Generators

[Cowboy]

Are There Alternatives To A Noisy
Gas Generator?

Other Considerations
Noise is a problem with any generator. In
urban areas, there are building codes that
restrict noise levels. Your neighbors will not
like the noise, especially if you?re the only one
on the block with electricity.
The codes don?t apply during emergencies,
but you will have to run the generator for tests
periodically, so you may need to do some noise
reduction. Commercial mufflers and sound
absorbing enclosures are available for all sizes
of generators. Enclosures can also weatherproof
your system.
A lot of poor quality generators produce
electrical current of questionable power quality.
They may interfere with TV and radio reception,
and some electric motors may overheat.
They can even damage solid state controls.
You need to get a good enough generator that
will not cause problems for the appliances you
want to run.
Exhaust fumes from a generator can be a
problem. Fumes can enter your house or your
neighbors, causing unpleasant odors or may
even become dangerous. Never run a portable
generator in a garage or enclosed space where
it will bother the house next door. Never vent a
stationary generator where the fumes will
become a problem.

What Model of Generator
Should I Get?

You have decided to purchase a generator.
The choices are many. Generators are classified
as either consumer or commercial grade.
They range from 500 to 25,000 watts in
output and run on gasoline, diesel, propane,
or natural gas. You can buy units that produce
12-volt d/c, or 110 and 220-volt a/c.
Generators are available in hand-carried
models and permanent-mount systems. You
can buy hand crank, electric start, or automatic
start models.
Permanent (stationary) units are usually
the highest quality. They operate at a lower
RPM, which usually means longer life, and
are available in a variety of fuel types. Diesel
operated units are the safest because the fuel
is less flammable. Propane and natural gas
are the cleanest fuel types.
Portable units are small, easy to move
around, and are intended to run a few appliances
for a short period of time.
Any gasoline generator should be
equipped with a spark arrestor and a good
muffler. A good generator will have a builtin
circuit breaker.
In general, purchase the smallest, simplest
generator that will do the job.

What Size Do I Need?

A simple way of estimating size requirements
is to add up the wattage of all electrical
appliances you plan on running simultaneously
and add 20 percent to the total as
fudge factor. You need to buy the size just
larger than your calculation total. Sometimes
it is difficult to find the power requirements
(wattage) of an appliance. The
specification labels are usually on the back
or bottom of the appliance.
Wattage Requirements For Heating
Systems and Appliances

Electric heaters and hot water heaters are
the biggest users of energy. Reducing your
dependence on these will enable you to use
a smaller generator and lessen your cost.
Heating Systems.....................Watts
Electric Furnace.....................5,000-30,000
Wall Unit Heaters (each) ...........700-2,000
Gas & Oil Heaters (power for fans) ... 500
Pellet Stoves ..............................600-1,000

Major Appliances.......................Watts
Clothes Dryer........................................4,500
Computer (including monitor).................650
Dishwasher........................................ ....1,200
Hot Water Heater..................................4,500
Microwave......................................... ......650
Range............................................. .....12,000
Refrigerator/Freezer.................................500
Color TV................................................ ..120
Washing Machine....................................375

Household Appliances..............Watts

Blender........................................... ..........300
Coffee Maker...........................................85 0
Hair Dryer............................................. ...700
Iron.............................................. ..........1,100
Lights............................................ ......60-100
Radio............................................. .............75
Toaster........................................... ........1,100

Sizing Guidelines For Generators

Use..............................Watts............ ....Cost
Charge batteries......................200-400..........$250-$300
Lights & sm. appliances...1,000-2,000...........$350-$600
Refrigerator, few lights....3,000-4,000.......$600-$1,500
Heat, refrigerator, lights..5,000-50,000..$5,000-$30,000

