generator questions

[cg21]

i didnt know that either. the Natural gas ones way more convenient than them all.............. BUT in a disaster situation who knows what will happen to your supply.

 

[Martin Draco]

i didnt know that either. the Natural gas ones way more convenient than them all.............. BUT in a disaster situation who knows what will happen to your supply.

If you convert or get a tri fuel unit you have 3 options. This makes it VERY versatile. In addition to the versatility it burns cleaner therefor requiring less maintenance when using propane or NG. If you're using gasoline and you run out, you can grab the propane tank off your, (or you neighbors ) grill.

 

[jedi]

op my experience here:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ness/12040-shtf_tornando_lessons_learned.html

 

[KLB]

We just replaced our 5500 watt portable with a 20kw natural gas with an automatic transfer switch. We lose power about once a year for a good period of time, and wanted to be able to run everything we have/need. Being in the country, we are dependent on elctricity for our well pump, sewage pump, sump pump, not to mention heat/ac two freezers and two refrigerators.

As for losing gas, to date in 45 years I do not remember a gas outage. Although at some point I may invest in a LP tank as well, as a backup.

 

[churchmouse]

well for me I am in NWI we have a lot of power outages... I am going to go with a natural gas unit.... if the SHTF I will either buy a portable gas unit.... or hope noone messes with the gas lines.

If SHTF everything will stop. Seriously. If I was buying a genny for this reason a Nat. gas unit would not even be considered. You do as you wish of course as this is my personal opinion, no more, no less. I have done a lot of work for the Gas company locally on their HVAC systems. They are reliant on power as well. On site gennys of course but any long term shut down of the power grid and the gas stops flowing. Simple as that. Bad choice for SHTF. good choice for short term power failures as the back-ups will run a few days at the plants.
Luck to you on this.

 

[racer77]

op my experience here:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ness/12040-shtf_tornando_lessons_learned.html

great read jedi!! thanks

 

[Clay]

Ever thought about a tri-fuel unit? OR having the ability to convert a gas generator set to use LP?

 

[mainjet]

I have a 5500 watt generator and a Gentran Transfer switch box to backfeed the essentials. In times of need I am not trying to run the house as if there were an unlimited supply of power.

I run -
Refrigerator
Furnace
Well pump (needed for flushing the toilets)
Sump Pump
Some minimal lights around the house. Can also run the computer or TV if there is cable or internet service available.

When the power goes out I put the generator just outside the exterior man door in the garage. Plug the special backfeed cord into the generator and the other end into the transfer box. Fire up the generator and flip the 5-6 switches I had for backfeed. Then I just relax and enjoy the peace.

My generator is gas. I firgure that I usually have some gas around - in the tractor or in the cars (4 of them ) or in a gas can.

Several years ago we were without power for 5 days during a bad winter storm. That was before I had a generator and when my kids were pretty small. I had to go down to the creek and break the ice to get water for flushing the toilets. We had a fireplace that provided some very localized heat.

During that storm I went to the store in town and was willing to pay whatever they wanted for a generator. They stood there in the dark telling a group of us that they had some coming in tomorrow but they are cash only because the credit card machine is out due to the power outage. Also, many times gas stations will not be pumping gas for the same reasons.

It's always a good idea to have some gas around. Just put some fuel preservative in it and switch it out with fresh gas every so often.

I also do not necessarily run my generator all the time. Like when it's time for bed I shut it down. I wake up later in the night to check things in the house and if necessary I fire up the generator to warm the house or run the well pump.

I personally don't see putting a whole lot of money into a generator to run your house as if there is nothing going on. I spent enough to make it simple and safe to operate and to get the necessities running.

 

[Clay]

We did that same dance a couple of winters ago. Luckily I had a generator to use, and the outage was very localized so gas was easy to come by. I was able to wire my generator into the same key systems you did.

There were a few things I came away with from that:

1) Im glad I have gas heat. I probably wouldn't have been able to run the heat with an electric unit.
2) I know how much gas it takes to run my setup for about a week. I keep this much fuel on hand during the winter with some sta-bil added. I then run this fuel up during the spring/summer/fall in the mower/weedeater/chainsaw/etc.
3) know your electrical system, or at least know your way around household wiring. You can really screw things up, and hurt people on both sides of your disconnect.

