# Military generator as standby?



## T5Ranch (Jul 17, 2017)

I'm looking at 30kW military diesel generators. I'm needing a whole house standby setup and would need to hook up the unit on an automatic start/transfer switch. Has anyone done this and what are your thoughts and advice? Thanks


----------



## thehandyman1957 (Feb 11, 2017)

My understanding as far as Military Gen sets are concerned is that they are designed as stand alone units. I.E. they don't have the built in start up stuff some stand by gen sets have. On the other hand, they are bullet proof tough and designed to run full time compared to some stand by units that are simply for power outages and if run for a long time would not last. 

Since Military gen sets are all different in their design, it would be hard to really know what would be needed to make it work for what you want. 

Perhaps one of the other guys will have some front hand knowledge about Military set ups.


----------



## Handyhiker (Sep 29, 2016)

A 30kw is a big generator for home back up. Are you sure you need that much power? Most of the home backup ones that I have seen are around 7.5-10kw. The fuel even at no load will be more then a smaller set at 3/4-full load. Inless that is for a comercial building I would not even look at one that large. Plus the place to keep it and the noise running will be loud. 
I did a walk around my home, 3600sqft, and a 3500 watt would power my boiler, 2 refrigerators, upright freezer and sump pump. My back up is a 5000 watt. That gives my a little coushion and still fuel friendly. I can run full load at under 1 gallon per hour. Just a guess at the 30kw because I don't know what engine it has, but no load is probably around 2-2.5 gallons per hour and loaded goes up from there. 

It can be done with the correct transfer swirch and some add on electronic controls. Military generators are usually manual start only some electronic mods would be needed. Also military generators are not worried about fuel efficiency and may be hard to find parts if needed. 
You would be better off finding a comercial generator as the usually have remote start capabilities and parts are easier and cheaper. 
This is just my .02 but think what kind of power you need as a minimum and add a cousion factor. Remember, the bigger the generator the more fuel even at no load.


----------



## Handyhiker (Sep 29, 2016)

Another thing is that most generators that large are usually 3 phase and higher voltage. For home back up you only need singe phase at 120/240.


----------



## motormonkey (Jul 10, 2016)

Military generators like that are often 416 v 400 hz.


----------



## exmar (Jun 29, 2015)

Agree with everything said previously. Most of us get by for a whole house set up with under 10KW, unless you have electric heat or live where AC is a necessity, then maybe 12-14KW. Buying a transfer switch "separately" is very expensive, trying to modify to auto start and shut down on power loss and recovery would be insanely expensive and fraught with "aw ****s." e.g. I got along for years with a 3750W, walking through Lowe's saw a 5500W floor model for half price so I grabbed it. Do a realistic assessment of what loads you need to power during an outage, with that number in mind, look for an appropriate genset with transfer switch if you're so inclined. If you're not planning on doing the work yourself, lots of electricians now will do a complete installation and are Generac, etc. dealers for service after.


Military or not, presume you're looking at used. Are you a diesel mechanic who also can repair the generator end? Are parts available? Used is much cheaper for a reason, there is a big unknown as to what the previous owner(s) did to it. JMHO


----------

