Generators? Any advice?

[Boomer]

For quite awhile, we have been talking about getting a serious generator for our house here in Ohio. When hurricane winds hit Cincinnati a few months back (Go figure that one, huh? It was weird.) -- anyway, our little gasoline powered generator saved our refrigerator full of food. But that power outage happened when the weather was mild. It lasted about 2 days for us, but some here were out much longer.

Now, with all the news of those awful ice storms, my thoughts are turning again to generators, serious generators. I am almost talked into it by Mr. Boomer. (Sometimes he uses scare tactics. He knows how I hate cold weather.)

This would be a serious expense I know. It would involve a propane tank and electricians and all kinds of stuff for the way it would need to be done. But I definitely have it under consideration.

Somebody told me that the surest way to guarantee you will never need a generator is to install one. But I am sure getting close to agreeing to spring for one anyway.

I have heard that there may be some kind of new environmental requirement that is going to kick in soon, raising the price. So the plot thickens.

Any advice out there? Particulars? Experience?

Thanks.

Boomer

[downeaster]

If you risk losing your ability to heat your house, I would advise obtaining a generator large enough to power your heating unit. It seems most ice storms in the north are followed by freezing weather. With no heat you could experience serious damage due to water pipes freezing.
I would consult with a reputable electrician concerning the size and type of generator.
Here in The Villages, most people are concerned about their freezers defrosting.
Personally, I have a small inverter that attaches to my car battery. It will power the refrigerator and freezer. It is way cheaper than a generator, I don't have to store gasoline and it takes up less room than a brief case. I have had it for four years and other than testing it I have not had to use it.

[colleenj]

A little generator advice, having lived in 2 houses in the past where we had them (we lived out "in the boonies" and could easy be out of electricity for days).
First- make sure you have a professional do the wiring- they will not only make sure it is done right but we had a switch installed in our basement that we could use to switch over to generator power if we lost electricity. It was not only more convenient but it also assured that our circuitry was not damaged if the power came back on while we were on generator.
Make sure you get a big enough generator- We had one that would power our entire downstairs (including the kitchen), along with our furnace and water pump. It was more expensive but well worth the expense as we had several times we lost electricity for days and would have lost food, had frozen pipes, etc.
Make sure the generator is at least 10 feet away from the house, is not near windows and the exhaust is pointed away from the house. We have had several tragic deaths/ near misses from carbon monoxide poisoning in NH from people whose generators were too close to the house.
Generators can be a god send if you live in an area prone to outages but can be dangerous if not installed by a reputable professional. Good luck.

[Boomer]

Thank you. We will be talking to the electrician soon.

Boomer

[faithfulfrank]

I suggest a generac, (or a competitor brand) AUTOMATIC whole house generator.
this is what I have.

I installed it myself a few years ago. You can get them to run on either Natural gas or propane. It has an automatic transfer switch that switches to the generator power within 5 seconds of you losing electricity....BY ITSELF. you do nothing. When the power comes back on, it switches back. No gas to store, No cords, Nothing for you to do..

It is perminant...no one can ask to "borrow" it. It increases your home value. Piece of mind is HUGE.

Here is a picture of mine....http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/faithfulFrank/DCP_4618.jpg

Excuse the hoses lying around...usually neater then that. Goinf any other way has it's problems. Gas storage, starting them, maintaining them, cords, backfeeding, etc,etc. This is the only way to go.....

Frank D.

[Peachie]

I suggest a generac, (or a competitor brand) AUTOMATIC whole house generator.
this is what I have.

I installed it myself a few years ago. You can get them to run on either Natural gas or propane. It has an automatic transfer switch that switches to the generator power within 5 seconds of you losing electricity....BY ITSELF. you do nothing. When the power comes back on, it switches back. No gas to store, No cords, Nothing for you to do..

It is perminant...no one can ask to "borrow" it. It increases your home value. Piece of mind is HUGE.


