Generators

[strokedbronco]

With this monster ice storm in MA and 4.5 days without power(45 degrees in the house yesterday!) I have been thinking, seriously, about getting a back up generator for next time.

I'm guessing I would need something in the 5-8kw range. I'd like to power a good portion of the house, although I dont need everything running. Other than that I have no idea what I want/need. I dont want to spend a ton of money on something I would rarely use but I dont want it to be so cheap that its not working when I need it. Something I can find parts for if I need them.

So,

gas? diesel? propane? no NG. I have a 50 gal house propane tank for cooking and some smaller 20lbs ones or I have the Superduty I could get diesel out of if I needed. I could get gas out of one of several cars if needed. So I think any are good options depending on which is better.

portable or permanent mount? I'm not sure. I really havent ever needed a portable gen but I guess there is 'someday'.

Any and all info would be greatly appreciated.

[jeepcj]

kill two birds with one stone, get one of those LARGE gas powered arc welders in the 15 - 20 hp range. I can run the important thing in the house like the Frig, some lights, heaters and the stove.

[demonranger]

A couple items to consider in choosing your generator

How long do you think you are going to run it continuously?
calculate the fuel useage so you'll know how much you need on hand or are you able to get out to places and purchase fuel?


Diesel will keep for quite a while cheap, but will absorb water over time
Gasoline will go bad rather quickly even faster if it is ethanol laced gasoline
Propane will last indefinitely but you need a large tank and refilling it is not a DIY job

How are you going to get the power to the appliances of choice in the house through an automatic transfer switch? or "suicide cord" ie backfeed the dryer circuit?

The portable genset will need to be placed outside when running for exhaust reasons leaving a door open to run the wire inside.

When I sat down and did calcuations I figured that for what I want to run a permenant setup would be the better option but would be more expensive initially to do correctly but would be easier when it came time to use it. I would spend the money to buy an ATS with an excerciser program so I wouldn't have to worry about trying to remember.

In general a diesel will consume the least volume of fuel for a given run time hence why most generators used in emergency backup are diesel especially when combined with the shelf life of the fuel and ease of refilling.

[Mechanos]

I've used my 5kw (6kw peak) genny to power my whole house during several outages. I've been able to run pretty much everything I wanted to at once with the exception of the big ticket appliances. I cannot run the dryer, welder, or air compressor... draws too much current. If I want to run the microwave, I just need to make sure the furnace blower is also running. I have a 120/240V twist-lock outlet right by the garage door that I use to power my welder. I use that to backfeed the main panel. It's only a "suicide cord" if you don't know what the fuck you're doing. :flipoff2:

[Pavemen]

my dad just picked up a 5700W McCullough portable generator. He's in the end stagees of building his new house and its wired for a treansfer switch and a handful of items on the generator power like the fridge, well pump, heater fan, etc.

Since he's on propane at the house, I tried to talk him into a small hard mount propane unit, but he wanted to have to walk out in the cold to get the genny and then plug it in....

[Todd W]

I made a post on this search ... it was a couple months ago I believe.

If you want something that lasts forever get a diesel. They last a LOT longer than gas and propane.

[uglyscout]

If I were in need for a backup power source I would make mine temporary and somewhat portable. For the very limited times my house is without power it would be a shame to waste all the money on a permanent setup.

I'd also probably not rewire my power supply to add a transfer switch -- I'd just raid the garage and run a bunch of extension cords :D Stay classy.

Only thing that would not work right now off and extension cord is the blower on the furnace -- A pretty easy fix, the front panel pops off in about 15 seconds -- wire in sometype of 'safe' continuous use rated plug connection (there has to be some product like that, I invision a male and female end, then just have a short cord made up with the correct end and a standard plug in the other end) - unplug from hardwired power, plug into extension cord -- no back feeding, no problems, powered up in a few minutes, $20 in parts or less and wired up in 20 minutes some summer day with a beer in your hand.

[Mechanos]

If I were in need for a backup power source I would make mine temporary and somewhat portable. For the very limited times my house is without power it would be a shame to waste all the money on a permanent setup.

