And illegal as hell... Good way to kill a lineman.

I southern rigged it this time, but will either have a transfer switch in place, or will put an outlet in the attic to plug/unplug the furnace.

But what I did was cut the romex, strip the wires, cram it into the female end of a computer power cord, then plugged it into an extension cord.  

It was kinda loud.

I had it clear out in the middle of my backyard, and I could still hear it over my TV.

I've got a 6,300 watt (9,100 start up) generator to power the house if we lose outside juice. The tank stays full and I have three additional cans put aside. Last time I had to use it in anger (lol) was after Hurricane Irene in 2011 when we were out of power for a week. We ran the generator for three hours in the morning and three in the late afternoon/evening. Those four tankfuls made it an entire week IIRC.

do it once, do it right...



14kw, auto transfer switch, you're only down for ~10 seconds

About 1000-1100w for a 5 ton handler

I run my house off of less than half that with zero issues.

As far as cooking goes during a power outage, that's what we have a charcoal grill and a camping stove (little propane canisters) for.

You don't need to waste fuel on hot water, cooking, tv, or appliances. Run the generator to keet the house warm (if below 40 degrees F), keep well water flowing (I you have a well), and keeping food cold (if it's not cold outside). That's really all you need. Don't need much light either. Running AC in general is stupid, running AC off a generator is just plain retarded.

I prefer to save gas for vehicles.

Arduino and badger AR-Jedi to help you learn how to make a remote start for your genset with it.

Would a Honda consume less fuel?

VP racing fuel cans are tits if you want to avoid the stupid CARB nozzles.

Not sure about the Somali coast - but I'm sure it's nice. On the gulf coast, AC, while not on the apex on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, sure keeps the wife quiet.

YMMV

Let me borrow your chainsaw, some logging chains, and the Super Major for about an hour...  I figure it will be 4-7 days before they can restore power at your place.

Nat gas pumps run on nat gas.  They do not rely on electricity for anything.  That grid is pretty stable.

I passed on a pto generator that runs off a tractor... I will buy the next one I see

Letting your neighbors get a couple hours of generator time everyday, and asking them to pony up some cash for gas and oil will go a long way towards them not being upset with the noise.

To the part in red, no its not, it doesn't work that way. You have to shut off the switch to the outside line in order to power your house this way. No power goes to the outside line from the house's breaker box when powering stuff this way, and if you even tried to power the breaker box without switching off that main outside line, your generator would instantly flip it's breaker from the massive load of the main line.

Now THAT beats Cool Hand Luke choppin' down parking meters by a fair piece.

It's some sort of damn curse.

You could also just get a tank setup at your house to power a NG fueled gen, that's the way people around here that have NG powered gensets do it.

We lived in that area 5 years ago and I remember the thunderstorm we had. 4 days without power. My wife was pregnant, no generator at the time, we packed up and left.

It was crazy. We're close enough to see downtown Dallas in a well to do neighborhood, but we might as well have been living in bumfuck.

He's a Marine.

If I turn him loose with a penknife, a toothbrush and a rainfly, in three days I would be without power, the roof would be leaking and my wife would be pregnant.

TRG

I got the same generator the OP has.  For what it is and what I wanted it to do I am satisfied with it.

The battery from my kids power wheel is charged up sitting on my fireplace mantle. That's a 9.5ah 12 volt battery! Just clip on an adapter and charge your phone, run your laptop, etc.

I have an 8000 watt generator and 40 gallons of fuel, 20 gallons of race gas plus another 5 gallons of premix.
What I learned is that the 8K generator is big and loud and sucks the fuel.

One of these days I am going to buy a Honda or Yamaha 2K generator.

The big one runs the water heater, baseboard heaters, fridge and every light in the house.

The small one will run the TV, satellite receiver, computer / internet and a small space heater.
It's a lot quieter and uses a lot less gas.

We have a had a couple of one to two week power outages in my area. Going through that is a hell of a lot easier with a generator than without one. Being able to do small things like microwave something or run a coffee pot or watch a DVD on the television does a lot for people's stress levels.

Check out the $100 harbor freight generator thread in the survival section. Even if you have a larger generator "2 is 1, 1is none", so it is good to have a backup. Also you could use it for when you only need small amounts of power since it's fuel consumption is much smaller.