Excuse the hoses lying around...usually neater then that. Goinf any other way has it's problems. Gas storage, starting them, maintaining them, cords, backfeeding, etc,etc. This is the only way to go.....

Frank D.


Frank, I do believe you are a neatnik... those hoses hardly make for a messy site. And Boomer, what great info for a generator... now I'm even interested. Good luck!

[golfnut]

boomer, if you're moving to TV why bother putting a generator of this magnitude on the house in Ohio. Just sell the house and move to TV, case closed......GN

[chuckinca]

Frank:

How many KV?


.

[Boomer]

boomer, if you're moving to TV why bother putting a generator of this magnitude on the house in Ohio. Just sell the house and move to TV, case closed......GN

Hi Golfnut. It's not that simple. We would be keeping the Ohio house. It's what I call our "geezer house." It's one floor but has a big basement for tools and stuff. (too much stuff) The yard is of manageable size and the neighbors are great. We downsized to it in 2003. We plan to keep it.

A home in the sunshine would be a second home.

In fact, one of the arguments for a generator is that it could babysit the house while we are gone.

It's not only the cold weather. It is also the fact that our yard is almost perfectly flat. Our basement has stayed dry, so far. There are two sump pumps that have battery backup. But battery backup can't last forever. A couple of years ago when we were inundated with rain for days on end, I saw a yard around the corner turn into a big pond. They could have stocked it with bass. Not a pretty site. Our drainage is better than that, but still, this is one flat yard.

We have people to check on things if we are gone for weeks or months at a time, but a generator could sure bring some peace of mind.

Mr. Boomer has been talking about this for a long time. It looks I am giving in. It will be a major operation I know.

Nice picture, Frank. Thanks. My guess is that we will have some pictures of our own at some point. Generac is the one getting talked about by Mr. B and the electrician.

Boomer

[EdV]

Having just gone 4 days without power here in North Central Mass., I can certainly speak for the benefits of having backup power. I have a 5000 watt generator which kept the house warm, the refrigerator cold, the microwave cooking, the TV, DVD and computer running, and an assortment of lights burning. After the first day of outage, 20 of the 26 homes in my neighborhood had been abandoned with the residents staying with relatives or in motels at $100/night.

There’s no question that Frank’s Guardian standby generator is the ultimate for unattended automatic backup power. But that kind of rig requires either natural gas or a large propane tank to run. And the cost of this will quickly approach $5,000.

But for those of us that don’t have gas service or are on a much tighter budget there is an alternative in the $1,500 range. This consist of a 5000 watt gasoline generator hooked up to a 6 circuit manual transfer switch.

The first thing to do is look at your breaker panel and determine the six circuits that will need to be driven to cover the essentials. If you find that you need additional circuits because of how your circuits are set up, you can pay a little more and get an 8 or 10 circuit transfer switch. Here’s how my switch is set up:

1 Microwave Oven
2 Computer and cable modem, printer, desk lights
3 Refrigerator
4 Furnace
5 TV/DVR, living room and bathroom lights
6 Kitchen Lights

For the generator, northerntool.com has a great buy on a Briggs and Stratton 5kw electric start generator (model #030362) for about $750 delivered.

http://edv100.home.comcast.net/the-villages/Briggs and Stratton 5000.jpg

This unit includes a small battery with a built in trickle charger that allows you to keep the battery charged at all times and ready to start with the push of a button (a must for seniors especially in very cold weather). And it has wheels and a flip up handle so it can easily be rolled outside your garage when you’re ready to fire it up

Next is the transfer switch. There are two ways to do this depending on where your breaker panel is located.

If your breaker panel is located in your garage, here is a picture of the setup:

http://edv100.home.comcast.net/the-villages/Garage Installation.jpg

For this you would want the Reliance Controls model 30261A available from electricgeneratorsdirect.com and you would connect the generator to the transfer switch with a prewired 30 amp power cord (either 25’ or 40’).

