No mains electricity

Samantha99

A house I'm thinking of buying has a generator as its very remote.

I can see the benefits of no electric bills but what are the cons of power by a generator? It uses red diesel. Thanks for any replies !

BitterAndTwisted

If you're not an agricultural user yourself you won't have access to any red diesel. And not on any generating leccy in a residential building either.

If it's remote you have to factor in being able to have sufficient supplies delivered or be able to transport it safely yourself. It's not something I'd relish having to do if I had no experience. Plus, of course, there's the ability to maintain such a device if it goes wrong. In the middle of winter. In the dark.

Samantha99

The householder runs it on red diesel so if he has access surely I as the new owner would too? I assume the vendor buys from a neighbouring farm.

dauphin

Running a generator is far more expensive than mains electricity.
You must also factor in the capital cost of buying / replacing the generator and of maintaining it.
There could be an issue with noise.
You can assume that the generator will go wrong from time to time and you'll have no power unless you have arranged further backup.
You are limited by the capacity of the generator. Obviously the larger the capacity, the higher the running costs and purchase price.
It is impractical to run a generator 24/7 (cost, wear and tear) so when it is off you will have no power unless you have a bank of batteries and an inverter / charger (another expense). Without battery backup you won't be able to run an electric fridge or freezer; consider an LPG model (again, expensive).
A central heating boiler needs electricity for the pump.
It won't be practical to use high current electrical items such as an electric cooker or electric heaters or an immersion heater.
I relied totally on a generator at a holiday home for a few years but in the end invested in a wind turbine and batteries to provide constant power.
The list of disadvantages of generator power is almost endless really. Despite now having a wind turbine I would swap it all for electricity bills like a shot if I could get the mains installed at anything like a reasonable cost.

dauphin

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

If you're not an agricultural user yourself you won't have access to any red diesel. And not on any generating leccy in a residential building either.

Not so. You are perfectly entitled to buy red diesel for non-road use

Annisele

I wouldn't expect "no electricity bills" to be much of a benefit.

I don't know how much it costs to run a generator - but I think it has to be more than the cost of being attached to the grid. If it wasn't, everybody would want a generator.

As to the red diesel, you can't put it in a car but I *think* it's OK for use in a domestic generator. But that's something you'll need to check; if I'm wrong and HMRC catches you the penalties can be pretty stiff.

But I think the main con is the one B&T says. Very remote might mean at the end of a track that becomes impassible mud in winter. And when the generator breaks in the middle of the night, and its minus five, and nobody can get to you to fix it for a week...

Werdnal

I'm fairly sure you can register with a supplier to buy it. It is only illegal to use if you are not agricultural users and put it in a road going vehicle, but my hubby is a groundsman, and they use red diesel in their mowers (which don't go on the road). They get it delivered by the local heating oil suppliers, or you can take a drum to them to be filled.

As to the reliability of the generator, you would need to have it regularly serviced, to ensure you have a constant supply in the winter, and many people even keep a 2nd back-up generator in reserve incase the first one fails. I think you need to ensure you have batteries to maintain a steady feed for appliances etc, as the actual output of gennys fluctuates, so you need to feed it to a battery store to keep the supply stable.

Are you happy to be fumbling with a genny at 6am when there is 2ft of snow on the ground just to be able to cook breakfast. It might sound idyllic, but for me the novelty would quickly wear off.

Is there mains water? Private power supply normally goes hand in hand with no mains water, and that can bring its own problems!

ValHaller

Samantha99 wrote: »

what are the cons of power by a generator?

Hand cranking when the starter battery goes flat.

The battery has less capacity the colder it is. The oil is thicker if it has stood on a cold day and you will need to spend 5 minutes cranking just to get some oil to the bearings before it is worth going for it to fire up. Also diesel engines have a higher compression ratio than petrol, so you'll need some stamina if ever it comes to hand cranking .Practice in the summer after the engine has run for a while - you'll eventually get the hang of it

comeandgo

I would imagine to cook you would have gas cooker (gas from bottles). There are many houses in remote Scotland using generators but more also have wind blades to help. I have seen one that I found rather noisy and smelly but it was an older type - also the lights in the house were never very bright.

WellKnownSid

Lack of voltage regulation could fry the electronics in your computer or mobile phone.

I'm assuming it's a 1500rpm not a 3000rpm generator. 3000rpm generators are really only for use in an emergency, and will have a short life running 24x7.

Say red diesel is 70p per litre - a small 4.5kVA generator will probably burn about 2 litres per hour - that's £1.40 for 4.5kW = 31 pence per kWh.

G_M

Not this one is it?

http://fishergerman.reapit.com/fsgprplet/BAN/BAN130059/Claydon%20%20Top%20Lock%20Ebrochure%20And%20Epc%20Report.Pdf