My family and I want to install an emergency generator. Now, storing large amounts of fuel is dangerous because of its flammability, and would take up a lot of precious space for more essential things like water, food, and medical supplies. So, we were considering hooking the generator into our gas line, after assurances from the local utility company that the gas flows on its own through the pipes, and is not dependent on computers. Is this right? Does anyone know for sure? Would hooking into the gas line simply defeat the entire purpose of Y2k planning--self-sufficiency?

-- Justin Sturz (CJSturz@skantech.com), July 04, 1998

Answers

Justin,

A good link to this subject is:

http://www.remnant.org/y2k/Detail.CFM?Links__ID=1615

The author is a gas utility expert. Based on his analysis, I would opt for either a diesel or propane fired generator. Propane has the advantage of being able to be stored over long periods of time, diesel engines are more robust. I certainly wouldn't rely on natural gas.

Gary Gardner, of the American Gas Association, testifying at the June 12 Senate committee hearings noted that 71% of the association responding to a poll were confident that they would have no interruption in service. With my luck my gas would be distribute by one of the 29% that were honest enough to admit that they were going to have trouble. You might be lucky. Then again, if I'm going to prepare, why would I trust natural gas not to fail, but expect electricity to fail?

Rocky

-- Rocky Knolls (rknolls@hotmail.com), July 04, 1998.

While my knowledge of gas flow is limited, I used to work at a company that made valves to control the flow of gasses - including natural gas and some valves were computerized. That was almost 10 years ago, so I would imagine that many more are computerized these days. The meters on your house to measure how much gas you are using may also be computerized and most of those are NOT Y2k compliant. I would find another source of fuel.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), July 05, 1998.

My husband is a gas serviceman with a major utility company. He suggested that you get a generator that will use both natural gas and propane. You will have to change the orifice when switching one from the other. Make sure you are compliant with the local utility code. If one isn't compliant you may find yourself with a generator that will be useless to you. Utility companies seek these out and will destroy them because they can kill someone is they are backfeeding electricity through the wires. There are gas meters that are date coded. Several thousand have been installed locally. These can fail. Also, gas distribution pipelines are computerized. I read somewhere, that there are embedded codes on valves that regulate the flow of natural gas. Hope this has helped. I wouldn't depend too much on natural gas. And, even if you had a natural gas furnace, electricity is used to fire them!

-- Barb-douglas (bardou@yahoo.com), July 05, 1998.

Justin, the gas doesn't exactly "flow on its own" through the pipes, at least not from its place of origin. It relies on pumping stations along the way which use embedded chips. I was surprised to find out just how complicated the whole system was.

Go to this URL and read what a programmer who worked in the natural gas industry has to say:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/detail_.cfm/1615

-- Max Dixon (Max.Dixon@gte.net), July 06, 1998.

Justin, I don't recommend reliance of any source of energy outside your immediate community.The natural gas must be pumped to be delivered, so it will be unreliable. Might be there, might not be. By the way, one respondant said the utlity companies will hunt you down if you use a generator, which is probably true, but the reason may have been unclear. The utilities are concerned about their lineman being electrocuted. If you had a power failure (ice or thunderstorm), and you just plugged your generator into your house so that you have electricity, you also re-energize the downed line at the point where Joe Lineman is trying to lift it back up on the power pole. The utilities say that throwing your main breaker is not sufficient to isolate your personal power company from the utility. I don't know why they say that, but I will believe them. In my case, I plan on running essential services off my generator. This will include well pump (water), refrigeration and freezing, washing machine, and charging batteries to operate an inverter. I hope to run for about 1 hour per day. I will be able to plug my essentials directly into my generator and not use my house grid at all. This way, only I can get zapped. With respect to fuel, a gasoline generator can be made to run on propane. I don't know where you live, but be aware that diesel fuel turns into a wax when really cold, and you have to deal with bacteria to preserve the fuel and prevent filter clogging. Also diesels are a bear to start when cold. However, the fuel efficiency is marvelous. Fuel cost is often lower because there are no road taxes. Your cost per kilowatt hour will be about half of that of gasoline. However, the diesels are much more expensive. Diesel fuel is pretty safe to store. They say you can throw a lit match into an open bucket of diesel, and the match will extinguish. Propane probably stores the longest, but propane relies on outside temperature to flow. In the summer the tank is highly pressurized to keep the propane in a liquid state. At -40F, however, you could open the tank and pour it out and it will remain liquid. My own plan is to use a gasoline generator and make or buy a propane carburetor. That way, I have dual fuel capability. If no gas is availabe, maybe I can buy propane or vice versa. Hope this is useful

-- Steve Hepperle (hepperle@illuminet.net), July 07, 1998.

Hi. I am an electrical contractor, and have installed many standby systems for business & residential customers. Please, do not attempt to connect ANY power generating equipment directly into your existing system. It takes specilized transfer switching equipment to isolate the Public Power Utilitys from your genset. Just plug all your emergency lights, TV, etc directly into the generator. THIS IS VERY IIMPORTANT. AS MENTIONED before, there is definately a hazard to life involved. If anyone needs to have transfer switches installed, please contact a local elec contractor. farlan...

-- Farlan Hateley (farlan@osousa.com), July 08, 1998.

I would like to explain more about connecting your gen set to your home in an emergency. PLEASE DON'T. The generator is a small utility system itself, and has it's own way of providing power. if two Utilities connect to the same GRID SYSTEM, very special sync equip is needed. If you plug in your gen set while the power is off, and don't disconnect it BEFORE the power comes back on, you will BURN OUT YOUR TV, VCR, AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES, IMMEDIATELY. This will also smoke your UPS gear that protects you form surges, etc. Also, if you hire an electrician to get your generator "on line", make sure he/she has had expierence doing this. I have heard horror stories form friends, unschooled in standby systems, who ended up spending thousands to replace stuff they burned out. A WORD TO THE WISE... farlan If you need electrical help.... and you are located near Mobile,Alabama contact: Grand Bay Electric, tel: 334-865-3617 Good luck to all...

-- Farlan Hateley (farlan@osousa.com), July 08, 1998.