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Home generators? Teach me

Discussion in 'General' started by Wingnut, Aug 7, 2020.

  1. SteveThompson

    SteveThompson Banned by amafan

    I literally said that in my post. It doesn’t seem to help for some reason.
     
    BC likes this.
  2. Rebel635

    Rebel635 Well-Known Member

    Got an ex Military diesel Genny. 5kw. Wired to the main panel.
    Don’t be stupid and know what you can and cannot turn on while on Genny power and there’s really no need to split off and install a separate sub panel.

    If you’re too stupid to realize cooking a turkey while trying to dry your laundry while on EMERGENCY power...well, life must be difficult as it is.

    my mep-802a runs like a champ. I’ve had it for 5 years. Bought a few at an auction, sold off the others ones for profit = free Genny.

    i can have all the TVs on, computer, lights, furnace and it’ll be at 20% load, water well pump kicks on for 15 sec of so and the load jumps to 60% or so.
    I even turn the range top on to add extra load as diesels dont running at low load. Causes wet stacking.

    25kw. Lol.
     
    zertrider likes this.
  3. Dave_SV

    Dave_SV Well-Known Member

    Hey I know when to hire a professional, usually after I've shocked myself a few times first though :D
     
    Ducti89 and RRP like this.
  4. PistolPete

    PistolPete Fuck Cancer...

    Yea, but A/C’s are 220. My setup energizes both legs in the panel, but not the phasing.
     
  5. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member

    My dad and brother each have one. Pretty sure they're Generac's, they cost about $8 grand and they work perfect. We get a lot of power outages due to storms in Louisville and sometimes you can go a week without power. I've had three in my neighborhood this year. I've been thinking about it myself but I've got a big 7500 watt Pramac and it does a decent job as it is.
     
    Wingnut likes this.
  6. zertrider

    zertrider Waiting for snow. Or sun.

    I have always wondered why, in a power outage, someone needs EVERYTHING working normally. I have ran all I needed with my 4500w Kipor diesel. And for short periods, a couple extension cords and my Yamaha 2000w has kept the TV/internet on and fireplace fan blowing warm air
     
    Rebel635 likes this.
  7. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    All the residential units Ive seen around here are small enough to fit inside a 10x10 type enclosure. My neighbor down the street has a generac with a good sized submarine looking propane tank. Its might be ~10yrs old... man the exterior box is eaten up pretty good. Never understood why they didnt build a low profile enclosure around it. Its not expensive and theres a couple of local companies that build appealing looking covers/enclosures for utility things like well pumps, lift stations, cable node boxes, etc.
     
  8. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    was talking with my 30 something neighbor about getting ready for "storm season". He was fully intending to go down to HD and buy an 8500 watt contractor unit after a storm caused power outage. He wanted to run his pool pump, AC, etc.
    I laughed... then talked him into a quiet type after explaining how if the power goes out you wont be running down to the store to get fuel or groceries, etc. Never dawned on him to prepare on the front end... lol.
     
  9. SteveThompson

    SteveThompson Banned by amafan

    I like that idea. We have covenants here that would require a little building to match the house, but that wouldn’t be terrible.
     
  10. lizard84

    lizard84 My “fuck it” list is lengthy

    Whatever you get from a whole house unit prospective run it often, at least weekly. I don’t have a backup at home because I’m in a evacuation zone. But if I did that’s what I would do, why?

    I run a health care facility central utility plant with 11 megawatts of capacity as well as overseeing quite a few outbuildings with smaller units ranging from 15kw up to 500kw, test them weekly, replace the start batteries every two years minimum. Pain in the ass? Damn right it is but if you want it to work when you need it too don’t fuck around. Don’t go cowboy, have a competent electrician familiar with this sort of installation do the work.
     
  11. Dan Dubeau

    Dan Dubeau Well-Known Member

    I was looking into them, but ended up buying a 10kw portable unit for $300 from a guy down the road that installed a whole home Generac. He had this unit for 10 years, and it only had about 10-15 hours on it, and it showed. He decided to spend about 8k to upgrade for the convenience........for 15 hours of use over 10 years. I plan on build a little lean to shelter at the back of the house for it. Someday.....

