Posted on 03/10/2017 8:44:22 AM PST by Cementjungle
I'm in the process of getting quotes from local companies to install a whole-house standby generator. I'm in southern FL and last year's near-miss with a hurricane is prompting me to move on it now. I had planned to do this anyway since moving here, but all my other projects took first priority... this is my only remaining big project for this home.
Anyway... I know I need around 27Kw and, and Generac and Kohler both seem to have comparable products at comparable cost. Both are American made.
I had one installed several years back in WA (an 8Kw Briggs and Stratton), so I am familiar with the things involved (propane tanks, transfer switch, etc.)... but this one is bigger this time around... and a very big investment.
Since Freepers have vast experience with many things, I'm looking for any feedback on these brands and any other "gotchas" that would be helpful.
And remember.... "Make electricity great again!"
Is it volatile, does it need cooling like the car battery bank? Different types of lithium ion batteries have different traits, pluses and minuses, the higher energy density ones are the kind that can catch fire. I haven’t kept up, other than knowing they’re on the market or close with the Tesla Wall.
Figure out how many times you will probably lose power and will use the generator, vs how much it will cost to buy it and install it for the times you will use it. And if you have significant damage to your home during a hurricane, you may not be able to run it anyway.
Concur completely with your GENERAC comments. We purchased a brand new 7000XG and it failed at the 45 hour point. Dealing with warranty repair was beyond painful, but finally received the unit back with a new motor after two months; we had to pay the labor cost. I now have a back-up generator for the GENERAC, as I no longer trust it will function when we have another 7-10 day outage.
Sorry···got the Tesla battery number wrong, it’s 2170...21mm diameter and 70mm length vs the 18mm x 65mm widely used for everything.
Tesla’s Battery Management System and fusing of each individual cell pretty much takes care of that potential problem. Hence, their proprietary design and manufacture.
Don’t recall seeing mention of where the incindiary ones involved with the Samsungs actually manufactured. The cheap Chinese knock offs and outright fakes remain the chief source of the problems.
Youtube has some very informative videos Tesla has posted. Use Tesla Powerwall and Tesla battery cells...as search terms
I hook my generator up to an extra double pole breaker in the box. I turn off all the 220v breakers and most importantly Turn off the main breaker and power up the whole panel. That way i have power to everything but the hot water heater, stove and ac. This is not really the proper way to do it because if you forget to turn off the main you will be feeding power back out to the pole, creating a dangerous situation for a lineman. Then also if the power would come back on with main breaker on it’s going to feed back into your generator and ruin it. I hook it up like this during an emergency, but you have to be extra careful and double check that you hook up and turn off what needs to be off before powering up.
We live in the country on a well. No power, no water. The standard joke out here in Missouri goes like this. I know what its like to live in a third world country, I have Ameren UE power”;^)
I might have to look more into military surplus.
My dad buys all kinds of stuff at those sales.
I need to get a portable generator and a manual bus transfer installed. Power losses aren’t that frequent but when out, it’s a day minimum.
I don’t want to spend a lot, but I must at least get the A/C going... and keep it going, or the potential loss is very large...
Are you insured? Here in coastal Virginia it’s gotten nearly impossible to obtain insurance.
I have two friends who did that. They wired a unit into the building.
I guess you would turn off the main box in a blackout, then have a second box based on the generator spliced in that you turn on, then the generator gets turned on.
Friend....
Before you go “whole house” decide what you really need when your power goes out.
Then find out what circuits they are on in your breaker box
Then have a new breaker box installed
Have those circuits moved to the new breaker box
Have a transfer switch installed in between the original breaker box and your new one. “Normal” would be connected to grid power, “Generator” would take power from your generator feed.
You may be surprised how little power you can get by with.
If you are going to go with Natural Gas - also know that in a true emergency, you may well lose Gas, and electricity.
I thought both Generac and Kohler were made in Wisconsin... hmmm.
I'm leaning toward the minimal route, my wife is leaning toward the whole-house route.
