I been trying to buy one for years but haven't had the money. I keep telling myself to buy it just in case an ER happens, but haven't yet. So far I've only lost power for about 7 hours in 7 years. I can only hope this continues.
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Gas generators for the home [MERGED]
- Thread starter maflynn
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I been trying to buy one for years but haven't had the money. I keep telling myself to buy it just in case an ER happens, but haven't yet. So far I've only lost power for about 7 hours in 7 years. I can only hope this continues.
OP, keep in mind that a 5,000 watt generator (which is probably less than you'd need if you want to include your pool pump) consumes about 18 gallons of gasoline per day. This means that if you really think you need to be prepared for a week without power you'd need to have 126 gallons of gas stored and ready to go. You'd also have to periodically rotate out the gas you store so it doesn't go bad.
Thanks for the responses!
If your pool sits stagnant for 2 weeks, I believe it turns into a mess, thanks for reminding me to check with the pool company and get their input.
With the smaller portables, you turn off the cutoff switch at the top of the CB panel and install a 30amp breaker and back feed into house. If you overload it, a CB on the generator will pop. As I said, I want to power 3 things small bedroom AC unit, refrigerator, pool pump and maybe TV.
Correct!
I don't want to pay that much. I believe some run on natural gas.
That is why I would not power the entire house. I have friends in the neighborhood with smaller generators who claim to get by on about 8 gallons a day. Two 25 gallon containers of gas ideally equals 6 days.
If your pool sits stagnant for 2 weeks, I believe it turns into a mess, thanks for reminding me to check with the pool company and get their input.
With the smaller portables, you turn off the cutoff switch at the top of the CB panel and install a 30amp breaker and back feed into house. If you overload it, a CB on the generator will pop. As I said, I want to power 3 things small bedroom AC unit, refrigerator, pool pump and maybe TV.
Correct!
I don't want to pay that much. I believe some run on natural gas.
That is why I would not power the entire house. I have friends in the neighborhood with smaller generators who claim to get by on about 8 gallons a day. Two 25 gallon containers of gas ideally equals 6 days.
25 gallons of gas weighs 150 lbs. not including the weight of the container. If you really want to be able to hunker down for a week you'll need to start considering the logistics of how you're going to get that much gasoline to your home and then how you're going to store it and keep it fresh.
When trying to estimate the load you want your generator to carry should you be looking at amps or watts?
Who's Got A Home Generator?
My grandparents have a Briggs and Stratton 18kw fully automatic natural gas backup generator. It does what it's supposed to. When the power goes out, it'll wait thirty seconds then start up.
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Watts
My grandparents have a Briggs and Stratton 18kw fully automatic natural gas backup generator. It does what it's supposed to. When the power goes out, it'll wait thirty seconds then start up.
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Watts
My house has a whole house generator. Its pretty cool cuz when the power goes out I continue on with what I was doing. But other then that I dont know anything else about the generator.
I would not store it all year, I'd buy it when a hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico and if not needed would use it in my cars. Good point on the weight though. I need to see what size containers are practical. During the last significant weather event, people would make gas runs to inland areas with restored power to reload their gas supply.
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My understanding is that some of them do automated self checks to verify functionality. Thanks!
Who's Got A Home Generator?
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200623784_200623784
Pricey, but you don't have to lift any fuel containers.
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My understanding is that some of them do automated self checks to verify functionality. Thanks![/QUOTE]
Yep. It runs for a half hour every week. Oil change once a season it about the only maintenance.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200623784_200623784
Pricey, but you don't have to lift any fuel containers.
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My understanding is that some of them do automated self checks to verify functionality. Thanks![/QUOTE]
Yep. It runs for a half hour every week. Oil change once a season it about the only maintenance.
We installed a permanent 8kW natural gas system last year. Works great. Fires up every Sunday for about 15 minutes and we got to see it in action during a storm last month. Switches automatically to backup if the power is out for about 15 seconds. Also MUCH quieter than a gasoline powered unit.
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We have a troy bilt generator, 6K watts, we picked up after Hurricane Katrina (2005). It is a mid grade generator. We ran a window unit, several lamps, TV, xbox, freezer or fridge, and when needed a small griddle. It only used 5 gallons every 11 - 12 hours.
Obviously, it wasn't running full tilt the whole time but I would say 18 gallons a day is a generator running at 100% 24 hours straight. I would think 10 - 12 gallons is a more realistic estimate.
Remember, you don't have to have everything running at the same time either. We mainly bought it for running the window unit and keeping the food in the fridge and freezer safe. We let the fridge run for an hour or so then unplug it and run the freezer for an hour or so. No need for the generator to work harder and run both appliances at the same time.
