ST-5 Doghouse Replacement?

[quinnf]

Anyone have a recommendation for what to replace the flimsy doghouse on top of an ST generator with?  Can't seem to find a suitable electrical box that's big enough to make connections in, but not gi-normous.  I need to mount a terminal strip inside to make the connections. 

Quinn

[sailawayrb]

Hi Quinn,

I'll take a detailed photo and post it this evening.  I used an outdoor electrical outlet box which is just big enough to fit the appropriate connector/cable and all the associated/required internal wiring.  I'm wired for 120 and the cable feeds my engine speed & voltage protection system, which then feeds both legs of my transfer switch, which then feeds all the 120 circuits in my home.

http://listerenginegallery.com/main.php?g2_itemId=351

Bob B.

[mbryner]

Hello Quinn,

I just used an approx 6" x 6" cube generic heavy plastic junction box from electrical supply store.   I actually used it twice.   Once for a "doghouse"-like box on the ST for wire connections, and again for a collector for under the WMO centrifuge.   It's a nice box because you can drill your own holes wherever you want and use standard flexible conduit.

Both boxes I used are visible on this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJtp3qL7H7s

Marcus

[quinnf]

Marcus, thanks for the tip.  I saw a 4x4 and an 8x8.  The former wouldn't allow my fingers access and the latter met my "gi-normous" definition.  A 6" cube would just do it.  I'll check into local sources.

Bob, I'll be anxious to see what an engineer comes up with!  

By the way, Bob, took my son to see Liberty University in Virginia about a month ago.  He's planning to go into their aeronautics program.  Though his math and physics grades are great, he doesn't have the "what makes it work" mindset.  Don't know where I went wrong on that front.  However, his goal is to be a missionary pilot.  Of that, I'm proud.  The organization that he wants to work through (MAF) requires a commercial license and A&P to boot.  So at least when he comes back from wherever he ends up, he should be able to get a job with one of the airlines.

q.

[sailawayrb]

Hi Quinn,

Here's the photo.  As I said, it's just a standard aluminum outlet box that you might use to wire lights for your garden, etc.  Might be too compact for your fingers or what you have in mind, but I forgot to mention that I also fit a Cessna push button circuit breaker in it too.

I am excited to hear the excellent news about your son...congrats!!!

Bsrgds,
Bob B.

[quinnf]

Thanks!  I see you opted for a receptacle.  I'm planning to install a terminal strip for connections inside the box, then run power through flex conduit to a wall mounted breaker box and connect from there through the wall to 50' of 10-4 waterproof cable through the exterior wall which will be kept hanging on a hose hanger outside.  The receptacle and disconnect switch were installed by the P.O. and was permitted, so I didn't have to deal with all that.  When bad weather threatens I'll snake the cord through the bushes to the receptacle on the exterior of the house which feeds the transfer switch connected to the panel inside.  I'd like to bury a cable, but 10,000 years of big drippy tree roots and 40' of glacial soil (read: rocks) separating the house from the groj make that unattractive.  Spent last Friday in the groj working to get everything ready.  Thermometer read a steady 34 degrees.  Living down south, I sometimes forget what cold feels like.

Quinn

[sailawayrb]

Sounds like a good plan Quinn given the situation!

The other end of my cable plugs into the my engine speed & voltage protection system.  There is also a cable between my engine speed & voltage protection system and the transfer switch.  That way, if my engine speed & voltage protection system were to fail, it could be quickly and easily by-passed.  Using connectors versus hardwiring was done to enable portability.  As you know, since the basic stand design is the same as your design, wheels can be easily installed and the entire setup can be rolled and lifted as desired.  There is also a connector box outside the house that is hardwired to the transfer switch.  This allows hooking up a backup gas genset should the Listeroid ever be down when power is needed.  This outside connector box can be seen in one of my Diesel/SVO/Propane Control System photos on aforementioned URL.  In fact, the box Marcus mentioned earlier may be the box that I used to house the propane solenoid valve and is in this same photo!

I picked up a nice unvented propane stove from Northern Tool for my current garage.  The new detached garage/shop will have actual living space...so I won't ever have to leave it...

Marcus, I came close to giving you a call a couple weeks ago when we were staying at The Lodge at Riverside in Grants Pass for a couple days.  The ODWR invited me take a class there to become one of their CWREs (Certified Water Rights Examiners).  Unfortunately, I didn't transfer your cell number to my new cell phone 

Bob B.

[mbryner]

Drat!  Do you have my cell now?   541-227-8485   Call anytime.  When are you coming down here next?

What do you have at your land now?   A garage?   No partitions/living area in it yet?

[sailawayrb]

Marcus,

We will be down for about 10 days during the Christmas holidays.  We still only have the mobile home that came with the place, however, the new building locations were surveyed and staked this summer.  We also got our new septic system permit two weeks ago.  Our permit allows us "to repair" our 1970ish 2-bedroom standard gravity septic system that the mobile home is currently using even though the new tank will be 200 feet away from the current tank, and the new drainfield will be 500 feet away from the current drainfield and it will be good for 4-bedroom.  Doing it as a repair saved us about $2K in permitting fees and avoiding having to do a sand filtration system saved us about $10K in construction costs.  We have a year from the permit date to get it done and the plan is to do it early/late Spring.  

Once the septic is done, we will submit our building plans to the county.  Tying into an existing septic system makes overall approval much easier and and will further reduce permitting fees.  Especially when one is in a sensative wildlife area and has streams on the property and associated setback issues.  We needed a new system because the new house would have been directly over the old tank.  The plan is to build the garage/shop (with the "detached living space") in summer 2013 and "attach" it to the mobile home...and then remove the mobile home, build the new house, and "attach" the garage/shop to it when I retire a few years later.  Detached living space is very tricky and things have to be carefully sequenced to avoid breaking the rules and incurring excessive permitting fees.  We also can't remove the mobile home until we can immediately begin construction on the house in order to preserve the existing and desirable setback from the stream and waterfall view we love that we would otherwise never get approved today if this was considered new construction.

Bob B.

[mbryner]

Makes sense, but complicated.   Oh man, stay away from the sand filtration systems!  The guy who did our septic, Bob Littlefield, was good, but I think he's retired now.

would otherwise never get approved today if this was considered new construction.

so true in so many circumstances nowadays.

P.S.  We'll be around at Christmastime; would be fun to meet....

[sailawayrb]

It's a date Marcus.  I entered your number in my cell and my cell is 253-653-6821.  We don't have cell coverage at property so landline is 541-826-7222.  I will be off for the duration, but Gayle has to work virtually (via a satellite internet that we need to get installed between now then).  However, I am sure we will have time to meet up.  Would love to see your place.

We hired Dick Florey as a consultant to first sort out and create our septic strategy...the best $150 I have spent on this project so far.  We plan to hire Dunlap Septic Excavation (a local family operated business recommended by Dick) to do the job.

Bob B.

[mbryner]

Just give me a call when you're in the neighborhood.  I don't have a work schedule for Dec yet, so no clue which days will work better.