Keep a bunch of empty gas cans on hand. Keep a couple (or whatever amount you feel comfortable) filled being very aware of the fire danger. Usually there is some advance warning that a storm is coming and you will likely lose power. When that happens fill up the extra cans and you can have a decent amount of fuel without the risks of keeping 50 or whatever gallons of gas on your property. Try to refill cans as soon as they are empty. After hurricane Sandy fuel was available as normal for a couple of days afterward. But when people realized there were a limited number of stations open and supply wasn't going to meet demand it suddenly got crazy in the space of about a day.

Make sure you have the extra stuff to run a generator. Extra oil. Spark plugs. Maybe some fuel additives like Sea Foam that is supposed to help with a clogged up carb etc. If you don't have a transfer panel and will be using extension cords make sure you have plenty those. If you have a transfer panel make sure you know where the cord that connects it to your generator is.

Don't forget the odds and ends like flashlights and batteries and radios. When the internet and cable are unavailable FM radio is one of your only sources of news so make sure you have a couple of radios that run on batteries.

10 kW Generac NG with LP conversion.  Transfer switch with all basement and first floor circuits backed up in addition to HVAC and washer/dryer on 2nd floor.

Not in Somaliland yet. Not flying out until Jan.

I appreciate your sentiment... But AC is highly overrated IMHO. I don't think about AC until it's mid 90s.

It's no Honda or Generac, but it's the best $279.00 I ever spent

Plus, it was kinda cool to finally be in a situation where I wasn't thinking "if I only had bought a damn generator"

you are absolutely sure about that, huh?

ok:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/670186_Wiring_furnace_for_temporary_generator_connection.html&page=3#i11459178



ar-jedi

see my relatively small PTO setup here:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/661411_Sandy____12_days_without_power__what_worked__what_didn_t____.html

ar-jedi

A Honda would consume far less fuel.  It would make less noise.  It would provide cleaner power.  It will usually have a longer lifespan.  If something fails, there is a robust dealer network to work on it. Parts are available.

It just costs what, ten times as much?

it's a heck of a lot easier and safer to use a sliding interlock.  
they install in 20 minutes, and completely mitigate the dangers inherent when using a double-male ended cord.

ar-jedi

two different answers here -- as honda makes both types of generators.

small gasoline engine-powered generators come in two basic flavors:

first, the traditional direct-coupled engine + alternator head type; and
second, the more recently introduced "inverter" type.

most everyone is aware of how the traditional direct-coupled engine + alternator head type works. the engine produces mechanical power from gasoline (or diesel, or NG, or ...) and that power is carried via a shaft to the alternator head. the alternator converts the mechanical power to electrical power by means of a stator and armature assembly. note: in this case, since the output is actually AC, it would be more appropriate to call it an alternator, and not a generator. but common usage is such that generator head and alternator head are used interchangeably.

there are a few catches to the traditional direct-coupled engine + alternator head design: the primary issue is that the engine *must* run at 3600 RPM all of the time -- this is needed to keep the AC frequency at roughly 60Hz, the same as the power supplied by the electric company. note that there are also 4 pole alternator heads that can be driven at 1800 RPM to produce 60Hz power, but typical small gasoline engines do not produce a lot of power at 1800 RPM. hence almost all small gasoline-driven generators turn a 2 pole alternator at 3600 RPM. it is not uncommon that a direct-coupled generator offers a split-phase 120Vac/240Vac output.

the inverter type generator takes a different approach. the mechanical power of the engine turns a small, low voltage/high current alternator, which makes AC at some intermediate voltage (typically 12Vac to 48Vac). the output of the alternator is converted to DC by a rectifier and bulk capacitor circuit, and in turn that DC is fed into an inverter circuit. the inverter circuit synthesizes a sine wave (or modified sine wave) output of 120Vac @ 60Hz. it is VERY uncommon that a inverter generator offers a split-phase 120Vac/240Vac output -- the vast majority of inverter generators for the USA market are 120Vac only.

the upshot of this additional conversion step is that it decouples the engine RPM from the output frequency and voltage. the engine is now free to run at only the speed/power output required to support the load. at low loads, the engine will operate just above idle, consuming very little fuel and making very little noise. there is a major downside, however: at low speeds there is very little rotational inertia to overcome the high starting current needed by typical AC motors attached to pumps, fans, and compressors. hence, when an inverter generator is operated in "economy" mode, there may be an appreciable output voltage sag until the engine comes up to a power output/RPM more suited for the load. if this proves problematic (e.g., the circuit breaker pops before the motor starts), the "economy mode" will have to be switch off in order to satisfactorily start the motor load.

