ACTIVATING THE GENERAC

INSTALLING AND ACTIVATING
THE GENERAC

(My whole-house UPS)

Nate Smith, Master Electrician (far right) looks over the slab that will hold the Generac while his crew dig the trench that will carry electricity from the generator into the house.

The Generac has been now been put on its slab and Nate studies all the connections he will have to make.

"Junior" works on the conduit that will carry cables underground and through my basement wall.

In the basement, the service panel for the Generac hangs to the right of the main service panel for the whole house.

As part of the house renovations, my electrical connection from the power company's line was upgraded from 110 to 220 volts. So not only is all the interior house wiring new, it's twice the size of what had snaked around my walls and ceilings before.

Cables from the Generac are now connected to my house's power.

But there is no fuel line to feed the generator. When installed, the gas will flow into this side from an in-ground propane tank about 100 feet away to the west and south.

But now we have to wait for the ground to thaw ... And after further delays due to COVID, excavation for the gas tank and pipeline can't begin until mid-Summer.

July 31. The same day that Kocot's crew begin working on the foundation for the Addition, they also start digging around the Generac.

On an earlier visit to the site, orange chalk has been laid down
to mark the path of the pipeline.

Here the excavator makes a small mistake. The original orange lines drawn on the grass about a week ago showed the pipeline going due south from the Generac to the stone wall and then turning west in a right-angle turn. Bob Goulet saw this and thought it much better to have the pipe lead away from the Generac in a soft curve. Above, you can see this second route marked in faint orange along the bottom of the picture; but the shovel is following the more distinct line that heads straight towards the wall before making a right angle turn. (The tractor treads are lined up perfectly along this original route.) ... Later on, it will take only a few minutes to correct this error, and dig the "curved hypotenuse."

I am amazed by the dexterity of these small backhoes and their drivers. Their strength is also startling when they are handling the massive rocks that my few acres of New England soil can grow.

Divide and conquer.

(More rocks for Tom and Joan to use in their stone wall.)

That's as much as they have time for on the first day.

Of Schedules and Storms

The Plan

Follows the weekend - after which, on the morning of Monday, August 3rd, Kocut will complete the trench and dig a hole for the gas tank. At the same time, the gas company will deliver the 100 gallon propane tank that Kocot's equipment will then place in the ground. Before the end of the day, the technicians will have run the pipeline from the tank to the Generac. Local inspectors will have made sure the installation is safe. The gas company will then fill the tank with its first load of propane. Kocut will then bury everything, re-grade and re-seed the lawn, and put down a layer of hay.

The electrician, Nate Smith, will come by to make the final connections to the house's electrical system either late this afternoon or on Tuesday morning.

This scheduled had been carefully arranged and coordinated by David and Bob.

Unfortunately, over the weekend, I start worrying about my decision, taken some months earlier, to install a 100-gallon tank instead of a 250-gallon tank.

What's behind my Second Thoughts

Back in the fall, I had been persuaded by folks at one gas company that I didn't need a 500-gallon tank, which had been my first inclination. A tank half that size was far preferable. But then in the spring, when Bob was arranging matters with another gas company, the owner insisted that I didn't need to store 250 gallons of gas. A tank of 100 gallons would be sufficient. At my request, Bob and David kept pushing for the larger tank but the boss kept insisting on the smaller unit. Eventually I agreed to follow the expert's advice. But over this final weekend I found myself worrying yet again about tank size. I tried to quash my hesitations. But when Sunday night came I sent around sheepish emails to Bob and David, apologizing for my dithering, but wondering if it were too late to install the 250 gallon tank. I knew there would be another delay and extra expense - but I'd be far more comfortable if we changed.

Regrouping

Early Monday morning Bob and David started canceling everyone's plans. David reached the gas company owner at the very moment he was picking up the 100-gallon tank. I felt like a twerp but, as usual, the Thayer Street folks were most understanding and good-natured.

The 250-gallon tank would have to be ordered and it might be two weeks before it arrived. All the subcontractors remained onboard the project. So we postponed activating the Generac for another couple of weeks.

On Monday, instead of further digging, Kocot spent part of the morning taking down the safety tape that'd been in place over the weekend and laying down strong sheets of plywood over the exposed trench.

When the fates laugh in your face...

Ever since the Generac had been put on its slab in January, Arnold Road had not had a significant power failure. As we kept delaying gas installation through the spring and early summer, I sometimes worried how long I could keep dodging the Blackout Bullet. I thought how frustrating it would be should we have a major power loss while my Generac was sitting passively in my backyard. I'd been looking forward to this anxiety ending on August 3rd or 4th. I regretted postponing the installation once again but knew I was right to insist on a larger gas tank.

... I didn't have long to regret my decision. At around 3pm on Tuesday, August 4th, the lights went out along Arnold Road ... while thousands of homes in Connecticut were experiencing devastating wind storms and major blackouts.

This part of Massachusetts was spared the worst of the storms. Most of Northampton didn't lose power at all. Amherst had a few blackouts. As is typical, Arnold Road suffered more that many other neighborhoods. We had no power for a day - the lights came back on around 5pm on Wednesday.

As I emptied my refrigerator and freezer, I lamented the self-imposed inconvenience ... but still thought it'd been important for me to get the right-sized gas tank.

Fortunately, the larger-sized gas tank arrived from the distributor in about ten days. On Friday, August 14th, excavators, gas installers, and inspectors arrived on schedule and by the end of the day, the gas had been hooked up and all the excavations covered over.

By the time I woke up (c. 8:30) Kokot had already resumed work on the trench.

They reached the edge of the woods and started digging the hole for the gas tank.

Meanwhile, the gas company delivered the 250-gallon tank close to the road.
Kocot would move it into the trench already dug.

The turquoise plastic can at the top of the picture will be placed upside down over the "conning tower" of the tank and form the cap that will poke its head above the ground, allowing access for refilling and maintenance. (The bottom of the can is one large door.)

The pipeline (the yellow tube in the trench) is being attached to the tank by the installer, while the Gas Inspector (with face mask) and Kocot's excavators look on.

Above, you can see that the gas line is following "the hypotenuse" into the Generac. The original trench (running straight towards the stone wall) is partly filled in.

The woodpeckers are especially obstinate in their desire to get at the peanut suet.

End of the workday

The plastic cover over the gas tank is quite discreet.

Kocot has cleaned up beautifully.

Nate Smith arrives soon after the gas line is installed and starts up the Generac without difficulty.

So, after enduring an increasing number of electrical blackouts over recent years (Arnold Road is particularly susceptible), I can now rest more easily when the weather turns foul. And during any power failure I will be spared the incessant beeping of eight or ten Uninterruptible Power Supplies that attend to electronic equipment all around my house.

Last edited: 06 Dec 2023 - 09:59 AM