Showing posts with label electrical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label electrical. Show all posts

11/03/2011

Additional Water Sensor for FloodStop System Review

Additional Water Sensor for FloodStop System
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The Floodstop system works great! I connected with the Furman MP-15 in order for the Floodstop to control the power to the washer. You need to put the washer on a plastic tray for the best setup.

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Additional Water Sensor for FloodStop System Add additional Floodstop water sensors to your primary water leak sensor to increase water damage protection for any of the Flood Stop Automatic Water Valve Shut-Off Devices with Water Alarm made from 2007 to present. Use these Flood Stop Systems with Full-Port Motorized Ball Valves for washing machines, hot water heaters, dishwashers, ice makers, water dispensing refrigerators and more. Size of this flat water leak sensor is 1.25 inches by 7.5 inches. Sensor lead is 3 feet long. Water moisture sensors connect in a "train" to increase area of coverage for flood protection for water appliances with individual FloodStop water alarm protection. NOTES: Quantity pricing is available on this item.

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11/01/2011

Honeywell HW7500E 9375 Watt 15 HP 420cc OHV Portable Gas Powered Home Generator With Electric Start Review

Honeywell HW7500E 9375 Watt 15 HP 420cc OHV Portable Gas Powered Home Generator With Electric Start
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Amazon has this generator for the lowest price on the internet and much better than locally (once factoring in free shipping which normally costs $170 and tax free which is generally $70 or 7% in Indiana).
Shipping is awesome although it was out of stock for a while. ABF shipping is great. Item arrived intact via smaller truck after 1 week. ABF called my cell phone and arrange for convenient delivery time (signature required). Driver called day of delivery for 30 min. warning that item is coming. Driver hand-trucked 278# generator which is in original Honeywell box without any crating down a 100 foot long driveway into my garage for my wife. This is not the norm as free shipping generally means curb-side drop off and it's up to me to dolly this baby into my garage. My wife gave the driver a nice tip and I called him personally to thank him.
I ended up cutting the box to get the generator out due to heavy weight. I used a dolly padded with a thick towel to lift generator on its side to put on the wheel kit and 2 back legs with enclosed nuts/bolts (no washer needed or included due to specially designed bolts and nuts with washer flare). The tires are solid rubber so nothing to inflate or to go flat (nicely design), and are held on the shaft via washers and cotter pins. The handles fold nicely and bolted on with same type of nuts/bolts. Nuts and bolts are metric so get out you metric wrenches or sockets.
Honeywell HW7500E generator is a beauty. Red, metal fuel tank holds 6.5 gallons with fuel gage and metal gas cap. Black accents and red engine are easy on the eyes. I used Stabil fuel stabilizer from Walmart (1 oz per 2.5 gallons) to allow storage of gas in the tank so it's ready to go with less gunk build up and easier start later. Generator shipped without oil. I did not use the enclosed free 1 liter of 10W30 oil or free tiny funnel, and used instead full synthetic 10W30 oil (5 liter jug) with long neck funnel from Walmart. I recommend pouring the oil into a clean disposable plastic cup and then using this cup to pour the oil into the funnel to reduce drips, waste, and mess. It took a full quart of oil.
I installed a Reliance 30216BRK manual transfer switch kit (bought on Epay for $_1_8_0 shipped--more at Lowes) and used the included 20 foot 14-30 cable from the 30216BRK kit to hook up the generator to the switch (generator is placed outside the garage of course to avoid carbon monox. posoining) when generator is needed. This switch and generator provide power to 50 gallon electric hot water heater (3000 watts), 2 fridges (1600 watts), 2 freezers (1600 watts), 6 ceiling spot lights, and 2 ceiling fans to family room. Obviously, the water heater will be switched on and off just for showers (once existing water in the tank cools) to reduce the load otherwise. The generator does have an idle control, stutters now and then when the water heater kicks on, and does not get any louder than a 20" push gas lawn mower. I can hear the generator barely in the house at night but not during the day. Generator is 10 feet from the house's brick wall, outside the garage door which is closed on top of the generator cable.
Starting is easy with plastic cheat sheet numbering 1 through 7 steps with electric start. 12v/14Ah sealed lead, tractor type battery started the generator with first push of the switch. This battery can be charged with a "smart" car battery charger if set to 2A mode for 6-8 hours. It can be replaced at Walmart or Lowes in the lawn tractor section. Stopping the generator is as easy as 1) unplug, 2) let run 3 more minutes, 3) push the button off, and 4) turn the fuel switch to off (also clearly stated, step by step, on the attached plastic poster).
Overall, this is an excellent generator for the price of $999.99 due to 1) 3 year warranty (1 year parts and labor, other 2 years parts only), 2) Honeywell brand (not the cheap Chinese junk like Powermax, Pro-Grade, Buffalo Tools, Blue Max, Chicago Tools, Eastern Tools, and numerous other aliases--best clue is the chincy 1 year warranty with them sending you the parts and you do the repair yourself or locally at any lawn mower/motor repair shop whose cost may or may not be covered by them), 3) 7500W continuous, 9375W peak watts (Chinese generators have exaggerated wattage ratings so beware), 4) included free accesories (25 foot L14-30 cable to 4 outlets which costs around $60-100 on Epay and even more locally), 1 quart of oil, cheapy funnel, 12v battery, step by step start/stop cheat sheet, toll-free help line with fast pickup by real Americans, and flat-free wheel kit.
I do wish that the fuel tank can be 10 gallons instead of 6.5 gallons, included funnel has a longer neck, easier access to fill oil, less noise is always a plus, included cable is standard 14-30 male to 14-30 female to allow easier hookup to transfer switches--it already has 4 outlets on the generator so why do we need 4 more on the generator cable?, outlet covers to keep them dry in the rain (I plugged them up with baby-proofing outlet covers at Walmart), and actual bumper to bumper 3 year warranty.
Despite these mentioned weaknesses, this generator is still a great buy at Amazon for this price.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Honeywell HW7500E 9375 Watt 15 HP 420cc OHV Portable Gas Powered Home Generator With Electric Start


