Hurricane Sandy

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
Glad you made through the storm .
 

azerite

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Location
NYC
TDI
2010 Jetta Wagon, 2005 jetta
Jason I was in port jervis is last night filling up a 40 gallon drum of gasoline. The city down south is bone dry.

sent from mobile
 

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
next time you come up, go into PA.. first exit in Matamoras.. the GO24 station almost never has a line.. I only waited about 7 minutes.. They don't have diesel, but you really don't have to wait in line at citgo in NJ for diesel either..
 

POWERSTROKE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 17, 2000
Location
Staten Island (The Dump)
TDI
2002 Golf
I have a bit over a half a tank left. I'm hoping it lasts me another week or so. The lines for gas at 10 blocks long around here. People on foot with gas cans.
 

turbocharged798

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Location
Ellenville, NY
TDI
99.5 black ALH Jetta;09 Gasser Jetta
How is diesel availability been so far? Luckily I filled up the 99.5 before sandy hit and its still on 3/4 a tank. Seems like diesel has been totally fine which is great news for us. Still need gas for the generator but we got power on tonight so gas right now is a non-issue.

Actually I hate these POS portable air cooled gas generators. I need to put together a decent diesel generator so we can use the 275gal of fuel oil tank sitting in the basement. 10-15KW head mated to a 3cyl kubota should work quite nicely...
 

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
Ours is a 10KW Generac.. Air cooled 19hp V-twin Briggs.. Loud as F***, but gets the job done.. We averaged 1 gallon per hour while we had it running.. It was tied into the main panel running the whole house...

I think I'm going to try to set up a pair of 3500watt inverters and 2 tractor trailer batteries and see how that works out.. I have a 7hp single cylinder diesel I can use to run an alternator to recharge the batteries when the power is out.. The only hurdle is the 240V needed for the well pump.. Everything else is 110 except the dryer.. The laundry can wait..
 

TX JSW

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2012
Location
TX
TDI
2012 JSW
Many inverters can be paired to make 240VAC. Each inverter provides a leg and they are phased to stay a set 120 or 180 degrees apart.
 

Geobmx4life

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Location
Kananaskis Alberta Canada
TDI
2005 Golf Malone tuned VNT 17, FMIC
WOW...sorry to hear/see what you guys are going through...great pics POWERSTROKE!
The wife and I have made a donation to help with the recovery you all have ahead of you...thoughts and prayers are with you...good luck!
Geo
 

dieselfuel

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2008
Location
ohio
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
Thank God you guys are o.k. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and the people of NYand NJ.

Glad you're alright.

df
 

jtnf

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
Location
SE Massachusetts
TDI
2015 B7 Passat
How is diesel availability been so far? Luckily I filled up the 99.5 before sandy hit and its still on 3/4 a tank. Seems like diesel has been totally fine which is great news for us. Still need gas for the generator but we got power on tonight so gas right now is a non-issue.

Actually I hate these POS portable air cooled gas generators. I need to put together a decent diesel generator so we can use the 275gal of fuel oil tank sitting in the basement. 10-15KW head mated to a 3cyl kubota should work quite nicely...
(emphasis added...)

FYI: I just spotted this while looking for a shop press last night:
http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/tls/3363590283.html
 

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
Many inverters can be paired to make 240VAC. Each inverter provides a leg and they are phased to stay a set 120 or 180 degrees apart.
I've tried a few different 110V inverters paired for 220, but they would never really work well.. I'm thinking a big 110V inverter for everything in the house and a small 220 just big enough to run the well pump, that or fire up the generator when we need water..
 

VWBeamer

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Location
GA
TDI
2004 Jetta Wagon
I'm building a Genverter now. I'm running a 12 volt alt at 24 volts. Seems backwards, but it is really a lot more fuel efficient. The efficiency goes up from about 50% to almost 80%. The reason is a 12 alt has to be able to make 12 volts at idle, but at higher rpm it really capable of making much higher voltages, but the voltage regulator keeps it at 12.