I'd also probably not rewire my power supply to add a transfer switch -- I'd just raid the garage and run a bunch of extension cords :D Stay classy.

Only thing that would not work right now off and extension cord is the blower on the furnace -- A pretty easy fix, the front panel pops off in about 15 seconds -- wire in sometype of 'safe' continuous use rated plug connection (there has to be some product like that, I invision a male and female end, then just have a short cord made up with the correct end and a standard plug in the other end) - unplug from hardwired power, plug into extension cord -- no back feeding, no problems, powered up in a few minutes, $20 in parts or less and wired up in 20 minutes some summer day with a beer in your hand.

Simplicity of set up is why I went the way I did. I just turn off the main breaker, open the garage door, drag the genny out, plug it into my 120/240 recepticle, and fire up the genny. My genny is pretty freakin' heavy, so I do have to set my beer down to drag it out.... but I can do everything else with a beer in my hand. :flipoff2:

I just run the cord under the garage door and close the door on it. If I lost power more frequently, I would spend a little extra and wire up one of those fancy weatherproof outside generator connection points. Just not worth for the few times I lose power.

[uglyscout]

Simplicity of set up is why I went the way I did. I just turn off the main breaker, open the garage door, drag the genny out, plug it into my 120/240 recepticle, and fire up the genny. My genny is pretty freakin' heavy, so I do have to set my beer down to drag it out.... but I can do everything else with a beer in my hand. :flipoff2:

I just run the cord under the garage door and close the door on it. If I lost power more frequently, I would spend a little extra and wire up one of those fancy weatherproof outside generator connection points. Just not worth for the few times I lose power.


That works great if you can fully disconnect your house from the outside power -- the piece of crap electricain that wired my house in 1968 must have used the cheapest breaker box on the planet. :shaking: The top half of the box is always hot -- no main breaker/shut off. All the 220 stuff is on the top. The bottom half of the box is controlled by a breaker from the top half. And of course my furnace is on the top half of the box (although not 220 like everything else on the top half)-- I could move it to the bottom and back feed that half - but then i would have to transfer something else to the top... And I hate wiring.

[Mechanos]

That works great if you can fully disconnect your house from the outside power -- the piece of crap electricain that wired my house in 1968 must have used the cheapest breaker box on the planet. :shaking: The top half of the box is always hot -- no main breaker/shut off. All the 220 stuff is on the top. The bottom half of the box is controlled by a breaker from the top half. And of course my furnace is on the top half of the box (although not 220 like everything else on the top half)-- I could move it to the bottom and back feed that half - but then i would have to transfer something else to the top... And I hate wiring.

WOW. I don't know how they got away with installing a main panel that does not have a main disconnect.

[roverjohn]

I'm going to call BS on this one too. I've never seen any installation without a mains shutoff. I have seen hidden main shutoffs stashed in very odd locations though. I'd look for it.

[uglyscout]

I'm going to call BS on this one too. I've never seen any installation without a mains shutoff. I have seen hidden main shutoffs stashed in very odd locations though. I'd look for it.

I've had it apart more than once, I can assure you it does not have a main disconnect. I believe it is called a split-bus panel and they do not use them anymore. I may not like wiring -- but I do know what I am doing :flipoff2:

Here is how I get my power:

Buried cable from the street to the side of the garage..
Cable comes up in wall of garage in metal pipe.
Meter is on the outside wall.
Big fat gray plastic covered cable comes out of meter in side wall.
Goes up wall.
Runs over the top of the garage rafters (perpindicular to rafters, with no additional support).
Comes down into wall between garage and house.
Goes into breaker box.
Cable splits and powers the box.
Top 6 or 8 (I can't recall exactly) slots at the top are always hot
Gap in the middle of the panel with no breakers.
Bottom 10-12 slots are controlled by ONE of the 220 breakers in the top section.