If your power goes out and you are able to get some important things running with a generator, I bet you'll think it was the best investment ever!
This is why I'd resist and go for the smaller, less expense but less capable route. It not like hurricanes hit every year and knock out power for weeks.
No argument, I agree completely and since I live on the coast (under 1 mile from the beach) if we get a major nor'easter or hurricane, you can kiss our power goodbye.
That's my logic as well, I don't have a lot of money to tie up on an investment such as this
Of course when you start looking at them, you can easily justify a standby for a little more $$. I can spend 900 for a gas model, or 1900 for a full blown model. Of course the 1,900 requires installation costs which will push the price tag further but you get my drift
Boston area. Since moving back to MA from CA we've lived through some nasty storms and winters. We were out of power for 3 days a few years back and I travel a fair bit for work so the spousal unit decided we needed something she could handle if that happened again.
IIRC cost with installation was about $5-6K. As maflynn's pic shows there was little cost difference in the capacity of the generator. The transfer switch install was easier when we weren't trying to handle only certain circuits though the switch itself was more expensive. We also had some extra plumbing/electrical cost driven by the town forcing us to hide the unit on the opposite side if the house from where the gas and electric come in.
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As alluded to, most permanent-install generators will run periodically for self-checks. With a "portable" unit, you should run it once a month, or every other month. One of my co-workers never ran his generator unless it was needed, then went to use it one time after it had sat for a while and it wouldn't generate. Turns out, it needs to be run from time to time.
My parents have an old oil-filled electric heater that they keep around for just this purpose, to put SOME kind of load on it from time to time. The heater triggers a change in engine speed when it's turned on so I figure it's enough to cover this need. This periodic running also ensures the fuel won't sit stagnant in the carb too long and cause other issues.
My parents needs (I explained their setup previously) are different from many of you, they need to heat the house in the winter if the power goes out.
My parents have an old oil-filled electric heater that they keep around for just this purpose, to put SOME kind of load on it from time to time. The heater triggers a change in engine speed when it's turned on so I figure it's enough to cover this need. This periodic running also ensures the fuel won't sit stagnant in the carb too long and cause other issues.
My parents needs (I explained their setup previously) are different from many of you, they need to heat the house in the winter if the power goes out.
Thanks! In Houston, the worry is Hurricanes. I have a hard time justifying the expense of a tied in unit, $3500 with as much as several thousand to install. A sales person said installation costs, depending on the setup can hit $5k. Seems high to me.
I completely understand as with most machines, if not used, it breaks and without stabilizer, the gas goes bad.
I looked at some generators yesterday. It seems that an 8000 watt portable generator for about $1000 fills the bill. I like the idea of back feeding into the house because my CB panel has a master switch to cut off electricity from the grid, and I can power stuff without having to run cords all over.
For those of you who are familiar with generators, are there any must have features? My setup would not have an automatic cut in. thanks!
For those of you who are familiar with generators, are there any must have features? My setup would not have an automatic cut in. thanks!
Remember the circumstances when you might need it, you'd be cutting it in during or right after a hurricane.
A couple of friends from work who had portable generators said to make sure to get a model with an electric starter. You don't want to be trying to pull start a motor that doesn't want to start if the weather sucks.
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I bought this inexpensive 3000 watt generator from Costco 10 years ago. It's gotten me through the last 2 hurricanes (Irene and Sandy)with no problems. I back feed it from my detached garage, keeping only a few circuit breakers engaged just to power the fridge, heat, and a few lights. I'm thinking about getting a natural gas whole house generator in the future if I end up staying here in NY.
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Who's Got A Home Generator?
Get electric start. Low oil shutdown? Hour meter? Wheels for easy transport.
Another thing that would make me leery is the engine on these things. I don't like the no name engines simply because I don't know how long they will last. You want something that you know will last if it's your only power source. I purposely spent more money on a snowblower because it had a Briggs and Stratton engine.
Get electric start. Low oil shutdown? Hour meter? Wheels for easy transport.
Another thing that would make me leery is the engine on these things. I don't like the no name engines simply because I don't know how long they will last. You want something that you know will last if it's your only power source. I purposely spent more money on a snowblower because it had a Briggs and Stratton engine.
I'm currently working on deciding how many watts I need. Watts equals amps x volts. I believe, the tricky part is that the start up load must also be considered. At Lowes they had a chart that showed a fridge at 2200 watts. My Sears fridge is labeled as 6.5 full load amps which only comes to 747 watts (6.5 x 115v) so I'm wondering if I'm understanding this correctly?