Generator Questions

[Eggs]

Living in hurricane central (south Florida). I have a 6,300 watt generator. It’ll power my tanks, fridge, lights, tv, and a small a/c. No heaters to factor in. You’ll need to figure out of many watts the tanks draw plus for anything else you want to power. A fridge will probably draw the most, especially with starting watts.

Same here. Have a Honda EU7000 watt to cover pretty much the same items in the event of an outage.

Looks like something coming our way this weekend. Still a bit of uncertainty though.

 

[Shiggknight]

Is that all you are going to run, i would suggest a little Honda or Yamaha 2000 watt, by the way how many inches of snow constitutes a bad snowstorm in Tennessee?

It’s not the amount it’s trees falling on power lines haha

 

[Trivan]

I started with a small Yamaha, moved up to a Honda 7000 and now have a Kohler whole house. My area has tons of blackouts, 2 this past week for a few hours. We are out sometime up to 5-7 days in the winter when down trees cut power lines and this is just 40 miles west of NYC. When u need a generator you need it to fire up and not muck around. Buy the best you can afford and def get an inverter one. I’ve seen furnace controllers fail after running emergency hook ups with contractor generators.

 

[Trivan]

Will add, if you go with gas, get a propane conversion kit. After the Ice storms here there was no gasoline to be had, we had to wait hours for 5 gallons of gas, buying only on odd/even days off your license plates. It was bad, only would run the generator a few hours during the day and saved the gas for heat during the evening. Propane was plentiful. Nice thing about propane is it never goes bad too.

 

[proxy001]

For those with whole house standby generator, can you share cost for install? Permitting can be a mess.
The problem with portable generator is that it won't take care of the heat for those like me without a chiller...

 

[Trivan]

I think cost is going to vary a lot based on where you live. I think mine was in the 4000 range, it was a very short gas line run which help the cost. A friend did all the easy stuff himself, layout, gravel base and just had the electrical and gas connected. He got that done for around 1500.

 

[Tmtdvm]

Honda all the way. I have a 7000eu, 3500eu and two 2000’s that can be bridged together if needed. They by far out perform my commercial generators. We show cattle at 4-H and FFA livestock shows and we use a ton of wattage for blowers, fans, clippers and lights. Won’t buy any other kind. They have a hefty price tag but and well worth it in regards to their longevity and the abuse they take show after show.

 

[vetteguy53081]

get a minimum of 3000-4000wt unit with minimum 4 outlets.
Weather conditions have an adverse effect on demands and homeowners can experience loss of food, frozen pipes, or even a loss of pay if you work from home. Even worse, it can put your family in danger due to the cold or medical needs.
There are lots of generators to choose from and prices range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Small generators might not power enough for your needs, but a larger generator might require more fuel than you can keep on hand. It’s best to get something based on your specific needs.

Step 1 – list all of the devices you want to power during an outage.
Step 2 – list their wattages. You’ll find the wattage on their labels. Look for the consumption wattage- not the output wattage. For example, an 800w microwave oven can require 1300w to run. Add a little more wattage than you need for those momentary power spikes as large appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioners, are cycling on.
Note – if you can’t find the wattage, you can calculate it: wattage = voltage x amperage.
Step 3 – add up the wattage of all the devices.

My preference is a Large portable – up to 7,500 watts which weighs about 300 pounds, BUT these generators provide a good capacity for their cost. They can be connected to your breaker panel to power water pumps and other equipment.
Connecting them to your home to your breaker panel requires extra hardware, which can be expensive. They’re louder than inverters and other home generators and require more fuel. It needs to be protected from the rain and snow. On the otherhand, they’re ideal for occasional power outages and when you want to run larger appliances, dryers, water pump, ac units, heaters, etc.

I will be getting this type for my home in Florida. Below , this chart will give you an idea of needs.

Smartphone charger	20W
Home security system	100W
Laptop	250W
46” TV	380W
Refrigerator	700W (2900 starting)
Garage door opener	720W (1420 starting)
Gas or propane furnace	800W
Sump pump	900W
10 lights	1000W
10K BTU air conditioner	1000W
Coffee maker	1000W
Toaster oven	1200W
Hair dryer	1200W
Washing machine	1200W
Well pump	1250W
800W Microwave	1300W
Space heater	1500W
Dishwasher	1500W
Electric range	2100W
2-ton central heat and air	3,800W (8750 starting)
Water heater	4500
Dryer	5400W (6750 starting)
Electric furnace	15,000W

 

[proxy001]

I think cost is going to vary a lot based on where you live. I think mine was in the 4000 range, it was a very short gas line run which help the cost. A friend did all the easy stuff himself, layout, gravel base and just had the electrical and gas connected. He got that done for around 1500.

yes, Im talking about the 22kw ones. "whole house"

 

[ca1ore]

For those with whole house standby generator, can you share cost for install? Permitting can be a mess.
The problem with portable generator is that it won't take care of the heat for those like me without a chiller...

Not cheap, certainly . An actual 20/22K generator plus automated transfer switch is in the $5-6K range. Figure permitting, electrical and plumbing is a few thousand as well (here in CT it was $3,500). If you have a continuous source of gas then that's great; I had to buy three tanks (plus the propane). That was another $3,500.