EDIT: It looks kind of like this box...
http://www.warreninspect.com/images/198.jpg

[Mechanos]

Shit... it's been almost 15 years since I did any inspecting, but that description of how you're wired smacks of several violations. Sounds like a clown wired your house. :flipoff2:

[uglyscout]

Shit... it's been almost 15 years since I did any inspecting, but that description of how you're wired smacks of several violations. Sounds like a clown wired your house. :flipoff2:

Yes indeed. I made sure to mention the things that I don't think would pass code today. But I am almost positive it is all original - except the crap I have added.

[brewchief]

IIRC the NEC requires that you can kill power with no more than 6 means of disconnect and they must be grouped in the same location, with a few exceptions of course:shaking:.

Those split buss panels are still fairly common around here, mostly in the late sixtys and early to mid seventies houses.

Brewchief:D

[some zilch]

i use this:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w172/super-trucker/tower-1.jpg?t=1229480635
i ran it for 52 hours straight last weekend in the ice storm, day and night. It could power everythink except my well pump (must be a monster) and my 9000 (!) watt elec water heater. Need to get a propane water heater. It also makes the driveway nice and bright:D

During that 52 hours of running, it only used 6 gal of diesel:flipoff2:

go diesel.......i dont know how many times a small gas engine can run 50 hours at a clip

[K2Orion]

I have also used a portable light plant like the above post. I was going to post and suggest it myself. I "borrowed" mine from my employer from a highway project near my house. I ran it for ~48 hrs. to power everything (furnace,elec.range,waterheater) and even had my xmas lights on. I don't know how much fuel it used. I offered to fuel it up but the superintendent said not to worry about it.
I just backfed my panel through the welder outlet in the garage via a "gay cord" (2 male ends on a cord).
It was not quiet, but that could probably be remedied with a supplemental exhaust. Noise is generally not a concern on a construction site. And they are portable. Just hook it up to your truck and drive away, which could greatly reduce your initial investment if you are dumb/brave enough. And if not, rental companies and construction companies sell or auction them at a significant discount over new when they still have plenty of life left in them.

[stimie]

i have a little 3600 watt unit that powers pump,frig,boiler,living room lights,tv the only thing i have to worry about is start up load. i do have a transfer switch installed just to make it easy for the wife.it will run four 12 hours on 6 gal of gas give or take. it has saved my bacon more than once.:D

[strokedbronco]

so I was looking at propane but I dont think my 50gal tank is good for much more than 50-70 hours IF the tank is full plus maybe another 10-20 with the portable ones. Thats based on what I saw for consumption rates of .5ish@50@ to 1.6ish at full power. Gas or diesel would be easier for me to get, most likely.

I guess I'm looking for something that would do 75% of the house. That is furnace, refrig, hotwater heater, water pumps, small tv, most lights. And I guess it would seem I want something continuous run unless thats a big dollar situation. i guess I need to add up all the draws on what I want to run first

Hell I'm on almost 5 days without power and we WONT have it by the end of the week and they are telling us MAYBE mid-late next week!


Bigger problem:

I borrowed a genny from a friend late monday but finding the 4 prong 220 plug is like finding bigfoot so its running 120 and I only have limited things on in the house(its only running 1/2 the panel). No I didnt wire it this way, dont know know if its right or wrong but it was done by an electrician so I'm guessing its ok.

But more importantly My brand NEW furnance took a crap yesterday. The repair guy tried for 4 hours yesterday to fix it and couldnt so he wants me to bring in an electrician.

So another question is could have damaged the furnace electronics by starting the generator with the 'house' plugged in? I didnt think of unplugging it when I fired it up. The furnace maker weil-McClain says they have never heard of it happening but its the only thing I can point to.

[my96z]

I purchased a 25 KW diesel genny. from http://www.affordablepower.com/ it is very noisy but i can run my whole house A/C and all.. Since I live in a hurricane zone the genny comes in handy... Also it burns .75 gallon per hour with it at 1/2 capacity... If you have space to put a small shed and insulate it really good this generator would be perfect. And for it being diesel they are very well priced...

my .02¢

[uglyscout]

So another question is could have damaged the furnace electronics by starting the generator with the 'house' plugged in? I didnt think of unplugging it when I fired it up. The furnace maker weil-McClain says they have never heard of it happening but its the only thing I can point to.

