Mains Power / Generator Power changeover switch enough to power a household?

[Prof]

Hi team,

Is there an Electrician here who can tell me if this Mains Power / Generator Power changeover switch is big enough to power a household?

Total useable wattage would be approx. 14Kw..

Equipment to power would be..Aircon.7Kw...fridge..microwave..oven..griller..small appliances..

The changeover generator is a 9Kw. petrol generator..

The switch is a Hager SF263 Changeover Switch 2 Pole 63 Amp.240V. 50Hz. Din Mounted..

[MikeTNZ]

All good Prof,

Oddly enough, I went to a house fire the other night (I'm a volunteer Station Officer) and the guy had bought some gear and rewired his own switchboard.

He wouldn't say where he got the gear from (not being a qualified sparky), but his wife said he got it off Aliexpress............

I'm going back there tomorrow to try and fix it all up.

Just be bloody careful folks, this guy only lost some of his hallway, before the fire was discovered.

[AndyW23]

Mate there's a reason you must used licienced tradespeople & I'd suggest your about to find out if your doing this work yourself. Please listen to qualified advise as you might just kill yourself or someone you love.

I've seen far to many home electricians jobs & a few burning results. This is an industry not to take safety lightly.

[EricL]

Hi @AndyW23 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. Thank you for joining the discussion.

Let me tag @Prof to make sure they see your timely reminder about electrical safety. I totally agree with you that electrical work is best left to registered electricians. 

Are you currently working on a D.I.Y. project? If you have any questions we can help with, please don't hesitate to post them. Our members will be more than happy to provide advice and information.

Eric

[Prof]

UPDATE...

I don't think I ever mentioned what I finished up doing about changing mains power to generator power..

I gave away the idea of using that Hager changeover switch..Instead my Gardener who is also an allround handyman..ran two underground cables from the generator to the house..

One cable goes directly to the air-con..and has a simple high wattage throw over switch cleverly hidden in a wall cavity behind a picture on the living room wall..and the other cable connects to the outside of the house with a through put 3 pin double socket where I can connect any of the appliances..

I've used the setup several times now and it works well...

[EricL]

Hi @Prof 

Thank you very much for that update and It's good to hear that you've managed to sort out your generator installation. How are the plants coming along have they started to bloom flowers yet?

Eric

[Prof]

Hi Eric...

I'm afraid the plants have come to a stand still.!..

One of the tomatoe plants has two small green tomatoes..but no flowers..and the other one had flowers which all curled up and died.!!!

I have what is called "blossom drop"..it appears to be fairly common..

The nutrients worked well during the growing process..but it doesn't seem to be the right nutrients for flowering and fruiting..

I've now changed the water and added a nutrient called "Bloom"..but it might be too late..so far there hasn't been any change..

The other thing which I hadn't taken into consideration is the mains water supply is chlorinated.!! Evidently plants don't like Chlorine.!!!

When you have plants in the ground..by the time that water gets to the roots most of the chlorine has dissipated through the soil..Not so with hydroponics.!!

It's all been a bit of a learning curve..

Fortunately my green plants have been thriving.!! Evidently non fruiting plants aren't affected as much..

I've cut off Iceberg lettuce leaves..and Bok Choi leaves and have had them in my salads.!! and they just keep growing back.!!

[MitchellMc]

Let us know if you need any assistance with your plants @Prof. I trust you're all over it, but we have plenty of knowledgeable gardeners within the community, all willing to offer advice.

Mitchell

[Prof]

Thanks Mitchell..it's good to know that help is available..

I've been getting my information mainly from You tube..Unfortunately they all have their own ideas and they either don't work or they're too complicated..

It's very difficult ( as a novice) to know exactly what I need..

I've already spent money in areas that weren't ideal..and it's been an expensive project at times..

I am at a bit of a loss at the moment as to how to get my tomatoe plants to flower..

One thing I discovered is that these plants are self pollinating..I took that to mean that I didn;t have to do anything to have then flower and then fruit.!!

Huh..boy was I wrong.!! I'm supposed to get a small paint brush and transfer pollen from one flower to the next.!!

That's problem why my flowers curled up and died..

Mitchell who do you suggest I contact in this area of hydroponics.?

[MitchellMc]

How many hours of sunlight are you giving the tomatoes @Prof? They'll need at least 6-8 hours to bloom, and some say 12-18hours is preferable. 

If all of your flowers have fallen off without pollinating, then the plant is likely giving it a rest at the moment. Giving the plants a slight trim might trigger them to produce flowers again.

If you haven't already, you might want to check the N-P-K of the Bloom fertiliser you're using. I'm not familiar with this product (there seem to be several similarly named products on the market), but just because it has bloom in the name might not mean it's targeted towards the flowering stage. You need high potassium, phosphorus, and less nitrogen during the flowering stage. If it has details on the bottle, check the ratios are in the right ballpark.

Lastly, what's the temperature like in the growing area? Typically high temperatures don't become an issue until they start evaporating your water storage, but it's important to know that it can become too hot. Adding ventilation will assist in dropping temperatures if this is an issue.

Overall from reading your discussions, it sounds like your plants are healthy it's just a matter of trying to reset these tomatoes and encourage them to bloom again.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Prof]

Mitchell I should have mentioned..these are indoor hydroponic tomato plants..under grow lights..using T5 twin 6400K fluro's 12hrs.on 8 hrs. off..

I did do some trimming, but I think I might have over done it..The plants are looking very spindly..

The N-P-K of the bloom formula of Manutec Tomato Magic Nutrient is 12.5 / 2.5 / 28.0  might be a bit high in nitrogen and low in potassium

Temperature is fairly constant during the day with the house being air-conditioned..but at night could have more of a variation..

One thing I can tell you..These tomato plants are VERY thirsty.!! I've already gone through about 30L. of nutrient in each bucket.!!!😃