Home generators? Teach me

So my main office in New Jersey has been without power for the past week now as well as my brothers houses. We just started looking into getting three units to be run on natural gas, One for our shop which is 6000 sq ft, and one for each house which are about 4,ooo sq ft each.

So please school me on natural gas back up generators. what to look for, what to avoid?

Thanks!

 

Interested in this as well. Just moved out in the country and with a toddler running around and one in the oven, mama needs a hot shower lol

 

What happens if the natural gas goes? As far as I know, that's always piped in. I figure if there's a source problem there, electricity might be out, too.
Consider propane.

 

A lot of people around here have them, usually propane. Make sure you get one big enough to run errrrrrything!

 

First step is determining the full generator load you need. Then you size the genset and determine its BTU needs, then determine if your gas line is capable of feeding the genset.

Then you install (or get it installed).

Or determine that the cost exceeds the value and you install a small subpanel panel with your backup power needs fed from it, put a transfer switch kit in it and run a feeder to a flanged inlet and use your portable gennie to run the power you need during blackouts.

 

At the wholesale level, NG price will remain very low for a very long time, thanks to fracking.

NG is the only choice unless you cannot get it. Much more BTUs/$ than propane or diesel or gasoline.

Reliability of delivery, at least in The South, has always been a strength of using NG. With extended outages, you may not have access to propane, gas, or diesel.

It is not as simple as buying a gen. You have to complete a survey of what you want running in the event of a grid outage. If you are selective, then there is re-wiring work required at your breaker box. But to get a gen that can power everything can be pricey.

For this audience, you have to consider the choice of either a permanently connected unit, or one you can toss in the trailer to power your tire warmers at the track. If the latter, you get a lot more bang for the buck. But a bit of a PITA to set up to power the home. And if the long outage happens when everyone is away, you are hosed.

 

If you do portable see if you are allowed to install a GenerLink. My utility wouldn’t allow it but many do. It saves the hassle of rewiring the panel.

 

Most of the folks in my neighborhood have one. They seem to never work when they need them. It's hard to have an engine sitting outside and expect it to fire up and run full blast in, typically, bad weather, etc. I know they test themselves, get maintenance, blah, blah. They just don't seem to work. I REALLY want them to because I want one. I just don't know the answer. A friend at work bought a big 40kw unit and in 5 years it has NEVER worked when he needed it. He has typically been able to get it running, but it isn't as seamless as you would hope for the price. It also requires a bigger propane tank than you'd think.

I have an apartment building that has an old natural gas generator that is inside. We have never tried to use it, but I like that idea. Having the engine inside has to help it's longevity.

Does anyone here live in an area with harsh winters and have good luck with a backup generator?

 

I've been working on this for the new house when we get to building. I'm going propane fired and sectioning off part of the basement under the garage to keep it from being outside. No NG where the house will be located so I have doubled the propane tank size to 1000 gallons. We also aren't going to try to run the whole house. We are picking some key circuits and running only what is necessary. I've also given consideration to a Tesla Powerwall to give a window of time between an outage and getting the generator fired up. I am planning on enough generator to run the refrigerator, one bedroom and bath, one water heater ignitor and one small Mini-split with heat serving that single bedroom. This would be strictly for a longer term outage.

Auto-disconnect is a must so you don't kill an lineman not to mention the convenience. I also plant to plumb in a place to plug in my gas generator as a backup solution to the main propane generator. Likely overkill but as has been pointed out just when you need it is when something won't work.

 

I haven’t had power for 11 months. A couple suicide cords and a Honda 2000 runs everything but A/C. A little over a gallon a day...

 

There's an available propane conversion for Honda generators.

How do you currently heat home, water and food?

 

All the decent stand-by's I'm aware of run themselves monthly to ensure they run when needed. It's programmed in. I would not spend $$ on one without this feature.

 

House is in the Bahamas, no heat required! A/C would be nice this time of year...
I’ve thought about the propane conversion. Propane is one of the best deals out here, price wise.
Everything else in the house that can be propane, is. Stove/oven, tankless water heater, dryer. That’s why it works. Fire up the Honda after morning coffee, turn off at bedtime.
Just like earlier posts, everyone out here thinks they need 25Kw diesel.
I could probably match the Honda with $5000 worth of solar, and I may, but right now I’m still spending on repairing last years storm damage, and the old Honda just keeps grinding along.

 

We have a natural gas Generac 25kw with an I-4 liquid cooled setup. Yes we had to have a larger fuel line run so that cost 3k I think. And of course a cement pad had to be poured so it could have a place to sit, and that cost extra.
With 25kw we can run everything in house and the two out buildings. We bought it from a local company that only had 1 trained factory tech and he quit, so when we needed a computer update they couldn't do it, and that pissed me off. Ask the right questions of your local dealer to make sure if you need service they can handle it.
Generac offers a cold climate kit and battery heater/blanket kit, so buy it if you are in the north. Maintance is once a year or so for the oil change etc., etc. And yes every Monday at noon the generator runs a system check for about 1/2 hour. Up here in the great North where the power lines are still on poles thru the trees we are so glad we have a back up.

 

I looked into Generac setup running either Propane or NG. Rough estimate was about $10k+ installed for one that would run my entire home (2400 sq ft). The unit was self starting and would periodically test itself on scheduled intervals to ensure functionality. It sat outside under the eves and had its own cover. From what I read they were pretty reliable.

In the end I ended up trading my EU3000 Honda Gen to a fello racer for his EX4500 Honda Gen. My house was already wired for a Gen breakout box that has 6 breakers on it that power the Furnace (Fan, heat is NG) the Kitchen, garage, master bedroom, Family room and Office. When we run it, I almost forget the power is out.

 

Check out hutchmountain.com for a "highly rated" propane kit.

You might be able to find an "easy start" for your AC. Basically an auxiliary capacitor wired to boost the current for compressor start up, but I've only seen them for RVs...allows a 2000w gen to run the AC. Hutch has 'em for RV type ACs.

 

Given the recent power outage I was looking into whole house generators but it seems overkill since I would only need to power a few circuits to get by.

I was thinking about installing a manual transfer switch and splicing that into the main panel on the load side of the main panel breaker (200 amp). I would have to kill the main breaker before powering the generator and use the individual panel breakers to control what circuits I want powered.

Is there a reason this isn't typically done? My first thought is if you forget to kill the main breaker you are energizing the lines going to the power pole and that would be no bueno.

Is this doable or is it a dumb idea for other reasons?

 

Look up hard start kits rated for the tonnage of your ac unit. Just installed one the other day, took 20 minutes and cost $45.

 

Dave

the electricians will be along shortly to eviscerate you.

 

Most of the modern panels will have a kit for a main breaker lockout to turn it into a manual transfer switch. I’ve installed a few.

It’s the linemen that will eviscerate you. I ain’t going near the primaries!