How many of you own generators and what size?

[deere755]

I was wondering how many of you own generators for an emergency power outage. I always thought that I did not need one. I always thought that I could heat my house with my fire place and a gas stove to keep the pipes from freezing and keep my family warm which I can. We have oil lamps for lights so we could get by WRONG. Luckily for me in this last storm I was with out power for 10 minutes but a buddy of mine lost his for 3 days. Like me he thought he could heat his house with his gas fire place and use oil lamps for lighting and be ok. The thing both of us forgot was our freezers full of meat and a fridge full of food. Lucky for him he had family close by that had freezer room and power. All the area stores were out of generators by the time he decided to buy one. I am seriously thinking about buying one now but I am not sure what size to get. The main things I would need to run would be my fridge and my freezer plus a light or two. What is good size for this?

 

[js5020]

I have one bought it when I built the house, instead of paying for temp service. Mine is a 5500 watt. Won't run the whole house, but will keep the heat on, fridge and freezer fired up, well pump, septic, lights, tv, and most importantly the computer and router on.

 

[tallyho8]

I think a common 5000 watt is all you really need, but it depends on several variables. Do you have a well pump or are you connected to a water supply. Do you have a gas water heater and stove or electric ones?
I survived Katrina with my 5000 watt generator ok because all I needed electricity for was for lights, my refrigerator and freezer, tv, my computer, my fish tank with the world's oldest living Percula Clown fish (a pair of 27 year old Nemos), and a small energy efficient window air conditioner in my bedroom. I did use some small appliances now and then, and I used my washer or gas dryer, one at a time while my ac was off. It is hard to store enough fuel for a large generator. We used the gas we had for and out of the lawn mower and out an old truck we didn't need to use. We would turn it on for a couple of hours during the day then turn it off for a few hours while we went outside to work. The freezer will stay frozen this way if you don't open it except when positively necessary. In a couple of weeks we were able to get gas again to replenish our supply and eventually we got electricity again. We were lucky we were not in a flooded area because some of the areas that flooded still don't have electricity 1 1/2 years later.
There is a large thread on generators under the heading "How much generator for a well pump" in this forum.

 

[MrJimi]

We have one of these and living in Florida we need a good generator like a good snowblower is important to a northerner.


Jim

 

[wushaw]

I have three, 5500LP Onan mounted in the basement of my trailer/house(fifthwheel)
a 6500W portable and just inherited a 6800W that needs parts, I will use this one for carrying around when I need power outside the range of ext. cords.

 

[RobertN]

I have a 5500w. It will power the well, and a few lights. Mostly the well.... You can go without most things for a while. An ice chest and coleman stove can get you through a lot.

But... Being without water really is the pits. Can't wash, flush toilets, etc.

We never have used it for emergency, but it has had its workouts. We have a Makita electric jackhammer. We used it for our little garden business, and around the house here. Ever try to plant a tree in the Gold Country? Can you say ROCKS? And, in the summer, the spade bit works well to ease digging in clay. Lotta fence posts dug with that generator and jack hammer

 

[Kubotasrking]

I have a 7200W generator, and I'm thankful for it each time we lose power. We can power things as needed, and haven't lost perishable items because we own it. We were w/o power several days last winter, and it saved us a bundle.

 

[Shimon]

I have a 13kw PTO driven generator which has served me very well. Last week we had a big storm and we were out of power for about 40 hours with temps in the teens. We are on well water and have a diesel furnace which has an electric blower and electric heat and electric oven/cooktop. So we need power. I can run the whole house on this generator. Neighbor ran a (very) long cord over to run his heat.

We even had a couple of people stop by to see how we had power. We were a shining beacon of civilization to all those stuck in the dark ages.

We loose power about a dozen times a year since we are at the very end of the line. The generator has been a very good investment.

Here is a link to some photos of the setup: Click Here. Generator is in the shop and I just back up the tractor, remove a small hatch and attach the PTO shaft.

 

[ToadHill]

Always had a small 100 watt. Durring the recent October supprise 24" of snow in our area, which downed limbs all over the area and caused a power loss for up to 18 days for some people, I was without power for 3 days. The 100 watt unit kept the sump pump and fridge operating. I just went out and got a 6250 watt unit for next time.

 

[_RaT_]

Always had a small 100 watt. Durring the recent October supprise 24" of snow in our area, which downed limbs all over the area and caused a power loss for up to 18 days for some people, I was without power for 3 days. The 100 watt unit kept the sump pump and fridge operating. I just went out and got a 6250 watt unit for next time.

That has to be a 1000 watt. I can't imagine a 100 watt generator. It would be so small the plug would be bigger then the whole generator unit. I had a very nice Honda 3000i watt invertor generator. So quiet and so much more efficient then any standard generator. It only runs at the RPM necessary for the load. They now have a 5000 watt and 6500 watt invertor. Pricey but very quiet and much more fuel efficient.