buying a backup generator- what do you have?

[purpony]

Well... after Hurricane Irene, Im still without power after 72 hours and dont see the power going on anytime soon. Right now I have the generator in my motorhome running just to power my house fridge.

Im looking at buying a generator and wondering what others have. My dad has a 12,000 gen-pro (bought it through northern a few years back) and is able to power everything.

I was just looking to see what size and brand others have-

1.) brand?
2.) size?
3.) what can you run with it?
4.) brush or brushless and any issues you have had-




I am looking at a Generac or Northstar at the moment in my norther catalog at home since i dont have a computer up and running. Looking at an 8,000 continuous or 10,000 continuous.

My house is about 2K sq-ft and im looking to be able to run the following-

Fridge, basement freezer, elec stove, well pump, lights, washer. dryer, dishwasher, tv, oil burner furnace.

obviously NOT at at the same time... but im thinking a 8,000 should work for me.

thanks all

 

[Mike of the North]

I have a Generac 15k natural gas automatic generator, it runs every thing but the air conditioning, would have had to go up to the 20k to run the air, it works great longest it has run for me is 3 days, I am on a well so I need the generator to have water.

 

[Scott P]

I don't want to be that guy, but have you done a search? There are several recent threads about generators.

Personally, I have a 5,500 Watt Briggs that I was able to get from Lowe's during Ike. It is a low end model that is noisy and is probably one of the emergency models the manufacturer could build quick and cheap to get to disaster areas. However, it works great for me. I have a Gen-Tran transfer switch that I use to control various circuits in the house.

Others will chime in with opinions that you should only buy a Honda Inverter model. Others will argue about standby units and their quality. Add in the topic of suicide cords and you get a whole bees' nests on your hands.

 

[theoldwizard1]

First, you have to decide if you want a permanent installation with auto fail over. These are great IF you have natural gas (which I see you do not) or a large propane tank (probably no also).

Second, if you go gasoline or diesel, how much fuel are you willing to store and rotate out of storage so that it doesn't go bad ? At 8kw, you'll go though a 7 gallon tank in 9 hours, even with a 50% load.

If your careful on what appliances you turn on (forget washer, dryer, dishwasher and A/C unless you turn off some other things) 5kW should be good. Fuel consumption is about 5 gallons in 10 hours at a 50% load.

If your more careful (don't run the furnace and the pump and the freezer all at the same time) you could probably get by with 3.5kw. That is 4 gallons in 8 hours at 50% load.

 

[Bookworm]

I have a 2700 watt honda-powered gen from Northern Tool that I use to power the fridge & deep-freeze, plus the TV and a few lights. uses 1 qt per hour of gas, but has a tiny tank, gotta fuel it every 2 hrs. I keep meaning to rig up an outboard motor tank to it...
When I need water from the well, I fire up the 12KW honda-powered v-twin, that uses 1 gallon per hour. I do what needs to be done (flush the toilets, whatever), then shut it down.
I keep 15 gallons of fuel on hand, treated with Lucas and Sta-Bil, and I rotate it out yearly.
This works so far, but I got my eye on a shiny new 20kw propane powered pad-mounted Generac.... as soon as I convince the CFO of the house.

 

[GMCAMARO]

I have portable 15K genrac.

It is wired to run my whole house but everything can not be running at the same time.

It will run the AC, I think highly of it. The problem with propane varieties is right now they are reporting propane can not be delivered in parts of MA and CT because of downed trees.
just something to think about.

 

[purpony]

I dont want to get into the whole how to wire it up. Its going to be a transfer switch though so dont worry about it.

Im probably looking at a portable, not a self starting unit. I dont loose power that often but when i do its a pain in the ****.

I do like the idea of a smaller one running the fridge and freezer all the time and then a larger one to run the rest of the house. I have a small 1000 watt honda but it was having a hard time just running my fridge.

I was reading though some of the other posts, but im looking more for the size, brand, and exactly what you run with it and how its held up...... all the other posts just ramble on about the right and wrong way to wire, etc.

I just want to buy a good quality unit that will last me a while and power everything i need to power. Also looking into a gas unit.... i think its easier to get gas in a hurry then wait on a propane truck.