Most new furnance have full on circuit boards inside, flashing leds and the whole 9 yards-- I am sure you can 'power surge' them just like any other high-tech device. But who the heck would have thought to put your furnace on a surge protector?

[Mechanos]

...Bigger problem:

I borrowed a genny from a friend late monday but finding the 4 prong 220 plug is like finding bigfoot so its running 120 and I only have limited things on in the house(its only running 1/2 the panel). No I didnt wire it this way, dont know know if its right or wrong but it was done by an electrician so I'm guessing its ok.

But more importantly My brand NEW furnance took a crap yesterday. The repair guy tried for 4 hours yesterday to fix it and couldnt so he wants me to bring in an electrician.

So another question is could have damaged the furnace electronics by starting the generator with the 'house' plugged in? I didnt think of unplugging it when I fired it up. The furnace maker weil-McClain says they have never heard of it happening but its the only thing I can point to.

Lowes and Home Depot both carry the 4-prong twist-lock plugs around here. They're about $15-$20 if memory serves me correctly. Now during the last big ice storm we had here (when I first bought the genny) the plugs were rare as hen's teeth since everybody was buying them and stores couldn't keep them on the shelf. My genny has one 240V 4-prong twist-lock and one duplex 120V outlet. The way mine is wired, one leg of the windings is connected to one of the receptacles on the 120V outlet and the other leg is connected to the other half of the outlet. If the one you're using is wired similarly, you can feed half of the panel with a 120V cord from one of the receptacles and feed the other half of the panel from a second 120V cord plugged into the other half of the receptacle. It's not technically correct and not ideal, but it will work in a pinch until you can track down the 4-prong 240V plug.

[roverjohn]

I've had it apart more than once, I can assure you it does not have a main disconnect. I believe it is called a split-bus panel and they do not use them anymore. I may not like wiring -- but I do know what I am doing :flipoff2:

Here is how I get my power:

Buried cable from the street to the side of the garage..
Cable comes up in wall of garage in metal pipe.
Meter is on the outside wall.
Big fat gray plastic covered cable comes out of meter in side wall.
Goes up wall.
Runs over the top of the garage rafters (perpindicular to rafters, with no additional support).
Comes down into wall between garage and house.
Goes into breaker box.
Cable splits and powers the box.
Top 6 or 8 (I can't recall exactly) slots at the top are always hot
Gap in the middle of the panel with no breakers.
Bottom 10-12 slots are controlled by ONE of the 220 breakers in the top section.


EDIT: It looks kind of like this box...
http://www.warreninspect.com/images/198.jpg

Does your meter box have a shut off incorporated into it or is there a home owner accessible one at the street? If not, that's insane. I once saw a disconnect paneled over in a separate room from the main panel that I had to find with a metal detector. I guess the guy putting up the paneling just figured no one would ever need to turn the power off. Or change the mains fuses which, it seems, you don't have. I didn't mean to call you a BS'r but your installation really is crazy if it's how you describe. What prevents you from trying to pull 500 amps?

[strokedbronco]

Lowes and Home Depot both carry the 4-prong twist-lock plugs around here. They're about $15-$20 if memory serves me correctly. .

yeah we did too, now you need a note from God or connections. I got one today through a connection. I had ordered one from Northertool, that should be here fri.

[strokedbronco]

Most new furnance have full on circuit boards inside, flashing leds and the whole 9 yards--


oh yeah its got all that!

[hewl35]

oh yeah its got all that!

Install a whole house surge suppresser on the panel board. It's a black box with a couple LED's and has a 1/2" nipple to connect to the enclosure. Use a two pole circuit breaker to power it. Should cost in the 200 to 300 range. Square D and Eaton are but a few of the companies that offer these.
A lot of utility's also offer a surge supresser that installs in the meter base the charge is about 15 to 20 bucks a month for the device.
You still need to use the surge suppresser for the computer etc.

