Sarasota N3 Sewers is now Sarasota N3 Neighborhood

More than just sewers

The Sarasota N3 Sewers website was launched in 2012 for a single purpose: to halt the installation of the 216 grinder pumps planned for the N3 area of the  PCSSRP.  That goal has been realized.  In a win-win for the county and N3 residents, a hybrid gravity system using four pumps (instead of 216!) is slated to begin construction in a couple of months.  So, the county sewer issue is settled, but there are changes with our water provider, Pluris Southgate, Inc.

Pluris Southgate, Inc

Pluris began changing out the old mechanical water meters in late 2015 and all of us now have the new “smart” meters (scroll down to the Jan 22 post for more info). The next change from Pluris will be the roll-out of the new Personal Web Portal.  This new feature promises to be a very useful tool for us, the customer, to monitor our individual water usage.  However, the national trend to convert to these electronic “smart” meters has not been without problems: The last article listed only a few of the many reports from around the country. Tom Lyons said he was “flooded” with similar calls.  A few neighbors have written to me that their bills are higher than they used to be (more on that later), but N3 has not experienced the nightmares reported in other neighborhoods that use the same meters. While the 200-plus residents of N3 make up less than five percent of the 4,599 Pluris Southgate customers, Pluris says that “the number of customers questioning accuracy of water use has dropped significantly.” I’m sure that statement is accurate, but it takes only one “black swan” to be a nightmare (see Tom Lyons columns Jan 22 post).

Why the name change?

It looks like this website will be useful for things other than our sewer. There have been articles about the Florida Neighborhoods Conference, Red Bug Slough clean-up, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program, and other topics that don’t involve our sewers.  So,  Sarasota N3 Neighborhood will continue to present information that will hopefully inform our residents.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

N3 Sewer Update Feb 2015

On Monday, Feb. 2, Mike Scarborough and Peter Gentile, representing the N3 Neighborhood Committee, met with the county staff and consulting engineers involved in the “hybrid gravity” sewer system that will be built in our neighborhood. 

Although the final details are subject to review and approval by county and state regulators, the plan seems to be shaping up as follows: four lift stations will be built in the neighborhood, two primary pumps on Tanglewood Drive and two smaller pumps, one each on North and South Seclusion Drives. 

When the “hybrid gravity” system was proposed, it was envisioned that there would probably be at least six lift stations. So we can thank the engineers at Giffels-Webster for minimizing the footprint of this project. Specifically, the engineers came up with a method to connect the homes in the Homasassa Street neighborhood to existing sewer lines, eliminating one lift station. And where Tanglewood crosses the Bermuda canal, there will be one lift station, whereas it was initially thought that there would need to be one on each side of the canal.

To remind everyone, these lift stations will be underground. Only the electrical equipment and control panels will be above ground. These will be fenced or landscaped or both, we have been assured. 

As a further reminder, and to recap, in the summer of 2012 it came to our attention that the county intended to connect us to the county sewer system through the installation of a “grinder pump” in the front yard of each of our homes. A group of neighbors got together and researched these “grinder pumps,” and discovered that other communities that had installed them had reliability problems. We were also uncomfortable with the idea that the pumps would stop working in the event of a power outage, that the county would have a de facto easement on each of our properties, and that we would have to pay for the electricity to run the pumps. 

At the time, the committee believed that the only option to the grinder pumps would have been a “vacuum” system, such as was installed in the rest of South Gate. If that system had been adopted, one of the houses in our neighborhood would have been demolished and replaced with a vacuum station. That clearly would have also affected the homeowners who lived adjacent to the vacuum station. 

The neighborhood committee prevailed upon the County Commission to “Dump the Pumps” and county staff was directed to take another look at our neighborhood, and to see if there might be a third alternative. And indeed there was: the “hybrid gravity” system that is going forward now. Basically, it is a traditional gravity system, except that there are more lift stations and the pipes are not as deep in the ground as would be the case in a “built-from-scratch” system. In fact, most lift stations in the county serve hundreds of homes each. In our neighborhood, we will have four lift stations for about 200 homes. 

Neighbors frequently ask, “When are we getting sewers?” The answer is still, “Some day in the not too distant future” We are discovering that public works projects move through the system fairly slowly. This project presents engineering and regulatory issues that only add to the timeline. However, we can assure you, this project is moving, the money is available, and it will be built.

The next step will be a public meeting. At that time, the plan will be pretty much finalized. Homeowners will be able to review the plans and get answers to their specific questions. The county staffers indicated that the meeting will occur in late March or early April.