 

[ambenz]

I found I see a twice a year power outage senario , watching my water venturie sump pump ringing up my water bill with slow results, I went out to a local small engine repair dealer and found a Briggs and Stratton Elite 5500 generator, used, but like new. He rebuilt the carb and wanted $500 US for it. I talked him down to $400 and lugged it home in the Mustang trunk..

Sure powers a lot of stuff including the furnace for the winter.
I now have a transfer switch in the garage so no more extension cords running all over the house.

 

[Kev442]

I think running the electric stove at 50 amps is kinda nutty on a generator. Camp stoves are pretty cheap, either white gas or electric at 2000 watt 2 burner.
My 5500 would run one fridge, one small window AC and a TV and a few lights if needed. The secret is to get the AC running steady for 15 minutes then add the rest.
You're going to need 10k minimum for even half of what you listed.

 

[mslisaj]

I use a 8000 watt 220 Generator that I keep in the shop. I plug it in to the 220 outlet out there AFTER I throw the main breakers to the house. I am very cautious on how much load I put on it but it holds the fridge, water heater and the home Heat pump. I just use the lights that I need and it works just fine. When I notice my neighbors lights come back on I shut down my generator, unplug it and throw the master breakers and I'm back on line.

Lisa

 

[ibedayank]

for me to run shop/house on a generator smallest i would go is 10k deisel with minimum 100 gallon storeage tank... deisel has a LONG storeage life and being we run deisel trucks rotating it out would be easy

 

[josall]

I bought the Honeywell HW5500/ electric start it has 5500 running watts and 6875 surge watts... I also bought a Gen-Tran manual transfer switch. I can operate everything including the gas furnace and microwave and two refrigerators, but not the central air and electric stove /oven. We pull it out 2 times a year let it run for a couple hours to keep the batteries up. Total cost was under $1500. Only needed it twice for two hours, so far it has worked perfect.

 

[mrb]

are there any 6500w or so Diesel inverter generators? Honda has a pretty nice looking one but theirs are all gas. I found a chinese one but for what its going to be used for I need to be able trust it.

 

[airbatica]

I don't recall seeing any diesel inverter generators. There isn't much point to them really... a diesel's fuel usage is pretty linear to the load. Besides, the added electronics are just another failure point. If you want a rock solid reliable diesel, you're better off looking for an older Onan air cooled diesel (DJA, DJB or DJE), Kubota, or even a Lister.

 

[mrb]

the point of the inverter in this application is to deliver clean power with stable frequency.

 

[ibedayank]

the point of the inverter in this application is to deliver clean power with stable frequency.

line conditioner
like a UPS for a computer but bigger there are some out there

 

[holdover]

I'll chime in. I live in a rural area of SW VA, during the winter it is not rare to lose power 10 times for up to 2-4 days each time sometimes more, most times at least 24 hours. Hard to keep the lines intact runing through forest. For the past 35 years I have used a portable generator in the 5-6K range, right now it is a coleman 5500/6500 surge, 120/220 . The unit is about 5 yrs old and has 500 hours on it (I keep a log) My house has for 32 yrs been heated with an oil burner, the last 3 with an outside water boiler stove. I have a 4500 watt HW heater, but now the HW is heated by the outdoor stove, before this I could heat the water, but only the water and a few lights. After the water is heated I would shut down the breaker to it. Except for a bit of noise the house runs like the power is on from the power company. We can use the oven, but like the WH you have to be careful that you don't add to much else. We have well water so when the power is off, no water without the generator. If I was buying one today I would go a little bigger, say 8K, but that is all. I have my old one which is about 10 yrs old as a back-up to the 5 yr old one, it has about 1200 hours on it and still runs good. There are many opinions about this but this is what has worked for me for over 35 years. BTW for the first year we did it with a craftsman 3K and most things worked fine, but no oven and no HW. I also run Fridge, basement freezer, elec stove, well pump, lights, washer. tv, outside wood boiler with circulator pump, oil burner furnace blower (to distribute heat from outside stove. Been known to work in my workshop, but like the oven and HW you need to be watchful on how many watts you are using My units have 5 gal gas tanks. I keep a dry carb, and have been doing this for many years, with no leaks when I turn on the gas. The unit starts up within 2 pulls with the choke on, after i turn on the gas and give it a minute to flow into the bowl, I use extend in the gas, but change the gas with fresh gas about every 4 months and use the old gas in one of my farm vehicles.

