Standby power

[Neon John <johngd@bellsouth.net>]

"Weiss, Sue" wrote:
> 
> Yes, you are missing it. We are a hospital with little resources!!! We can't
> just go out and buy another generator!!! Our institutional backup generators
> are already loaded and we can't put the irradiator on it. I need another
> solution.

OK, we can handle that!  Is this a one-shot Y2K thingie or is this
to be a long term solution.  Assuming it's a one-shot affair, here
are some ideas:

Rent a generator for the weekend.  Run type SO extension cords
through windows or whatever to reach the irradiator. 

Does anyone on the staff have a motorhome or RV?  Most contain
generators, typically in the 4 to 12KW range.  Assuming the line
voltage is only needed to run the control system and not an X-ray
generator, this should be more than enough power to do the trick. 
Get the person to  park the motorhome next to the hospital and run
the cords. Motorhome generators are plumbed into the RVs main gas
tank so there will be from 30 to 100 gallons of fuel on board.  And
if it runs low, the "gas tank" can be driven to a fueling station.

Contact your civil defense/emergency management agency.  They almost
always have sitting around at least a lighting truck consisting of a
pickup with a generator and some lights mounted.  May be a trailer
instead.  They would most likely loan it to you.  Maybe not for the
whole weekend but surely by appointment.

Contact your local ham radio club.  Either the emergency management
agency or police can refer you.  Ham do public service/disaster
recovery as a matter of course.  Many hams are set up to operate
their radios during any sort of emergency and this means having a
generator.  The club will find someone to bring the generator and
make sure it works.  You'll probably stil have to supply the cords,
though you'll be amazed at what hams can dig out of their boneyards.
(Hint: Home Depot and Lowe's both have the Hubbel 10 gauge SO cord
sets for about $80 for 100 feet).

Any military/national guard facilities nearby?  Contact them for the
loan of a generator.  Might be too late at this stage, considering
the bureaucracy but worth a shot.

Contact your local TV stations and ask them to do a public service
segment on your need.  On the air, ask for a loan.  Someone will
most likely give you one.

Depending on how large the load is, an inverter and some golf cart
batteries might be a viable alternative.  A 1000 watt inverter and a
thousand amp-hours of golf cart batteries can be had in the $500
range.  On a temporary, emergency basis, say over the Y2K weekend,
they could be piled in the corner of the room.  On a permanent
basis, this plus a suitable battery charger make up a very fine
uninterruptable power supply.  That is exactly what I run my little
data center on.

If your needs are more permanent, then an ordinary gas powered
generator, as in above, can be permanently mouted in a convenient
location and supplied with permanent wiring.  A manual transfer
switch could be installed near the power source for the irradiator. 
A remote start switch could be installed near the transfer switch. 
Since no life safety systems are involved and since you can schedule
the irradiations, it would be no big deal to have to go start the
generator locally - maybe even pull the cord.  Onan makes a very
excellent generator for RVs designed for remote start and VERY quiet
operation.  Look at http://www.onanrv.com/.  The smaller ones cost
in the range of $2500.  A remote start panel is standard equipment
with these generators.

If I haven't come up with anything viable, let me know and I'll
noodle some more.

John

-- 
John De Armond
johngdSPAMNOT@bellsouth.net
http://neonjohn.4mg.com
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