A Generator Thread for Preppers

A couple of weeks ago someone on the weekly prep thread thought a post on generators might be useful to some. Now I have recently completed the “biggest” prep project of mine to date. Considering the recent catastrophic power grid failure in India I thought it would be a good time to share what I’ve done to deal with an extended power outage at the Compound of Clan Lurker.

I wanted to be able to power my home during an extended grid failure without having to run a bunch of extension cords through open windows, etc. My criteria for a successful project was this:

1. Be able to power critical items such as refrigerator, freezer, lights, television and radios, and at least one good sized room type air conditioner.

3. Be able to take advantage of multiple fuel types so as to not be dependent on gasoline or diesel which may drastically increase in price or not be available at all.

Doesn’t sound too difficult, right? Well it wasn’t, really. It did, however, require quite a bit of research and a few hours of time. Now I’m not saying what I did would be good for everyone to run out and do. Your circumstances are probably very different from mine and what I picked may not be appropriate for where you live, how you live, etc. Also I have NO financial relationship to any of the manufacturers whose products I purchased. None. Everything I picked is the result of my own research. I strongly recommend that you do your own research as well.

The first thing to do is pick out what you absolutely HAVE to power in your home. This is important because generators put out a finite amount of electricity which is measured in watts or amps. Most generators display the running and maximum, or “surge” wattage somewhere on them fairly prominently. While this information is useful, what’s really important is amperage. Most “mid-sized” portable generators, those which range from 5,000 to 8,000 watts in output, have a 240 volt, 30 amp output on them.

That means you’ll need to find out how many amps each thing you want to power in your house requires to not only run, but to START as well. For instance my furnace requires only about 5 amps to run, but 9 amps to start the fan motor. You have to take this into account as all electric motors as in air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers, furnaces, etc, require more amperage to start them initially.

So step one is learn the running AND starting amps for everything you consider “critical” to have during a power outage. Then you can select a portable generator of the appropriate size. Yes, bigger is almost always better but there’s a significant price increase as you go “up”. Just add up the “running” amps of your equipment, multiply that by 110, and you have a rough idea of the wattage you’ll require. OK, so don’t every electrical engineer in the place jump on me at once. I said “rough” idea. Take the figure you come up with and get a generator the next size up. For instance I came up with about 5,000 watts, so a 5,500 watt unit fit the bill.

As I said I didn’t want a bunch of extension cords running in and out of windows, running across floors, up stairs, etc as this creates a safety hazard. So what’s the solution? It’s a piece of hardware called a “transfer switch”. I bought this model: Reliance 6 Circuit 30 Amp Transfer Switch.

This device connects to your home electrical system through the panel which contains the circuit breakers in your house. CAUTIONARY NOTE: While there are very good instructions and a video to help the do-it-yourself types, hiring a competent, bonded, certified, insured real live electrician would be a VERY good idea if you have the SLIGHTEST doubt in your ability to install this device yourself.

Behind that panel in your house lurks 240 volts of electrical death just waiting to grab you. So if you’re not COMPLETELY confident in your abilities, write the check. I accept NO RESPONSIBILITY for crispy fried Freepers. Got that?

The device, when properly installed, isolates your home from the local electrical grid and switches the circuits you’ve selected to generator set. It’s INCREDIBLY important that your home NOT be connected to the electrical grid when you’re supplying power to it from the generator and through the panel. High voltage can leak back down the lines MILES away and give the poor guy trying to repair all those downed lines a VERY, VERY bad day. You can, and most likely WILL, be held both civilly and criminally responsible if you harm someone because you haven’t properly isolated your house from the grid!

OK, now that I’ve scared the crap out of everybody I can tell you that I installed this device and the associated Inlet Box in under 90 minutes. The included video was extremely helpful and laid everything out in logical, consistent steps so even a Freeper could understand it.

The Inlet Box has a 30 amp male plug to which you connect one of the female ends of the 30 amp cord. The male end plugs directly into the 30 amp, 240 volt output of your generator set. The inlet box is connected to the transfer switch, which is connected directly to the main electrical panel in my house

Now you’ll most likely get a generator that’s powered by gasoline. Mine has a 6 gallon tank and claims a 6 hour run time at 50% load. That means it will run for about 6 hours on a tank of fuel IF you’re only putting out half the power that set is capable of, roughly 2750 watts in my case. Larger loads will consume fuel even faster. So I did some math:

6 X 4=24 gallons of gasoline per day. 24 x $3.50 a gallon is $85.00 to run that sucker for 24 hours. OUCH!

What’s the solution? It’s called a Tri Fuel Kit. This allows your generator to run not only on gasoline, but propane, or natural gas. Now a pound of propane is roughly equivalent to a gallon of gasoline and around here a 20 pound tank refill runs about $18.00. So you can see that’s significantly cheaper than gasoline. But what’s even cheaper is the natural gas already coming into my home. This cool little Tri Fuel Kit also allows your generator on natural gas, which is even less expensive than propane. You can run it for literally a few bucks a day.

