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I’m contemplating purchasing a portable generator for home emergency use. We’ve lived in our house for about 25 years and up until 2 summers ago we’ve never lost power for more than about a day.two summers ago we lost it for just over three days. This winter we haven’t lost it so far but several people in the surrounding area did and some them were out for about 5-6 days. I’d like to buy one in about the 10,000 btu range that will run off gas, propane & natural gas. We had to install a new furnace last winter plus I use a Cpap. What I’m reading it sounds like I should invest in an inverter style generator or can I buy an older style one. I know inverter generators produce cleaner power but there a way to protect my electronics using an old tech generator. I do plan on having a 30or 50 amp plug with a transfer switch installed eventually.
....here's my generator story - intended primarily for readers 26 years old and younger.
Way back in 1999 there was global concern, questions, and fears about what would happen to our infrastructure, and the computer networks that control the hardware, when computer clocks ticked from 1999 to year 2,000. This was known as the 'Y2K thing' (or 'Year 2000' thing) theorized by some to begin at 0:01/January 1st, of 2,000.
My recollection is that amongst the cabal of computer scientists there was not a consensus either way that existing computer systems would continue to humm along or ......(gulp)... plunge us into darkness and a deep freeze. But, home use of a standby generator became a popular option to save your butt by creating your own mini-grid to avoid imagined computer bedlam.
I took the bait.
The 4-stroke/liquid gas generator (on skids) I purchased, if I recall correctly, produced a max 15,000 watts (10KW) - enough to provide a combination of 15 amp/120V and 20 amp/240V circuits for heating (pilot flame spark and circulating pumps), fridge and stove, and a 240V circuit for submersible water well pump. The system plan was not to power up all main panel circuits, instead only those necessary to survive (plus one 'free' circuit available as needed).
The generator-to-house interface was accomplished by a 'reversing switch' (or referred by some folks as a 'transfer switch') that directed generator output only to critical circuits within the main panel.
For folks not familiar with a 'reversing switch' - during the manual or automatic 'switching' action the switch disconnects power supply from the ABC Electric Company and in a second or two introduces current from an alternative power source such as standby generator.
Unless you have special electrical skills, preferably as a Master Electrician, you'll be hiring that expertise separately (or as included in the generator 'package deal'), plus the cost of electrical hardware.
As mentioned at the outset, my generator was built on skids and was liquid regular gas that has enabled me to use the generator wherever needed - including lighting up nighttime impromptu snowboarding sites from the back of my pickup.
So, you might give thought to maximizing your investment regarding mobility/flexibility.
I have a genny for exactly the same reason as you are looking at them. We are fairly remote by U.K. standards and have a couple of small power outages every year as standard, and then a major one every few years. I’ve added a 16 amp commando socket on ab old redundant cooker circuit system so I can energise the house circuits after isolating the incoming power supply by connecting a lead from the genny to the commando socket. I turn off the fuses for the high demand stuff like oven and electric shower and then the rest of the house will run ok without breaking the 3.8kw demand limit of the genny. I bought an inverter genny so I don’t have to worry about burning any delicate components, and I also went for dual,fuel - I have propane at home all the time so I can run the genny from that and go buy petrol if I need to, this saves having to keep a large amount of petrol at home, which, if unused will go,stale and needs disposing of and replacing.
quote:
Originally posted by britcarfanI’m contemplating purchasing a portable generator for home emergency use.
I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't suggest that you look into a battery storage system. None of the issues with fuels, and you can add a solar system to recharge it even in long outages. Also useful (and lucrative) if you are able to get time of use electricity billing, and thus buy when it is cheap and sell when it is expensive. The spread can be quite large in some areas.
Thank you kindly.
Topher, when we lose power it’s generally due to severe weather, ice storms thunderstorms & tornadoes. It can stay cloudy for several days after these events. For that reason I’m not really interested in solar, plus the upfront cost. I can buy a gas/ propane/ natural gas portable generator for $1500 or less that will meet my needs. We very rarely lose power, in fact most years we don’t. But it is getting more frequent in my area for it to happen. I figure the amount I’d spendreplacing food in the freezer and fridge that goes bad and water pipes that may break if I lose power would more than cover the cost.