N3 Sewer Update – Oct. 2014

On Friday, Sept. 26, Mike Scarborough and Peter Gentile, representing the N-3 Neighborhood Committee, met with Jaimol Charles and Greg Rouse of the Sarasota County Utilities Department for an update regarding the “hybrid gravity” sewer system planned for our neighborhood.

 

The project has reached the 30 percent design stage. Detailed drawings have been prepared, and the Utilities Department is in discussions with state regulators regarding methods of construction and specific placement of the proposed lift stations. Once the state review is complete, the plan will be modified as needed and the engineers will take the design to the 60 percent stage, at which time there will be a public meeting for all homeowners in Area N-3. We were told that we can probably expect this meeting to occur in early 2015.

 

At this meeting, the county engineers will present an overview of the entire project, and you will be able to view drawings that show the details for each individual home, including the location of current septic tank(s) and the planned location of the “lateral lines” that connect  the main lines to each individual house. If you have already expressed a preference for the location of the lateral (a survey was taken some years ago), the County has attempted to honor your request. The lateral line will be capped and marked at the property line. Each homeowner will be responsible for the connection from their house to the lateral line, and then crushing or removing their septic tank(s).

 

As we have stated in previous emails, the “hybrid gravity” sewer system calls for six to 10 small underground lift stations in various locations in the public right of way throughout our neighborhood. At the current 30-percent design stage, it looks as though six lift stations may be enough, and there could end up being fewer. The final locations of the lift stations will be presented at the public meeting.

 

This “hybrid gravity” plan came into being after the County Commission halted an earlier proposal that would have placed a county-owned “grinder pump” in each individual yard, with the homeowner responsible for providing power to the device. The N-3 Committee conducted research into these “grinder pumps” and determined that they could be prone to failure and would stop working in the event of a power failure, leaving homeowners dependent on the county to pump them out in an emergency. Also, the County did not plan to obtain easements for the placement of the devices, which committee members felt was of dubious legality. Thanks to persistent lobbying by the committee and the efforts of 50 or more neighbors who attended the County Commission meeting, the Commission halted the “grinder pump” plan and County staff was directed to investigate a “hybrid gravity” system for the neighborhood.

 

We believe the County Commission and the Utilities Department have gone the extra mile to design the best system possible for our neighborhood. Not only will we avoid having 200 individual “grinder pumps” in our yards, but we will also avoid having 200 “candy canes” (which we would have had under the third alternative, a “vacuum system” like the rest of South Gate).

 

The main sewer lines will be placed in one lane or the other of the streets, not down the middle, so that there will be at least one lane available for travel during construction. The construction crews will attempt to keep access open to each home, but there may be times when coming and going will be somewhat difficult. We have been told that the construction crews will be attentive to any special needs individual homeowners may have. Some months after construction is complete, all the streets in the project area will be repaved.

 

We look forward to seeing all of you at the next public meeting, which, if we are lucky, may be the LAST public meeting we will have to attend regarding the provision of sewer service to our neighborhood.

 

Best regards,

Peter Gentile, Chairman

N-3 Neighborhood Committee

Commissioners Approve Re-design for N3

The Board of County Commissioners has approved the re-design of our Area N-3 sewer system to the recently proposed “hybrid gravity” system. This means that the ball is finally rolling toward sewer service for our neighborhood.

Jaimol Charles, the county’s manager of this project, informs us that in mid-July, the consultants will begin a survey of our neighborhood to locate underground facilities. Once that is done, the consultants will prepare a preliminary (or conceptual) plan for the county and neighborhood to review before proceeding with the final design.

As a reminder, the “hybrid gravity” or “enhanced gravity” system that has been proposed calls for a relatively small number (perhaps 6 to 10) of underground lift stations throughout the neighborhood in the public right of way (i.e., under the streets or in other slivers of county-owned property). This system replaces the former proposed “grinder pump” system that would have placed a pump in each of our yards. Your committee analyzed that proposal and determined that it posed many potential problems to homeowners and the county, and we prevailed upon the commissioners to reject the grinder pumps in favor of a truly central, public sewer system. The county hired Giffels Webster Engineers to take a fresh look at our neighborhood, and the engineers offered the idea of the “hybrid gravity” or “enhanced gravity” system. The N-3 committee has endorsed this proposal as offering the highest level of service and the least detrimental effect on our community of the available options.

Once the preliminary design in complete, you should expect to receive notice of a public meeting at which residents will be able to review the plans.

