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.
Depending on the size of your house and the wattage needed by your appliances and central heat and air, you are looking at $10k to $20k.
I will be interested to see the responses, as I’ve wondered about the same thing. The “whole house” generator ads on TV make it look like such a breeze, and from what I’ve read it’s a “BFD” and very expensive.
Last year we had a Generac 17kw standby home generator installed - it’s piped directly into our house propane system and kicks on when the main electricity goes out for more than ten seconds. It runs everything from the well pump to the furnace and appliances and was right around ten grand. Not cheap but my wife is disabled and I’m not getting any younger.
Hard to give advice until we know how much money you want to spend.
For about $15,000 you can get a good generator that will supply your home, come on automatically when the power comes down, automatically wired to shut down the main line and power your home. It will run off propane or diesel, your choice..
For about $1500- you can buy one you can start with a pull cord, and plug it in to run your freezer, furnace ,and water pump, and a couple of small lights, maybe the TV. Buy some extension cords and a junction box.
If you decide to get fancy and plug it into a 220 Volt plug in your home be sure to cut off the main before using it.Don’t want to knock the nice power worker off the pole.
What is your budget, and what is the main mission for the generator?
Don’t forget, mission creep is very expensive.
Backfeed is a big issue.
ping for later
Lennox sells a very nice generator that is the quietest available.
WTSHTF just take what you need form the liberals.
I’m well armed in liberal California.
I have an unlimited supply of whatever my family will need.
If you’re willing to start it with a cord, you can get 5000 watts for about $750.
For about $1000 you can get 6000 watts with an electric starter.
I recommend the electric starter; you could have difficulty starting with the cord in cold weather.
I have neighbors that can supply any and all power to their doublewide with a diesel Lincoln Welder.
I have a friend who powers what he needs with a 250 Miller Bobcat.
I have firewood.
And an inverter that I hook to my truck.
I vote for the Lincoln.
We purchased a 5 KW Honda a few years ago. It does a great job of running the basics for our home. My hubby has a system where we plug it into our house flip a few switches and we are off-line and running on generator power.
One thing you might want to do is check the hock shops.
I go into hock shops about once a month more just to see what they got, tools, etc.
They had a Coleman Powermate 1800 watter, they wanted 299 for it. I told the guy at the counter I’d give him 199 and after a lot of Hmmmn and hawwwwwin he said OK.
But 1800 is not enough to run my fridge and freezer at the same time, so about 2 yrs later, I got a 3500 watt Champion.
So if you are handy with tools and know how to disassemble and clean out a small-engine carb, or whatever, you can check around.
If you want to run your whole house, sounds like you are looking at 4500 watts minimum. More, maybe much more, if U have electric heat.
It is important to know the local electrical codes where you live. There can be rules governing everything from the size of the generator, to the switching methods, to the noise attenuation. That can greatly affect the costs of installing a generator.
It might benefit you to google the local Cummins (or other generator manufacturer) rep in your area and have him direct you to a contractor experienced in generator installation. They would know the costs and local pitfalls to watch out for.
In Texas you can find a 17kw Generac with a 200!amp transfer case for under $4k with low hours. Not sure what the installation cost is.
The air cooled are less expensive than water cooled. I’ve been looking at a Kohler system that I can check over the net and it send text messages and whatnot.
I’d that you go to the local Home Depot and get them to give you numbers for a Generac.
If you need to run your car for power for a long time there are some things you need to do to not hurt the gasoline engine: 1) turn the A/C on to put a load on the engine; 2) turn the engine off about every hour or so for 5-10 minutes; and 3) check the engine dashboard to ensure that there are no problems. In the alternative, my neighbor hooks his power inverter to his riding lawn mower with no problems.
I live in hurricane country (6 in the last 11 years) and lose power in every hurricane. Generators are big, expensive and you have to maintain them. A power inverter is the size of a dictionary and requires no maintenance. Making power using your car engine is pretty inefficient, but a whole lot cheaper than buying a generator that you will use for about 24 hours every two years.
On a completely different note, what is going on with these advertisements that show up in our posts? I didn't put them there, but they automatically show up. If Free Republic is getting money for them, then I'll start clicking on them to generate revenue. But it is distracting.
For powering the whole house with a portable generator, its best to install a transfer switch that will simultaneously disconnect the grid power, and connect the inlet plug from the portable.
5000 watts will usually run all the appliances you want, as long as you don’t try to make them all start at once. The starting current for motors is about 4 or 5 times the normal load current.
20k Generac wholehouse from generatorsdirect.com. Comes with an automatic switch gear. Runs on natural gas or propane. I got one about a year ago and it works just as advertised. Cost about $4500 delivered and another $1K for an electrician and plumber to install.
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