West Beach Road Association - WBRA
October 2018 Large Generator Status Report
Jim Patton and Brian Hunt tried to test the large 10 kW emergency generator and found that its battery had died. Brian recharged the battery.
After recharging, the generator was started and tested to ensure that it would provide sufficient power to operate our 3 HP well pump and our 1 HP routine service distribution pump, plus at least one of our two 5 HP backup distribution pumps all running simultaneously.
WBRA also has a small 4 kW emergency generator that will provide sufficient power to operate our 1 HP routine service distribution pump. We have used that generator successfully several times in the past and we tested it recently. It has a tension pull starter rather than a battery. Since we usually have at least 20,000 gallons stored in our reservoir tank (and our normal daily water usage is 3,000 to 5,000 gallons depending on the season) we get by "comfortably" with only the small generator during power outages of short duration. The large generator would be needed only in the case of extended power outages when we would need to run our well pump to refill our reservoir tank.
For testing, the large generator was removed from its "cabin" next to Brian’s garage.
It was positioned it on the concrete slab next to the "cabin" that houses our small generator.
The next two images how the green plastic box on the south side of the pump house that contains the socket for the plug on the cable that connects the large generator to the electric power box inside the pump house
These images show the cable plugged into the generator at one end and the green box at the other end. This cable is always keep with the large generator.
Here is the main power panel inside the pump house with its door open. The precise instructions for opening and shutting circuit breakers inside that box in order to draw power from the large generator instead of the PSE power lines are printed on the small white paper in the upper right hand corner of the inside of the door.
Because of the uncertainty of the quality of the battery, a new battery (cost $112) has been ordered and new trickle charger purchased.
The keys to the "cabins" for the large and small generators are kept on hooks just below the white status board in the pump house (together with the keys to the well head and the hatch on the reservoir tank). Beside me, you and Rudy and Brian have the keys to the pump house and the entrance gate.