Hooking Up The Generator

ALWAYS FOLLOW THE
MANUFACTURER?S INSTRUCTIONS
AND ADHERE TO ELECTRICAL CODE
REQUIREMENTS WHEN HOOKING UP
A GENERATOR.
When operating a portable generator, use
an extra heavy duty extension cord to plug in
appliances directly. DON?T PLUG A PORTABLE
GENERATOR INTO HOUSEHOLD
CIRCUITS. It will backfeed through
the household service, go out onto the power
grid, and could electrocute a line person
trying to restore your power. It can also
damage the home?s electrical system.
Permanent generators are usually made to
be wired into the home?s electrical system.
An electrical contractor or a qualified electrician
should install these systems. ELECTRICAL
CODE REQUIRES THE GENERATOR
TO BE INSTALLED WITH A
TRANSFER SWITCH. The transfer switch
disconnects the household circuit from the
utility?s side of the electrical panel to prevent
back feeding power onto the power lines
before connecting the generator to the
household system. This can even be automated
with a rather expensive ($2,000-
$3,000) automatically operated transfer
switch that senses when the power goes out
and automatically starts the generator when
the utility power goes out and shuts it off
when the power is restored.
What Should I Do In The Way Of
Operation And Maintenance?
First, plan ahead...buy your generator
before the power goes off. Set it up ahead of
time. You?ll avoid last minute mistakes.
Only run your generator when you have
to. It may be a good idea to run it only one
hour out of four during the day. Just enough
to keep your freezer cold. Shut it off when
you go to bed if you can. Check it now and
then to make sure it hasn?t vibrated itself
down the driveway.
If you choose a small portable unit, you
will be responsible for maintaining it. If you
choose a larger unit, consider getting a
maintenance agreement with your dealer.
All motors need at least annual maintenance.
You?ll need to have servicing supplies on
hand in case something goes wrong during
an electrical outage.
Following the manufacturer?s recommendations
for storage. You may need to drain
the tank. Use only freshly mixed fuel.
Look for a unit with a low oil cut-off feature,
overheating protection and a low fuel indicator.
These features will help eliminate
breakdowns. Repairing your own power
system when the utility system is down can
be discouraging.
NEVER refuel a hot engine. Let it cool
down at least 10 minutes. Spilled fuel on a
hot muffler can be disastrous. Store the fuel
in a proper metal, vented fuel storage locker,
not in the garage.

A little homework is in order before you run
out and purchase a generator. An evaluation of
your situation is a good place to begin. To help
decide whether or not you need a generator,
evaluate your living situation.
Questions to ask yourself:
? Do you have an all electric home
without an alternative heating source?
? Do you have relatives or friends with
whom you could stay?
? Are there special needs in the home, e.g.,
health care concerns, pets, etc.?
? Do you work out of the home?
? How tolerant of inconveniences are you?

If you have an alternative heat source such
as propane, oil, kerosene, or wood heat, you
may be able to get by without investing in a
generator. Unfortunately, even these alternative
heat sources often have fans and motors that
require electricity. Flashlights and batterypowered
lamps should do for an emergency.
Candles and kerosene lamps may also suffice.
Portable kerosene heaters are a good temporary
heating source. It is recommended to open
a window to prevent gaseous fumes from
building up in the home. Using propane

Have You Considered
Alternatives?
barbecues or gas cook stoves for heat produces
deadly carbon monoxide gas and creates fire
hazards, so don?t try it.
If you think the power will be back on
within a day or so, cover the freezer with
blankets to add insulation and keep the door
closed. A freezer will keep food frozen for
several days without thawing.

[goldilocks]

We are looking into getting one but cannot decide if we should get a portable or a more permanent standby one. There is so many and so much to consider. We have read about all we could find and looked at several and cannot make a decision. It would just be for emergencies but it needs to be big enough to do some good and run the ac and fridge etc. and it needs to be able to run a long time if things are out awhile. Warranties are not very good so far. 2 years on most.
I need some testimonials if you will from you who have purchased and used them and what you like the best.
Who has a big standby for the home and who uses or has a large portable to run the house.
I think in a subdivision noise would be a factor and portables seem to be noisy but standbys may not get used all that much and are very costly. not a problem but don't want to spend it if not neccessary.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[prairiemom]

That's one of the classes we'll be covering at our Preparedness Fair--how to survive a power outage, esp in winter. We have someone teaching it who has a MA in emergency prep, so it should be informative.

We have a portable generator. We installed a throw switch on the main line and have the garage (which is about 50 ft from the house) wired so that the generator can run inside the garage and power the whole house. We've used it perhaps 5-6 times in the 12 yrs we've had it. The biggest was 3-4 yrs ago we were without power for 3 days in winter. It ran just fine.

It's nice because it's in a covered building so adding gas, checking oil, etc is easy even if it's storming outside. And it's far enough away that we don't have the constant noise bothering us.