 

[mainjet]

3) know your electrical system, or at least know your way around household wiring. You can really screw things up, and hurt people on both sides of your disconnect.

No doubt you could kill someone if you backfeed your house using a homemade pigtail. If the power comes back on while using that system then you can blow up the transformer on the pole.

This is the reason that I bought the Switch unit. Once you wire it in there is no way to feed the panel and the switch unit at the same time. So there is never an issue of backfeeding a live circuit.

This is the unit that I installed.

 

[churchmouse]

Always turn off the main in your panel no matter what. It is the most positive way to insure no back feed up the system.

 

[racer77]

all really good advise... my next question is... do you drop big money on a honda, yamaha, generac, kohler? i've noticed good reviews on-line for a few other brands like etc, champion, and others you would find at menards, lowes and home depot. what do you guys think? i know that you get what you pay for, but is the preformance that much better for the big price?

 

[WhitleyStu]

We've been very pleased with our GenPro.

GILLETTE GENERATORS, INC.

1340 WADE DRIVE
ELKHART, IN 46514-9488​

http://www.gillettegenerators.com/portable/feat02.html

 

[churchmouse]

You want something that has a good steady wave so as not to harm any electronic equipment you may want to run. If you buy a low end unit you will need to wash the power through a battery bank and inverter for computers, TV's etc.
My Honda's have A clean sign wave but I still wash the power that will go to any high end electronic's.
We also run lights and such off the batt. bank so the genny's do not have to run 24/7 in a power outage.

 

[jedi]

all really good advise... my next question is... do you drop big money on a honda, yamaha, generac, kohler? i've noticed good reviews on-line for a few other brands like etc, champion, and others you would find at menards, lowes and home depot. what do you guys think? i know that you get what you pay for, but is the preformance that much better for the big price?

OP do you live in the sticks? The city? The subs? storing gasoline for a large genny is a big problem depending on where you live.

If you want a big genny then what you are really buying is the motor. That is after all the critical part of your geny. Without a good motor it's not going to produce any electricity. So don't look so much at the brand on the geny but at what brand the motor is on the geny.

-Jedi

 

[mainjet]

I probably have only $1000.00 tied up in mine. That is the generator, power transfer cord and the Transfer switch. I wired the switch.

I have everything I need when the power goes out. The generator sits 99.9% of the time. Best advice is no matter how much you spend, take time to make sure it's in good running order. You don't want to be outside in a blizzard 30 degrees below zero, in the dark, trying to figure out why it won't start.

When my dads power goes out I have to go over there and pull out his expensive Onan generator. Usually the air filled tires are flat but I can't use the compressor to pump them up because the power is out. The generator is stored in the barn about 100 feet from the house. So I have to plow the road then drag the generator (with flat tires) to the house. Hook it up, only to find that I have real trouble getting it started. It's dual fuel if I remember correctly. It mainly runs on his LP.

I like a portable over a whole house unit because I can use it for other things off site. I throw it in the back of the truck and I can help out other friends without power. I can also haul it down into the field to run power to tools.

 

[Brandon]

Check pawn shops if you are comfortable possibly buying a genny there. They will take it outside so you can test that it starts and runs untill you are satisfied it is not junk.

This is what I did. I picked mine up granted it is a smaller generator at 3500 watts, but I only paid 250... spent more on the transfer switch... All in all I only have right over 500 bucks in my set up. It won't power everything I would like to run... But I can stay home somewhat comfortably in the event of a power loss.

 

[racer77]

great info guys!!

jedi, storing a bunch of fuel could be an issue. i think i'm gonna get into something tri-fuel. i have natural gas in my home i can hook to. and maybe keep 20 gal of gas on hand. maybe even rob a bottle off the gas grille if need be. i'm in the burbs of indy, so storing much more than that could be frowned upon.

whitleystu, thanks for the link. i'll look into them further. like what i see so far. its got a great motor. and like jedi said, that is the critical part.

brandon, i used to be a pawn shop junkie. but didn't even think of that. great idea! a good solid used unit would be something to consider.