....hi Mark .......this post is a bit of circling back to my first post where I mentioned the need for a qualified electrician:
a) as stated above, when using the reversing switch' approach you would (as you know) be introducing the alternative gen power to your main panel (or sub panel) through the EXISTING electrical distribution network (i.e., the existing in-wall circuitry), and, to do that for all the good reasons of handing over this job to the electrician, I think it would be reasonable to factor in your electrician's price at at least double the cost of your generator. Maybe more. But, the jerry-rigged and quick and dirty alternative is....
b) running multiple and as-needed 'extension cords' from the gen (located outside the house presumably) through cat doors, person doors, windows, etc. And, an electrician would advise according regarding what cord/cable gauges and wrap designations provide the best safety for your family and assets.
(...please disregard this post if you've already considered these issues - I'm NOT inferring you know nothing. )
quote:
Originally posted by 5B-RanchTwo words is all I have —Electric Start —you’ll thank me later.
Amen Brother!!
Okay, this is coming from a guy who happily admits that he has trouble screwing the top back on a rum bottle without crossing the threads. That said: if you truly suspect that you need a generator, and you lack genuine skill or travel on a regular basis, pay the money and have a proper system put in.
There's a lot to be said for a system that fires up automatically when the power fails - especially when you're not home. You can determine what you need to run the house - mine has most circuits capable of running on on the generator but others - such as the clothes dryer - unpowered when the genny is running. That's simply a question of installing a sub-panel.
As far as multi-fuels go: recognize that different fuels have different capabilities. The genset at my late parent's house - where I now live - was built for propane. Propane has a higher energy content than CNG (compressed natural gas) that comes in off the street. We had power failures here that lasted longer than four days, which caused the genset to die, and an urgent need to re-charge the tank.
We replaced the genset several years ago simply because it was old and parts where getting more expensive. Just recognize that with piped gas you'll only get about 80% of the electrical output that propane will give you, and the apertures in the carburetors are different accordingly. Far as I'm concerned, moving to street gas was the right decision. When that fails, we've all got bigger problems anyway.
Skip, having a system like you are talking about at my place would be very expensive. My electric and gas are on opposite sides of the house. Also about the only place I have to place one would be in my side yard and they would have to bust up my drive way to run a gas line to it. Not to mention the generator would be in the way in that location.
quote:
Originally posted by britcarfanSkip, having a system like you are talking about at my place would be very expensive. My electric and gas are on opposite sides of the house. Also about the only place I have to place one would be in my side yard and they would have to bust up my drive way to run a gas line to it. Not to mention the generator would be in the way in that location.
It's true they don't exactly give these things away... for the record, the gas intake for the house and the electric panel here are some distance apart. They guys who did the install were able to tap directly into the gas feed inside the house, run it under the ceiling joists and then send it out to the generator, which is pretty close to the basement panels. I thought they would need to do some digging but they didn't.
I've just looked up 10,000 BTU as we deal in different output references on my side of the pond. you are looking at something that is of a similar output to mine (12,000 - 13,000 depending on whether fuelled by gas or propane). I didn't want to go down the permanent installation and automatic transfer switch due to cost and relative infrequency of outages so I did my calculations and mine does the job for a family of 4 in a bungalow with propane central heating. It won't run the oven or shower but it will do the lights, heating and fridge etc - enough to keep us comfortable for a day or two. I use a 60ft lead that you would use to connect an RV or camping trailer to an electrical hook up to connect my generator (housed in an external furnace room) to the socket I fitted in the house. It takes about 10 minutes to have the house energised from the generator.
I would definitely opt for an invertor, the cleaner output at source will mean you don't have to worry about blowing anything up. There are a couple of safety considerations to take into consideration which I won't expand on as it is down to the individual to ensure safety, but this system works very well for me.
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