Posted on 09/01/2011 7:24:56 PM PDT by Libertarian4Bush
After seeing many people still without power in the wake of Irene, I'd like to purchase a generator - something I can use to either attach a few outlets, or, in the event of a longer outage, use to power my entire home (within reason).
I'm looking for advice and lessons learned from people who are either happy or unhappy with their purchase/arrangement.
Thanks.
If you purchase a general purpose generator (i.e. NOT a complete packaged home standby genset) you MUST also purchase a transfer switch. This is to avoid backfeeding the power line and potentially killing a worker. Explained here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_switch and avaialbe for about $220 and up for a manual transfer swich.
Please, if you cannot afford the transfer switch and installation by a qualified electrician, DO NOT buy a generator unless you are only going to run dedicated appliances from extension cords plugged into it.
Pay a few bucks extra and buy the Honda.
Mine can sit all summer and will start with one pull. Plus, they’re very quiet and dealers are plentiful.
Whatever you due, vent the thing properly. Carbon Monoxide’s dangerous stuff.
There are basically two types of generators. Those that run at 3600 rpm and those that run at 1800 rpm.
The ones that run at 3600 rpm are the BOX store generators and are cheap and light but can not be run for long periods of time. Their total lifespan can be in the hundreds of hours. It doesn’t mater who the manufacturer is, it’s just the nature of the beast...
For home power, anything other than an hour or so here and there, you need an 1800 rpm unit.
The cheapest way to go is to find a used motor home gen set that has low hours. These can be had sometimes for 4 or 5 hundred dollars. There always 1800 rpm units with electric start, and many can be converted to propane or NG. They are usually about 4KW - sometimes you can find bigger ones. 4KW is a bit small for a house, but it’s do-able, and it’s inexpensive.
Ours is hard plumbed to the natural gas lines. Fuel is a non-issue.
I have a 20 year old Onan 12kw 4 cylinder air cooled diesel that I bought from a co-worker that he quite literally found along the road on the Alaska Highway when he was driving to Alaska, just a few dents, a cracked oil pan and a broken filter bracket I welded the pan and fixed anything else I saw.
I built my own skid frame with rubber isolators, checked all the wiring and fired it up last winter, I brought it home and possibly this weekend I will be building a generator house for it, I have an old diesel fuel tank from a Peterbilt.
Engine burns a little bit less than one gallon an hour. But what I want is something very compact and hardly burns any fuel at all like one of those 4 cycle Hondas.
I go to these forums http://www.smokstak.com/forum/ where you will get the best advice, in summary do NOT buy a Generac or a 400hz military generator.
Thank you, everyone. To answer wrench’s question, I’m okay with having to manually start it and manually turn off the (presumably already off) utility feed. My home is quite average, maybe I’m okay with paying an electrician to make those modifications for me. I’d like to get upwards of 10,000 W (maybe even 15,000) and will need to use liquid fuel (i.e. gasoline or diesel). Money really isn’t an object in terms of doing it right versus not, but I’d be thrilled to keep the whole thing under $7,000.
FWIW: during Katrina, power to the pumps associated with the natural gas distribution system quit, leaving many without natural gas. Caused great havoc to the PD radio system, which used NG powered generators as a backup because Nimbies objected to them having propane at the repeater sites.
A relative of mine just had a 17kW Generac put in for about $7,000 (including installation) - runs everything except the electric dryer, and as stated by others, kicks in automatically once it senses a power outage. It runs off of natural gas, so once you put it in, you literally have to do nothing, except routine maintenance, which is pretty minimal.
If you just want to run the basics (refrigerator, sump pump, circuits for the furnace, a room or two of lights and outlets), you can probably get away with something half the size and about half the cost.
For inverters, the country of origin is not the main issue. You need one that only runs its cooling fan when it gets hot, not all the time like those “Chicago” units from Harbor Freight.
Try to get one that can handle at least 2500 watts from each outlet, so that you can run things like a skillsaw.
Also get a pair of “L16” deep cycle batteries, and a solargiser “battery minder” that will keep them charged when they are sitting unused in the garage. The solargizer has a built-in desulphator which is absolutely necessary for standby batteries.
The generator is usually the better approach for emergencies than the inverter and batteries. You never know how long the power will be down; if it is days, the batteries are out to lunch.
WE have a 15KW Generac and love it. During the ice storm a few yrs back the genny went down. The company sent a tech out the next day and overhauled the carb at no cost to us. It was $4,200 a lot cheaper than the above replies and automatic on propane.
No natural gas lines in the rural area where I live.
I can see where that would be nice though.
We looked at the whole house option, but it was way too expensive.
Guess I was a little High.I bought mine so long ago I can’t remember what I paid for it.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_generators+portable-generators+1-000-4-999-watts
Yes: It is.
I always shut down the main before I use mine.
> If you’re willing to start it with a cord, you can get 5000 watts for about $750.
I bought a 6500 watt Coleman 3 years ago for $450 at Walmart. It’s not quiet, but it runs well and can power 2 homes. Problem is that is sucks down 5 gallons of fuel every 7 or 8 hours. Earlier this summer, I got a small 2 cycle 1500 watt unit for $150. It is sufficient to run my furnace (no A/C), one TV, several lamps and several cell phone chargers. One gallon of gas lasts 8 or 9 hours and I can hardly hear it run. It’s actually the quietest gasoline driven tool I own. Also, something important, it only weights 33 pounds and I can pick it up by its carrying handle and move it around easily.
How you use it and how frequently you expect to need it will govern what you need to buy.
If you may find yourself in a situation where you need to run a generator for weeks or months, go with a Lister Petter powered unit. The Lister Petter is a 1800 rpm unit.
You can get them setup for diesel, propane or natural gas. Because the engine is diesel, it’s built much heavier than gasoline powered units. That provides much longer life. It’s not unusual for a Lister to run 30,000 to 40,000 or more hours before needing rebuilt.
Listers can be run as backup or prime units. A prime unit is designed to run for extended times. In this countries they’re sold under the Hawkpower brand name.
BTTT.
Northern is way expensive.
Costco or Sam’s is a better bet, especially costco’s web site. I got a 6250 watt cummings there for $900 about two years ago.
I also have two Colemans, a 4000w and a 6000 watt, and the 4000 has run 1200 hours total, and is still going strong. It has an 8 hp Briggs engine. The 6000 has a Tecumseh 11 hp, which is a little harder to start in cold weather than the Briggs. It has about 700 hours on it and runs like a dream; I use it to run the well pump.
Both of them cost less than $600 each.
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