Had a portable set up at old house. You put in an outlet that feeds into your house electrical system, via a transfer switch. Have to be careful to isolate your house so you don’t feed power back into the grid.
Am going to put in an automated NG installed backup generator here next spring.
Noise. Reduce the noise. Built in systems are generally much, much quieter.
For the life of me, I don’t know why portable generators have the same mufflers as lawn mowers, or whey large mufflers are not an after market option.
I’ve thought about making an adapter for my portable, but I worry about messing up the back pressure.
If you’re on a natural gas line, that’s your fuel. Otherwise, a 500 gallon tank of propane (usually filled to 80 percent.)
The portable units are noisy...
Kozak is right. The generator (especially one of that size) powers your home circuit breaker panel, and thus all down stream loads. Basically, generator plugs or is wired into receptacle that then goes into a transfer switch which switches the power source for your panel from service power to generator power. The transfer switch is a MUST if your wiring into your panel to prevent back-feeding into the service lines and potentially killing a utility worker and is required by law in many communities.
Personally, I’d confirm the need for a genny of that size...that’s probably damn near big enough to run your whole house without a noticeable loss of anything....which is generally not what you really need in the event of a power loss...all you really need is HVAC and refrigeration (high starting/low running loads), and some lights (go to the new LED bulbs and their very low loads) and maybe a couple other spot uses of another load.
I have a 5500 watt portable generator. I then installed a “dryer” plug receptacle in the wall below the electrical box in the garage, and wired it to the dryer circuit breaker. Now when I lose commercial power, I turn off the feed from the power company and connect the generator to the circuit box. While I can’t run everything at once, I can selectively run essential services. I don’t run 220 volt appliances, but I could pick and choose if needed. PROBABLY NOT CODE, but it works for me.
I’ve done the connection several ways over the last 25 years or so. Do you want to be up to “code” or not? Running extension cords to appliances is a pain, but you can rewire furnace with a cord and outlet. Back feeding the panel thru a 220v outlet (electric dryer) works but can be dangerous if you mess up. Evenually I had the panel rewired by an electrician and a lockout switch installed. With a 5500 watt generator, I can run two furnaces, fridge, lights and microwave. (not range or AC) My next step will be to go to NG with an automatic switchover.
Just installed a 22kw generac that will run everything in the whole house. Expensive, but worth it to me.
You install a transfer switch.
If you can afford it get one installed that will run the whole house and kick on and off automatically. This is especially important in a climate where temps go below freezing. Frozen pipes can cause massive damage and power failures don’t always happen when you’re right there at home to deal with them.
A while ago I priced out a home generator (12,000 W) with installation that would feed off my 500 gal. Propane tank. That was $6,400!
Too much of a nut for me to swallow so I got a 5K portable for $1,200 (with a Honda 270 GX motor - IF YOU GO PORTABLE GET A HONDA GX MOTOR). Then I bought a transfer switch at Lowes for $300 and wired it my self (super easy).
If you have Natural Gas to the home, and a good size family, go with a home unit with automatic fail over. you’ll have endless supply of gas if your area is out for a few days and no worries.
Everyone hems and haws about “should i get one or not”, then when the power is out for 2, 3, 4+ days you say to yourself “I’d pay anything for a generator now!”.
Do it, before you change your mind. Especially if you live in a area that has frequent outages (like me in NH).
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7500-watt portable generator is our choice. Mounted on a small trailer, it’s great for working on fences and such, away from the barns or the house; also, good for painting fences and outbuildings not served with electricity. We use it quite regularly.
It is noisy, though, as noted on other responses here.
For the house connection, I use a ‘pigtail’ 220V for the water pump (biggest need for the livestock), and then we use a couple of 12-ga extension cords to power the freezers and refrigerator, and provide a couple of lights for evening. We can cook on the gas grill as needed (always keep a couple extra tanks around for that).
I’m looking at adding an eight circuit transfer panel in the basement and then feeding the gen power to it via a weatherproof recep near the generator staging point (chosen to keep the noise down inside the house).
Still won’t power the furnace, but we have propane gas FP in the great room for heat, along with a well insulated home.
Ideal for us would be a 20KW standby package, running on a four cylinder, battery start engine that can run on propane. Tie that to an automatic transfer switch covering all but the furnace/AC and dryer outlets, and we are good to go. Have to move up to a 500gal or 1000gal propane tank, but that’s workable, too. Plenty of space and could even ‘stealth’ it with some shrubbery or fencing, etc.
You’ve asked a question I’ve given much thought, and have done a little research. If I had the cash, this is what I’d do.
I’d get a propane fueled generator. Put it in a small building about a 100 feet from the house back in the brush. Put a good muffler on it. I really don’t want to hear it or see it.
Have it professionally wired to the house with an automatic switch that does the changeover as well as automatically start the generator.