Connection of the transfer switch to the 6 designated circuits in your breaker panel should take an electrician less than two hours. Estimated cost would then be:

Generator 750
Transfer Switch 250
40' Power Cord 140
Electrician 2 hrs. 200
Total 1340

If your breaker panel is located in your basement, here is a picture of the setup:

http://edv100.home.comcast.net/the-villages/Basement Installation.jpg

For this you would want the Reliance Controls model 31406CRK kit available at amazon.com

The generator connects to the supplied rain tight outlet by your garage door with the supplied 30 amp power cord. The electrician would then run an 8 or 10 gauge Romex cable from the outlet down to the transfer switch mounted in the basement. This will take about 4 hours if you can assist the electrician to pull the romex cable. Estimated cost would then be:

Generator 750
Transfer Switch Kit 300
100ft Romex Cable 125
Electrician 4 hrs. 400
Total 1575


And last but not least is the gas can(s) used for storage and filling the generator. Most people use those cheap plastic cans with a short spout. But this can be a hazard. Most large portable generators have their tank mounted on the top of the generator and the fill cap is located more or less in the middle of the tank. As you attempt to fill the tank, the gas from the can will come out before you have the spout into filler resulting in spillage onto the tank or even worse if the spillage drips down onto a hot generator! And the same thing happens when you try to stop the flow of gas by tilting the can backwards, more spillage.

The Justrite UNO 5 Gallon Type 2 Red Safety Can solves this problem. You can tilt the can and insert the spout into the filler and no gas comes out until you squeeze leaver. To stop the flow instantly, just release the lever. You can even lay a filled can on it’s side and no gas comes out. They’re available on the internet for about $85 delivered. Expensive, but well worth the safety, if you’re going to store and handle gasoline in your garage. I bown three of these.


http://edv100.home.comcast.net/the-villages/Justrite UNO Type II Safety Can.jpg


Hope this information helps.

[faithfulfrank]

Frank:

How many KV?


.

Hello, sorry for the delay in posting. I honestly do not remember for sure...I think it was 13k.....I do not think it was the 15k, but I might be wrong. I'm at the firehouse now, so I can't look at my paperwork to see. We are also having a bit of a snowstorm at the moment, so it would be hard to check it outside.

EdV.....nice post!

I asked someone about generators in Florida, and I was told by a few people that since all of our power is underground, no poles, the chance of losing power for a long time is minimal. I'm guessing that it could still happen....

a downside to our home is that there is no gas....so I'd either have to get a gas generator and store lots of gas, or get a 150 lb propane tank.....or a car run inverter.....I'd have to look into my options more for the Florida home.

Frank D.

[Boomer]

Here I am, in this old thread, this old thread started by me.

Here I am, reporting to you live, from The Land of I Told You So.

The Land of I Told You So is located in icy, snowy Cincinnati.

We did not get around to the generator of Mr. Boomer's dreams. I must admit that it moved down the list of things to do. We got sidetracked. Lulled into that world of the grasshoppers. You know the grasshoppers. It will always be nice weather the grasshoppers think.

And yes, I admit that I was the one who did the sidetracking, the lulling.

But sometimes I just have to sidetrack these things. These projects of Mr. B's.

Mr. Boomer thinks a ham antenna would be a lovely decorative touch to our yard. Our yard is just not that big. I keep saying to him, "I know you know about stealth. Just put that ham antenna where I will never know it is there."

Well, maybe he did put a stealth antenna out there somewhere in the yard or on the house. I don't know. How would I know? It would be a stealth antenna.

But I do not think he put in a stealth generator. Ohhhhh, how I wish.

We lost power for a little while about an hour ago. It came back on. But will it stay?

Gee, maybe I will call the electrician and see if he can install a generator today.......

Boomer, reporting to you live from The Land of I Told You So

[Hawkwind]

A ham radio antenna is a very nice touch for the yeard. I have a 75 foot freestander with two big antennas at the top. That is here in Ohio and that will not be allowed in TV. The ham radio club has a nice CD showing pictiues of stealth antennas in TV. N8RF