Potential power outages this winter

Rroff said:
I suspect a lot of people will be just running extension leads off the generator itself - only someone living in an area with poor power quality normally and/or running something critical would likely bother wiring it into the mains with a transfer switch and you'd need to make sure the generator was up to spec for your household load if wired in directly. If you are connecting to your normal household wiring, even with a transfer switch/isolator, there are potential DNO regulations/notification you'd have to be aware of.
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Lucky for some like Jo Wood who is apparently living off grid.

 
Haggisman said:
...

Any figures on how many people were working from home via VPN in the 70s? Didn't think so ;), but I'm guessing since we're talking 50 years ago, those particular posters don't need to worry about things like being able to do their job anymore.
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Nope I'm still going, WFH and churning out code.

We're talking about 3hrs duration at known times, people can plan accordingly.
As I've said previously, if it's such an issue for people then they should already have plans/equipment in place.
 
nst68 said:
Nope I'm still going, WFH and churning out code.

We're talking about 3hrs duration at known times, people can plan accordingly.
As I've said previously, if it's such an issue for people then they should already have plans/equipment in place.
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Haha. People are less prepared then the government is.

I wonder if work places will move to a 4 day week to work around this.
 
LabR@t said:
Check your contract.
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Pretty sure i'm more familiar with my contract than you are, but feel free to keep guessing :cry:

nst68 said:
Nope I'm still going, WFH and churning out code.

We're talking about 3hrs duration at known times, people can plan accordingly.
As I've said previously, if it's such an issue for people then they should already have plans/equipment in place.
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Well yes, I do have a plan. "plan accordingly" for me means making up the time into the early hours of the morning.

(oh, and it won't be just 3 hours, because no one in this country is competent)
 
ci_newman said:
Out of curiosity, if you have a generator how do you actually connect it to your home? Extension leads off the generator itself?
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The "cable of death" as my electrical engineer friends describe it. We have some of the most robustly designed electrical systems in the World where desgners have tried to design out every risk and then we buy a cheap genny and back feed with the "cable of death". I you're smart you take out the fuse if you're not you blow up your genny when the power comes back on.
 
Diagro said:
To be honest, what I do would probably greatly interest you. Especially if you feel that there is simply NOT enough data made available from high power assets (think 5+ mW motors).
I enable the data, develop NN and ML models to analyse and do secret stuff.
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I'm thinking 5 plus miiliwatt (mW) motors, they must be absolutely tiny... ;)
 
Trifid said:
Haha. People are less prepared then the government is.

I wonder if work places will move to a 4 day week to work around this.
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It's still not certain that it's going to happen though some of the cuts will be at night, one example on a news website of 3*3hr blocks per week had 2 of them at night, and for a 3-hour cut during the day most people's laptops at least will last that long even if they perhaps don't have internet access.

Of course, if things get really really bad we could get longer cuts... conversely, we may get no cuts at all.
 
Graetzbridge said:
And you are still wrong. It is MW if you want big motors. Often for 11 kV.
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Meh, I've just gotten used to our software. It strips the caps out. So I always forget. Curse of dyslexia. Yea, the ball and sag mills I've recently been working with are 11kV.
Pretty impressive stuff to be fair, I'm pleased I down have to worry about them breaking. Think of the bill!
 
ci_newman said:
Out of curiosity, if you have a generator how do you actually connect it to your home? Extension leads off the generator itself?
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You need to be VERY careful, the crudest way I know, which you MUST NOT try is a lead from the generator single phase 230 V output socket to a 13 Amp plug, which will be live with the generator running. You FULLY ISOLATE all the house wiring from the input from the grid, usually using the master switch just after the supply company's 60 or 100 Amp fuse and meter, then plug the 13 Amp plug into any 13 Amp socket. Very dangerous, but very simple. What you must do for the sake of linesmen potentially working on a fault is NOT back feed the generator output into the grid. Simplest pretty safe method is wiring in a manual change over switch with break before make contacts between the household distribution panel and the main breaker switch, or even, if legal, using one INSTEAD of the main breaker switch. Whilst all the talk of back feeding the grid and a linesmen dropping off his perch like a dead parrot sounds possible and dramatic, I am sure they take precautions to fully ground both sides of a circuit break whilst they repair it, but you never know...

