generator away from the house?

[pixelmonkey]

how many members have an in-line generator for their home?

for the title i say away from the house. I'm wanting to know if there are limits for distance.

looking at a 350' gap between the garage and the house. I can see benefits of having the generator next to the house.
- easy access
- kill power / shut down if needed
- less wire/cable.

then there is a good side to keeping it at the garage.
- less noise
- easy to work on if needed, given the tools are already there
- out of sight/ out of mind

fuel is natural gas. pipeline for the furnace heat to the house & garage would also fuel the generator.

the last decade has proven that living in oklahoma you have a 50% chance you will be without power atleast a 3 times during the winter due to ice storms. the length of time without power depends on the storm. a few people have been without power for weeks due to down power lines.

suggestions welcomed!
chris<pixelmonkey>

 

[rodnok1]

You would have to size the wire appropriately for distance and amperage. That being said 350 feet for lets say a 50 amp generator would require an 1/0 copper wire. Also you have to run control wires, so the wire cost can be significant. If noise is a concern place it away from the house(bedrooms) maybe 50 - 100 feet and point exhaust away from your house.

 

[bradleys]

Subject to your tolerance for the expense of larger and longer wire, definitely put the generator far away from the house. If you can put the garage between the generator and house, all the better.

My generator is behind my garage, so any sound needs to go through both garage walls to get to the house. Only the birds and squirrels in the woods have to listen to it.

Folks may say "it's only for a few hours or a few days". I don't know about you, but that's plenty of time for me to become irritated about noise.

 

[rsanter]

another tip to cut the noise of a generator is to come out of the stock exhaust and go into a muffler intended for a car/truck.
the gasses will go through the muffler slower and have lots of time to be adsorbed

bob

 

[66HertzClone]

Our garage is attached and the generator is located in front of the garage, near my in the garage breaker box and the gas meter. The master bedroom is within 20' of the generator. We have this one, Kohler a few times it has run for longer than a day, it has started during the night and I nor my wife woke up from the noise. A high quality unit is designed to be quiet, the interior of the box is lined with thick foil faced foam insulation.

 

[JerseyJim]

I too live in an area where a standby generator gets a real workout. I have a relatively inexpensive Generac. Not the quietest unit I'm sure. Mine is located close to the house, a very short run to the electrical panels in the basement. The noise has really not been an issue in the nine years that ours has been in service. In fact, when the lights go out, it's very assuring to hear it kick on. The noise is more annoying to neighbors... Who don't have one!

 

[thammel]

I put in a Winco 8kw propane driven generator next to my house. It's at the end with the heat pump and AC unit. You can hardly hear it inside the house. We're fortunate in that our master bedroom is at the other end of the house.

No big deal. I assume you'll primarily want to power house stuff; putting it nearer the house makes more sense for that (shorter wire runs and less voltage drop for a given wire size)

Tom

 

[nate379]

Where are you getting 1/0 wire from?

My chart shows 50 amps at 350 ft would need #4 wire.

You would have to size the wire appropriately for distance and amperage. That being said 350 feet for lets say a 50 amp generator would require an 1/0 copper wire. Also you have to run control wires, so the wire cost can be significant. If noise is a concern place it away from the house(bedrooms) maybe 50 - 100 feet and point exhaust away from your house.

 

[rodnok1]

Page 149 pocket ref isbn 1-885071-33-7 1
Online calcs call for #2 copper 1/0 alum for that distance

 

[Teken]

OP, what brand generator are you planning to purchase etc? Also, don't skimp on the transfer switch, better to pay more now than later!

Also, in my case I plan on replacing the battery with a deep cycle *Optima* yellow top for added peace and mind . . .

Lastly what is the kW out put you're looking to spend on? I am currently saving for a Generac 17 kW unit with the aluminum cladding and frame so I don't have to worry about future rust etc given our extreme salt and frigid winters . . .

 

[koditten]

My 12 k unit is next to our master bedroom. I don't really even hear is run anymore. It exercises itself for 20 minutes once a week. All the standby units are programable to turn on at the time you choose.

The exhaust faces away from the house, so the noise is not really bad. I can hear it run if if I am in the bedroom at 4 pm, but I do not have to turn up the tv because the generator is too loud. It uses the Kohler Command engine, the same motor used in your high end zero turn mowers. It is loud if I am in the yard near it at the time of day when it goes into exercise mode.

I asked my installer how long the battery was good for and he told me that he has other units like mine that have gone close to 20 years on the same battery. The onboard battery maintainers do a really good job on keeping the battery in top form. After hearing that I did not see a reason to go to an Optima battery like I really wanted to.