$7k will get you a roughly 20kw aircooled nat gas/propane, plus roughly $2k for the auto xfer/wire/pad.

Figure $9k+$3k if you want a good install.

FWIW, I've installed a bunch, contractor prices are slightly cheaper on the material but I'm giving you a ballpark for your pricing.

This is a 14kw Siemens nat gas/propane, with autoxfer/pad/gas/permit+inspection fees  we did it for $10,500 installed.  It was an easy one.






The great thing about this style generator (and not milspec) is automatic fault detection, auto programing/testing/starting (weekly, etc), and they are relatively quiet.

Hit these guys up.
The generators for the big boys.

7mm

200 A X 240 V= 48000 Watts required in the above situation

We are all electric  here and felt the need for a generator a few years back, probably have had it about  7 years now and used it 3 times.  

I got a big Honda portable, 11,000 watts continous output.  An electrician frind helped install a double throw  disconnect switch,  one position inputs from grid power, middle is neutral, no power at all,  3rd position is generator input only  with no chance of backfeed to power grid.    This is between the electric meter and my breaker box.

For short term you do not need to power everything.  I always turn off hot water  heater and tell wife only one top burner on stove and she can use microwave or toaster but not both, and no dishwasher, or clothes dryer unless I make sure something else is off  Two freezers are on as well as refrigerator.  It will run the central air heat pump, but if in cold weather I make sure breakers for emergency heat strips are off. ( I do have a set of gas logs i can connect to a 40 lb propane tank)

One spring we had some strong wind take out power lines and I connected it up,  AC was going, the wife cooking breakfast .  We had had a med sized crype myrtle blew over and was leaning on the house.  I wanted to save it so decided to cut a couple of 2x4's into heavy stakes to tie it back up.  I hit the switch on my table saw, a 3hp 220 v Delta unisaw.  Everything dimmed and slowed  down, but the generator caught up and carried it.  I was not thinking and really overloaded it temporarily and will never do that again

My sister and her husband just built a new place out in the country, and put in a permanent backup, auto system,r running on propane.  Their house is bigger than mine, and  has propane heat, hot water and stove.  I think they went with a 17KW unit which should be more than adequate for most lighting, kitchen appliances and central air.

When you figure what you need look at the startup amps required for motor driven things such as a/c refrigerators, ect,  the compressers require a lot more in the way of amperage to start than to run so your total capacity should be based on using those figures plus a percentage for reserve.


I wonder about diesel for long term as I undrrstand that there is some bacteria tht can grow in it and cause filters and pumps to clog up.

My total cost including th disconnect switch, and a 35" 6/4  power cord and connectors was about  $4500,  The generator came with one 50 amp plug and I had to buy a female plug end for the cord, that thing cost  over $50 by itself.

I installed an Onan Natural Gas fired unit for my Rescue Squad back home.

Here is the thread: Rescue Squad Generator

We went for overkill with a 85kW unit.  Sure, most home owners can choose what loads to put on the genny so it's not overloaded, but I can't expect that average Joe-Volunteer to understand that idea.  

The NG units from Onan can also have automatic LPG backup, which we opted for, but have yet to install a LPG tank.

If you have a heatpump, electric water heater, and electric stove, it will take a huge unit to power all those at once.

I'd recommend you find a liquid cooled unit that runs at 1,800 RPM, instead of 3,600 RPM.  The fuel consumption is much lower at 1,800 RPM.

Ho - ly shit.

That's how you fucking do it.  

I'm going to be truthful. We lived in the sticks and lost electricity a lot, we bought a generator. We bought a 5500 watt generator(gas powered) and that was plenty to run everything except the oven and AC.

That generator cost less than $1000 and then another $30 or so to make the electric cord to plug into the wall.

Depend on that type you want
A whole house unit in Diesel could be about 20 to 30 kW for an average house
Those can easily run 20K plus
Installed ready to go
Trick would be to find a diesel that small
Generac and Kolhor are both good name brands IMHO
Check your area and make sure that you can have a factory certified person in the area to work on your unit
I just got a check for over 800 just for labor on one unit
We charge drive time plus work time

NG or Propane can work but if gas fails your hosed or you need a BIG tank to run it any length of time
You have to decided what you want to run then decided how big you want to oversize
I fix gennys for a living

You can get a 17kw NG unit from Home Depot (Don't)

House heating is NG.