This sort of thing:

www.ebay.co.uk

ESR ECO125 125 AMP SINGLE PHASE CHANGEOVER SWITCH MAINS TO GENERATOR TRANSFER | eBay

ESR 125 amp 240 volt changeover switch. 2 Position switch. Get in Touch. We will always help you to have a 100% positive happy buying experience. Unique Products!
www.ebay.co.uk

I just made one up myself today, using branded switches as I decided to buy a power take off generator that will use my tractor as its rotational power source. I have been using a Honda frame generator of about 6 kVA, but I don't trust my wife not to turn big, probably inductive, loads on and do it some damage or at least keep tripping it, so bit the bullet for something that can run the house and workshop without being cautious as to what's turned on, in a totally normal manner. I can rework its 12 wire alternator into a state where it can run as a 3 phase generator instead of single phase, which will be of use to me for some future projects, too.

As we are nearly at the stage where we need a licence or qualifications to push a wheelbarrow, fiddling about with the mains house wiring is almost certainly not really allowed for an unqualified person, so caveat emptor....
 
Chris Wilson said:
You need to be VERY careful, the crudest way I know, which you MUST NOT try is a lead from the generator single phase 230 V output socket to a 13 Amp plug, which will be live with the generator running. You FULLY ISOLATE all the house wiring from the input from the grid, usually using the master switch just after the supply company's 60 or 100 Amp fuse and meter, then plug the 13 Amp plug into any 13 Amp socket. Very dangerous, but very simple. What you must do for the sake of linesmen potentially working on a fault is NOT back feed the generator output into the grid. Simplest pretty safe method is wiring in a manual change over switch with break before make contacts between the household distribution panel and the main breaker switch, or even, if legal, using one INSTEAD of the main breaker switch. Whilst all the talk of back feeding the grid and a linesmen dropping off his perch like a dead parrot sounds possible and dramatic, I am sure they take precautions to fully ground both sides of a circuit break whilst they repair it, but you never know...

This sort of thing:

www.ebay.co.uk

ESR ECO125 125 AMP SINGLE PHASE CHANGEOVER SWITCH MAINS TO GENERATOR TRANSFER | eBay

ESR 125 amp 240 volt changeover switch. 2 Position switch. Get in Touch. We will always help you to have a 100% positive happy buying experience. Unique Products!
www.ebay.co.uk

I just made one up myself today, using branded switches as I decided to buy a power take off generator that will use my tractor as its rotational power source. I have been using a Honda frame generator of about 6 kVA, but I don't trust my wife not to turn big, probably inductive, loads on and do it some damage or at least keep tripping it, so bit the bullet for something that can run the house and workshop without being cautious as to what's turned on, in a totally normal manner. I can rework its 12 wire alternator into a state where it can run as a 3 phase generator instead of single phase, which will be of use to me for some future projects, too.

As we are nearly at the stage where we need a licence or qualifications to push a wheelbarrow, fiddling about with the mains house wiring is almost certainly not really allowed for an unqualified person, so caveat emptor....
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Talk more filth to me Chris. Only caught about 2% of that but I'm hooked. Going to try and rewire the electric shower I am so inspired.
 
dLockers said:
Talk more filth to me Chris. Only caught about 2% of that but I'm hooked. Going to try and rewire the electric shower I am so inspired.
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Good man, I like someone that's not afraid to experiment with dangerous things, get the wife's boyfriend to test it afterwards ;) In reality clean tap water is a pretty **** poor conductor, so things like dropping a hair dryer in the bath is usually ineffective as a murder weapon

Now this little transformer of mine would be a nice toy to get to grips with the effect of high voltage on the human body. Especially rectified to DC.
transformer.jpg

:)
 
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Diagro said:
Meh, I've just gotten used to our software. It strips the caps out. So I always forget. Curse of dyslexia. Yea, the ball and sag mills I've recently been working with are 11kV.
Pretty impressive stuff to be fair, I'm pleased I down have to worry about them breaking. Think of the bill!
Click to expand...
Perhaps you are learning. Remind me what your job is?
 
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