The biggest issue is the A/C... and dealing with it's startup surge. The building code around here is another issue... there are certain requirements, so we do either have to split some circuits off to a separate panel or use the "smart switches" that automatically switch loads in and out when things start up. Even with a 27KW unit a little of that will be needed.
We're getting quotes from the main local companies, and should have more info early next week. We're dealing with companies that also deliver propane and work out of fortified buildings that gear up properly before hurricanes.
I have a 17K generac because I have outbuildings with plumbing that are still on electric heat.
Plus I have a well which takes a lot of juice, and I live in the mountains which means plenty of cold in the winter, AND heat/lightning in the summer and wind the year ‘round.
As somebody mentioned upthread, your dealer and service rep are the key to generator performance and satisfaction. My guys suggest a tune-up annually but have been doing it every other year because we haven’t had long-term outages.
A check-up/tuneup isn’t cheap, 300 bucks or more per visit (part of that is that I am 100 miles from the dealer). But my guys know their stuff and really go through it.
When I ask them if I can skip this or that expense, they always tell me “depends on how much you are going to want power when the lines go down at 20 below.”
p.s. if you live in colder climes buy yourself a little thermostat plug-in which will keep your battery warm in the winter.
I understand completely. As I said, I live in between Orlando and Cocoa. You might consider roll around AC units. I have one for my 4 seasons porch I closed in. I can keep about 300-400 sqft cool(er) and dehumidified. We have a vault closet that we store valuables in as part of the master....for me it is very nice guitars that are susceptible to high humidity. In Hugo we were without running water for 19 days and power for 37. It was an August storm so we got the heat for weeks. Not SoFl heat, but brutal.
Kohler best. Got a 18kw installed in a metal (not plastic) box. Super quiet- runs once a week for 20 minutes- on propane line (got 500 gal tank in ground). No more extension cords, no more gasoline noisy thing to fill, automatic start up, best deal around. 10k$
I live in South Alabama, where I even run A/C in the winter some days. I hate being hot and sweaty in the house. It is the one luxury I splurge on myself, keeping the air at 71 degrees in winter and 73 degrees in summer.
When hurricane Ivan came thru here it really stormed bad, and I thought all my big pecan and pine trees would snap off with the steady 80+ mph winds, but thankfully the survived. The storm took about 8 hours to pass through from tip to tail until the sun came out and our power stayed on the whole time. And then, with the hot tropical sun beating down the power went off, and stayed off for a week.
I don't care about rotted meat, or not being able to see at night, or watch TV, wash clothes or myself (hell, this a creek on my property), but lying in bed with 99% humidity and in the 90s in the house just sucks too much.
So, like you, generating power is all about air conditioning. Yankees can talk about heating needs, but nothing consumes the watts like A/C in old Dixie. How DID those people live thru summer back in the day?
Sometimes I think about actually putting a generator IN the outside air exchangers. I long exhaust pipe to keep from breathing it and then give my cool, dry air!
“I thought both Generac and Kohler were made in Wisconsin”
probably just ASSEMBLED there. who knows were most of the parts are made. Kohler does use a Kohler engine, but again, who knows where it is made. but really, one of the worst things about the consumer GENERACs is their proprietary chinese engine. good luck with parts on that puppy. not to mention the proprietary controller board for a kilobuck.
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The other option is a 1,000 mile extension cord that I can run up to my sister’s house in Virginia. There are a few logistical issues with that though. :-)
I can do without TV, and I can pay $5/day to have my cell phone be a hotspot, so I could at least keep up with the news on my tablet. No big deal there.
After hurricane Matthew passed by last Fall we did spring a leak in a water pipe under the bathroom floor. At first we assumed water blew into the roof and got into the walls, but turned out to be a tiny crack in the pipe under the floor but inside a wall. But... having the juice to run some fans for a few days to dry out the drywall and baseboards that got soaked was fortunate. Without that, we would have been dealing with mold issues.
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