Using a champion 9000watt generator for whole house

[wdrumheller]

Ok, So on MY house I have a 22kw Generac standby generator that turns on when the power goes off from the grid. Also I run 23.8kw of solar power from 77 panels that generally power my home and barn and it's a grid-tie system. That being said, I know electricity, and I know generators, etc...

BUT, I have a problem.

I have a sister that lives over in a house on the farm that does NOT have a standby generator, and there is only a 3500w gas generator that my Dad used to backfeed (turning the main off) through a dryer plug to power the house. You know, it worked pretty well when he was alive and could run the breaker box like a piano making sure that the well pump, AC unit, and everything else were isolated loads.

Well, now he's passed away and my sister lives over there in that house and I'm the one responsible for her care. She's 25 and a teacher, so she knows nothing about standby power.

She doesn't want to spring for a $6,000 standby Generac generator, and so she has the old lousy 3500w generator that she doesn't know how to use, and she can hardly start it, she can't plug it in, and she can't play the song of the breaker panel with the main turned off.....

So,

I'd like to have a manual transfer switch installed, and I'd like her to buy a 10,000w or 9,000w champion generator that has electric start, and have it wired up in her lean-to outside the garage, so that if the power goes out she can manually switch off the power from the grid, and start the generator, and have "whole house" power.

She has one fridge, propane central heat, one electric water heater, and an AC unit, and the rest is lights only.


Does anyone have a system like this that they'll share information about?

What I'm primarily concerned about, is.... do those portable generators have a large primary outlet that we could wire into a big transfer switch, so that she could manuallly switch the transfer and then start the generator, and it will power the whole house?

 

[pentavolvo]

An interlock kit could be wired into existing panel. How many watts is water heater that's what is gonna kill your generator that and ac

3500 actually could most likely run the whole house with just one person in it with out Ac on or water heater

 

[3rdgen]

Not sure if it would work in your case on a farm and all because it may be central metering but I have been putting in quite a few of these lately . http://www.generatorsolutions.ca/generlink/ Im not sure if they are even legal in the states but just an idea.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I second the interlock. Simple and no one can get hurt.

A 9,000 watt generator is going to **** a lot of fuel. Is she going to keep 20 gallons on hand and be willing to refill maybe twice during the night ?

Dump the electric water heater and get her on propane. What about the stove and the dryer ? Put those on propane also.

Does the A/C run off the main panel ? Can she live through a power outage without A/C ? If so, she could easily get by with a 5000 watt generator, maybe even a good 3500 watt one.

The newer models are very easy to start. Turn on the fuel. Turn on the choke. One full pull to "prime". Turn on the ignition. It will start half way through the second pull. Plug in. Flip the interlock.

Shutdown: Set the interlock back to normal. Unplug. Turn fuel off and let the carb run dry. Turn the ignition off. Write these instructions down and have the laminated or placed in a plastic bag with the generator.


If the temps are too bad in summer, set up a small bedroom with a window A/C. Turn off the main A/C and stay in the one room.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Not sure if it would work in your case on a farm and all because it may be central metering but I have been putting in quite a few of these lately . http://www.generatorsolutions.ca/generlink/ Im not sure if they are even legal in the states but just an idea.

Basically a different type of interlock.

 

[wdrumheller]

Thank you all for the good replies! I'm going to investigate the interlock switch method and see if that will work. I like that idea.

 

[theoldwizard1]

FYI : My OLDER sister can pull start her 5000 watt generator using the "one pull prime" method.

 

[ishiboo]

So,

I'd like to have a manual transfer switch installed, and I'd like her to buy a 10,000w or 9,000w champion generator that has electric start, and have it wired up in her lean-to outside the garage, so that if the power goes out she can manually switch off the power from the grid, and start the generator, and have "whole house" power.

She has one fridge, propane central heat, one electric water heater, and an AC unit, and the rest is lights only.


Does anyone have a system like this that they'll share information about?

What I'm primarily concerned about, is.... do those portable generators have a large primary outlet that we could wire into a big transfer switch, so that she could manuallly switch the transfer and then start the generator, and it will power the whole house?

Most of them do. I looked at a few Champions and they all had a 50A receptacle around that size, which would be good for 12,000W.

If she has a 500 or 1000 gallon propane tank, connecting to it is going to be a no-brainer versus having gasoline around to go bad.

 

[nadogail]

Maybe the teacher needs to learn how to start and transfer the generator.

Learning to start and run a generator is something like learning to drive, you don't need to be an automotive engineer to skillfully drive a car.

A simple step by step check list will usually guide a literate person through the process. Sometimes I teach by using analogies to something the students are already familiar with. An example is a Pie Chart to explain fractions.

A mechanical interlock can be cheaply fabricated to prevent back feeding the grid from your generator.

I second the suggestion to change out the water heater and cook stove to propane.

 

[simpler=better]

x5 on an interlock. They're like $50, sold my most major manufacturers.

Personally, I'd go for a diesel unit. Gas sitting is bad news. Diesel sitting with a water blocking filter & antimicrobial additives is good for a few years.

-Interlock
-20-30gal tank from a junkyard truck (or a 35 gal drum)
-Good quality float charger on the battery
-Slap a group 65 battery on instead of the stock lawnmower battery
-Install automatic lights that will come on when line power is off

 

[Falcon67]

I second the interlock. Simple and no one can get hurt.

A 9,000 watt generator is going to **** a lot of fuel. Is she going to keep 20 gallons on hand and be willing to refill maybe twice during the night ?

The 7K/9K genset will run 10 hours on a tank @ 50%. Note that one is dual fuel, also runs on propane. Run time on blow torch fuel is usually half of gas, but if she has a big 250 gallon tank, that might be an option.

 

[toyotadriver]

I second the interlock. Simple and no one can get hurt.

A 9,000 watt generator is going to **** a lot of fuel. Is she going to keep 20 gallons on hand and be willing to refill maybe twice during the night ?

Dump the electric water heater and get her on propane. What about the stove and the dryer ? Put those on propane also.

Does the A/C run off the main panel ? Can she live through a power outage without A/C ? If so, she could easily get by with a 5000 watt generator, maybe even a good 3500 watt one.

The newer models are very easy to start. Turn on the fuel. Turn on the choke. One full pull to "prime". Turn on the ignition. It will start half way through the second pull. Plug in. Flip the interlock.

Shutdown: Set the interlock back to normal. Unplug. Turn fuel off and let the carb run dry. Turn the ignition off. Write these instructions down and have the laminated or placed in a plastic bag with the generator.


If the temps are too bad in summer, set up a small bedroom with a window A/C. Turn off the main A/C and stay in the one room.

I agree with most of this. I prefer the actual transfer switch even though the interlock kits work fine.

Convert as much of her house to propane and then convert the 3500 watt generator to propane as well with a motor snorkel kit from US Carburation. Make sure she has an electric start generator with a pull start backup. The propane kit takes another step to prime the propane system and also usually takes a couple more cranks to get it running so electric start would always be beneficial to your sister.

With a couple changes, the 3500 watt generator would be plenty. No reason to put in a 9kw generator IMO.