 

[SmokeyDP]

I just picked up a 'Champion' 4000W max from Home Depot for $300. They got a huge batch in since there are still a ton of people without any power around here.

 

[Chevron Guy]

Out here on the Left Coast I bought a Honda 2000 (2Kw) generator. It uses a gallon a gas a day (give or take), is quiet, and portable. Figured if we make it thru the "big one" then all I really need is the fridge and a light in the living room. As needed it will give clean power for the pc/tv, should the cable system be up, otherwise it keeps the beer cold and the meat ready for the bbq.

 

[SpeedCoach]

mine are more for camping at the race tracks.....but I did convince the wife that having them for our occassional power outages wasnt the worst idea ever...

as luck would have it....ever since we got them the power has not gone out.

 

[hmbemis]

Champion 46515, 3500W.

- Oil fired Boiler (haven't measured this, but I figure it's ~500W)
- Sump Pump (~500W running)
- Fridge (no idea...)

I feel pretty good about running all at once, but it's easy enough to stagger their use...

We've got an electric stove, so basically out of question... but we've got a microwave and one of those 110V plug in "5th burner" things that could be used for a pot or pan...

 

[hmbemis]

I went out to a local small engine repair dealer and found a Briggs and Stratton Elite 5500 generator...

A friend of mine used one of these to get through the ice storm we had here in 2008/2009... as I recall he ran it for nearly a week straight... loud as hell, but seemed reliable.

 

[thammel]

I installed a Winco 8kw automatic standby generator 5 years ago. It runs off propane and has been fantastic.

Tom

 

[Jack T.]

After losing power for 2 days a couple winters ago, I bought a Briggs 6000W. Had a buddy do the transfer box hookup, probably have $1,000 in the whole setup. Now I can run the fridge, most lights, TV, and furnace. Actually got to use it a couple months ago when the power was out for about 12 hours.

It is on the noisy side, but now power outages are a minor inconvenience instead of a major hardship.

 

[Greatbear]

I have a Generac 15kw unit that is roaring away as I write this. No power at the house since Sunday, probably will be a few more days before I get power restored. This unit runs everything in the house and garage save for the big central air and garage 5HP compressor. Keeps two freezers, two fridges, the well pump, heat pump water heater, several lights and even the electric oven, a stove burner and the microwave going at the same time. Life is good! My fuel bill, not so much.

 

[romafern]

I have a 10k watt/ 12.5k surge watt Generac Industrial series generator that I bough back for the Y2K craze...

I also keep a hours log. It has like 28-30 hrs of run time. Still very new and barely use it. I also have the xfer switch kit but I've will save that one for when I am done moving around. It can run quite a bit of things but the trick here is to monitor what you have running and keep a close watch on your total wattage.

The next gen set will be a smaller Honda unit like the ones posted by SpeedCoach. Beautiful units and very quiet. Will compliment my current one nicely and can use it for camping as well.

When I run my gen set, I also keep my Glock handy b/c when the shizzle hits the fan, some idiots become real idiots and will take your gen set like if it is theirs.

I can't post a pic right now since I am in Iraq and do not have any pics of my toys in the laptop.

Have any of you come up and have successfully silenced your gen set enough to where is at a comfy level?

 

[BackTracker]

I run my office with a generator. Everyday. It's off the grid. as do my neighbors. My neighbor runs el cheapo costco generators. He gets 2000 hours out of such things. goes through them quickly. I bought a Ridgid 8k watt with detachable panel. It's shite and unbelievably loud.. made it 7 months. most of that time only one plug worked. the rest of the time the detachable panels extra "features" crapped out after a couple months. the generator portion IE not the engine quit entirely at 7 months with the engine still running like a dream. I got 700 hours or so out of it.

3year warranty is bull BTW if you read it closely, the panel (which is the only part with actual plugs) isn't covered. neither is the wiring...so do with that information what you will. I for one will not be buying another unsupported re-brand of some garbage. I will go with my other guys suggestion of going with a Honda, they seem to last forever...

Also ONAN it's a cummins brand. A real good one.

 

[DaleK]

35 kw Winco PTO generator on a 90 hp tractor. Too much tractor but it's my smallest one.

