Buying a home generator question

**Sandcut** · March 10th, 2009, 07:32 PM

Hey y'all, (or I'll say y'ouns for all the western PA folks)

Thinking of taking advantage of the end of winter and pending good weather to exploit a possible end of season purchase of a generator for the house. We decided after the unforecasted October Nor'easter here on the Pocono plateau (the forecast was for a "trace". We got 16-20" of snow) that left us without power for almost 4 days to commit to buying a generator. Although I don't want to spend the money ('cuz I'm cheap), the amount of groceries that we've lost in the 5 or so power outages we've had in the past 8 years would have paid for a small nuke plant.

As such, I'm asking all who are knowledgable about said items to dispel the fog of my ignorance with your hard-won knowledge.

What recommendations would you make for an average home to run 2 refrigerators, 1 chest freezer and a well pump. Lights would be good but aren't essential.

1. What's the smallest size (wattage) that I could get away with?
2. What would be the smart thing to buy to really meet all of our needs?
3. What make/model could you just not live without?
4. Any other tricks to use, etc. that you've developed.

Obliged in advance.

**LastManOut** · March 10th, 2009, 07:38 PM

I am a retired electrician and installed a Briggs and Stratton 7kw for my place with a manual transfer switch.

I've connected in a sewer pump, well pump, oil burner & circulation pumps two refrigerators and a freezer microwave and some lights.

It was the best value for what I wanted. Happy shopping.

**Searcher67** · March 10th, 2009, 07:43 PM

What I gather is this, you want a genny for emergency use. Does this genny have to be permanant or would you consider a portable?

Me personally, I have a portable B/S genny. I've had it for about 5 years and in that time I have only "NEEDED" it twice..Was the power was out for over 10 hours and the next time it was only out 4.

Mine is a 5750 and that is a bit more than I need, but the price was right! With that genny I ran , 1 fridge, 2A/C's two tv's , two satellite recievers, computer, 3 lamps, med size freezer and our cell phones. It never bogged down..It can run 10-12 hours on a tank of gas (about 5 gals) depending on the power load...

I like the portablilty, we are able to take it hunting/camping or to another location in an emergency...

Hope this helps

**BIGSHOVEL** · March 10th, 2009, 07:52 PM

I'm running a Honda 6500 at home and a Honda EB3500 at camp, manual transfer at home and I won't disclose how camp is set up. The 6500 runs 5 outlets, six lights, well pump, oil furnace, fridge and freezer. I am far from capacity on it. The 3500 will run 6 100 watt bulbs, tv, outhouse light and either toaster, microwave or coffee maker but not more than 1 at a time.

Brad

**Brick** · March 10th, 2009, 08:11 PM

Take a look at your monthly electric bill that will pretty well tell you what you need to run your house, then add in starting wattage. Places like Lowe's or Home Depot have some handy-dandy charts with typical power requirements.

You already know what you want to run so it's pretty much just simple addition to get your output requirement.

The bigger decisions are: Do you want to set the generator up as a real stand-by with transfer switch all wired into your house electrical circuits? What fuel are you going to run the genset on? Gasoline, natural gas or propane are the least expensive generators, diesel generators are really pricey!

**Warners Surplus** · March 10th, 2009, 08:38 PM

one BIG question that would help to answer yours is. what type of heat do you have, kmowing that will go a long way in determining what size and type of system you need.

From my own experience over the years (we are on the end of a high line that runs up thru a distance of woods so if the power goes out and there are any other reported outages with clusters of more than 5 houses then we are shit out of luck and go without power for anywhere from 3 days to 2 years ago we went for 15 days without power.

I was a contractor for 15 years so I had a couple 5000/6250 gens sitting around and for the first couple times I used them but you realize quick that the couple lights plus a refrig and chest freezer just IS NOT enough if you are going for days without power. So I did the usual and bought a happy home owner 10KW gas powered unit from Home Depot and used that for one winter till I realized the bigger units are such a gas hog that if you are going for 4 or 5 days without power then you need to either store 50 gallons of gas or make daily runs to a gas station (unless they are without power).

So I finaly bit the bullet and installed a 16KW propane fired gen set with automatic transfer switch and now everytime the power goes out and within 8 seconds the unit fires up and you hear the transfer switch kick in (not even long enough to find a flashlight) I kick myself in the ass for all the years I did it the hard way. The 16KW unit runs my entire house so it's business as usual here when everyone around me sits in the dark.

JMHO,
Rich W.

**IV_Warrior** · March 10th, 2009, 08:39 PM

Here's one site that can help you a little. It's Guardian's site, and has a "what size generator do I need" calculator on there. They also have information about their units.

How do you heat your home? If I was buying a generator, I'd want one that can also power my furnace, in addition to the fridge/freezer. Auto-switching would be nice, as well. Especially if you're someone who spends a fair amount of time away from home. It'd be miserable to have the power go out right after you left for the weekend, and not come back on for a few days, and end up with spoiled food or frozen pipes because you weren't home to turn the genny on.

**Warners Surplus** · March 10th, 2009, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by IV_Warrior

Here's one site that can help you a little. It's Guardian's site, and has a "what size generator do I need" calculator on there. They also have information about their units.

How do you heat your home? If I was buying a generator, I'd want one that can also power my furnace, in addition to the fridge/freezer. Auto-switching would be nice, as well. Especially if you're someone who spends a fair amount of time away from home. It'd be miserable to have the power go out right after you left for the weekend, and not come back on for a few days, and end up with spoiled food or frozen pipes because you weren't home to turn the genny on.

The Guardian is the unit I have.

Rich W.

**RaisedByWolves** · March 10th, 2009, 09:27 PM

Heres my genset, 64 Winco 5kw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dftz2CNu6Y8

.

**edstephan** · March 10th, 2009, 09:55 PM

Here are our gensets
This is my primary generator I bought off eBay for $310.00 and had to drive up to Boston to get it
Yes, you can get deals off ebay
Onan 10CW 3R/1B 10KW Single Phase 240 Natural Gas Generator

This is our standby generators we got off eBay for $1800.00 for the set and trailers.
Dual 10KW MEP18 Military Gasoline Gensets on a ton and a half trailer

House is setup for manual transfer.

An OC Activist and 1 of the 3%
Ed Stephan