Posted: 10/10/2014 9:12:48 AM EDT
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In a week without power scenario, would I be better served with one of these
or two or more of something like this ? My refrigerator is built in, so there's no easy way to unplug from outlet & plug into extension cable running from genny. How difficult is it to have someone patch into the panel? thanks guys!! |
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Quoted:
Get the biggest... = consuming more gas per hour and needing more gas storage for a given outage duration. after Sandy, i know folks with 7500W generators who were going through 10 gallons of gas a day just keeping their fridge cold. that's OK as long as you either have a lot of gas stored, or can easily get more. the latter aspect got very, very difficult. ar-jedi |
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= consuming more gas per hour and needing more gas storage for a given outage duration. after Sandy, i know folks with 7500W generators who were going through 10 gallons of gas a day just keeping their fridge cold. that's OK as long as you either have a lot of gas stored, or can easily get more. the latter aspect got very, very difficult. ar-jedi Quoted:
Quoted:
Get the biggest... = consuming more gas per hour and needing more gas storage for a given outage duration. after Sandy, i know folks with 7500W generators who were going through 10 gallons of gas a day just keeping their fridge cold. that's OK as long as you either have a lot of gas stored, or can easily get more. the latter aspect got very, very difficult. ar-jedi Agreed. Gas becomes a unicorn during outages. My fridge is pretty efficient. It is a newer Samsung and I was able to run it on a marine battery with an 800 watt inverter during my last and hopefully final hurricane experience for 24 hours. I do not have panels but if I did I would think I could run that fridge to failure of the inverter. You can always feed your house with a smaller more efficient generator when your power demand isn't high. |
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Get a Honda E2000 and get some help if needed but build/make a way to get at the refridge plug.
Honda E2000 = quite - less per hour and smooth current that does not destroy your appliances. I am in Florida. Take a look at the number of refridges trashed at curbside after a power outage. I bet many of them are from poor generator current or being started with undersize generators. |
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In a week without power scenario... there is a lot of good info in the following thread, not just from the OP (  ) but from many contributors:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/661411_Sandy____12_days_without_power__what_worked__what_didn_t____.html take note of the minimalist approach to consumption. that's the bottom line for you: how much fuel can you store? also, before buying a generator, see: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1673516_It_s_good_to_be_prepared.html&page=1#i49729351 ar-jedi |
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thanks for the replies, gentlemen. It appears that I can't just run out to the HF and grab one of their "consumer reports tested" gennies for what I want? Anyone know the pedigree of the HF generators? i think you would do better with one of the Champion generators -- they actually have a good track record and a USA service center. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/668846_Champion_generator_model_46598_3_5KW_running___4_0KW_surge___observations__details__and_photos.html http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/676225_champion_generators.html ar-jedi |
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Quoted: thanks for the replies, gentlemen. It appears that I can't just run out to the HF and grab one of their "consumer reports tested" gennies for what I want? Anyone know the pedigree of the HF generators? I purchased a Honda 6500 and ran most of my house for five weeks after our last hurricane. It would run about 10 hours on 5 gallons, very quiet, and kept all of equipment running with the exception of our 6 ton AC unit. I bought two 110v window units and kept the house comfortable during this time.
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Quoted:
Patching into your main panel is pretty easy, but would recommend you have an electrician do it if you aren't qualified. In short, you install a second panel which is a purpose built generator panel. That panel is then fed by two feeds...one from your original panel and one from your generator, and has a two position switch on it that isolates the supply. It can only be powered by the generator or by your utility, but not both at the same time. On your original panel you will select the circuits you want to power from the generator, and move them over to the generator panel. In their place you will install a larger circuit breaker that is sized appropriately for their combined draw. Lets say you move 4 circuits over that have 15A breakers...you would then install a 60A breaker for the generator panel. When running on normal utility power, you would have the generator panel switch in the position to be fed from your main panel. If the power goes out, you fire up the generator, and then switch the 2 position switch over to the generator feed. I did mine myself when I built the house, and have a 240V twist lock receptacle outside my house that I can plug my generator into. That then feeds that dedicated generator panel. I use each leg of the 240 feed from the generator to power the two bus bars on the gen panel, with the neutral and ground of course going to common ground. Pics: I have 2 large 200A service panels, with the generator panel in the middle. The panel on the right has a dedicated 60A breaker that feeds my generator panel The generator panel has the two position switch to change power supply from utility (from my other panel) or from the generator. <a href="http://s221.photobucket.com/user/jblomenberg16/media/generator%20panel/IMAG0693_zps5812dcb1.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd136/jblomenberg16/generator%20panel/IMAG0693_zps5812dcb1.jpg</a> I see you are running a Northern Lights genset. Is it a land based model or is it a marine unit? If it's a marine unit, how are you cooling it? |
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Get the biggest you can afford so you have the juice to handle the startup needs of large appliances. Interlock switch with an outside plug should take about 2 hours to have any installed. The single worst post related to generators on this site in the 8 years I have been here. Buy just what you need and not a huge amount more. I can run my house on 3500 watts easily if I pick and chose loads. I can run my water pump, my fridge and freezer, and furnance simultaneously with lights as well. If I'm going to run several showers I would be careful of other larger loads while the pump is running hard. I have a interlock kit on my electrical panel and a plug on my porch for my genny. |
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i think you would do better with one of the Champion generators -- they actually have a good track record and a USA service center. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/668846_Champion_generator_model_46598_3_5KW_running___4_0KW_surge___observations__details__and_photos.html http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/676225_champion_generators.html ar-jedi Quoted:
Quoted:
thanks for the replies, gentlemen. It appears that I can't just run out to the HF and grab one of their "consumer reports tested" gennies for what I want? Anyone know the pedigree of the HF generators? i think you would do better with one of the Champion generators -- they actually have a good track record and a USA service center. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/668846_Champion_generator_model_46598_3_5KW_running___4_0KW_surge___observations__details__and_photos.html http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/676225_champion_generators.html ar-jedi The 3500 watt champion is my larger generator. I love it. I bought the tractor supply version with 240 volt output. |
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Quoted:
The single worst post related to generators on this site in the 8 years I have been here. Buy just what you need and not a huge amount more. I can run my house on 3500 watts easily if I pick and chose loads. I can run my water pump, my fridge and freezer, and furnance simultaneously with lights as well. If I'm going to run several showers I would be careful of other larger loads while the pump is running hard. I have a interlock kit on my electrical panel and a plug on my porch for my genny. Quoted:
Quoted:
Get the biggest you can afford so you have the juice to handle the startup needs of large appliances. Interlock switch with an outside plug should take about 2 hours to have any installed. The single worst post related to generators on this site in the 8 years I have been here. Buy just what you need and not a huge amount more. I can run my house on 3500 watts easily if I pick and chose loads. I can run my water pump, my fridge and freezer, and furnance simultaneously with lights as well. If I'm going to run several showers I would be careful of other larger loads while the pump is running hard. I have a interlock kit on my electrical panel and a plug on my porch for my genny. The bigger the generator the more gas it will use. In a widespread blackout situation gas will be in short supply. Figure out your required loads first. I can run most but not all of the loads I need on my Honda eu2000. I need my 5kw gen for the coffee pot, the microwave and some other selected loads. |