Now you’ll need to connect your gen set to the gas source somehow. Since I’ve opted for a semi-permanent installation (more on that later) I purchased 50 feet of ½ rubber hose suitable for use with low pressure natural gas. This came from the same vendor as the adaptor kit. A quick connect set up on either end and I can hook it directly from my gas meter right to the regulator on the Tri Fuel Kit. Voila, I’ve got fuel for a few bucks a day! Yes, it’s dependent on the natural gas grid, but in my area they’re by far the most reliable utility we have. And I can always go back to propane or gasoline with a flick of the fuel switch. Pretty slick!

Even the smallest generators are noisy little suckers. Bigger units sound like you’re surrounded by The Lawnmowers of Hell. After a few hours both you’ll hate it and your neighbors will hate both it and YOU! So I did a little more research and happened upon this guy’s solution to the problem. God I love redneck McGyvers!

This is the “semi-permanent” part of my project that I’ll be starting on in August. Mine won’t be identical to his, of course. But this is definitely the general concept I’m going for

OK, of all my prep stuff, this is the 2nd most expensive. Firearms are the only thing I’ve spent more money on. So here’s a breakdown on what I’ve got into this so far and what I expect to end up having spent when I get that cool little shed put together.

Generator: $800.00.
Transfer Switch Kit: $275.00
Tri Fuel Adaptor: $200.00
Gas Line: $150.00
Miscellaneous Parts: $200.00
Shed: Haven’t bought it yet but the one I’m looking at lists for $230.00 at Wally World.

Pricey? Well, yea. This is a lot of money for us but we didn’t do it all in one day. We’re still not done, actually. There’s that smoking cool shed for it to build yet, but I have the costs of the parts nailed down pretty well. So break the purchase down into manageable chunks. Get the generator first, that way you have it even if you do have to use extension cords. Then you can start acquiring the other items. We got the generator first, then the Transfer Switch Kit, then the Tri Fuel, and so forth. It went in some sort of logical progression for us. Yours will probably be different. That’s ok.

But the point is that if there’s an extended power outage we’re set to run what for us are the essential electrical requirements of our home for an extended period of time without being an undue disturbance to our neighbors.

Now remember generators require maintenance and that includes actually starting them up and having them power something. This needs to be done on a regular basis according to the instructions in your owners manual. You can’t just leave these things sit for a couple of years and expect them to work when you need them. So if the maintenance instructions say to start it up and power some stuff, do it. Don’t shove this expensive piece of hardware in a corner of the garage and forget about it.

Shut off main breaker to house. (You can’t be too careful with electricity)
Plug 30 amp cord into outlet on generator and inlet box on the house.
Hook up gas line to gas outlet on meter and inlet on regulator.
Start generator and warm up according to manufacturers instructions.
On Transfer Switch turn house circuits on ONE AT A TIME, waiting a few seconds between each one.
Check generator to make sure it’s running well.
Go back inside and get a cold beer from the fridge.
Get ready to meet the neighbors if you haven’t already. They’re going to wonder how in the hell you’re the only one in the neighborhood with electricity.

We tell them we worship Cthulu and he provides for the True Believers. They leave skidmarks.

OK I know this is a lengthy post and well longer than most of the ones on the Prepper threads here but I wanted to share what we’ve done to get ourselves ready in case of an extended power outage. As usual all the opinions expressed here are mine, which of course makes them absolutely beyond question.

I’ve got a bit more money, so I’ve been looking at the more permanent generator solution.

I have done something different. Another Freeper referred to it as a "submarine" method.

I use stacked inverters with 8-L16 Trojan Batteries. These are sized to provide power for refrigeration, water, coms, and some lights for about 5KW a day. The generator runs for about 1.5 hours a day to charge the batteries and run other items such as laundry and central vacuum.

This method is a fuel extender and does provide a bit more opsec because of the noise from the generator. It is more expensive, however it does use much less fuel and is quiet in inverter mode.

We experience numerous power outages a year and have used this system for over 14 years. We replaced the batteries last summer and upgraded the generator. One of the technological advances in battery maintenance is the BatteryMinder. This unit keeps the batteries charged and prevents sulfation.

This arrangement is worth it if you want to spend the money. When the electric goes out, the quiet inverter power up is just one switch away.

Right on Lurker!

Can I add a couple things?

