OT - Generators

[albanyknight]

Up our way we get a lot of power outages and we are going to bite the bullet and purchase a generator. We have been researching the issue and will probably buy a stand-by generator over a whole-house generator. We are looking at the Honda EU3000 which should do the trick.

I would be curious to hear from folks who own generators and what your experiences have been?

 

[DJ Spanky]

Will you have it wired into your electrical box?

 

[LC-88]

Honda gens are high quality.

Make sure you size it correctly for the expected loads that it will need to support. Would suggest a double throw switch, as opposed to backfeeding through the fuze panel.

If you get a gas generator, try and find ethanol free gas for it. You will probably have to go to PA for it. Do not let gas with ethanol just sit in the generator's tank. That crap will butcher your carb.

Make sure that whatever gen you buy has low oil shutoff switch. Don't want a seized engine in the morning.

Have a couple extra fuel filters on hand, as well as spark plugs. If you get an electric start invest in a 1 or 2 AMP trickle charger for the starter battery.

Good luck.

 

[albanyknight]

Will you have it wired into your electrical box?

Yes.

 

[Tango Two]

Up our way we get a lot of power outages and we are going to bite the bullet and purchase a generator. We have been researching the issue and will probably buy a stand-by generator over a whole-house generator. We are looking at the Honda EU3000 which should do the trick.

I would be curious to hear from folks who own generators and what your experiences have been?

Power more household essentials – even a central air unit – and get your life back to normal during a power outage with our 10,000 watt Elite Series™ portable generator. It’s the most powerful portable generator in our line-up so it’s also great for serious do-it-yourself projects. It features our commercial-grade Vanguard™ V-Twin 18.0 Gross HP* V-Twin engine, easy key electric starting and a 7 hour run time (at 50% load).


https://www.briggsandstratton.com/n...000-watt-elite-series-portable-generator.html

 

[RU205]

I have a Honda. They are expensive compared to other brands but I never had an issue.

 

[NJRUFan19]

Right after Sandy I bought a Winco HPS12000HE tri-fuel portable generator from Pilot Electric Company in Neptune, NJ. I did quite a bit of research prior to buying it, it is powered by a Honda GX630 engine. Winco has been making generators since the 1950's. I am extremely happy with it, it is extremely well built. I've only have had to use it a couple of times since and ran it on natural gas both times, and it ran without a hiccup. So far have never put gasoline through the engine. I had a plumber set me up to have the ability to connect it to my my natural gas meter, I live along the shore in Monmouth County and remember the inability to get gasoline when it was really needed after Sandy. I also had an electrician wire a 50 AMP outlet to my electrical panel with an interlock switch, makes it virtually impossible to backfeed electric to the powerlines. They are a bit pricier than the ones you will find at the big box stores but from everything I read it was worth spending the extra money. Any questions feel free to PM me.

http://www.wincogen.com/HPS12000HE/

 

[JRZEER]

Are you going with a natural gas gen with an ATS (automatic transfer switch)? If so buy a Generac. Expensive but if your losing power that often then well worth the investment.

 

[VirtualKnight]

If you lose power that often, you should consider a small Generac Guardian stand-by generator with auto cut over panel. For $2-3k plus installation you can get 11kw which should power most of a mid-sized home. We bought a 22kw 15 years ago and it hasn't missed an outage yet. Best money we've ever spent. Oh, and I don't have to mess with gas cans.

 

[albanyknight]

We researched Generac when we were thinking about a standby and they quoted us about $6,500 installed. My goddaughter's husband who works on industrial generators was really pushing a Kohler which both him and our research seem to show is a better brand but it would cost us about $8000 installed.

The more we thought about it we thought a portable generator was the way to go. I realize that it involves filling it with gas, maintenance and schlepping it out from the garage but it will be 1/3 the price and we can take it with us when/if we move.

 

[koleszar]

Power more household essentials – even a central air unit – and get your life back to normal during a power outage with our 10,000 watt Elite Series™ portable generator. It’s the most powerful portable generator in our line-up so it’s also great for serious do-it-yourself projects. It features our commercial-grade Vanguard™ V-Twin 18.0 Gross HP* V-Twin engine, easy key electric starting and a 7 hour run time (at 50% load).


https://www.briggsandstratton.com/n...000-watt-elite-series-portable-generator.html

Briggs and Stratton:eek:. That's fine for a lawn mower if it breaks buy another. There's a reason they're cheap. But when your looking for an essential like powering your home in an emergency Honda is the way to go.

 

[RUBlueLot]

My tailgate runs the Honda EU 3000. We had a smaller one but needed the bigger one. We love it.

 

[RU1977]

Do you need a generator if house has solar panels? Was wondering about that.....

 

[RUScrew85]

Do you need a generator if house has solar panels? Was wondering about that.....

At night and on cloudy days you will.