    I do like the fact that the integrated ones kick on when the power goes out automatically as it would be nice to have that seamless transition when your not home, or in bed during a downpour especially for things like a sump pump..... But aside from that our power grid out here is pretty reliable and is usually restored within a couple of hours. Prior to this I just had an old little 1000w Honda to run my sump and well pumps (switch between) as that was all I was concerned about. A few years back I upgraded my well pump and the little honda wont spin it anymore. The 10kw was a bit bigger than I wanted, but now I can wheel it back to the barn (or anywhere) and run my buzz box off it. Was going to find a propane kit for it, but kinda forgot with all the shit going on. Will be nice to have the option of running on propane of gasoline.

    Our house already had a transfer switch and separate panel for generator use, but I've never used it. Just ran an extension cord in through the window and switched between the sump, and well pumps when I needed to fill the pressure tank.
     
  12. Red Fox Racing

    Red Fox Racing Age is only a number

    The house in Fayetteville, GA, we added a 15K NG unit...it worked fine but would not power everything.
    The house we built in Alabama, has a 48K propane unit with a 1000 gallon tank (NG not available) At full power it will run about 8 days. It has saved us several times in the two years we have been in this house. It is worth every penny. House was built with two transfer switch’s to power the entire property. We are on 400 amp service.
     
  13. Dave675

    Dave675 Well-Known Member

    Best to leave that work to the men :)

    But seriously, under 600 volts can be just as nasty as primary. Even more so when working in a cabinet of some sort.
     
  14. backcountryme

    backcountryme Word to your mother.

    I didn’t read everything here, but did want to throw one thing out there. If you convert a gas generator over to propane you will lose approx 20% of the engine power. Just keep that in mind. Your 2000watt unit will struggle under load with propane where it didn’t with gasoline. So if you plan on getting a generator and swapping it to propane, spec a much larger generator then you think you will need.
     
    Razr likes this.
  15. Gino230

    Gino230 Well-Known Member

    I live in South Florida and obviously the hurricanes are a constant issue. My street is a dead end, so if that line goes down we are very low priority, because fixing it will only restore 15 houses.

    All my neighbors have them, most run on NG. When Wilma came through, they all started cranking. half of them didn't run. They must have an automatic call to the generator gods, because the Genny repair guys are driving down the street within a few hours.

    At some point, the gas company shut off the feed, as somewhere a tree uprooted and exposed the line. So for the first 3 days after the storm, the gas was off.

    Once the gas shut off, all the gennys started cranking until the batteries were dead. The owners were nowhere to be found.

    My wife has to go to the hospital and work when we're under hurricane warning, so it's just me here, as long as I'm not working. So we get by with the Honda EU2000 to run the fridge and some lights. It would be nice to have some type of wiring- my panels are a mess right now, 30 years old with 4 sub panels for AC, Pool pumps, Dock power, etc.

    The redneck way of doing it down here is to pull your main disconnect, then plug into your dryer outlet to power the panel. I don't feel confident doing that, and a transfer switch is ridiculously expensive. More than the Genny itself.
     
  16. Inquizid

    Inquizid Member Well-Known

    Someone want to tell me why not to buy this thing.
    https://www.costco.com/firman-7500w-running--9400w-peak-tri-fuel-generator.product.100648883.html
    It wouldn’t be for a whole house backup. It’s just a mountain vacation home so well pump and refrigerator/freezer are my two biggest concerns. It’s a nice doublewide that has an external propane tank. But I’d imagine this brand is one of those good luck finding Chinese replacement parts for it kinda units.

    Does one of the big three make a trifuel genny worth buying instead?
     
  17. pickled egg

    pickled egg Tell me more

    Pfft. 277 tickles. :D
     
  18. nd4spd

    nd4spd Well-Known Member

    Generlink, if you’re allowed. You just have to self police your panel to not overdraw.
     
  19. backcountryme

    backcountryme Word to your mother.

    Firman is a pretty well known brand. They are sold all over. Up here Cabela’s has them, as well as many other places.
    Just remember, it will be rated on the power output on gasoline. The output will drop when using gaseous fuels. So make sure it’s output is significantly higher then your needs.
     
  20. Inquizid

    Inquizid Member Well-Known

    Thank you sir.
     

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