Exactly right. Here is a good rule of thumb:

The amps shown on the unit (run load amps or RLA) is the operating amperage. You can figure six times that for lock rotor amps (LRA) to determine starting amps if it is not given.

Love that idea. I would add this. Use soap bubbles from a hardware/plumbing supply store to make sure there are no small leaks, ESPECIALLY if you connect in side a building anywhere.

Sounds like a great setup. Thanks

“Diesel is louder and harder to start in the winter.”

Agree - but preppers have different objectives. Some want to get through a post-hurricane scenario, where you still have civilization.

But for the serious stuff, having ANYTHING that attracts attention is simply not a good idea.

“I hope you are right....the 50lbs of Rice we have could go bad...plus I have 20Lb of Jasmine rice that I think WILL go bad....(don’t eat much in the way of carbs)”

When things go south, the Atkins Diet goes with them (and believe me, I’m familiar). Practically the only thing that matters is calorie count for the family. Nutrients can be obtained by the scraps of food that the government makes available, and other stored stuff - but without calories, one withers on the vine.

Good job, really nice post.

I’ve had a small genset for more than a dozen years now. My recommendations on maintenance:

o If you’re using gasoline, buy premium and use 2X the recommended amount of Sta-Bil.

o Set a recurring quarterly reminder in Outlook, or whatever you’re using for a calendering app, for a Saturday. Pull your generator out (or open up the enclosure if you go the Suncast route) and run it for about 15-20 minutes so it gets good and hot. Preferably hook up an electric space heater to give it a little load, it will run better. If you are using gasoline, DO NOT USE THE KILL SWITCH TO TURN IT OFF. Instead, close the fuel petcock and let the generator empty out the carburetor to turn off.

o On the Fall quarterly date, set a reminder to change the oil. Yes, change the oil annually even if you only ran the thing for the four exercise sessions. I use Mobil1 10W30, it’s reasonable enough buying it at Costco or in the bulk gallons from Wal-Mart.

I also helped a friend install a large fixed nat gas genset with an automatic transfer switch that his wife impulse bought from Costco after watching the mayhem in the wake of Katrina. And by helped I mean I did all the electrical planning and work, with him helping. Fixed about half a dozen code violations his electrician had left behind after supposedly fixing up the main panel when he moved in, too. If anyone has questions about that, hit me with a FReepmail.

I’ve seen that trifuel site before. I really should bite that bullet. I’ve always got the equivalent of about 2 full bottles of propane around in the three I have, and if I did that, I’d probably add a fourth to the mix. Or maybe even get a 35 or whatever that next size is.

Even when you run out of propane and the natural gas cuts out, so long as the sun shines, you have some power to use.

And you could always buy a wind generator as well. And if you have a stream nearby, you could buy a water-powered generator.

One thing I’m working on is building up some LED lighting. Whenever I see clearance sales, I buy one or two. They use so little electricity, that if you were to use a battery system, you’d need very little to light up your house (and frankly, light is one of those things we all take too much for granted.

Another advantage of batteries is that you could spend some more money and buy solar panels and charge them during the day. That cuts down on the generator use, gives you noiseless operation when people tend to be up and about, and provides one more source of energy.

Excellent point. The arrangement is the primary leg of a stand alone system. I have 6-85watt helios stored away with a charge controller. This was until recently my worst case scenario purchase to run the well.

Western PA has not seen any blackouts this summer, but there definitely have been brown outs. The EPA has started forcing the coal plants to close. This will create shortages, where before we had about 20% overcapacity.

I have been using a data logger for line voltage and have recorded measurements to 105 volts. I do expect the problems to worsen. Now my worse case may end up being the full 5KW minimum load. The AstroEnergy 245Watt panels (20) look interesting. That however is one heck of an investment for a worst case scenario.

This ties in kart's prep thread a few days ago when I asked for input on some high end permanent generators...

The one's I've been researching (haven't made a choice yet) are:

Northstar Tri-fuel Generator

Generac Guardian

Kohler 14 KW RES Standby Generator

Hope that helps...

I skipped those six circuit transfer switches and went with a whole-house transfer switch. It sits right next to the the cut-off switch box on the back of my house. That way I only have to throw one switch and I'm on generator power and I can run anything I want.

I also went with a 5 kw diesel generator. It powers my whole house without any difficulty, and I'm on well and septic. The only thing I don't run is my electric dryer. Diesel fuel is more stable and less dangerous to store and it can be stored much longer than gasoline.

Total cost for me was $1650.00...$1100 for the generator at Costco, $400 for the transfer switch and $150 to have it installed. Generator is stored in my garage and wheeled out when the power goes out. It's a quiet-run unit that I can't even hear in the house. I also have battery-backup for the computer and TV.

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