 

[RU4Real]

The driving factor in this conversation should be "how long do you expect to stay in the house?".

If it's just a few years, I'd spend as little money as possible. If you expect it to be your more or less "forever home" then hand over the shekels for a nat-gas automated system.

 

[RU1977]

At night and on cloudy days you will.

Doesn't it store energy for those cloudy days and nights? Maybe not enough? Need more batteries?

 

[RU4Real]

Doesn't it store energy for those cloudy days and nights? Maybe not enough? Need more batteries?

You'd need a lot of batteries and a lot of panels to be fully independent. Also a wind generator, just to be on the safe side.

Once you have those things, then you need to pour a 12' high concrete wall around your property and lay in some crops.

 

[RUScrew85]

Doesn't it store energy for those cloudy days and nights? Maybe not enough? Need more batteries?

Lotta batteries and a decent amount of electronics to support them. I was keeping it simple. Solar panels feeding the grid.

 

[RU1977]

Sounds like the natural gas powered generator would be the way to go, but it hopefully would be rarely used... Solar panels could be more frequently used and more cost-effective.

 

[RUScrew85]

You'd need a lot of batteries and a lot of panels to be fully independent. Also a wind generator, just to be on the safe side.

Once you have those things, then you need to pour a 12' high concrete wall around your property and lay in some crops.

Don't forget the moat with alligators.

 

[RU4Real]

Don't forget the moat with alligators.

Where he lives the alligators wouldn't survive and the moat would freeze over.

For most purposes the poured concrete wall would be sufficient. Maybe ya throw up a perimeter fence outside the wall for a little something extra.

 

[coldsprings]

We have a Generac hard-wired to our box.

If you have natural gas, that would be the way to go since you wouldn't need to store gas and you could run the generator indefinitely. We don't have natural gas, so we are connected to 3x 120-gallon propane tanks which are fueled by delivery.

Our Generac was installed 4 years ago. The first one had issues and Generac replaced the entire unit with no hassle. The second one, the battery failed after 3 years and again Generac replaced with no issues. Clearly, the dealer is important as they act as the middleman.

The unit seamlessly kicks on if the power goes out and shuts down automatically when the power comes on. The unit powers our 3000 sq ft home and cost us about $6000 installed. Add another $500-$1000 for propane or natural gas hookup.

In some areas Lowe's installs Generacs through subcontractors and then you have the power of Lowe's behind you.

 

[RU1977]

We have a Generac hard-wired to our box.

If you have natural gas, that would be the way to go since you wouldn't need to store gas and you could run the generator indefinitely. We don't have natural gas, so we are connected to 3x 120-gallon propane tanks which are fueled by delivery.

Our Generac was installed 4 years ago. The first one had issues and Generac replaced the entire unit with no hassle. The second one, the battery failed after 3 years and again Generac replaced with no issues. Clearly, the dealer is important as they act as the middleman.

The unit seamlessly kicks on if the power goes out and shuts down automatically when the power comes on. The unit powers our 3000 sq ft home and cost us about $6000 installed. Add another $500-$1000 for propane or natural gas hookup.

In some areas Lowe's installs Generacs through subcontractors and then you have the power of Lowe's behind you.

Just read some horrible reviews on Amazon for the Generac generator. Not sure I would buy..... Claims it's unreliable, cheaply built, and very noisy..... The good reviews claim it depends on who installs it......

 

[DJ Spanky]

Where he lives the alligators wouldn't survive and the moat would freeze over.

For most purposes the poured concrete wall would be sufficient. Maybe ya throw up a perimeter fence outside the wall for a little something extra.

I'm shocked you didn't mention the proper armament!

 

[RU4Real]

I'm shocked you didn't mention the proper armament!

He's one guy.

 

[coldsprings]

Just read some horrible reviews on Amazon for the Generac generator. Not sure I would buy..... Claims it's unreliable, cheaply built, and very noisy..... The good reviews claim it depends on who installs it......

Installation is important. When we interviewed contractors, no two were going to install the same way. So ask plenty of questions.

As I said we did have a problem with our first unit but our dealer and Generac stood by the product.

Noise rating was slightly better than other units we looked at but you will hear it in the house. That being said stand-by units are much quieter than portable units.

 

[RutgersTwice]

Make sure it is set up to run automatically weekly or whatever schedule the manufacturer recommends. Change the oil on whatever schedule the manufacturer recommends.

 

[RU1977]

Are the natural gas-run generators quieter for some reason?

 

[albanyknight]

He's one guy.

I don't need any of that. I plan on hiring you and Hudson as contractors to guard the perimeter.

 

[mildone]

He's one guy.

Then I'm surprised you didn't mention hookers.

 

[RU4Real]

I don't need any of that. I plan on hiring you and Hudson as contractors to guard the perimeter.

Send us some overheads, we'll make some recommendations.