We will continue to pass on information as we receive it from the county.

County Commissioners Vote to “Dump the Pumps”!

A letter from our N3 Committee Chairman:

At the regular Sarasota County Commission meeting of Dec. 11, the commissioners unanimously voted to direct the county staff to begin designing a “hybrid gravity sewer system” for our N-3 Area.

This vote means that the grinder pump proposal is dead. You may now feel free to take down your “Dump the Pumps” sign (if you still have one).

Wednesday’s vote was the culmination of more than a year of work by your neighborhood committee to get the county to reconsider its original plan to install grinder pumps at each of our homes. In the end, we are getting a system that is not only superior to the grinder pumps, but may well be better even than the vacuum system that originally seemed like the preferable alternative.

By going back to the drawing board, the county utilities staff and consulting engineers determined that the “hybrid gravity system” would answer many of our complaints about the grinder pumps and be cost-effective in our neighborhood. As we have outlined previously, under this proposal there will be 6 to 10 mini lift stations in manholes in the public right-of-way throughout the neighborhood.

The adoption of this proposal was a case study in citizen involvement and government responsiveness. The committee diligently gathered information and mobilized the neighborhood; the commissioners welcomed us and listened to our concerns; and finally the county staff went the extra mile to come up with a much improved plan.

The committee wishes to thank the county commissioners and the utilities staff for heeding our objections and taking the time to develop an alternative proposal. And you, our neighbors, deserve thanks for following this issue, placing signs in your yards, attending the public meetings at the community center, and most importantly, attending the County Commission meeting in February carrying signs.

The county utilities staff deserves particular praise for subjecting themselves to repeated grillings by the N-3 Committee, never losing their cool, and then coming up with an innovative plan that exceeded our expectations. We are fortunate in Sarasota County to have such dedicated and professional civil servants. We look forward to working with them through the planning and construction phases.

Stay tuned for more information. As the project proceeds, you will continue to receive email from the committee and from the Sarasota N3 Sewers website.

Best regards,

Peter Gentile, Chairman

N3 Neighborhood Committee

Area N3 Committee Report • Sept. 11, 2013

The Area N3 Committee is happy to inform you that the Sarasota County Utilities Department has “dumped the pumps” and is no longer recommending individual grinder pumps to provide sewer service in our neighborhood.

Somewhat surprisingly, though, the recommended option is not a vacuum system, which had been the main alternative under consideration. Instead, what is being proposed for our neighborhood is an “enhanced gravity system” or “hybrid gravity system.”

On Sept. 5, 2013, five members of the N3 Neighborhood Committee (Peter Gentile, Dave Kaplan, Del Macaulay, Walt Menzel and Peter Houk) met with representatives of the County Utilities Department to hear about this latest proposal. The information that follows is our understanding of the proposal based on that meeting.

What is a hybrid gravity system?

As the name implies, a hybrid gravity sewer system is at heart a traditional gravity system. A gravity system is what most people think of as a “normal” sewer system. Sewage flows downhill from the home through pipes that descend gradually deeper into the ground until they arrive at a lift station. At the lift station, sewage is pumped up to a higher level to continue its flow toward the treatment plant. In a traditional gravity system, lift stations can be 20 feet or more underground and collect wastewater from hundreds of homes.

In a “hybrid gravity system,” there are more (but smaller) lift stations and the pipes are not buried so deeply in the ground (3 to 6 feet, rather than 6 to 20 feet).

For our neighborhood, there will be approximately 6 to 10 “mini lift stations” located underground in concrete chambers serviced through manholes. The manholes will be flush with the ground or street. Near each mini lift station will be an electrical control panel affixed to a chest-high concrete post. The electrical control panels will be the only above-ground component of the system. (Incidentally, these control panels are similar to the control panels that each homeowner would have been required to install to operate the grinder pumps.)

The mini lift stations will be placed inside manholes in the county right-of-way (either under the pavement or in the shoulder of the road). The precise locations of the mini lift stations have not been determined, but the county has identified some potential locations that are minimally intrusive. However, it is possible that at least some of the mini lift stations will be located so that the control panel will be in the right-of-way between two homes (similar to where a utility pole would be sited).

Is the hybrid gravity system good for us?

The proposed hybrid gravity system answers many of the criticisms the Area N3 Committee raised concerning the grinder pump proposal:

• The mini lift stations will be in the public right of way. The grinder pumps would have been on our property, within 30 feet of our homes.

• The county will supply the electrical power to run the mini lift stations. The homeowners would have provided electricity for the grinder pumps.

