Stand by generator thread
 

I have been looking into getting one for my house. I was wondering if anyone here has one. If so what you got?

I bought a 10kw diesel welder, killed to birds with one stone.

Not a bad idea to have one with the threat of brown and black outs starting to happen.. What provisions have/had you to do for a safe hook up...:character0175.

A disconnect switch at your meter should be all you need. You need to isolate your generator from the grid, wouldn't want the guy trying to fix the problem getting zapped by your generator.

2000w Champion Generator w/ a really long extension cord..lol.

IF power went out, what do I need... Basically keep the food cold, and run a couple of lights, maybe a heater. I don't need to power the whole house.

I got a 20k kohler last year , I was looking at generac and there was to many bad reviews on it, the electrician bill was about 2/3 the price of the generator.

I am very happy with it.

I haven't found many poor reviews on the Generac's, Honeywell's are just re branded Gererac's.

Funny you should mention that. We have a 6500 Honda. When we sold the old place all that was needed was one disconnect between the power into the panel fromthe pole via a throw switch and that is how the elecctician wired it, plus there is the breaker switch at the pole.

When we buil the new place last year the electrician said the code has changed and now we had to put a total disconnect then "downstream" of that was the throw switch which also isolates the pole. So you now apparently need a backup for a backup and then there is also the breaker switch at the pole. Some accident must have happened to change the code. Not cheap to do it but I think it is worth it.

I can still find bad reviews on the Generac , but you can find bad reviews on anything these days, but one thing I keep seeing is the customer service from the head company is not the best, I also have seen if you buy one make sure the company you buy it from will service it .

I would consider a natural gas generator. With a gas/diesel generator you will only last as long as your jerry cans. In a condition that may require a prolonged use a natural gas generator will run just about indefinitely.

NG is what I am looking into. First thought was Diesel but they do suck back a lot of it in a hurry. Al thou it is not a for sure thing that the NG would run dry during a natural disaster.

They have the package at Costco right now. Honeywell, I believe.

6000 watt Coleman generator in a shed that is wired to a completely separate system. We have an outlet in every room for lamps and the freezer and refrigerator. The furnace is connected via its own breaker so our electricity does not flow into the grid.

Gasoline is the only issue but I keep rotating through a couple of 5 gallon jerry cans to keep it fresh. Haven't had to use it in four years but you never know, you know.

Free

They Honeywells are just re-branded Generac's. And you can get a better deal on the Generac's from HomeDepot.

Does anyone know the regs on how far away from my house one of these would need to be? I have been searching online and can't seem to find anything.

They can be touching the house. Put it as close as possible to your breaker box.

Can you link me to your source of this information?

if you have a combustible wall this is the formula

http://www.scpdc.org/wp-content/uplo...stallation.pdf

if you have a firewall (steel/aluminum/asbestos/brick/concrete it can touch)

Thank you, but that is not the information I am looking for.

Have 10,000 watt Powerfist on a dolly to roll around the barn connecting to incubators, hatchers and brooding lamps if we ever have a major failure during hatching season but it is too big and heavy for me to move alone unless on the dolly within the barn as it takes 3-4 guys to put it in the pick up truck.

Bought a 3000 watt Honda knock off from Bumper to Bumper to use with 5th wheel and for portable jobs around the farm running saw etc that is just over a hundred pounds and will run all day on a tank of gas. Quiet compared to the big one.

I have had 2 electricians tell me that the "dead lock out switch" for a generator can not be mounted to my power pole as the power company owns it. (although several of my neighbors have had them for over 20 years) They also priced the Square D switch at $600 -$800 plus about the same to install. I have 5 very heavy cable extension cords (farm industrial quality) instead of paying $2000 for something we might use a few hours every second or third year.
it would be more convenient to have everything running on generator but we can get by with essentials with cables.

I have worked on lots of job sites were the trailers were powered with a whisperwatt. Quiet enough to stand beside and talk to someone, cheap to run so I hear, Kubota diesel so they are reliable.

I am considering an acreage that doesn't have power to it, Whisperwatt is high on my list.

Save your pennies!

I bought my Generac from our local REA. 7500W continuous, 9500W peak, electric start, gasoline, 30 liter tank. Was a great deal, and it runs well so far.

We always have had a backup gen on our farm. Two years ago we lived off a generator for a week after a storm knocked the power out. I have a Duetz 14kw diesel gen for sale if anyone is looking. I picked up a bigger one for the farm.

True enough. If a gas line ruptured and you lost feed you would not have a stable source of natural gas. However most natural gas gens will run on propane with minor tweaking. You could probably have a qualified mechanic mark initial NG settings and then retune to propane and mark the settings so you could change it back and forth in an emergency.

The Generac ones come ready for NG and can be switched to propane with the flick of a switch.

I am on the look out for a used one on Kijiji right now.