ATS Portable Generator

T

td1236

Member
Location
California
Occupation
Electrician
Has anyone ever used a Automatic Transfer Switch for a portable generator? If so, what brand generator and transferswitch did you use.

Customer would like a 10kw portable generator to back up a small computer room, and automatically turn on when power goes off. The property manager will not allow a standby but said portable can be used.
 
Do portable generators even have the capability to remote start without someone manually working the choke?
 
Never understood an ATS with a portable genny. I know they have auto start ones, but the genny would have to be in place and ready. To me, that calls for a permanent install. Are you supposed to anticipate an outage and roll the portable into place?
 
Little Bill said:
Never understood an ATS with a portable genny. I know they have auto start ones, but the genny would have to be in place and ready. To me, that calls for a permanent install. Are you supposed to anticipate an outage and roll the portable into place?
Click to expand...
The portable will always be plugged in, ready to start when needed.
 
They do that a lot with sewage lift stations water pump stations and telecomm, just bigger generators. Cam lock or pin and sleeve connectors with a seperate two wire start connection. That way they don’t need a bunch of generators to maintain, and just can pull a rental up when they expect bad weather such as hurricanes.
 
Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:
Do you know of any portables that have remote start capabilities?
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Westinghouse has one. It's not auto start but can be started remotely. They also have one that works with a small ATS. A guy a while back was asking about that one and an ATS. They make an ATS for it, but it only powers a receptacle on the ATS. He was going to try and somehow integrate the auto power loss sensing in the small ATS into a regular size ATS. I just shook my head.
 
hillbilly1 said:
They do that a lot with sewage lift stations water pump stations and telecomm, just bigger generators. Cam lock or pin and sleeve connectors with a seperate two wire start connection. That way they don’t need a bunch of generators to maintain, and just can pull a rental up when they expect bad weather such as hurricanes.
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Those are usually MTS on those sites. Why do an ATS if someone has to be there to hookup the mobile/portable genset?
 
td1236 said:
Has anyone ever used a Automatic Transfer Switch for a portable generator? If so, what brand generator and transferswitch did you use.

Customer would like a 10kw portable generator to back up a small computer room, and automatically turn on when power goes off. The property manager will not allow a standby but said portable can be used.
Click to expand...
Does the property manager know you're planning on turning a portable generator into a standby generator?
You're going to have to find a permanent home for the generator. I suspect that's what the manager doesn't want to have to deal with!
 
I have run into this a few times when it takes a year or more to get permits for a fixed generator. Completely doable with the added bonus is your size is below the threshold where it needs to be registered in PERP and would have to be rotated out every 90 days.

Everyone in this thread is referring to gas or propane powered consumer grade portable generators. That is not what you want to use here. There are small 10-15kva diesel generators with autostart, and you need an onboard battery charger. These come on trailers or skid mount.

You just need a receptacle for the generator's battery charger, ATS with 2 wire start wired to an Inlet connector, a connector for your 2 wire start, and one of these https://anacorp.com/products-generator-sdg13lax-8e1/ MQ also has a little 10kw unit https://www.multiquip.com/multiquip/DCA10SPXU4C.htm I think you're somewhere around $15K for one of those generators.
 
Little Bill said:
Never understood an ATS with a portable genny. I know they have auto start ones, but the genny would have to be in place and ready. To me, that calls for a permanent install. Are you supposed to anticipate an outage and roll the portable into place?
Click to expand...
No you leave it parked and hooked up to the ATS. Its usually 'temporary until we can get the permanent one'
 
This little guy is setup for auto start/stop 2 wire:
www.aimscorp.net

2000 Watt Portable Pure Sine Inverter Generator CARB/EPA Compliant

Powerful yet portable, the new AIMS 2,000-Watt Portable CARB-Compliant Inverter Generator from the Inverter Store is also a good neighbor, wherever and however you use it. CARB compliant means it meets the California Air Resources Board’s strict air pollution regulations. This generator is also...
www.aimscorp.net www.aimscorp.net
Low voltage trigger:

PAC-Audio

PAC-Audio
catalog.pac-audio.com catalog.pac-audio.com
Honda generator auto start modles:
generator-line.com

Honda EU2000i EU2200i EU3000 Wireless Remote Shut Off Kit -

Free Shipping on Honda EU2000i and EU2200i Wireless Remote Shut Off. You can shut off your generator without having to get up and go outside.
generator-line.com generator-line.com
 
scrubbin said:
This little guy is setup for auto start/stop 2 wire:
www.aimscorp.net

2000 Watt Portable Pure Sine Inverter Generator CARB/EPA Compliant

Powerful yet portable, the new AIMS 2,000-Watt Portable CARB-Compliant Inverter Generator from the Inverter Store is also a good neighbor, wherever and however you use it. CARB compliant means it meets the California Air Resources Board’s strict air pollution regulations. This generator is also...
www.aimscorp.net www.aimscorp.net
Low voltage trigger:

PAC-Audio

PAC-Audio
catalog.pac-audio.com catalog.pac-audio.com
Honda generator auto start modles:
generator-line.com

Honda EU2000i EU2200i EU3000 Wireless Remote Shut Off Kit -

Free Shipping on Honda EU2000i and EU2200i Wireless Remote Shut Off. You can shut off your generator without having to get up and go outside.
generator-line.com generator-line.com
Click to expand...
Yeah, but you can't rely on a little gas generator to start every time and say running through an extended outage to keep your computer room alive. Can't refuel while running either and you can with a diesel.
 
zbang said:
Some have remote start. The install might run into temporary/permanent installation rules.
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This is what I think too. If the site is unattended, that’s what is going to likely run afoul of the rules that will make the “portable” appear to be a “permanent” installation.

User should get a UPS for their computer room and use it to tide over long enough for someone to be able to start the portable genny and transfer that over. They need a UPS anyway because an ATS is not going to transfer fast enough to save data, so we’re just talking about the amount of batteries involved.
 
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