Portable Generators

[Whatswrong]

My wife and I have been talking about getting a generator for emergency use .We haven't had an extended power outage in many years but it isn't predictable. We would need to run the furnace and some lights ,possibly a couple baseboard heaters .I was thinking around 7000 watts run .What do some of you have for capacities and brands .
Some help or at least some insight would be great . When it is winter here it is cold already hit -30C last week although that was sort of record setting for early Nov.
Thanks Guys for any help.

 

[dave1949]

Electric baseboard heaters--the standard resistance type--use 225 to 250 watts per foot of length. So, a 48" unit would use ~1000 watts.

You can control your simultaneous loads manually if you have the right type of service panel interlock or transfer switch. But, if you had four heaters on one circuit, one thermostat, they will all be on together. If they were each 4' long, four of them would be 4000 watts.

 

[Egbert]

I bought a PowerMax 8500 about 2 years ago, following a lengthy ice storm outage. Once was enough for me.

Having gas heat, all I needed was power for the blower. So, except for central air, this thing will run my entire house with no problem at all. I could run some window units if they were needed.

 

[Gunny]

First you need to figure out your what you must have running and how many watts that will take. Then add in what you would like to have running and what they'll take. Remember that anything with a motor will have a larger start up wattage that you need to figure into your calculations. Then you'll know what size generator you're going to need.

Another consideration now is whether or not your appliances will run off a standard generator, a lot of the newer "energy star" products require a pure sine wave. I ran into that issue with my pellet stove, the fan motors and control board wouldn't work with a standard generator. Just throwing that out there just in case you have a newer refrigerator or furnace, nothing worse than to think you're prepared than find out that it won't work when you need it the most.

Lots of choices on brands from Harbor Freight Predators up to the Honda or Yamaha lines, basically just a matter of how much money you're willing to spend. My old generator was a Champion, always started easily, got decent run times and never let me down, until I got the pellet stove.

 

[Humblebub]

I have a Coleman and Champion. Both have served mine well. I want a bit more convenience and reliability. Dealer let me test a Honda EM6500S. Runs everything I need including heat pump. I ordered yesterday. Expensive but Quality usually is.

 

[Wolfy]

You can have the generator wired up so it backfeeds the house. It is far more efficient than running a bunch of cords. Personally I really like Generac. I used to backfeed with a 4,000 watt, that really got a workout. Now I have a 5,500 watt that is better suited.

 

[Threepoint]

You can have the generator wired up so it backfeeds the house. It is far more efficient than running a bunch of cords. Personally I really like Generac. I used to backfeed with a 4,000 watt, that really got a workout. Now I have a 5,500 watt that is better suited.

Wolfy, you're referring to a transfer switch, right? When I think of backfeeding from a generator, I think of the practice of feeding through an existing receptacle without using a transfer switch. Very dangerous for linemen trying to restore power at the drop unless the home is disconnected from the grid by throwing the main at the service entrance.

 

[ksluy]

A transfer switch is the way to go. Then you can start your Gen with all your breakers off. Most of your good Gens will have a meter you can start turning on your breakers and watch your usage, as to not over load your gen. Fridge, heater, deep freeze and so on. I have a 10,000 watt that works well. Make sure you have the transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician. If its not hooked up right it can back feed down the line and kill someone working on your outage. My electrician evan helped me adjust the idle on my Gen. so that it had the right amount of amps as to not damage my electronics.

 

[KubotainNH]

I have a transfer switch and 4kw inverter gen. I like the setup, I can talk my wife or kids through powering up the house. The gen is only 110v but that does the job for me seeing I have town water, the stove and dryer can wait. Heat/hot water and some lights is all I care about. I love how it idles down depending on the load, just sips the fuel and is quiet. The Honda's are nice but man are they pricy. This is one sweet unit if you need a bunch of wattage: EU7000iS. the Yamaha's are nice too.

 

[Humblebub]

I too installed transfer switch. I walked my wife through the process and she can start the generator and switch over in a couple of minutes. I did back Feed through a dryer outlet for a few years and then discovered how dangerous it was to lineman (and illegal).