Designed to help you stay safe and comfortable during power outages, the dependable Honeywell HW7500E Portable Gas Powered Home Generator delivers a host of advanced features that will help put your mind at ease. Featuring an easy-to-use electric start and ample outlets, this highly efficient 9375-watt generator lets you run vital household appliances during power outages or natural disasters.

Not Approved for Sale in California
Note for California residents: This model is not CARB-compliant; for a comparable CARB-compliant model, see the HW7500EL. Units sold to California must be CARB-compliant.
Click here for a larger image.

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10/20/2011

Kintrex SPC0601 7 Amp 100 Watt 12 Volt Solar Power Charge Controller With Digital LED Display Review

Kintrex SPC0601 7 Amp 100 Watt 12 Volt Solar Power Charge Controller With Digital LED Display
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
It took a little longer to get than expected, but after using it the wait was worth it. I have done several test on the controller at room temp. 72'F Yellow charging light is on until battery voltage hits 14.35 volts, then the green fully charged light comes on and the battery stops charging until the battery reaches 13.25 volts then it starts charging again. AMP loss going through controller is only .02 amp's and that makes this a great controller. It has a connector for 12 volt load that shuts off at 11 volts and turns back on at 12 volts, I don't use the load connector, I have a power invertor hooked directly to the battery that shuts off at 11 volts although I never let the battery get that low because it's hard on the battery when you have 4-5 cloudy days in a row. Even deep cycle batteries will go bad if they sit around discharged. I bought the Allstar ALL76232 universal 2 wire connector to hook up the controller too the battery and a 50 watt solar panel.

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The SPC0601 Solar Charge Controller is designed to protect batteries from overcharge and excessive discharge when being charged by a solar panel device. The controller functions to automatically assure the battery is fully charged and keep the battery fully charged without damage to the battery. The SPC0601 Charge Controller also functions to limit the load placed upon the battery to ensure the battery is not discharged to the point where there is permanent damage to the battery. The SPC0601 is a completely solid state electronic device needing no maintenance. It utilizes the latest in solid state MOSFET switching for efficient and reliable operation. The controller provides three colored LEDs to indicate the status of the solar panel and battery: Green LED: On indicates the battery is fully charged. Yellow LED: On indicates the battery is charging. Note: It is normal for the Green and Yellow LEDs to flicker back and forth during normal operation. Red LED: On indicates the battery level is low.

