• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Backup Generators

spaniel said:
If you have access to natural gas and the budget, that's the best way to go in most circumstances. I guess is the NG system goes down you're screwed.

I don't have NG so I have gasoline generators. I have a 3K unit to back up the house, clearly I have to be selective what I run and whole house A/C won't happen.

I have two hand portable Honda units for my camper which hook together to produce 4K and run the whole camper, including A/C. If the power went out and it was really hot, I'm sure my wife would move into the camper for the A/C while I maintained the freezers etc in the house with the 3K unit.

Whatever you do, invest in quality. All mine are Honda. I know people who have bought cheap generators and when the time comes they need them they won't start or break down.
Click to expand...
yeah I do have NG-- and youre right that system could be interupted. its alot rarer in my experience. but it does happen. thats interesting about youre gas models. I do have an old Dayton model- I think 4500W-- needs a little work and i dont think id rely onmit. i would prob get the hondas if i get portable models. Thanks
 
338 dude said:
Like you I only have a portable gas powered but it is 8500 watts it will run everything in my entire house except for the AC so if it’s hot out I have to turn most things off and cool the house down then turn off the AC and have lights TV etc. luckily I don’t lose power all that often
Click to expand...
8500 is pretty big for a portable - really that would be enough for my house-- ill have to compare prices. One nice thing at my house I have a disconnect right after the meter outside so it will be easy to wire whatever i do. Thanks
 
5D65D925-0368-4007-B1D2-0AC3A742041E.jpeg
hoz53 said:
8500 is pretty big for a portable - really that would be enough for my house-- ill have to compare prices. One nice thing at my house I have a disconnect right after the meter outside so it will be easy to wire whatever i do. Thanks
Click to expand...
Mine sits in my shed/workshop probably 75 feet from the house and it Plugs into the receptacle that runs my welder that way it is behind my shop and I don’t have to listen to it runCorrection it is a 5500 W
 
Peterson1 said:
Koler
Whole house
Runs on natural gas
Get maintenance contract
They service once/year
CLP
Click to expand...
Another Kohler-- sounds good and ill look at the maintenance contract cause one thing i was wondering is how long they will last after spending that much. thanks
 
It’s funny reading this thread about generators I just ran it for three hours a couple days ago power went out I think someone crashed into a power pole
 
whatsupdoc said:
If you have a natural gas unit is one thing but if you are thinking of a gasoline powered generator just remember to get a fuel efficient unit. Many times during a major event gasoline may be not so readily available. Buying a large gasoline generator that drinks 20 gallons of fuel a day will become a problem if you need it for a few weeks.

During hurricane sandy many found this out the hard way.
Click to expand...
thats interesting and i was wondering how much gas i would use with one. Also i dont really want to store alot of gas in my garage. been thinking about a small shed "out back" Thanks
 
The wind blew 40 mph out of the East the other day and I’m shocked I didn’t have to bust out the generator. My trees aren’t used to that type of wind.
 
Clous said:
The wind blew 40 mph out of the East the other day and I’m shocked I didn’t have to bust out the generator. My trees aren’t used to that type of wind.
Click to expand...
yeah know wat you mean-- not a tornado here but we had alot of downed trees.
 
I have a whole house Kohler, with automatic transfer switch and runs off the house propane. It came with the house so I don't know exactly how much it cost the original owner but I'll see if I can dig out the paper work.

We were working outside a week ago and it came on. It was Saturday but the test day is Friday.. hmm.. check the power company website... yep. We were in a reported outage. Only lasted a few hours but it was nice not having to worry about it or to drag out a portable and get it fired up just in time for the power to come back on.
 
HonkinDonky said:
One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, is don't buy a gen that is too large. You want to be running it at least 50% load, 70% is better. It is bad for the gen, and if it's a tier 4 diesel, it's very bad for the emissions systems to run at light load. I am a service manager for a very large company that services, among other things, generators and too light of a load causes me more service calls than any thing else on generators. By a huge margin....
Click to expand...
thats some great info. I would not have probably considered that. Thing for me is the general stuff in the house has a relatively small load- Lights- refrig-tv- computer. until the AC, dryer, stove, microwave kicks on. those are about the highest loads in here. NG on wat heater. Anyway you know the drill- load in whole house could go from 10A to 50A in a few seconds. coarse i could get by fine not using those higher Amp things. And frankly without those loads i could get by with a 2000W unit easy. Ill make a load list and think on this Thanks
 
Jdne5b said:
I have a whole house Kohler, with automatic transfer switch and runs off the house propane. It came with the house so I don't know exactly how much it cost the original owner but I'll see if I can dig out the paper work.

We were working outside a week ago and it came on. It was Saturday but the test day is Friday.. hmm.. check the power company website... yep. We were in a reported outage. Only lasted a few hours but it was nice not having to worry about it or to drag out a portable and get it fired up just in time for the power to come back on.
Click to expand...
that would be one great thing about a whole house unit for sure and one ill consider. Thanks
 
New Gun said:
The 20KW units (Whole House) can be Pricey to install you get an automatic transfer switch "Power goes out unit comes on" around $20000.00 for 200 amp Service. Depends on what you want to protect and for how long. It can get expensive real quick.
Click to expand...
Man, around here they are around $5000 and cheaper with military discount from lowes. Actually have a generac 20kw sitting in my garage for my dads house. Gonna install it as soon as i get some time off so thats as current of a price as you can get
 
338 dude said:
It’s funny reading this thread about generators I just ran it for three hours a couple days ago power went out I think someone crashed into a power pole
Click to expand...
i think 5500 would be enough at this house. ive gotta make my load list to find out. I have one of those clampon ammeters so i can check everything and get the true draw. Mite be some surprises. once inawhile we get someone crashing into a pole and have a power autage because of it. Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Classified Ads

Forum statistics

Threads
165,853
Messages
2,204,648
Members
79,160
Latest member
Zardek

Share This Page

Back
Top