Back up genny set

[rmcky]

We have a 25kw Gererac whole house generator, natural gas. It is a Mitsubishi 4 cylinder car engine, liquid cooled, with an automatic transfer switch. Have had it 13 years, has been a good unit. The General folks promote an excessive amount of routine maintenance, I think. With some research you can get auto parts oil filter and air cleaner filters. We had an ice storm 16 years ago , and were out of commercial power 11 days, some in our county were out 22 days. During that outage we used a 3500 watt portable unit to power freezer , refrigerator and a few lights. Worked, some days we use what we got......

 

[rmcky]

Additional information,stanby generators run at 1800 rpm or 3600 rpm. Generally the 1800 rpm units run more quietly, but may be more expensive. Sort of like an automobile purchase decision, where we consider cost and needs to make a decision.

 

[rmcky]

Additional information, standby generators run at 1800 rpm or 3600 rpm. Generally the 1800 rpm units run more quietly, but may be more expensive. Sort of like an automobile purchase decision, where we consider cost and needs, then make a decision that best fits our situation.

 

[RobCons]

For years we used a portable unit. When power went out I had to flip the main breaker to disconnect us from the grid then hook up the portable generator. Got tired of that because it was always during inclement weather and neither of us are getting younger. We bought and hooked up a 24kw propane powered Kohler 1800 rpm unit with automatic transfer switch about 2 years ago. It runs the whole house and the conveinence is great. Worth it for us.

 

[caterpillar guy]

If you weld go with the welder hands down. More use for an item that will be seldom used and not a big issue to plug in to use. I use mine in the shed and back feed the house with it after the pole is disconnected. Works fine like that with no power up the pole. 8000 watts and will run most all of the house just fine .I don't start everything at once just stagger them to start and let run after that. Never had a problem from that yet that I know of. I am curious how well those propanmne engines on generators start in cold weather. Fork lifts sucked to start in cold and never worked or ran well till they warmed up.

 

[blue924.9]

With modern electronics and medical equipment make sure you get an inverter generator for clean power to the electronics. I know regular generators are getting cleaner but not sure if they are good or not

 

[GuitarBob]

Like others here I’ve used a 7kw portable to keep essentials going, but after the deracho we had 5 years ago that left us without power for 18 days, I had a 26kw whole house Kohler installed. Yes, auto transfer switch etc.

We have a bunch of yuppie castles built in the corn fields here so we had the option to connect to NG when they ran the lines, so we did. The generator needs 2psi gas to run so we had to spend $50 on a new regulator for that branch. No biggie.

We haven’t lost power for length of time since, but we have lost it for several hours at a time. I’d never be without one again.

 

[Gene Davis(Ga.)]

For many years we used an 8 Kw Winco/Dayton portable unit on a trailer that when needed I pulled up to the open carport and hooked it to a manual transfer switch in the service entrance cable to the house. As the years went by the load got to be more and more. In 2014 I bought a very nice low hour 1996 Onan 20-ES, a 20 Kw generator that was replaced because the utility company replaced them every so many years and not hours. The full 20 Kw rating is for gasoline and it is derated slightly for LP or natural gas but it still has adaquete power output even when derated.

I did the installation myself, (except for the last connection to the house which had to be done by a licensed electrical contractor to suit the insurance company), and it is connected to the manual transfer switch and the natural gas supply for the house. Even using the manual transfer switch I can have the power back up in 2- 3 minutes. The unit is fully enclosed and is mounted on a 4" concrete slab just 4' from our glassed in back porch. The porch is enclosed with double insulated and tinted sliding doors. With the unit running you can stand by the doors and carry on a normal conversation without raising your voice, all you hear is a quiet hum. It is powered by a 4 cylinder industrial Ford Ranger engine.

During the time of Hurricane Helene it ran 8 days continuously only stopping to check the engine oil daily. It has been used a number of times since 2014 and served well each time. I had trouble with it one time and the parts to repair it were readily available from Flight Systems Inc. in Pa. and repair information was readily available also from a very good website.

There are lots of these older Onan, Kohler and Winco units available reasonable, often for about the same price as the Chinese screamers. They are almost bullet proof and only turn 1,800 rpms plus they are very dependable with their pure copper windings and heavy duty parts that built to last. I am very pleased with my unit and I am sure that it will out last me.

Gene Davis Tennille, Ga.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Finally after 10 months of repair and clean up from Helene, things are pretty much back to normal at my home, and the Maine state flag is folded up and in the building. Now, on to preventative/safety measures. Helene was a once in a lifetime hurricane for my area of SC. Ive had people in their 90s tell me there has never been an event like this. Heck we dont see tornados that often. The last one I actually saw was back in the late 70s. After being without power for 7 days, and having health conditons, I have decided that I will be getting a a generator of some sort to power the house "just in case". Now, Im not asking what brand, or how big, and dont want to start any wars over which unit is better and which is junk. I am simply looking for ideas. For those of you with back ups, what type of set up do you use, and why?