That panel board in the picture looks pretty familiar. To get a main disconnect, you could install a seperate disconnect after the meter head and before the panel, but changing the panelboard with or without a service upgrade would probably be cheaper.

[CumminsBronco]

Maybe I missed it or I'm too tired to comprehend anything right now (long day at work during the shutdown). I think you said you're only feeding half the panel, because of using only the 120 volt plug. Do you mean you're backfeeding an outlet to feed your breaker panel? Seems to me that doing that is only going to feed your furnace one leg, and surely your furnace is 208/240 volts, correct? I would think you didn't surge any boards but they'd suffer damage from low voltage??

[CumminsBronco]

Did I read that right, that you're only running half the panel? You mean that you're backfeeding through an outlet (120 volts), therefor feeding only one side of the panel? If that's what you're saying that isn;t good. You wouldn't be able to use any device that was 220 (208-240). A 220 breaker is fed from both lines feeding the panel.
If all this is obvious to you sorry about the rambling.

[suprdave737]

I've had it apart more than once, I can assure you it does not have a main disconnect. I believe it is called a split-bus panel and they do not use them anymore. I may not like wiring -- but I do know what I am doing :flipoff2:

Here is how I get my power:


His disconnect is the Meter- Unscrew the clamp and yank the meter out and Voila! Power is disconnected

[strokedbronco]

and surely your furnace is 208/240 volts, correct? I would think you didn't surge any boards but they'd suffer damage from low voltage??


No its 120. And yes maybe. I dont know exactly what the electrician did last night. After testing almost everything and finding it was ok he re-wired a few wires from how it was and now works.

I have almost everything back on. The generator I borrowed is 3500/4000w and its running at about 25-2800 with limited stuff on. NO way its got the power for the refrigerator or hot water heater.


Man am I beat! 930pm will be 7 days with no end in sight. The light department was saying mid-end of NEXT week but I heard through the grapevine(which is iffy I know) Jan 1! But, I'm taking that kind of seriously as I work in the next town over which is much better equipped and they are looking at 7-10 days for portions of the town that are on the same side as my town/house.

[strokedbronco]

Maybe I missed it or I'm too tired to comprehend anything right now (long day at work during the shutdown). I think you said you're only feeding half the panel, because of using only the 120 volt plug. Do you mean you're backfeeding an outlet to feed your breaker panel?

yeah it was hard-wired into an outlet. Not anymore.

[Mechanos]

No its 120. And yes maybe. I dont know exactly what the electrician did last night. After testing almost everything and finding it was ok he re-wired a few wires from how it was and now works.

I have almost everything back on. The generator I borrowed is 3500/4000w and its running at about 25-2800 with limited stuff on. NO way its got the power for the refrigerator or hot water heater.


Man am I beat! 930pm will be 7 days with no end in sight. The light department was saying mid-end of NEXT week but I heard through the grapevine(which is iffy I know) Jan 1! But, I'm taking that kind of seriously as I work in the next town over which is much better equipped and they are looking at 7-10 days for portions of the town that are on the same side as my town/house.

I'd go ahead and try the refrig, but I agree that there is no way it'll handle the water heater with all the other stuff on. May not even handle the water heater all by itself. Some of those water heaters pull an assload of power.

A lot of water heaters also have multiple heating elements in them as well. It might be possible to unhook one or more of the elements to drop the power requirement. It won't work as efficiently, but some hot water... hell, even warm water, is better than none at all.

[arndog]

I have a 3000 ish honda that worked great during our last prolonged outage. our water heater and furnace are gas so the little gen powered everything in the house ... minus the stove but refrig, small micro, tv lights, all the little stuff ... loud and annoying though so we would only have it on about 8 hours during the day then hunker down at night on top of the woodstove.

arndog

[Todd W]

I purchased a 25 KW diesel genny. from http://www.affordablepower.com/ it is very noisy but i can run my whole house A/C and all.. Since I live in a hurricane zone the genny comes in handy... Also it burns .75 gallon per hour with it at 1/2 capacity... If you have space to put a small shed and insulate it really good this generator would be perfect. And for it being diesel they are very well priced...

my .02¢

What did you get? (obviously you got 2x power but which setup did you go with?)

