3KW elements.

It burns 1L of go go juice per hour...

Pinto · Post by **Pinto** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 11:32 pm

LeeH wrote:Well is gas or this.

http://www.generators-direct.co.uk/sile ... AvG58P8HAQ

That will run 2 3KW elements.

It burns 1L of go go juice per hour...

but the £1,378 price tag certainly add to the pence-per-bottle total

Gas would certainly be a better choice for outside brewing - and significantly cheaper !

GrowlingDogBeer · Post by **GrowlingDogBeer** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 11:59 pm

Could just use the 20 Amp you have in the garage and run a decent extension lead as well from the house.

Post by **themadhippy** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:12 am

for a 7kw load your looking at a 10kva genny .Dont be tempted to over spec it too much if its a diesel geny as they tend to get a bit upset if theres not a decent load on em.However 20A is good for just under 5kw so a 3kva maybe big enough to fill the gap the main issue is keeping both supplys seprate, and sorting out the earthing arangments,and no using red diesel to run it or. mr customs and exise might get arsey if there following the rules to the letter

LeeH · Post by **LeeH** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 8:24 am

themadhippy wrote:for a 7kw load your looking at a 10kva genny .Dont be tempted to over spec it too much if its a diesel geny as they tend to get a bit upset if theres not a decent load on em.However 20A is good for just under 5kw so a 3kva maybe big enough to fill the gap the main issue is keeping both supplys seprate, and sorting out the earthing arangments,and no using red diesel to run it or. mr customs and exise might get arsey if there following the rules to the letter

Yep, there is more to generators at home then people think.

Most sparks haven't even got a handle on it.

Pinto · Post by **Pinto** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 8:53 am

LeeH wrote:
themadhippy wrote:for a 7kw load your looking at a 10kva genny .Dont be tempted to over spec it too much if its a diesel geny as they tend to get a bit upset if theres not a decent load on em.However 20A is good for just under 5kw so a 3kva maybe big enough to fill the gap the main issue is keeping both supplys seprate, and sorting out the earthing arangments,and no using red diesel to run it or. mr customs and exise might get arsey if there following the rules to the letter
Yep, there is more to generators at home then people think.

Most sparks haven't even got a handle on it.

Like the spark who failed to do a thorough check in a factory production unit and threw the switch over gear whilst there was a 20 tonne baker-perkins mixer filled with a cold, hard batch of half mixed putty still on load.....?

Wasn't me

but I was there when that load dead stalled a 3,000bhp Sulzer diesel stationary running @ 1500rpm connected to the Genny..... THAT was scary. And very, very expensive.

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