My gen is in this post, like others it gets old hooking it up in bad weather. Last September I called everyplace within a 50 mile radius to get a quote for a hole house gen not one ever showed up. I never got a estimate other than a call mid December they had a special if I acted before January. I paid $400 for the gen so I am not out much : ) A that time I set it up to get make my mother happy as she could not wait a hour are 2 for the power to come back on.

https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/threads/backup-generator-cover.1451579/

 

[RobCons]

If you weld go with the welder hands down. More use for an item that will be seldom used and not a big issue to plug in to use. I use mine in the shed and back feed the house with it after the pole is disconnected. Works fine like that with no power up the pole. 8000 watts and will run most all of the house just fine .I don't start everything at once just stagger them to start and let run after that. Never had a problem from that yet that I know of. I am curious how well those propanmne engines on generators start in cold weather. Fork lifts sucked to start in cold and never worked or ran well till they warmed up.

Ours starts fine. But cold weather for us is in the mid 20's for the most part.

 

[UncleTom]

And how many people have tried to run there furnace on a portable geny only to find out it wont run it because it has a sensitive circut board in it. I have done my home work and knew before i had a pair of Honda 2000 watt genys. Never had to use them but i had to make a plug that plugs into the geny with the ground and neutral jumped together making a bonded neutral. My son in Alaska called me and asked why his Honda wont run the furnace. They were 34 degrees in the house and days away from getting power. I told him about the bonded neutral plug and made up 2 and got his furnace running in the nick of time and with his extra Honda helped out some neighbors as well.

 

[Butch(OH)]

I built my generator set 15 years ago using a 23HP diesel engine and 15KW belt driven head both from China. At the time both of those pieces cost just over $1,500. Another $1,000 covered everything else needed to install it. We have to manually switch it over using an approved and interlocked backfeed breaker. It runs the entire house and we have no fuel storage or quantity issues having a diesel tank at the farm. We are very happy with it

 

[RJKeith]

Finally after 10 months of repair and clean up from Helene, things are pretty much back to normal at my home, and the Maine state flag is folded up and in the building. Now, on to preventative/safety measures. Helene was a once in a lifetime hurricane for my area of SC. Ive had people in their 90s tell me there has never been an event like this. Heck we dont see tornados that often. The last one I actually saw was back in the late 70s. After being without power for 7 days, and having health conditons, I have decided that I will be getting a a generator of some sort to power the house "just in case". Now, Im not asking what brand, or how big, and dont want to start any wars over which unit is better and which is junk. I am simply looking for ideas. For those of you with back ups, what type of set up do you use, and why?

Get a company that installs home generators. They will help you size it properly and install it in compliance with all building codes. Use natural gas or propane and if propane, don't expect to get any deliveries while your power is out. Power will be out for the propane supplier too. A good rule of thumb is your generator will average about 50% of its max consumption. Quiet is important and easy to do. Also important is automatic testing, start your generator at least once a month, and once a week is better. If something is wrong, it is much better to find out when the power is still on and not when you really need it.

 

[TheBartman47]

I have a portable 30kw Generac that I got for dual purpose... needing to be mobile for remote job sites that don't have power, and when not in use there, can be an emergency backup gen for the house. I have an inlet box mounted on the side of the house and a transfer switch in the breaker box (can only be turned on when the mains are off). I connect the power cable to the house only when needed, don't leave it hooked up all the time.

 

[buickanddeere]

Auto Start , auto transfer system . You may not be at home when the power fails .
Store twice as much fuel as you would ever expect to ever use .
There is too big and there is too small when sizing a generator .
All heat pumps , AC and what ever should have a hard start kit installed .

 

[mudcreek183]

Briggs and Stratton 20 KW powers the whole house , runs on propane.

 

[ehenry]

We had an 8kw natural gas Generac 09067-6 standby unit on our house for 25 years. It ran the basics fridges, freezers, central heat NG fired unit in winter and most importantly my wife's blow dryer and curlers when needed. It had a twin cylinder generac badged air cooled briggs engine. We bought the generator used for $300 and bought the transfer switch $250 new. The system as a whole was rock solid until its last 3 years. It started having intermittant excitation issues. After two DPE breakers, a voltage regulator and multiple brush sets the excitation winding went out and she was retired.

We replaced it with a Kohler 26Kw RCAL air cooled 24Kw on natural gas unit with transfer switch this past February 18th and it has logged 41 loaded run hours since installation. The jury is still out on if it will last as long as the old Generac did.

As it stands currently I'm happy with the new Kohler.

 

[300jk]

We are in WNY and have few power outages. Many of my neighbors have put in Generec. The only time they have run is the monthly check! Absolutely no return on the $3-5 K investment. I bought a 10K, duel fuel generator and wired it myself, <$1K. With a little common sense, I can run my whole house or put it in my FEL and run my welder or have remote electricity. Have had it for 3 years and no power outages. Best insurance I ever bought!

Would be interesting to know where in wny you are because in 3 years we’ve had a bunch of outages. I’m near East Aurora. South Wales area. Was the cost of the generator and wiring less than 1000k or was that just what it cost you to wire it ? Just curious . Please share !

 

[WNYBill]

300jk sent you a pm.

 

[TerryfromSWIowa]

Would be interesting to know where in wny you are because in 3 years we’ve had a bunch of outages. I’m near East Aurora. South Wales area. Was the cost of the generator and wiring less than 1000k or was that just what it cost you to wire it ? Just curious . Please share !

Isn't 1000k a million? 1k=1000 100k = 100,000 1000k=1,000,000