If you're running the alt with a small engine, you can keep the rpm up on the alt, and produce 24 volts with a few tricks. The 24 volt system is also more efficient, less power loss in the cabling and the amps are cut in half.

here are some links, sorry for your troubles. I hope all is well.

http://www.microcogen.info/index.php?board=12.0

http://www.microcogen.info/index.php?topic=157.0


Ours is a 10KW Generac.. Air cooled 19hp V-twin Briggs.. Loud as F***, but gets the job done.. We averaged 1 gallon per hour while we had it running.. It was tied into the main panel running the whole house...

I think I'm going to try to set up a pair of 3500watt inverters and 2 tractor trailer batteries and see how that works out.. I have a 7hp single cylinder diesel I can use to run an alternator to recharge the batteries when the power is out.. The only hurdle is the 240V needed for the well pump.. Everything else is 110 except the dryer.. The laundry can wait..
 

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
I was thinking about something like that since the 24V 220 inverters seem to be a lot cheaper.. I have a marine alternator with an adjustable regulator that should do 24V at higher rpm..
 

turbocharged798

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Location
Ellenville, NY
TDI
99.5 black ALH Jetta;09 Gasser Jetta
Problem with us is that we need to start a 220V 1hp pump down 500' and an inverter than can run do that will cost as much as a diesel generator.

Main problem with most is the starting draw. Most to all motors have HUGE starting surge currents and generators hate that. That's why I was thinking of having batteries + inverter to start and make a small 12V generator to keep the batteries charged.
 

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
your 1hp pump should have about 16-20 amps of starting current and 7-8 amps running, so a 3500watt 220V inverter that can handle 5000 for 1-2 seconds (most can) will run a 1hp well pump just fine.. Something like this

Mine is only a 1/2hp pump so I can get away with a bit less inverter..
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
Made it through ok, lost lots of trees around me, pines seem to suffer the most. I have about 3 dozen 80-100 footers down, thank god the went into the woods and not toward me. Neighbor has a huge tree on his house with some punctures through the roof. Insurance company company is jerking him around..... Said it only should cost $500.00 to remove tree.....yeah right, he had an estimate.......$3,800.00. We only had lost power for 3 1/2 days.
Went to work today at teterboro, drove a stretch of about 20 miles from top of beaver mountain in hardyston to the beginning of butler.....no power. I passed 24 gas station, only three were open and each on had bout 3/4-1 mile long lines.
 

turbocharged798

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Location
Ellenville, NY
TDI
99.5 black ALH Jetta;09 Gasser Jetta
your 1hp pump should have about 16-20 amps of starting current and 7-8 amps running, so a 3500watt 220V inverter that can handle 5000 for 1-2 seconds (most can) will run a 1hp well pump just fine.. Something like this

Mine is only a 1/2hp pump so I can get away with a bit less inverter..
Isn't that mod sine and not pure sine? I heard you should not use the cheaper mod sine inverters with induction motors.

It would be great if that would work...
 

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
I've heard that too, but I guess it depends on the pump motor.. I never tried the drill press with an inverter.. I'll give it a shot and see what happens.. Ours has no control box or anything unless it's inside the pump.. Wires go from the breaker, through the switch and down to the bottom where the pump is..
The mod sine ones seem to work fine for everything else..
 

dieseljunkie

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Location
New England USA
TDI
96 Passat TDI wagon
Motors or anything with windings (such as transformers), will run hotter on modified sine wave. Electronic devices such as LCD TV's, cell phone chargers with solid state power supplies (no transformers) will run at normal temperature on modified sine wave. For a well pump, since it is immersed in (and cooled by) water, may make higher temp on modified since wave not an issue. Just a guess. Best to contact the manufacturer for their opinion.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Came across this neat generator yesterday evening. Diesel, 5kW, .25 gallons per hour @ half load, .35 gallons per hour at full load. Amazingly efficient for a diesel genset!

http://www.generatorsales.com/order/yanmar_4kw.asp?page=yanmar_4kw

Frank - thank you for the pictures! Good luck to all of you with a speedy and safe recovery. I hope the nor'easter isn't beating you guys up too badly right now.
 