 

Your electric company may offer purchase and installation. I know mine does. I've heard 8k.

A 18kw would be a good size for a house. Anything bigger is just wasting fuel. When we install a gen set it averages 8k to9k. That is gen, transfer switch, parts, and labor. It will depend on how for away the fuel is and the panel. The further they are the more work so more money. A 12kw might work for you but you would be limited on what can run at the same time. What little more fuel a 18kw uses over a 12kw I would go with a 18kw.

We've got a Generac 17Kw whole house generator, fed off the propane tank.

It's an auto-switching model with a separate panel that we can "zone out" circuits if we don't want to run certain rooms/appliances.

We got it installed while we were building the house.  Total cost for the unit and install was right at $5300.  Note that did NOT include things like the electrician, tank, etc. (this was a new install in new house construction, so we got our regular subs to handle things like the tank and electrics).

It's only cut on once (thunderstorm knocked out the juice for a few hours this summer).  I was working in my home office and I literally DID NOT KNOW we were running off genny power instead of mains.  It was that transparent.

How does septic use electricity? Is your waste pumped uphill?

Don't forget to tell him not to let a hack wire it into the panel so you don't get electrocuted when working on the pole.

I like that you can use either with that Onan.   I have a decent sized Honda gen now but we're going to get something bigger when we buy our next home.   When i lived in VA I had a coworker go 58 days with out power in the middle of a bad winter when an ice storm knocked out the power and I decided to make sure that didn't happen to me.



 

Tag for work. I don't feel like talking shop, and talking about a huge ass generators in a thread will justify me sitting at my desk surfing arfcom for several hours tomorrow.


Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Natural Gas Generators are also pretty cool. VERY Rarely do BOTH utilities go out at the same time. Unless your facing an earthquake... Natural Gas will likely reach your home more reliably than electricity. I can't count the times I've had an electrical outage,.... on the flip side,... i can't think of one instance where I went without heat. That way, if one goes out, you can compensate for the other.



Power goes out? Turn on the generator....



Natural gas goes out? Turn on space heaters....



Both go out? Grab your guns and sit outside your home and guard it... something really messed up just happened.

Slow down, listen up and save some money.

Try this site, it is were I got mine 5 years ago. Free delivery, Best price, Generac 13,000 NG runs great.

http://norwall.com/?SRC=goog&Camp=AGPSGenerators&GRP=generators&KEYWORD=generators&gclid=CL6xqY6CqaMCFRCenAodtRKK3g

13k watts runs every thing including AC in the summer, Only two bedrooms are not in the circuit

Never noticed any spike in my Gas bill when the Generators runs in Power outs. Even when it ran 27 hours straight without stop. Sure was nice not having to worry about running out of Fuel or trying to get fuel when Snowed in.

Once a year change oil, filter & the spark plugs No way, does it cost $7 to $9 an hour for it to run

My NG Generator gives me a very warm comfortable feeling

Did most of the installation myself and saved even more. The step by step instructions were great

Don;t know what size you will need but here are some figures
A 20kw gen. specs say it will burn 206 cubic ft at half load and 294 at full load.

In this case and for what I pay for NG ( it would cost between $2.09 per hour at half load and $2.97 per hour at full load to operate. This includes taxes and fees If I was running a 20K unit.

Apologies for personal attack on guy who set me straight (Forest).


The OP did want to know how to run gen for whole house. Who am I to tell him that he doesn't want to do that?  He's a grown guy. Some guys came along and told him how to do it.


I should have STFU and taken proper correction. I had a few Shiner Octoberfests in me so judgement impaired.




 

http://www.cessco.us/mq_power/super_silent.html#single_three_phase

We use the smaller generators listed here for oilfield work. One can power up to 6 RV's all running AC units, T.V.'s, refrigerators, multiple computers in each trailer and microwaves.

Basically silent. Dont forget to factor in the cost of maintenance. And you'll have to stockpile oil, filters, fuel, etc. for SHTF.

ETA: we use the DCA-20SPX Model.

Guy I work with did one for about $5500 for a 17kw nat-gas unit installed.  That has got me thinking...

This makes a whole lot of sense.