Which brand of Generator do you prefer? (We have heard that CAT and ONAN are the bes).
Which fuel would you prefer? (We have Natural gas hook up......father in law wants us to have dual fuel).
What type of setup would you use? (battery bank? dual fuel? tie in to grid?)
Thanks for any comments or suggestions!
As always,
FReegards!
DCB
I may replace the unit if I find a deal on a much larger unit in the future. Something in the 30Kw to 50Kw range. I have an RV with a generator and a small portable gasoline generator to run other items as necessary.
Propane is the fuel I prefer. It does not have the storage problems diesel and gasoline do; it simply does not go bad in the tank. NG is not an option for me because it is not available, but even so I would prefer to have my own fuel on hand. Propane allows you to store a months of fuel without worrying about bacteria or water condensation.
In my way of thinking, minimal creature comforts and keeping the deep freezer running are the main items I want to cover and the small unit does that.
Running everything in the house isn’t practical. You don’t do that when you do have power. The size of generator to do that would not be practical in installation or usage.
A 12kw generator will run everything that you need to run at the same time and will not make the noise, take up the space or burn the fuel of a 40-100kw generator that could actually run every thing at once.
Are you on NG or propane, if so, they are the easiest to use. No fuel spoilage or 5 gallon tins.
Talk to an electrician, they can set you up in a fully automated system.
natural gas would be the way to go- natural gas is clean and dont sludge up over time like diesel does.(reliable). plus you will have fuel all the time in a natural gas pipeline.. cat gens are not the best gen. package sets.. the best for your home would be a waukesha engine with a kato generator end.( extremely reliable, but kinda expensive).. i buy and sell generators all the time down here in south louisiana. i have about 13 gen sets diesel and natural gas of many differ. kw’s.. all you need to do is get a amp probe and put on your main @ 220 volt feed and turn everything on in the house and it will give you your maximum amp reading-( that will determine the KW you will need)..just guessing at it probally a 40 to 50 kw with 330 waukesha engine, due to starting amps your appliances will draw at start up.. i have several gen sets
Great thread, been wondering about this myself.
Consider water cooled over air cooled.
Air cooled require frequent oil changes which may be very inconvenient in an emergency.
Right after Hurricane Ike two years ago my neighbor had all the kids entertained by having enough generator power to run his TV and game systems as well as his swimming pool pump.
That may seem silly but considering the damage and clean up activities and all the kids who couldn’t go to school, it was nice to have them out of harm’s way and entertained while the rest of us cut trees and mended fences and roofs.
ESPECIALLY if you have kids....summertime camping at home with no power loses its novelty after the first five days!
And having worked commercial hurricane restoration after Ivan, Dennis, and Katrina I have an idea of what hurricanes can do.
I’ve lived in two homes now where a good backup system was essential: 1) Grand Forks, ND, where overland flooding was an annual possibility, and two, at present, in rural Idaho where remote conditions and an idiot running the country means you always have to be prepared to fend for yourself.
In both places I hired a licensed electrician to add a backup toggle-operated generator panel alongside my regular electric panel.
You also have them install an outside plug-in adapted for a generator. Power goes out, you start your generator, plug it into the outside socket, then flip the toggle on the generator panel in the house to switch from power company electricity to generator power.
The toggle switch assures that you are OFF the main power source and ON the generator, and precludes you from all kinds of dangerous and destructive backsurges, etc.
Depending on the size of generator you have, you can wire in your well & pump, your furnace if you have one, water heater and a fridge or freezer or two, maybe a light circuit or two to make it easier getting around the house during the outage.
If you have a well you are going to have to figure on four thousand or so peak watts (depending on well depth and pump size) just to get your water.
I have a well at 325 feet with a three-horse pump (don’t ask me why so big, the fool before me put the pump in) and I bought a 7,000 peak watt generator, which supplies me enough juice to run all the stuff I mentioned above.
This may bother some people but I went with a Honda engine on my generator and if I had had the money I would have bought a Honda generator period. Nobody-—and I mean NOBODY-—builds a small powerful engine that you can absolutely always count on even nearly as well as Honda.
If you have 4,000 sq. feet and a well, I’d get a nine or 10,000 watt generator, if you can swing it, and I’d get a Honda, no ifs and or buts.....good luck.
Are you on municipal water or well? All motors have an inrush starting value that can be quite high.
Hey,
I just purchased a generator from Sportsmans Warehouse.
Master Quality® 2,000W Portable Generator
Product: WX2-177782
Expected availability: March 31, 2010.
Quantity: 1, Unit Price: $269.97, Total Price: $269.97
I hope it is not a piece of junk. Would have been nice to get a Honda but this fits my budget for one of those things to have IF things get out of hand.
MFO
bookmark
back-up generator suggestion thread ping.
Dude, your gonna need a 50,000W Diesel Gen, this will make your wife happy.
Read this thread.