12.5 KW Used (not tested - ready to rebuild) $1295
12.5 KW Used, tested, serviced $1995
12.5 KW Used, tested, serviced, painted $2395
12.5 KW Used with Rebuilt engine $5495

The $1995 seems like a STEAL if it works and is efficient.
I`d imagine these are pretty old and not nearly as efficient as newer models.. ? Any specs

[Todd W]

http://tapiadiesel.net/default.aspx

Looks to sell the same things.

[Todd W]

MOre: http://www.emerson2-71gm.com/index.html

[some zilch]

the ones above from emerson seem to be the way to go......i am seriously considering one. I am getting tired of buying junk to replace junk, and would like to get in the habit of buying things once. god knows those detroits are bulletproof

[strokedbronco]

any thoughts on something like

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290279388061&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching

[my96z]

What did you get? (obviously you got 2x power but which setup did you go with?)

12.5 KW Used (not tested - ready to rebuild) $1295
12.5 KW Used, tested, serviced $1995
12.5 KW Used, tested, serviced, painted $2395
12.5 KW Used with Rebuilt engine $5495

The $1995 seems like a STEAL if it works and is efficient.
I`d imagine these are pretty old and not nearly as efficient as newer models.. ? Any specs

I bought mine about 3 years ago. Then they had a 25 kw unit. The 25 kw units are getting harder and harder to find.. I think that Emerson and Tapia Diesel have them right now... I bought a "Sound Enclosure" from Tapia Diesel. Well worth it... (For those who know what a 2-71 sounds like) it is quieter than my brothers Generac 15 KW. I think i paid around $2600 for mine but I also had to rebuild it... It wouldn't start with out either or putting some oil directly in the cylinders through the air panel... They are cheap to rebuild. Cost me around $700 for new sleeves, pistons, bearings, gaskets Valve guides and valves.. now it is good to go for another 20,000 hours or so...

[my96z]

any thoughts on something like

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290279388061&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching

This would probably be ok. The only problem is they are chinese and to get parts for it???????

[Todd W]

Wish I had the $ for the nice one from emerson or the other 'rebuilt' one you linked to. I have NO NEED for 25KW I figure. No central heat, no central air. If we had heat it would be propane, and only require a fan and pilot light both 110. Propane stove, propane heater. 12.5KW/2 would be all I would need 95% of time I figured maybe 12.5KW full power if Ihad to weld or something when power was out :D Also, already have an out building one would fit in, and already have 220v wired there to main breaker.. just not an extra 5k to spend for the machine, fuel setup, and electrics :/

Seems to be a SCREAMING deal though.

[Todd W]

Did you buy the
12.5 KW Used, tested, serviced $1995 and it needed rebuilt TOO?

Or did you just buy the one needing rebuilt?

$2k isn't bad if it works and can be used 'as-is'.
Wonder what shipping would run :eek:

[strokedbronco]

This would probably be ok. The only problem is they are chinese and to get parts for it???????


hhhmmmmm I see your point.

[strokedbronco]

Anybody know how the quality is on the Northstar stuff Northern tools sell?

[my96z]

Did you buy the
12.5 KW Used, tested, serviced $1995 and it needed rebuilt TOO?

Or did you just buy the one needing rebuilt?

$2k isn't bad if it works and can be used 'as-is'.
Wonder what shipping would run :eek:

No I bought the unit that hours were unknown and they just cleaned and painted it.. They did test run it but that only means that if it starts (Easy or hard) the complied with the start test and verified that the generator end works.. I got it and put about 100 hours on it and it was getting very hard to start. But sill I paid around $2500 for it and now it starts on the second time around on the crank... :grinpimp:

[Todd W]

No I bought the unit that hours were unknown and they just cleaned and painted it.. They did test run it but that only means that if it starts (Easy or hard) the complied with the start test and verified that the generator end works.. I got it and put about 100 hours on it and it was getting very hard to start. But sill I paid around $2500 for it and now it starts on the second time around on the crank... :grinpimp:

Awesome :smokin: next year :D

[some zilch]

Did you buy the
12.5 KW Used, tested, serviced $1995 and it needed rebuilt TOO?