• In the event of emergency, the county will only have to pump out 6 to 10 mini lift stations, instead of 200 individual grinder pumps. 

• The homeowner will not be required to install electrical equipment. The grinder pumps would have required each homeowner to install an electrical control panel affixed to the house. 

• The mini lift stations will send an electronic signal to alert the Utilities Department in the event of malfunction. The homeowner would need to call the county to report a grinder pump malfunction. 

• In the event of pump failure, the mini lift stations will overflow through the manholes. In the event of grinder pump failure, sewage could back up into the home. 

Even though the N-3 Committee had earlier endorsed a vacuum system (at the time, it appeared to be the only option to the grinder pumps), the hybrid gravity system offers some advantages over the vacuum system:

• No homes will be sacrificed for the hybrid gravity system.  A home would have been condemned and demolished to make way for a vacuum station.

• There will be no “candy canes” in the yards with a hybrid gravity system. There would be a “candy cane” in every yard with a vacuum system.

The committee does have several concerns about the hybrid gravity system:

• The visibility of the control panels. As stated above, the County will endeavor to put the mini lift stations (and control panels) in out-of-the-way locations. However, the more lift stations that are needed, the greater the chance that some of them will be more visible. The County has indicated that they may put at least some rudimentary landscaping around the control panels; we imagine the homeowner would be free to improve on that so long as access to the panel is not impaired.

• Odor. The County states that odor should not be a problem, partly because each mini lift station will be serving a limited number of homes. (The bigger the lift station, the greater the potential for odor.) However, in the case of malfunction, odor could temporarily be a problem (although this is true of any sewer system).

As we have said before, the county is going to put us on central sewer of one sort or another. Every sewer system technology has some potential drawbacks. The committee had previously endorsed the vacuum system, despite its drawbacks (need for a vacuum station, candy canes in every yard). We believe the advantages of the hybrid gravity system outweigh the potential disadvantages. 

How this came about

At the County Commission meeting of Feb. 13, 2013, where approximately 50 neighbors showed up with “Dump the Pumps” signs, the commissioners requested that the County Utilities staff take a closer look at the grinder pump proposal for our area as well as the future of the entire septic tank replacement program, since our Committee research indicated that many of the figures used to evaluate the alternative systems were out of date.

The staff retained Hazen and Sawyer Engineers, who provided the original conceptual design for the entire septic system replacement plan, to revisit the costs of grinder pumps. At your Committee’s request, the review considered additional costs for larger storage tanks, electrical outlets for generator operation, and even the cost of generators, in order to bring the grinder pump system up to the level of service provided to other County Utility customers. Using those parameters, the engineers found that the grinder pump system was closer in cost to the alternatives than had originally been shown.

While updating the cost figures, the engineering firm also introduced a new service option: the hybrid gravity system.

In the original sewer system master plan from 2000, there was no mention of hybrid gravity systems. County ordinances at the time prohibited mini lift stations. Now, the county seems willing to consider these systems for retrofits like ours.

Committee endorses hybrid gravity system

The Area N3 Committee endorses the hybrid gravity system for our area. We believe the County Utilities staff has gone the extra mile to design a system that the neighborhood will be happy with. The hybrid gravity system answers every concern we raised about the grinder pump system, and answers those concerns perhaps even better than a vacuum system would have.

What is next

In the coming weeks each affected resident in Area N3 will receive notice of a public meeting, most likely to be held at the South Gate Community Center. At this meeting, you will be able to hear for yourself about the hybrid gravity system, ask questions, and make up your own mind.

Assuming that the tone of the meeting is supportive, the County Utilities staff will then make a recommendation to the County Commission to proceed with the hybrid gravity system for Area N3. Then, at long last, construction will begin.

We urge you to attend the public meeting and to learn about the hybrid gravity proposal. We believe that the hybrid gravity system is a good solution for providing sewer service to our neighborhood, which presents many engineering challenges.

Government at work

The committee would like to thank all of the County Commissioners for welcoming us into their offices, listening to our concerns, and finally directing the staff to take a hard look at the grinder pump proposal and see if there wasn’t a better alternative.

We commend the County Utilities staff for working with us to come up with an innovative solution for our neighborhood. We have the utmost confidence in the Utilities Department to deliver us a first-rate sewer system.

We thank all the neighbors who attended the County Commission meeting of Feb. 13, 2013, waving signs and speaking against the grinder pump proposal. In the end, the demonstration of neighborhood support was essential to drive home the committee’s message and to get the Commission to act.

