OT - Generators

[cnjarvis]

I'm looking at picking up a genset for the house for power outages and for camping excursions. Any words of "wisdom" from the peanut gallery?

Requirements are:
5000 - 6000 watt range
Portable with wheels
Good parts and repair service availability
Less than $1000

[lthardman]

Here's my two cents. I do not profess to be an expert. I personally own a Honda 13 hp 6500 watt generator for power outages, which we get often enough. We live well outside any city limits, so when the power goes out we rarely get priority for power restoration from the utility. The Honda generator is very user friendly, it is extremely easy to service and I think the power ratings are very conservative. It starts every time I need it - the reliability is great. They are a bit pricey, however.

If you plan on using a generator to power your house, I would encourage you to get hard wired for it in advance of an emergency. Set up a generator connection that you can just plug into from the outside that feeds the generator power directly to your panel. Choose the location carefully, both to minimize the cost of running a heavy gauge wire to your panel and also so that the noise of the generator doesn't drive you crazy. If possible, you want the generator to be protected somewhat from the weather as well. One other very important thing, get a generator switch added to your main breaker panel that allows you to run your house power either from the generator, or from the utility, but not both. The impact of all this is that it eliminates the need for a bunch of extension cords running to the generator, through partially opened doors/windows. Most importantly, for safety sake, you want to be able to choose one power source to run your house, either utility OR generator, and eliminate the possibility of both. When the utility power is restored without warning, you can have a mess if your are feeding generator power in simultaneously. Doing it this way is also safer for the utility workers who may be working on a downed line. Incorrectly hooked up generators can send power the wrong way down the line, surprising the workers who are probably working extra shifts in lousy weather just trying to get everybody up and running.

If I had to do it over again, I would opt for one of those "guardian" type units that is permanently installed on the side of your house and is fully enclosed. These hook up either to your natural gas line or LPG line for continuous power without the need to haul and add gasoline. These units turn on automatically when the power goes out. Our fire department has had house fires started when people tried to add gasoline to a hot generator. And, I have seen people store 10 - 20 gallons of gasoline near their running genrator. (And then they leave home with no one watching the situation - not a good idea. At least one local family returned to find their home destroyed after a huge ice storm we had a couple years ago. The fire was started by their running generator, which ignited nearby gasoline supplies.) And remember, if the power outage is widespread, the nearest gas station may also be without power and therefore unable to dispense fuel. So, something that runs off of natural gas or LPG has a lot of advantages. The biggest disadvantage is that generators running off of natural gas or LPG often generate less power, so you may have to go with a larger unit. These units often are set to start up and go through a self check once per month as well.

There are some formulas you can use to calculate what size generator you will need. And, I am sure someone else on this forum can help you with those. And correct anything stupid I said as well.

My two cents, which is probably actually only worth what you paid for it.

[pdawg.shooter]

You cant buy one too big but it is real easy to buy one too small. I have a 12k Onan with auto start and shutoff and I sure wouldnt want anything smaller. The 12k struggles during AC start up. Anything smaller would not hack it.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

The air-cooled Gaurdian series seem to have a good price/value point. A friend has one that's 14kW I believe and he's happy with it except for the noise factor. It's setup to run from his 500 gallon buried propane tank. This unit came with a generator panel which we mounted near his existing service panels and moved our circuits over. The only painful part was the really long pull of #6's over to the generator itself on the far side of the house.

I have an Onan 20kW water cooled unit at my place. I had to build a structure to get it in place on the pad I poured for it behind my house. I lowered it into place using some pulleys, steel cables, and the tow hooks on the front of my Ford Expedition ... big fun. I like the Onan because it's got the Ford 2.5 Liter in-line engine in it and it's a 4-pole unit so it runs that engine at 1800rpm instead of 3600rpm for 2-pole units. I figure they put that engine into millions of Ford Escorts and other cars so it's a proven motor.

I had my house pre-wired with a 100-amp generator sub-panel when I built it so my installation was pretty easy. I just had to mount and wire the automatic transfer switch and run some #4 over to the sub-panel.

[Gun Smith]

At my next to last house I installed a generator. It was only 4500 watts, 220 volt, but would carry my forced air heating system electric requirements, the refrigerator, the TV, microwave, and a few lights. I installed a separate small breaker panel, 30 amp, and wired those circuits to it. I then hard wired my generator to it through a double pole double throw knife switch, also 30 amp. One side of the switch from my main service panel and the other side from the generator. This protected the power company from me back energizing their line. This is required by ALL power companies.
I hooked up the generator to my propane system that fed the heating system. Much, much better than gasoline. I purchased a propane conversion kit from my propane company for the generator.
The main draw back was I did not get a battery starter for the generator. A propane conversion has a gas flow safety valve (check valve) built into the supply line that you had to hold open while pulling the rope starter. A bit awkward without help.
The system worked great. I sat and watched out my front window, snug as a bug, as the snow fell on my poor dark neighbors.
Total cost for material was about $800.00 then, probably $1200-1500.00 today. I did the installation.

[cnjarvis]

Thanks for the replies gents.

I realize that the generator size I'm looking at won't run my whole house. That's not the point. All I want it to run is a couple of lights, the fridge, tv or radio and the heater blower. (we have nat gas). I know about wiring the panel for the hook-up. The genset will be used for camping also so it has to be portable.

Any make/ model suggestions out there? Looking at a generac at home depot with a Subaru engine.

[cnjarvis]

I just went ahead and picked up the generac GP5500. The price was right and generac is a known brand. I think it'll do fine for what I need it to do.

[iceman]

You should be good to go for your needs. Just a word of warning/advise. DO NOT RUN IN YOUR GARAGE WITH THE DOOR CLOSED. We lost another person here not long ago because he was worried somebody would steal his gemerator. Carbom monoxide poisoning. Lucky only one person could have been the whole family. Be careful out there.

[cnjarvis]

Roger that.

The nice thing is that the panel is in the garage on an exterior wall with an adjacent door and the area is fenced off. I can have the panel wired to a disconnect and then straight through the wall to a weather-proof box. Should work slick.

[lthardman]

In addition to the Honda I have for home, I also have a used Generac that I purchased for the cabin. It is a 5000 watt model. Runs well. I believe mine has a Tecumseh engine on it - I am just about certain - because I just changed the air cleaner and it took one for a Tecumseh engine. It runs well, but is a bit noisy compared to the Honda. I think the Honda's overhead valve/cam keeps the decibels down.