Or did you just buy the one needing rebuilt?

$2k isn't bad if it works and can be used 'as-is'.
Wonder what shipping would run :eek:

i emailed, and shipping was $895 to NY

[strokedbronco]

Harmonic distortion??? I see a lot with under 3% and a bunch listed with under 6%....how relevant/important is it?

[James_Fendley]

This is the one I have. I have had it about 13-15 years. At times it has run for 3-5 days stopping only for gas. 16 hp B&S vangard engine that does not idle down. Uses about 5 gals every 8 hrs. It will run everything except have never tried AC with it, and I don't use the oven. We have a large, deep pump. Everything else is turned off when we need water. Saved our ass a lot of times. If I was going to do it again I would get a Miller Bobcat.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/Rock_Climber/gen.jpg

[strokedbronco]

I may be reading things wrong so please correct me if I am they way I read 'consumption rates' at 50%9and these are just generalized)

its

Diesel @ .5/gal/hr
Gas @ 1.0/hr
LP@ 1/hr

Maybe I'm reading the literature wrong and the LP ones are at 100%??? But to me it seems diesel would be the best choice(but most expesive to buy). And gas at $1.59/gal is hella cheaper that LP at $4/gal?

what am I missing??

[strokedbronco]

any thoughts on the tri-fuel stuff Northern tool sells? seems like it would be nice to chose between LP or gas

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_398826_398826

[PA Taco]

that looks like a good one to me.

[Todd W]

my96z- Where are you located? If I get a 'builder' in the future would be nice to have someone who's done it :D :D

Also, what did you do for fuel?

I'd like to have the potential to store 100 to 250 gallons.

[strokedbronco]

Anybody got any thoughts about quality of Kolher vs Generac?

I'm leaning towards Kohler even though its a little less output for the money as their warranty is 5years vs 2.

http://www.generac.com/Products/Resi...oled/14KW.aspx

VS

http://www.kohlerpower.com/residenti...&prodnum=51161


I 'think' I decided on propane even though its more expensive to run. My other real concen is that, like this past ELEVEN days without power, the propane truck wouldnt be able to get up my driveway to fill it. Until last night that would NOT have been possible because of the low wires.

a) cause I dont have to drag my dumb ass out to fill it every 8-10 hours
b) I can get a propane garage heater
c) its auto transfer, meaning no input from the other residents of the house who dont care to mess with the generator.

[strokedbronco]

I may be reading things wrong so please correct me if I am they way I read 'consumption rates' at 50%9and these are just generalized)

its

Diesel @ .5/gal/hr
Gas @ 1.0/hr
LP@ 1/hr

Maybe I'm reading the literature wrong and the LP ones are at 100%??? But to me it seems diesel would be the best choice(but most expesive to buy). And gas at $1.59/gal is hella cheaper that LP at $4/gal?

what am I missing??

any thoughts?

[strokedbronco]

any thoughts on the tri-fuel stuff Northern tool sells? seems like it would be nice to chose between LP or gas

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_398826_398826

I was leaning this way but the propane co tells me a quick-disconnect is a no-no so they I lose the portability aspect. oh well....seemed like a great idea.

[demonranger]

I was leaning this way but the propane co tells me a quick-disconnect is a no-no so they I lose the portability aspect. oh well....seemed like a great idea.

so you put a gas rated cut off and then you have a hose you just need tools now for when you need to move it.


and you can get auto transfer on any generator if you're going to hook it up permanently, Spend the extra money to get one that will exercise the generator for you if your doing an ATS.

[some zilch]

did anyone see HF is selling these detroit 2-71 generators?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=192

[Todd W]

did anyone see HF is selling these detroit 2-71 generators?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=192

I wonder what power generating head they have... I`m sure those are important as far as quality/brand goes...
I also noted "Fuel consumption: 2.40 gallons per hour" that must be fully loaded :confused: 1.2g @ 50% seems decent.