The fuel supply would be two fold. For normal use a small tank would do. The contingency tank would be a 1000 gallon buried tank that would only be used in case the SHTF. The idea of having the tank underground is to conceal it. When the SHTF folks of all sorts, including the government, will be stealing any and all fuels. If they can’t see it, they can’t steal it. The topside small tank would be a decoy.
We could get by with this as we live in the woods 90 miles from our internet provider/doctor & a shopping mall and 300 miles from a city of 100,000 or more.
Now escaping fantasy land, a small portable gasoline generator large enough to run the furnace, frig and well would do. Simple manual kits can be had on line where you just plug the home into the generator and pull a manual switch. If all you want to run is a few appliances, then shut off the not needed circuit breakers. Keep about 50 gallons of gas on hand.
A portable generator, a big one, will use many gallons of gas, maybe 5-10 gallons every 12 hours. So, if the power is out for several days, say after a bad storm, then you are gonna need 50-100 gallons of gas over several days. Even with a propane generator you will need several bottles of gas. Storing that much fuel is obviously dangerous.
Too, gasoline needs to be treated to avoid it going bad with water contamination. Gasoline generators need marine gas free of ethanol, which attracts water moisture.
Where will you run a portable generator? For safety, it must be placed in an open area to avoid CO fumes getting into the house. But it must also be operated in a covered place if it is raining or snowing. You must also be very careful in wet weather not to get electrocuted. And you must secure it against theft; it a tempting target in a pitch dark, storm ravaged city & you can hear it from a long way away.
How will you get the generator power to the house? Either pay an electrician to setup a house connection & power company bypass, or prepare to run wires from the generator to various appliances in the house, through doors & windows that must be left open to accommodate the extension cords - more security & electrocution hazards. In this situation, if you have small children, you have a serious problem.
With a portable generator you must run it every month or so. Oil must be changed every 10-20 hours of run time, so buy a case or 2 of oil & get changing. Large portables are heavy - several hundred pounds. Lugging that thing around for servicing & such will require 2 or more strong people to load/unload it in your truck. You do have a truck, don’t you? You’ll need it too to go get all that gasoline or propane & oil.
Finally, a portable generator can be a noisy beast. Your neighbors sitting in the candlelight with open windows might not appreciate being kept awake all night by its roar. If this becomes a problem, run them an extension cord so they too can appreciate your generator.
If you can afford an installed natural gas generator, don’t even consider a portable. The safety, security, & convenience of an installed generator far outweighs a portable.
I wired an input outlet on the garage wall.
This outlet feeds into a separate panel next to my main breaker panel. The “generator” panel has two interlocked breakers that switch at the same time. One way is generator input the other is the normal position of street power.
No transfer switch is involved. I then moved the appropriate circuits over to the “generator” panel. One is for the oil burner and one is for the water pump. The rest are optional circuits. It’s basically a sub panel with interlocked breakers.
The portable genset cord feeds through a port in the garage door. The generator stays outside.
Whole setup cost me less than a grand with a 6500 Watt generator.
In the times when you need a generator, EVERYONE needs one....and gas can become difficult, if not impossible to get.
IMO? A portable generator is completely useless....unless you plan to take it on camping trips. Get an installed unit, that runs on gas....or don’t bother.
I installed a transfer switch in the basement next to the power panel. Easy to install and when you cut over to the generator, the wiring is such that you cannot backfeed.
You can get the transfer switch at Lowes or HD. Piece of cake.
I use a portable 6500 watt Honda generator. It’s very quiet. Used to have a Homelite that was way too noisy. I installed a transfer switch with circuits to the well pump, furnace, refrigerator and some lights. Whenever there is the threat of power outages (ice storm, hurrucane, etc.), I stock up on gas. I do not store gas long term as it deteriorates. I start the generator every 2-3 months to keep the battery charged. I use TrueFuel for maintenance runs. I learned the hard way that keeping ethanol mixed gasoline in there for any length of time will result in failure to start with repairs needed.
We’re out in the country, where the electrical infrastructure can be unreliable. Used a 5.5K portable generator for years, via extension cords, any time the power went out. But I could only run the fridge, well pump, and some lights. Pain in the neck to wheel it out, hook up cords, keep it fueled, etc.
Finally took the plunge and got an automated 22K whole-house unit with automatic transfer switch. Runs everything in the house off of my 500 gal LP tank including A/C. Comes on and shuts down automatically. If power goes out while I’m at work and wife is home then she’s taken care of. Expensive, but we felt that it was worth it. Especially nice to know it’s there during hurricane season.
If you hire someone to install a whole-house unit, budget about the same amount for the installation as you do the cost of the generator and transfer switch. And don’t skimp on the generator capacity. If you calculate you only need a 17K unit, consider upping it to a 20K or 22K for just a little bit more $.
Also, you may want to pay for a semi-annual maintenance plan for your whole-house unit. Ours was a few hundred $ per year, which considering the cost of the system seems like reasonable insurance to keep it in top working order.