Putting a 3-pin plug on my boiler.

[westie101]

Yep, try running a very rural area for 10 months (Wasdale Head) that was interesting in complaints of noise, all from, as far as we could tell, visitors from urban environments.

Though I've got to admit on a quiet day you could hear one or two from quite a distance

 

[JohnW2]

The aim since 1st April is to restore supplies within 12 hours, either by repair/reroute or generator. Though in some cases the generator may not allow full capacity.

How do you manage the situation if the genny "does not allow full capacity"?

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Yep, try running a very rural area for 10 months (Wasdale Head) that was interesting in complaints of noise, all from, as far as we could tell, visitors from urban environments.

If the network problem is not too close to the inhabited areas, presumably the generator(s) can be sited fairly remotely from them?

Kind Regards, John

 

[westie101]

If the network problem is not too close to the inhabited areas, presumably the generator(s) can be sited fairly remotely from them?

Not really owing to the need to protect LV cables and voltdrop issues.

W"e are normally restricted to a maximum lead length of 25m, but can increase it to 50 in some cases.

Having said that one site had one 100m long to keep visitors happy.
(though the site in question was advised that the next option was to take the machine away!!)

 

[JohnW2]

If the network problem is not too close to the inhabited areas, presumably the generator(s) can be sited fairly remotely from them?

Not really owing to the need to protect LV cables and voltdrop issues. W"e are normally restricted to a maximum lead length of 25m, but can increase it to 50 in some cases.

Oh, I wasn't thinking of 'long genny leads' - I was thinking that, if the network problem was remote from the affected customers, the genny could be conducted (via short cables) to the network at some point distant from them - so the VD would be no greater than during normal service.

Kind Regards, John

 

[westie101]

Oh, I wasn't thinking of 'long genny leads' - I was thinking that, if the network problem was remote from the affected customers, the genny could be conducted (via short cables) to the network at some point distant from them - so the VD would be no greater than during normal service.

Bearing in mind in rural areas the network is HV with small transformers feeding individual or small numbers of properties, so in effect there is no LV network.
If you mean connecting to the HV network that opens a huge can of worms with earthing requirements it is not yet something we do (well there was a one off in Lancashire that took 3 days to set up)

 

[JohnW2]

Bearing in mind in rural areas the network is HV with small transformers feeding individual or small numbers of properties, so in effect there is no LV network.

Ah, yes - I hadn't thought of that.

If you mean connecting to the HV network that opens a huge can of worms with earthing requirements it is not yet something we do (well there was a one off in Lancashire that took 3 days to set up)

No, I was thinking of a 'LV network' - which, as you say, will be pretty non-existent in rural areas - in my case probably about 50m or so to where it becomes HV!

Kind Regards, John

 

[westie101]

Though there was that time we supported an 11kV network by running two 1650kVA sets in parallel with it during a 33kV planned outage.

That worked fine, apart from blowing one of the brand new V16 CAT diesels on day 2, and the delivery vehicle losing 1/2 of a trailer axle with wheels when redelivering it to site so we could try again!!

 

[radioredcat]

We have had Generators on planned outages the last on was when they changed our pole mounted transformer.
Back in the 80's they were changing Insulators on our 11kv feed but we still had power but on this occasion I did not see the generator.

On another time we had a generator supplying us and it made my CCTV camera pictures wobble.

We are no strangers for powercuts 6 last year but we have them several tomes a year and most were long ones.
As the OP I know about being in the shower when the power goes off and it's not good rinsing in cold water Brrrrr.

Andy

 

[SimonH2]

If the network problem is not too close to the inhabited areas, presumably the generator(s) can be sited fairly remotely from them?

The two local ones I have observed, added with a little "inside knowledge", it's been HV* cable faults** feeding the local substations. So you end up with an isolated substation - as in the small ones with a tranny and some switchgear in a fenced enclosure perhaps 4m square. I can only assume they had multiple faults, as normally (at least round here) the 11kV is in a ring so any point can be fed from either direction.

My assumption is that they open all the switches, and wire the genny into the LV side of the substation. As suggested, unless you are going to use some fairly hefty cable with good mechanical protection, you are fairly limited in how far away you can site the genny.
Personally, I'd take the noise of a genny over the sound of no lecky !

* Or does 11kV come under MV ?

** One was just up the road from the church, and a week before my wedding.
They did let the genny run out of diesel once, and a friend told the guy sent to refuel it to make sure it didn't run out on the Saturday - I gather it was probably in "quite robust terms". As it happens, the fault was fixed, the hole filled in, the traffic lights (and the genny) removed a couple of days before the wedding.

 

[JohnW2]

My assumption is that they open all the switches, and wire the genny into the LV side of the substation.

Indeed, that would also be my assumption as the most common situation. However, as westie pointed out, what I'd overlooked was how limited the LV network is, particularly in rural areas - so the substation (or just pole-mounted transformer) (hency genny) is not going to be very far away from people who may complain about noise!

Kind Regards, John

 

[plugwash]

* Or does 11kV come under MV ?

AIUI 11KV would be "MV" under standards that use that term but some standards (e.g. BS7671) don't use that term and consider everything that isn't LV to be HV.