20kW is such over kill but <$5k is nice :smokin:

I can't imagine even using more than 6kW :D unless I needed to weld of coarse. Then 99% of the time 30amps would be fine.

Let's see... everything on.
-Hair Dryer (1500w?)
-Microwave (1500w?)
-Room AC (1500w)
-52" Plasma TV, tv box, stereo/speakers (I think around 500w)
- 10 x 10 CFLs @ 30watts each - (300w)
- 3 computers & 3 monitors (500w total)
- network equipment (10w total)
-Fridgex2 (3000w running? sound right?)

<9k w/everything on at once.

I think I could manage with the 12kW one... :smokin:

[strokedbronco]

anybody heard of these???

http://www.duropower.com/item.asp?PID=451&FID=14&level=1

[unimogken]

I bought a refurbished Coleman 8500 watt generator with a Honda 18hp engine on ebay last year for $610 shipped to my house.

I then bought a "tri-fuel kit" from http://www.propane-generators.com/tri-fuel_kits.htm and I am just waiting for a big storm to knock my power out!

No financial interest in the above link.

*Updated HP of engine.*

[rockmup]

I purchased a 25 KW diesel genny. from http://www.affordablepower.com/ it is very noisy but i can run my whole house A/C and all.. Since I live in a hurricane zone the genny comes in handy... Also it burns .75 gallon per hour with it at 1/2 capacity... If you have space to put a small shed and insulate it really good this generator would be perfect. And for it being diesel they are very well priced...

my .02¢

where are you and how much was shipping ?

[Todd W]

my96z- Where are you located? If I get a 'builder' in the future would be nice to have someone who's done it :D :D

Also, what did you do for fuel?

I'd like to have the potential to store 100 to 250 gallons.

my97z are you hiding now :laughing:

[strokedbronco]

I ended up going with a 10kw(surge is 15kw) Generac Propane generator. If nothing else for than the security of automatic power delivery, perfect for when I cant be there.

I'm still not overly impressed with the consumption rates/cost of propane but I think the automation, for me personally, will be worth it as I like to travel and can get stuck at work during emergency's.

apelectric.com has the best price, free shipping, and you get 1.5% off if you use google checkout, just fyi for y'all

[Todd W]

I ended up going with a 10kw(surge is 15kw) Generac Propane generator. If nothing else for than the security of automatic power delivery, perfect for when I cant be there.

I'm still not overly impressed with the consumption rates/cost of propane but I think the automation, for me personally, will be worth it as I like to travel and can get stuck at work during emergency's.

apelectric.com has the best price, free shipping, and you get 1.5% off if you use google checkout, just fyi for y'all

How much is `pane there?

[strokedbronco]

I think its just over $3, or it was recently anyway.

[Todd W]

I think its just over $3, or it was recently anyway.

Insane :eek:

3.49 here at gas stations.
2.50 here for home delivery
1.85 home delivery i just paid for first fill-up at new company :D I tried to get them to give me a 500g tank instead of the 250 but they said no :(

[strokedbronco]

yeah I emailed the propane co just to check, delivered right now $2.99 gal!

[my96z]

my96z- Where are you located? If I get a 'builder' in the future would be nice to have someone who's done it :D :D

Also, what did you do for fuel?

I'd like to have the potential to store 100 to 250 gallons.

Sorry it has been a while.. I am in Cancun, Mexico... :smokin: In reality the 2-71 (or any GM/Detroit 2 stroke) is very easy to rebuild.. The only trick is when you go to restart it make sure you have someone to put a piece of wood over the intake in case it decides to run away..:nuke:

Fuel I have a 250 gallon Aluminum tank right next to my generator.

Here is a link for my generator http://gallery.me.com/my96z28ss#100094

[debo75]

Not to get off topic, my96z did you do a build thread on that Jeep on your website? You don't see many with turbodiesels!

[my96z]

No I kinda did one on 4btswaps.com but the build up is on my website...
If you have any question P.M. me..

My website address is:

http://web.mac.com/my96z28ss