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8/05/2011

Floodstop Washing Machine Valve Shutoff Kit Review

Floodstop Washing Machine Valve Shutoff Kit
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I just received this product today. The installation was very simply and it only took about 15 minutes. Overall, I am very pleased with this device. I have tested it several times and without fail, every time the sensor detects water, it faithfully shuts off the two water valves.
The plastic controller housing seems a bit cheap but the valves appear to be high quality. The wall plugin transformer is black with white plastic wire and all other parts of the device are white, so why the black transformer housing? So in the aesthetics category, I would give this product only three stars. But I did not buy it for looks or to show of to friends and family, I bought it for its utilitarian and functional purpose and for that I give the product an overall 5 stars.
There is one water risk that this device does not solve directly and that is if the drain line were to become detached or clogged and the washing machine were to begin draining on to the floor, the water supply lines would be closed but there is nothing to stop the washing machine from continuing to pump all its water content out on to the floor. Fortunately this device includes a set of both normally open and normally closed IO contacts. Using the leads provided, coupled with some relay controlled power outlet, you can use this to disconnect power from the washing machine thereby stopping the water pump. If you do want to take this additional step, make sure to obtain a relay power controlled device that supports a high enough amperage for your washing machine. I am planning on using a Furman MP-20 Power Relay Accessory to solve this. There are probably cheaper options out there but with this device there should be no hassles, just connect the IO contact leads from the controller box to the MP-20.
I also am using a FloodStop system on my hot water heater which is located in the attic. I am using the 3/4 threaded model, but here is a link to the compression fit model:
FloodStop System for Water Heaters**UPDATE** 2010-01-22
Received and installed Furman MP-20 Power Relay Accessory today. Connected to NO (normally open) contact closure leads on FloodStop. Works great!! Now when water is detected by FloodStop, not only the hot and cold water valves get closed, but also the power to the washing machine gets immediately disconnected. This will prevent the pump on the washing machine from burning out if the water leakage is not detected immediately and also prevents water on the drain line of the washing machine from being pumped out in the case where the drain line has been compromised.**UPDATE** 2010-06-23
6 month test passed! Both hot and cold values closed completely with the detection of water on the sensor pad. **UPDATE** 2010-10-06
Wife asked me to take a look at why the washing machine was not working today. The Flodstop was tripped and the Furman MP-20 powered off the washing machine. No noticeable pools of water on the floor, so I started thinking something may be wrong with the Floodstop unit. But sure enough when I picked up the sensor there was a little bit a water on the surface. After wiping off the water and resetting the unit all is working perfectly. I will count this as a successful test :-)



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Stop washing machine leaks from becoming a disaster.Don't risk your floors, carpets and other personal belongings to costly and ruinous water damage!Prevent flood damage and avoid costly repairs with the easy-to-install Washing Machine Valve Shutoff Kit.This system not only detects leaks early, but it automatically shuts your water off in the event of a leak, alerting you with the control panel's alarm.Designed for both residential and commercial dwellings, the Washing Machine Valve Shutoff Kit uses a pair of automatic 9VDC 3/4-inch full port motorized ball valves to shut off the water supply whenever your washing machine leaks.The non-intrusive devices can be installed in as little as 10 minutes; no professional plumbers are required.This kit includes everything you need to protect your property from costly water-leak damage: valves installed on your hot and cold water inlets, a water sensor to be placed on the floor, and the control unit, which is mounted to your wall with the included screws.A power supply is included; you can also install four C batteries (not included) for backup power if desired.You can even add multiple water sensors for different areas around your washing machine.If your washing machine should begin to leak, the controller tells the water valves to close and alerts you with an 87db alarm.The system can also connect to an alarm, an automatic phone dialer, or both.

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