Craneguru

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2010
Location
Richmond, TX, USA
TDI
2002 New Beetle (sold), 2014 BMW 328d
I have been looking at that Sunforce 1KW unit also (haven't bought one, yet). The reviews state that it has two outputs rated at 500 watts each, not a single 1000 watt output. Still looks like a good unit for the money, but make sure it fits your needs.
 

dieseljunkie

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Location
New England USA
TDI
96 Passat TDI wagon
I have been looking at that Sunforce 1KW unit also (haven't bought one, yet). The reviews state that it has two outputs rated at 500 watts each, not a single 1000 watt output. Still looks like a good unit for the money, but make sure it fits your needs.
Now you have me worried. Where did you see that it says 2 outputs @ 500 W each???

This is what I saw:

Product Features
Connects to a 12 volt battery and converts DC to AC pure sine wave for power on the go
Ideal for power failure emergencies and guarantees optimum compatibility with sensitive equipment, computers, motors, televisions and more
2000 Watts surge power, 1000 continuous power
Safety features include: an overload alarm and LED light, a soft start system, low battery shut down, DC input overload voltage, output overload, overload temperature, short circuit shut down, and a high speed cooling fan
System includes: two 110V household electrical outlets, a DC/AC power inverter remote control modular connector cable and key chain remote
 

Craneguru

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2010
Location
Richmond, TX, USA
TDI
2002 New Beetle (sold), 2014 BMW 328d
Now you have me worried. Where did you see that it says 2 outputs @ 500 W each???
Wow - I thought I was losing it, as I went back and re-read every review (and every comment to every review) as I knew I had identified that as a potential limitation of this device, and I could not find it. :confused:

Then, I watched their video on Amazon, and they say it at ~1:55 into the video.
"Insert the desired A/C appliance into the A/C outlet of the inverter. Make sure the device is less than 500 watts, as this is each terminal's load capacity."
This does not appear to be a user's review, it appears to be a corporate product demonstration video. If the statement is erroneous, it's their fault for saying it, not my fault for hearing it. ;) I'm just glad I'm not completely senile, yet.
 
Last edited:

dieseljunkie

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Location
New England USA
TDI
96 Passat TDI wagon
I will be really pissed if it turns out what you are saying is true. The way it is advertised on Amazon does not indicate it is 500 W per outlet x2 and I will return it due to false advertising. There is no link to a video on the Amazon page I ordered from. Can you post a link of the video you quoted from?

Wow - I thought I was losing it, as I went back and re-read every review (and every comment to every review) as I knew I had identified that as a potential limitation of this device, and I could not find it. :confused:

Then, I watched their video on Amazon, and they say it at ~1:55 into the video.
"Insert the desired A/C appliance into the A/C outlet of the inverter. Make sure the device is less than 500 watts, as this is each terminal's load capacity."
This does not appear to be a user's review, it appears to be a corporate product demonstration video. If the statement is erroneous, it's their fault for saying it, not my fault for hearing it. ;) I'm just glad I'm not completely senile, yet.
 

Craneguru

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2010
Location
Richmond, TX, USA
TDI
2002 New Beetle (sold), 2014 BMW 328d
The link you provided has the video. It is below the heading "Check Out Related Media", which is just below "Product Features"

I, too, would be unhappy if I bought it expecting it to have a single 1000 watt capability instead of 500W x 2. I have not bought one, yet. That being said, this unit still appears to be the best bang for the buck for a true sine wave inverter. It's still on my wish list, I'm just building my complete project list including cables, connections, and a battery isolator prior to pushing the "buy now" button.

CG
 
Last edited:
Top