for powering typical loads that most folks are looking for in portable or semi-portable SHTF generators (say 1KW -> 4KW), the inverter type generator will be more fuel efficient, vastly quieter for typical loads, and the engine will last longer since it generally operates at a lower RPM. however, inverter generators are a poor solution for AC motor starting applications -- an inverter generator will usually have to be set to run at maximum output (i.e., economy mode OFF) in order to start motor loads. this sort of defeats the purpose of the added inverter section.

in summary:

inverter generators win over direct-coupled generators in the following areas:
-- fuel consumption (=high efficiency at lower than maximum output )
-- noise level
-- weight
-- engine lifespan
-- integral battery charging capability is a typical feature, as it is a byproduct of the inverter mid-stage.

direct-coupled generators win over inverter generators in the following areas:
-- cost
-- motor starting ability (well pumps, air compressors, air conditioners, and so on)
-- high efficiency at maximum output
-- ease of repair
-- split-phase power output for running 240Vac loads such as well pumps, in addition to typical 120Vac loads.

ar-jedi

A question I have...

Running a generator is inefficient.  An internal combustion engine only provides 100% efficiency at 100% power.

Leaving the generator 'loping along' for 90% of the its use is wasting 90% of the fuel.

Has anyone ever sat down and looked at how to maximize the fuel vs power curve?

It would seem, to me at least, that turning on the generator and then max loading it for 1 hour (plug in freezer, fridge, TV, fridge, well pump, battery charger) and then turning it off for 4 hours would be a better option in a true SHTF scenario.

Running a generator to make a pot of coffee, turn on a light, watch a DVD, or even run a single space heater, is wasting fuel/energy for a convenience.

Thoughts?

TRG

I cringe when I read this.  Take a look at the thread I started a few days ago.  Just completed a safe and easy way to put a plug on an existing gas furnace.  $8 worth of parts and about 30 min of time.  
Read this thread

keeping the generator duty cycle low is key; this approach can be aided by using a storage battery and an inverter, so you have some power when the generator is off.
this is also why using at small generator at 90% output will beat using a big generator at 30% output, every time.
the problem is that a big generator may be needed to start motor loads (such as a well pump, etc).

the concepts above are pretty much the exact reasons i ended up with 2 sizes of generators:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/661411_Sandy____12_days_without_power__what_worked__what_didn_t____.html

for the 12 days, the larger one i ran maybe 20 minutes per day.
the smaller one was running more often but it sips fuel.

ar-jedi

One big generator, one small generator.

Add in batteries, and use other methods for a lot on your list, and you can stretch your gas pretty doggone far.  

I did it.  In the past few years I did it a LOT  It works.

I have 6 2v sealed batteries and a charger that I planned to be charging if/when I used my gen.

Good idea on the 2 gen system.  interdasting.

TRG

Odd that the electrician did the extra work of running his pipe underground while the plumber ran it above.  If the trench was there, the plumber should have used it too.  I don't like that gas pipe at the height for that distance.

We rigged almost all of our heaters with plugs and sockets to speed generator tie in. The key is to have the hardware setup or on hand. When this weather set in,I had to make a run to the hardware store, you bet your ass that I picked up spare plugs for just in case.

Yea well if your a Paratrooper you just need a box of MREs and wooby

I don't doubt the facts here, but where was the power going before he cut it? If I was accidentally backfeeding the line, wouldn't all the stuff that my neighbors left plugged in and turned on overload my generator and kill it?

There is one of the new CARB cans that's actually pretty decent at filling generators, lawn mowers, other stuff like that... they aren't so great for cars, but they have an extension that helps some for cars.  Anyway it's the No-Spill brand.  I have non-carb stuff for cars, but use the no-spill by preference for most other things I need to fuel.


Not if you flip off the mains and/or pull the disconnect (which you MUST do if you do that kind of hookup), but we don't need to revisit the whole argument.  The sliding interlock shown earlier is pretty easy and inexpensive.

Yes it would, either way just turn off the main line before you start up the gen (and keep it off) and it'll be fine.

Really bad idea and I have no idea where you people come up with this dangerous stuff.

Improvise, adapt, overcome.