I used a portable for manyyears, but eventually bit the bullet for the whole house since I travel a lot for my job ….. well, used to.

 

[CindyKz]

I think ours ran around $8K installed, which includes the concrete pad it sits on. Unfortunately I can't remember for certain what size it is. Large enough to run everything in our small (1600 square ft maybe?) home including the tanks and A/C. The only major thing not on it is the dryer.

 

[Erick Armanii]

Someone recently asked the cost of a whole home generator with automatic switch and propane powered..

I priced one out for a client this past October and it was roughly $18,000 - $20,000 (depending on the placement of the gas line)

I’m sure people can get things done cheaper elsewhere in the country but here in Connecticut there are so many contributing factors that are involved.

A permit is required, an electrican, a plumber with gas licensing needs to run the gas line to the generator, the gas company needs to connect that line to the propane tank, (legally only the gas company can make the connections to the propane tank) someone needs to dig a trench for the gas line and electrical line back to the house, a concrete pad to support the generator and then the actual generator itself.

Some companies offer payment plans if you have service with them.

 

[Sdot]

Not cheap, certainly . An actual 20/22K generator plus automated transfer switch is in the $5-6K range. Figure permitting, electrical and plumbing is a few thousand as well (here in CT it was $3,500). If you have a continuous source of gas then that's great; I had to buy three tanks (plus the propane). That was another $3,500.

I used a portable for manyyears, but eventually bit the bullet for the whole house since I travel a lot for my job ….. well, used to.

Im getting one installed on my house.... i paid just under 11k for everything this is for a 22k Generac.

 

[Billldg]

What ever you think you need, double it. You will thank me later. You can add up what the total watts are, but you want extra to spare as the harder you work a certain rated generator, the more gas it will go thru to try and keep up. Maybe I am just to cautious, but I would rather over spend on anything than regret not having enough down the road when I actually do use it.

 

[lmm1967]

20kw generac - only about a 10' run for the gas line. Added whole home surge and control boxes for our 2 AC units so only 1 will ever run at a time when on generator power.

$7500 total turn key cost.

 

[ScottB]

For those with whole house standby generator, can you share cost for install? Permitting can be a mess.
The problem with portable generator is that it won't take care of the heat for those like me without a chiller...

I know they have gotten cheaper since I bought mine. The transfer switches have gotten smarter too. Even though only 45 miles from NYC, we've had extended power cuts here as we are at the end of the line with a billion trees between. 2-3 days common. 10 days after Sandy. So we did whole house including 4 A/C compressors.
30kw Cummins
1000 gallon propane buried.

I could do a Generac now for $15 or so all in (expensive zip code), but my Cummins was +20K. I also paid a demand premium following some significant outages. At the time my guy wouldn't touch Generac but I understand they've since gotten better.

 

[Trivan]

I could do a Generac now for $15 or so all in (expensive zip code), but my Cummins was +20K. I also paid a demand premium following some significant outages. At the time my guy wouldn't touch Generac but I understand they've since gotten better.

Good call on the Cummins, I was between Kohler and Cummins, but my electrician was certified with Kohler so went with what he knew best. Mine was the same, wouldn't touch Generac's, he said too many call backs, but understand they have gotten better over the years.

Some would said why spend the extra $$$$ for Kohler or Cummins when you can go cheaper and get the same output, IMO Kohler/Cummins are in the same league as Honda's for portables. When there is an emergency, it just needs to work and work the first time. 2 years ago, we were out for 9 days straight, the only down time was to do a quick oil change on day 5.

 

[Kazumi]

Someone at my locale Lowe's ordered a Generac 22k generator with the transfer switches, and then decided to back out after it was delivered to the store. I happened to wonder in at the right time and they sold it to me for only $2000. For where I live the permit was only $30. I installed the transfer switch and poured the pad myself. I then found an electrician to make the hookups for $350 plus the cost of the wire. So in total I have less than $3k in my setup.

 

[Pistondog]

2 deep cycle marine batteries in series will power the 24v pumps and skimmer, ato for a couple of days.
We haven't had an outtage for more than 12 hours in 10 years.
A gas propane insert keeps the house warmish.
If the area had natural gas piping, I'd get a generator. Propane works til the tank runs out, then you pay triple to fill it up under emergency conditions.

 

[ScottB]

Good call on the Cummins, I was between Kohler and Cummins, but my electrician was certified with Kohler so went with what he knew best. Mine was the same, wouldn't touch Generac's, he said too many call backs, but understand they have gotten better over the years.

Some would said why spend the extra $$$$ for Kohler or Cummins when you can go cheaper and get the same output, IMO Kohler/Cummins are in the same league as Honda's for portables. When there is an emergency, it just needs to work and work the first time. 2 years ago, we were out for 9 days straight, the only down time was to do a quick oil change on day 5.

The bigger engine makes it quieter too. My neighbor's generator is 300 yards away and I can hear it screaming over mine.

I do pay $450 a year to have it serviced quarterly. Has fired every time since 2007. I should check on expected life though, now that I have cursed it.