Poll who has a generator?

[DonPowers]

Have two generators.

Kubota GL 6500s, 2 cyl liquid cooled diesel which burns approximately a half gallon per hour at full load.

Honda EU 2000 which run up to 10 hours an a gallon of fuel.

Fuel management plan:

Run diesel for a couple hours two times per day for recharging refrigerator & freezer along with running water pump for domestic needs.

Run Honda for misc small loads during day and evening as required.

Anticipated fuel usage approximately 3 gallons per day, 2 diesel 1 gas.

 

[Yankee]

I have a 17kw Generac Guardian whole house on natural gas. We recently moved into town (1 1/2 years ago) but have been rural most of my life.

No power outages yet, but have been through long outages in the past..... to me it's good insurance.

 

[L5wolvesf]

Over the last year we have lost power several times for over an hour each time. Never found out why, but it wasn't happening for a number of years after the power co did an upgrade around 6 years ago.

I've started putting together a Coleman PowerMate 2250 watt portable I got for the cost of taking it away. It has most (like 99%) of its parts and I may see if it has spark today.

 

[ToddW]

We use EU2000i for the house, and another for the shop/office! They sip gas, and let us run everything we need (Plasma TV, Fridge, Computers, Lights, on-Demand propane water heater, etc...) In addition we have a larger Honda Commercial (GX390 engine) that provides 240v for the well pump

I've used the smaller honda non-stop for 5+ days, and probably accumulated 2+ months of power outages in the last few years onthem, great generators!

Of course after I got the external 5G fuel tank, hour meter, etc... for it we stopped having such bad winters in recent years

 

[theoldwizard1]

If I were shopping for a new generator I would not buy what I have now (5kW Craftsman/B&S). It is overkill.

2 priorities

• <3.5 kW (maybe even <3.0kW)
• Inverter

I am glad to see Honda has come up with a slightly larger (capacity and size) generator, the EG2800, for about the same price as the EU2000. Much less $$$ than the EU3000. My biggest gripe about Honda was $$$ !

 

[Infinia]

We didn't use anything either time because we didn't think it would last that long or maybe just didn't think. We lost a fridge full of food, and we could have run an extension cord from the little 400/800w Cobra inverter off a car battery.

a 800w cheapish inverter wont support an average home refrigerator unit. It cant handle compressor motor start-up amperage. & ones that claim high surge ratings have really poor standby performance.

As soon as power goes off the ref/freezer is verboten. This rule gives more or less ~7hrs. Otherwise plan for a big BBQ.

My dream is to have a small off-grid solar dedicated to run a 24 VDC chest freezer, and any PC networking, back-up, emergency lighting. based around 4 golf cart batteries in series gives 2,4KWhrs/ 50% DOD & more on tap at lower battery life.

Do a proper cost analysis before a major upgrade. Don't forget comfort and insurance is worth something too. SHF scenes don't & borderline crazy-time.

 

[doorfx]

If I were shopping for a new generator I would not buy what I have now (5kW Craftsman/B&S). It is overkill.



2 priorities

• <3.5 kW (maybe even <3.0kW)
  
• Inverter
  

I am glad to see Honda has come up with a slightly larger (capacity and size) generator, the EG2800, for about the same price as the EU2000. Much less $$$ than the EU3000. My biggest gripe about Honda was $$$ !

My biggest gripe with my eu3000is is it's weight. I'm getting too old to lift it by myself and the wife can't help. We still camp in our TT. The big wheel kit helps. That's why I got two 2000w champion inverters that can be paralleled. They are light and cost way less than the Honda/Yamaha offerings. Also , until last year in Canada you couldn't buy the Honda parallel gens in 2000w as they didn't meet Canadian electrical code. I can run just one for light loads and fire up the second one if I want to run the A/C.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

My dream is to have a small off-grid solar dedicated to run a 24 VDC chest freezer, and any PC networking, back-up, emergency lighting. based around 4 golf cart batteries in series gives 2,4KWhrs/ 50% DOD & more on tap at lower battery life.

You're in a spot where solar makes sense. We have a lot of folks out here off grid with solar, but it's good for maybe half the year at most. We've been setting folks up with Kohler 6VSG battery bank charging gensets for off grid and cell sites. Really cool little machines.
http://www.kohlergenerators.com/home-generators/products/6VSG

 

[Infinia]

You're in a spot where solar makes sense. We have a lot of folks out here off grid with solar, but it's good for maybe half the year at most. We've been setting folks up with Kohler 6VSG battery bank charging gensets for off grid and cell sites. Really cool little machines.
http://www.kohlergenerators.com/home-generators/products/6VSG

that gen set looks pro!
IMO for less 1/4 the price , you can switch on another set solar of panels in the winter. Besides that and perhaps one or two azimuth adjustments can mostly make up for winter lower charging hours. Of course operator hands-on is included in that scenerio. But a gen set is needed for >3 day storms, so its probably a wash. Most economical set-ups always require a generator for peak loads (laundry day? ) otherwise batteries can take a hit.

 

[mysery]

4.8kw generator/arc welder, couldn't justify just a generator or a arc welder at the time but I could the combo unit. Also have cheap 800w unit for camping.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

that gen set looks pro!
IMO for less 1/4 the price , you can switch on another set solar of panels in the winter. Besides that and perhaps one or two azimuth adjustments can mostly make up for winter lower charging hours. Of course operator hands-on is included in that scenerio. But a gen set is needed for >3 day storms, so its probably a wash. Most economical set-ups always require a generator for peak loads (laundry day? ) otherwise batteries can take a hit.

It's far more for ease and reliability (especially in the dead of winter with everything buried in snow). No power in most areas here means no well water or your house freezing if no one is home. Lots of folks up here have been off the grid for generations, even though there are utility poles at the bottom of the driveway. The power company wants $10k minimum to hook them up, so they just keep dropping more than that on generators, fuel, batteries and solar systems incrementally over the years. We're the first to tell folks that running an engine is the most expensive way to make kW.

 

[Infinia]

The power company wants $10k minimum to hook them up, so they just keep dropping more than that on generators, fuel, batteries and solar systems incrementally over the years.

the true cost of hooking up to the grid is more psychology than anything, so that and 'the pioneering spirit' makes the decisions harder to bear for most individuals.

We're the first to tell folks that running an engine is the most expensive way to make kW

They cant work that out? once you make that decision not to pay 'the man' , hate to be wrong. See it comes down to psychology. Once they get in the iron pot they tend not to feel heat ... it's comes gradually. I think that's in a cartoon I saw somewhere.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

I have a 17 year old Master 5K generator with a Honda engine. I'm connected with a 30A Power Inlet (for future expansion if needed) to a panel interlock. It's saved our bacon several times over the years when we lost power for days at a time.

I thought about reworking the plan to a hybrid model with the 5K running the house as needed and a smaller inverter generator running the fridge/freezers all the time. Never got there. . .

Jim

 

[ihateminimumwage]

the true cost of hooking up to the grid is more psychology than anything, so that and 'the pioneering spirit' makes the decisions harder to bear for most individuals.

Very true. Many of them probably wouldn't know what to do with their time if they weren't constantly packing fuel and cutting firewood.

 

[Rarified27]

I have this one from Ridgid.

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/5700-watt-powered-portable-generator

It laughs at job site tools and is moderately loud. Never experienced any flux no matter the draw. Could definitely run our 1500sq ft rancher on it.

Looking to grab a Yamaha EF2000isV2 for tailgating.