From Guest Blogger Jayde Ferguson: Farming and Generators–Four Uses for Generators and How to Choose the Best
Running a farm can be hard work. From working and living in very remote locations to smaller locations just at the cusp of the city, farm life comes with its own set of unique challenges – ones that require innovative solutions to overcome. For a farm operation to be successful, reliable power and electricity is absolutely essential. But the further you venture away from populated cities the higher the potential for an untrustworthy connection.
Without a reliable backup option in place loss of power can contribute to loss of productivity, stock and your hard-earned profit. Not to mention the bigger complications that can arise from farms that rely heavily on heating, cooling and ventilation systems. But generating your own electricity through the right generator will provide a cost-effective way to keep pumping water, power tools running, shearing sheds running and farms making profit.
Each farm has a different set of power requirements though, so it pays to find a generator that’ll suit your individual needs. From the wattage capacity of the generator, to the number of power plug outlets, noise levels and hours of operation there’s a lot of considerations to make. Here’s the top uses for generators on the farm and how to choose the best one for you.
1. Powering Remote Areas
The real need for a reliable generator on the farm is because of its detachment. Even if you’re not completely out in the wilderness, powering remote areas becomes more of a challenge the further from the city you are so adequate preparation is vital.
Because farms have a higher demand of power over regular city homes, they tend to be more vulnerable during outages. Farmers face the problem of power restrictions to certain parts of the area so off-site operations can be impossible – this is where a diesel or petrol generator will come in handy. Depending on your power needs, a small petrol generator can be ideal for low demand energy supplies. For high power demands portable diesel generators will offer a powerful and economical option.
2. Emergency Farm Use
Running the day-to-day production of the farm is one thing, but what about in the event of an emergency? Farm work is susceptible to interruptions and having operations stop running dead in their tracks can be detrimental. There’s many suburban homes that require a small petrol generator for power outages to simply keep the essentials running – fridge, heating, cooling and lighting should they be left without power for a few days or weeks. But farms have additional power items that need to keep running despite what bad weather or emergency situations throw at you.
It’s critical for every farm to have an alternative source of power for when outages happen. Having the right supply of electricity ready to go can be all the difference between losses and production flow. Look for high-powered generators that can handle heavier, conductive loads if you need to keep the bulk of things running. Petrol backup generators will cost less to buy but are only suitable for smaller power demands. Generators needed only for emergency situations are usually best as a portable petrol ones whereas a large standby generator will be better used for longer operating hours.
3. Driving Farm Tools
Including all required farm tools for your generator power supply will ensure a successful operation all year round. Before you decide which one is best for powering your tools, determine how much power is needed to run what you need. Don’t forget to consider the amount of power needed to start farm tools as this figure can be 3-4 times higher than the continuous running power.
Many people will purchase undersized generators as a common problem which can lead to the generator burning out quickly. Refer to the manual of each electric device you need to power to determine its requirements.
4. Prime Power Supplies
The main supplies that you use on your farm day in and day out will need something more substantial than a portable petrol generator to run. Instead, you’ll want something that is reliable enough to use as the farm’s prime power source to allow operation to continue for longer periods of time on a consistent basis.
Opt for a generator that can provide enough watts – plus more! You don’t want to take the chance with a smaller generator for your fixed power source. If you have limited access to the main electricity supply grid, you may need to go even bigger. A large stationary diesel generator can be more cost-effective to run instead of using the power from the main supply so weigh up your options by determining what you need to power first.
Every farm needs a generator. When the power goes out, you’ll never know if it’ll be hours or days before things are back up and running again. Don’t put your farm at risk due to lack of preparation. Unreliable power can be easily solved with the right generator for your needs.
Author Bio
This article is written by Jayde Ferguson, who writes for Able Sales – Australia wide supplier of quality backup generators to support your farm and generator needs. You can catch her on Google+.