We just need it for fridge, stove and lights. We need to run the furnace some to prevent the pipes in the basement from freezing, but most of our heat is from a woodburning stove.

Now my husband is a fanatic about caring for his machines. He runs the generator 2X a year, throws the switch to make sure everything is connected and running and changes the gas. After every outage he's changed the oil and filters. Unlike his brother in FL, who had a generator sitting in his garage for, I don't know, 3 yrs and never ran it. Dh told him he should check it to make sure it'd run OK. Then along came Hurricane Something, and they were without power for 5 days. The machine wouldn't start, he tried everything, finally hit it with a hammer and it started. :out: Then after 3 days he was running out of gas, so he drove 250 mi round trip to find gas. :wink (2): :001_rolleyes:

Anyway, the last 2 yrs we've had carburetor troubles and have had it in to be fixed twice, but it's been minor repairs. So it's been sufficient for our needs.

[Julie]

If you run your generator in the garage you had better have your door up. It will pour CO2 into your house and kill you otherwise. There were several stories in the news this winter of that happening to families.

[prairiemom]

That's true if you have an attached garage. Ours is not attached, it's 50ft away from the house.

[Ironyak]

It is the carbon monoxide (CO) that you should really be worried about. I wouldn't run it in any type of enclosure (attached or not) without FORCED ventilation (exhaust fan, etc.) I don't feel that having the door open is enough (unless you live in West Jordan and have a 30 MPH sustained wind all the flippin' time!).

Another consideration, is connecting your gen set to the ground rod near your outside electrical panel or to another ground rod you install where you run the generator. There is usually a ground lug on the generator where you can attach a grounding wire. Without it, there is no ground should you short circuit something. Many of the newer generators have GFCI outlets, however, I have never been brave enough to see if they will work w/o being grounded.

(If you connect your generator to your panel with an appropriate transfer switch then you may not need to ground the generator. It is still a good idea though.)

BTW in my opinion, Honda makes the best generators on the market. Yamaha is a close second. Both make models that are very quiet and very expensive. I settled on the Costco model that has a Honda engine and a Coleman generator head. It's loud but gets the job done. I paid around $900 two years ago.

[Seeker]

If you run your generator in the garage you had better have your door up. It will pour CO2 into your house and kill you otherwise. There were several stories in the news this winter of that happening to families.
I am new to the forum and this is my first post. This subject is near and dear to my heart as this was a requirement of mine to have in our home. As it turns out, we now need it due to health reasons so I am glad we got it and installed it when it was not a requirement.

I do believe that installation is a big key here. Building codes in our area when you have a generator in a garage require that you have an approved exhaust system attached to it so the exhaust moves outside the building. You also have to have the electrical connections inspected before you put everything into use.

Our generator is a large unit. It takes up a large portion of one stall of the garage. At the time the house was built, we installed a transfer switch next to the 200 amp service box. Once the generator is started, we just throw the switch and it takes over the full electrical of the house and shop.

We run ours for a number of hours every month to ensure that it will start and is running properly when we need it. Our garage is attached to the house and we get only a small amount of smell when first starting the unit into the house. This generator is basically a small car engine so it can be perceived as quite noisy. We do hear it when in the house, but it is not an annoyance. It is actually quite a reassuring sound.

As I said, I do believe it is all a matter of installation. I also urge everyone contemplating the addition of generator to their preps and living situation to do the necessary research to ensure that you are getting the unit you need. Once you have the unit, proper installation will make life much easier when the need to use it arises.

[Charsee]

I've seen a little gas generator at Costco for under $250 that is 1200 watts which I think would be plenty big enough to run our well which is my biggest concern. It appears to be generic. I really wish my husband was in the preparedness boat with me and I could look at something better (Honda 2000). My concern is will it work???? It's called a Powermight.

[BackBlast]

I've seen a little gas generator at Costco for under $250 that is 1200 watts which I think would be plenty big enough to run our well which is my biggest concern. It appears to be generic. I really wish my husband was in the preparedness boat with me and I could look at something better (Honda 2000). My concern is will it work???? It's called a Powermight.

Cheap gen sets usually are a terrible value. They typically last less than 100 hours, where the quality units will run for thousand+ hours and some higher end units running for 20-50 thousand+ hours with proper maintenance.

Brandon