TO put it succinctly, experiencing a power black-out is simply a pain.
And when you cop such events on a regular basis, motivation kicks in.
That’s what happened to Howatharra farmer Brett Gannon 18 months ago, when a pole fire in a nearby nature reserve knocked out power for three days.
“So with the pumps inoperable and no mains water, it meant no lights, the toilets were out, no showers or washing up and, of course, your fridge and freezer also packs up and that’s just the house,” Mr Gannon said.
“You can forget about doing anything in the workshop that needs power.”
That was enough motivation to seek a solution from a local Redstar Equipment representative.
“It was pretty self-evident I needed a reliable stand-by solution so I contacted Redstar to talk about options for a diesel generator,” he said.
“We ended up with an Atlas Copco QES 14 diesel generator powered by a Kubota engine, which holds 55 litres of fuel and can run for 26 hours before a re-fill.
“The generator has 14 kilowatt of power so we’ve got plenty of juice and we have a 10kVa transformer connected to the Western Power line so if there’s a black-out the generator automatically kicks in.
“I could’ve bought a smaller and cheaper generator but I wanted something that would be able to power my whole property.”
Mr Gannon crops about 600 hectares (1500 acres) – after starting out as a lifestyle farmer – and he lives on the property with his wife Leah.
He owns Sun City Motor Cycles, a business he started 28 years ago.
Mr Gannon also is involved in the business.
Apart from the Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and KTM cycles, he sells ATV quads and side-by-sides, caravans and few boats and is a dealer for Honda Marine.
- More information: redstarequipment.com.au