Left over from when I was still milking and needed to run everything in the barns. It's at least 30 years old now.

 

[nehog]

I use a retired military generator set... Massively built, terribly under rated, and would probably power the entire neighborhood.

Logged about 24 hours of run time in the last four days, we don't run 24 hours a day (shut down over night, and when we leave the house.) As it drinks between a gallon and a gallon and a half of diesel an hour, one does not run it any more than necessary! I think (have not checked yet) we used about 15 to 20 gallons of diesel this week, but were very lightly loaded as the weather was cool, and we didn't need as much power as usual (we do have electric heat so winter loads are much higher.)

 

[SPDMETL]

Which ones are made in America ? A lotta stuff isn't...

 

[rct]

I also have one of the infamous 5500 series generac/briggs portables. Worked well for 10 days no power after a freak Oct snowstorm. When it dies or I can justify replacing it I will get a tri-fuel portable, either Winco or Yamaha. For a portable genset, tri-fuel seems a great way to go. I can plug into my home's natural gas supply and if that is an issue, it will still use regular gas (or propane). What ever you choose, find a safe way to keep some fuel on hand. At about 5 gallons/per 12 hours I had to start looking around after 4 days last time.

 

[SmokeyDP]

Champion 46515, 3500W.

- Oil fired Boiler (haven't measured this, but I figure it's ~500W)
- Sump Pump (~500W running)
- Fridge (no idea...)

I feel pretty good about running all at once, but it's easy enough to stagger their use...

We've got an electric stove, so basically out of question... but we've got a microwave and one of those 110V plug in "5th burner" things that could be used for a pot or pan...

They got a large shipment of these in at the Home Depot by me for $299 each so I picked one up. The Amazon reviews were pretty good.

 

[SLOCOBRAR]

i,ve got a miller bobcat 250, 10 kw. powered everything in the house and garages alright until the air compresser kicked in. i,ll remember to shut it off next time. it,s a nice welder also. and lp gas powered

 

[quick60]

Speedcoach. Don't know if you are aware but Northern now sells the cables to wire those in series.

 

[bobbycoke]

In vermont I have a 6500kw generator, size is just what you need it for but a MUST is a GEN TRAN SWITCH , I can not shout that enough!!!!!!! You must be OFF LINE when running a generator or you risk KILLING a linesman...when the gen tran switch is wired correctly it puts the line power off when on generator and the other way around. I have a 6 switch[ or circuit] if you will one for well,oil burner. refridgerator,a group of lights [hall,bath,some rooms] some outlets [upstairs and down] for coffee etc...... please do this correctly someones life could depend on it, down on long island I have had a neighbor just hot wire his panel not realizing electric flows BOTH WAYS be safe!!!! hope all our property is well ...bobbycoke

 

[SpeedCoach]

Speedcoach. Don't know if you are aware but Northern now sells the cables to wire those in series.

I have the cables.....that pic was just mocking up the external gas tank.

 

[romafern]

So what happens when you have too many watts sucking appliances hooked to a genset? No, I will not try that with mine unit. Just curious...does it fry the unit?

 

[knagy389us]

We just moved here a few months ago, and have been thinking about a standby unit for the house, maybe NG. But for now this will do...

My "portable" genset. Onboard Onan 50A / 7KW. She was parked in my driveway, this past weekend, fuel, water, propane tanks full, in the event Irene caused problems.

Helped a friend run pumps in his basement after his power went out, and the waters were rising.

 

[dichdoc]

I too have a Miller Bobcat 250 welder Generator 10.5 KW. Mine runs on Gasoline and is truck mounted. I drive the truck down plug it in start the Bobcat and go in and throw the transfer switch. It runs all the needed things well and septic pumps heat lights fridges etc. etc. I run a small fabrication company so it was a tax right off as well.

 

[Skysurfer]

Coleman 5500 with an 11 hp Tecumseh engine. Freakin' thing is loud but when the power is out for three days who cares? I tried backfeeding through the dryer outlet with the main switched off as an experiment but it didn't go well. Learned about unclean power by toasting the pc power board, coffee maker, xbox, and garage door opener.

Now I just run a few extension cords from the generator via a Brick Wall power filter. As long as the fridge, water heater, and a few lights work I'm good for as long as need be.