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With winter coming, thought I'd post a couple photos of how we pre-heat our generators for cold weather starting as off-grid folks that live in cold climates may find the idea useful.
We keep the gas genset pre-heated 24 hours a day when the ambient temp is below 15°F. It is pre-heated with a 75 watt heat lamp that shines on the bottom of the engine, directly under the cylinder. We keep this genset pre-heated all the time because it is auto-start/stop and is used for peak load support when the inverter overloads. Peak load support is severe duty because it requires the generator to start and accept full rated load within 30 seconds. Air-cooled gasoline engines are best suited to that type of duty. 75 watts of energy input won't go far in keeping a liquid-cooled engine, with its tighter tolerances, at a safe temperature to accept full load within 30 seconds after startup when it is 30 below zero.
The diesel is pre-heated by the Honda. The waste heat from the engines heat the powerhouse, and the temperature in the powerhouse is controlled by thermostats that operate the intake and exhaust ventilation fans. At low ambient temps it is important for the air-cooled engines to have at least 70°F in the powerhouse so they operate at high enough cylinder head temp. So no energy or fuel is wasted pre-heating the diesel if we need to run it on prime power for several days in the winter due to bad weather. The fuel burned in the Honda is used to power loads while it is heating the powerhouse so the diesel will start.
I hate using propane or fuel-oil fired space heaters for pre-heating because they are a fire hazard and cannot be left unattended.
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Chris
We keep the gas genset pre-heated 24 hours a day when the ambient temp is below 15°F. It is pre-heated with a 75 watt heat lamp that shines on the bottom of the engine, directly under the cylinder. We keep this genset pre-heated all the time because it is auto-start/stop and is used for peak load support when the inverter overloads. Peak load support is severe duty because it requires the generator to start and accept full rated load within 30 seconds. Air-cooled gasoline engines are best suited to that type of duty. 75 watts of energy input won't go far in keeping a liquid-cooled engine, with its tighter tolerances, at a safe temperature to accept full load within 30 seconds after startup when it is 30 below zero.
The diesel is pre-heated by the Honda. The waste heat from the engines heat the powerhouse, and the temperature in the powerhouse is controlled by thermostats that operate the intake and exhaust ventilation fans. At low ambient temps it is important for the air-cooled engines to have at least 70°F in the powerhouse so they operate at high enough cylinder head temp. So no energy or fuel is wasted pre-heating the diesel if we need to run it on prime power for several days in the winter due to bad weather. The fuel burned in the Honda is used to power loads while it is heating the powerhouse so the diesel will start.
I hate using propane or fuel-oil fired space heaters for pre-heating because they are a fire hazard and cannot be left unattended.
--
Chris
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