Finally, we thank Mike Scarborough for the countless hours he spent researching grinder pumps and other alternative sewer systems. His blog has been instrumental in providing factual information to our community, the staff and the Commissioners.

Respectfully submitted,

Peter Gentile (chairman and report author)

Mike Scarborough (research director)

Carol Belding (secretary)

Del Macaulay (treasurer)

Dr. Henry Abraham (vice-chairman)

David Kaplan

Walt Menzel

Peter Houk

John Scalzi

N3 Committee Report Sept 2013

 

 

Kia ora from New Zealand

( I recently received this email from a resident of Christchurch, NZ )

I live in Christchurch New Zealand, and I have been following your WordPress blog for the past 3 months.

Christchurch, my city of 363,200 residents, has suffered several devastating earthquakes in the past few years… my beautiful city will never be the same!

We currently have a gravity wastewater system and we are told by our Council that it has failed due to the earthquakes.  Wastewater still flows from my property by gravity as it did before the earthquakes with no problems.  The Council is trying to install 6000 grinder pumps throughout the city, approximately 850 surrounding my home.  The Council will install these on private property and maintain the units at no charge to the homeowner, except the homeowner will pay the electricity cost.  However, our current Council has admitted that their decisions are not binding on future Councils.  We believe that once Council realize how costly and problematic these grinders are they will simply be ‘gifted’ to the homeowner to service and maintain.  We are told that grinder pumps are more resilient than a gravity system.  They are suggesting that the grinder pump only requires maintenance every 10 years and it will last for 25 years……’Yeah, right’.  Our Council has admitted they have done no overseas research on this… we have.

Thank you for your blog site, we have found it immensely informative and helpful in trying to understand these grinder pumps.

Kindest regards,

Niki De Pina

 (p.s. we love your “Dump the pumps NO GRINDERS” yard signs )

(ed. note: Christchurch citizens file for judicial review)

According to a June 14 post on the Christchurch Concerned Citizens website, court documents have been filed seeking ‘interim relief’ to halt the installation of grinder pumps.  We should all reflect on how fortunate we are that our elected officials listened to us and acted to review the installation of grinder pumps in N3.

Thank you Sarasota County Commissioners!

Sarasota County Budget Meeting

but first, a letter to the Commissioners

Prior to the May 14th Budget Workshop our neighbor Walt Menzel emailed the Commissioners regarding our neighborhood sewer project.  Two points Walt made:

(1) for areas already completed, “Mr. MacFarlane, Sarasota County, indicated that the total cost per home ranged from $9,000 to $13,000. He also indicated that every property owner pays the same price of $5,400. This means that some homeowners got a better deal than other homeowners. Of course, this makes sense and is expected as just the way government programs work. It is a way to spread the program cost out over many people”

(2) [the N3 area]  is one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the program, [having] significant direct exposure to Phillippi Creek. 

Commissioner Robinson’s response

“I appreciate your sentiments about pollution and cost spreading, but in reality we have a great big balancing act full of more variables than that.  One thing I can promise you, we are reviewing N-3 and now the whole Septic Replacement System with the suggestions and ideas of the residents of N-3 in our minds.

Thank you for participating in the public process, your participation is making government better”.

May 14th meeting

This Budget Workshop had some real significance for our neighborhood!  Although not listed on the agenda, Commissioner Robinson introduces N3 into the discussion (17:40).  During the following conversations George MacFarlane states at least three times (20:38, 21:50, 22:18) that “N3 is presently funded for $3,000,000”. This is particularly good news because although Mr. MacFarlane claims a vacuum system for N3 could cost “as much as $3,600,000”, the N3 Committee Review  has shown a more realistic estimate of $2,630,558.

Commission approval

Although the official minutes have not been posted, this is on the meeting website:

Approved Option 2, to complete the current five year Capital Improvement Program using $8.4 million Surtax 3 funding with $12.5 million from the State Revolving Fund and to complete 12,430 total connections (82 percent of the Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program)

what’s next?

The May 14th meeting was the third budget workshop this year.  There are two more scheduled in June (12th and 21st) and a final workshop is scheduled for Aug 20th.  The final budget will be adopted at Public Hearings in September.And don’t forget… we have an N3 “policy discussion” meeting coming up sometime in June.

watch the meetings

I encourage everyone to go online and view the meetings… watch the entire proceedings or go to the time stamps I have listed.

Here’s how: go to scgov.net.  On the right hand side of the homepage click on the blue box that says VIDEO CENTRAL.  Cursor over to left side menu, click on County Commission.  Find BCC  Budget Workshop  May 14, 2013, Video.  That’s all there is to it!

This is a great resource we have to be able to sit in on these meetings from the comfort and privacy of our homes.  How many communities have this service?… my guess is not many.  With our laptops and PCs we should all be able to participate. And as Commissioner Robinson tells us, our participation is making government better.

Resident’s Letter.22 to County Commission

N3 neighbor Walt Menzel recently wrote to the County Commissioners:

Dear Commissioners:

I attended the Commission meeting on February 13, 2013 to observe the discussion regarding sewers for  Area N3. I was very pleased to listen to a thoughtful discussion regarding what is best for Area N3 and also what is best for the County and the remainder of the PCSSRP.

I was also thankful that a significant amount of time was spent discussing pollution. Pollution of our groundwater and waterways is obviously the most important reason for PCSSRP.  There was even discussion related to changing the completion of the project and not completing areas (meaning not providing sewer service) that clearly have little or no impact on our groundwater and waterways.

Area N3 was mentioned in the meeting as a part of the PCSSRP that was in the heart of the project. It seems like it was pushed to the end of the project because it was such a difficult area to deal with, having so many homes directly on Phillippi Creek and related creeks and canals. There is no question that  minimizing pollution for Area N3 should be at the top of the list.

The Alternative Wastewater Systems Study  performed for the City of Cape Coral (Greeley and Hansen -2007) is a very comprehensive study that includes an environmental ranking when comparing sewer alternatives (see chart pg. 49). And it ranks the Low Pressure Grinder Pump at the bottom of the list (the only thing worse is a septic tank, which is not an option for Area N3).

This next-to-worst environmental ranking seems to be common sense. Besides all the moving parts (and being dependent on the homeowner’s electricity ) that are involved for the system to operate, the Low Pressure Grinder Pump system is constantly under pressure. Any leaking joint or crack in the line will push sewage into the ground and eventually into our waterways.

A Vacuum System is just the opposite. Any leaks in a Vacuum System would result in material being drawn into the system instead of being pushed “under pressure” into our environment.

It was very important that the pollution aspect of our sewer system came up during your discussion. Please consider this when deciding on how to complete the rest of the project. Your decision on Area N3 is important to our environment and will help keep our waterways clean and pollutant free.

Walt Menzel 

Menzel & Associates, CPAs, PA

Emergency Generators

During the Feb 13 BCC meeting,  Commissioner Barbetta stressed that an “apples to apples” cost comparison of a vacuum system to a low pressure system would include a generator and emergency receptacle for the grinder pumps.  The March 1st post talked about emergency receptacles, so now let’s look at generators.

Portable or Standby?

Emergency power generators are classified as portable or standby. The permanently mounted standby models are typically sized to power most, if not all of a homes electrical needs in the event of a power outage.  The installed cost of these units is $7,000 and up (see the article on the Chelmsford, MA. resident 2/7/2013).  You’ll find several websites if you want a more in-depth look at whole-house systems. For a “functionally equivalent” system comparison, I’ll talk about portable models that will power the ABS 09/2W Piranha grinder pump.

Size matters

Briggs & Stratton 7000W
$954.00

The main consideration in selecting a generator is it’s capability to handle the starting current of the largest motor load. In our case this will be the grinder pump, which is the only load connected thru the emergency receptacle transfer switch.  The current rating for the Piranha 09 is 13.5 amps, but this is “running amps”.  The starting current will be several times greater. If the generator does not have sufficient power to start the motor, a low voltage condition can occur and cause damage to the motor (read the Agreement: you’ll be responsible for any damage).  So, it’s critical to have a generator large enough not just to run the pump, but to start the pump motor. We have been told that we’re using a 2 hp pump, but notice that current specifications show the Piranha 09  closer to 3 hp. The 7000W generator shown may be insufficient to operate the ABS 09 pump, so the homeowner will spend well in excess of $1000 for a properly sized emergency generator.

Think about this

The homeowner’s cost for an emergency receptacle is about $1000. The minimum cost of a generator is $1000.  For our 200 homes that’s $400,000 we’ll collectively spend for equipment that we hope we’ll never have to use!  A standby generator for a vacuum station sized for our neighborhood is about $65,000.  So, that’s $400,000 for 200 individual installations versus $65,000 for a central unit that will be regularly tested and maintained by the County. Does that make any sense?… think about it!

information links

Piranha_09_Specs

Choosing the Right Generator

Amazon Generator Buying Guide