Buying Advice Diesel generator for home back up use

[buickanddeere]

I don't understand why some people take such delight in " making do" with an undersized generator? What a thrill wondering if the fridge, freezer or AC compressor is going to start without tripping the breaker in the gen set.
That is when generators, motors and control boards are ruined.
The only thing worse than people running extension cords through windows and doors to run loads. Which b.t.w. leaves a path for CO to enter the home. Are the ding dongs who run 120/240 from a generator to a three prong 240V welding plug. With a double male ended cord set.

 

[coobie]

This is what I do too.

We have two gas cars, so on average there are 15 gal of gas sitting around in them, plus the 10-15 gal. I keep on hand in 5 gal. cans. That's a lot of generator run time. In really cold weather--I assume you have oil heat given the two tanks--you do need heat every couple hours probably unless you are set up with a wood stove.

Some of the generator strategy involves reducing your dependence on having power, especially for a prolonged outage.

I've never had to tap the car's gas tanks but I am prepared with a siphon tube/bulb gizmo.

Questions here?Why not treat your gas with marine grade stabil or starbrite,it has a enthanol reducer in the mix.I have a 300 gal. tank and treat everytime I refill.No problems since.coobie

 

[Scooby074]

You need to go look at them again, they just went up to a 5 year warranty and have solved many of the problems from the early ones.

Doing proper maintenance and adjusting the valves is a must as most dealers do not do the proper maintenance. Been averaging around 40 hours of outage time the last 3 years and could buy 2 20KW Generacs for one 12KW diesel or 22KW propane liquid cooled and that did not include transfer switch or housing and fuel tank.

Each case is different but a lot of the sizing I am seeing here is too small of unit for the load and starting watts of a lot of devices and not leaving enough margin.

David Kb7uns

Get back to me in 5 years. Until then, based on past history, Generac is firmly on my do not buy or recommend list. There is a reason they are cheap . You cant get quality you didnt pay for.

 

[dave1949]

Questions here?Why not treat your gas with marine grade stabil or starbrite,it has a enthanol reducer in the mix.I have a 300 gal. tank and treat everytime I refill.No problems since.coobie

I do use marine Stabil because I don't need to rotate the cans all that often, maybe twice a year. I sure don't use enough gas or diesel to justify a large tank. That leaves rotating 5 gal. cans, and relying on the gas in the cars as a backup, as the least expensive method.

If I needed/used more fuel volume on a regular basis, then I think a tank would make sense for me. I think I've filled my diesel cans 6 or 7 times this spring and summer. That's 90-105 gallons. I've put more hours on the tractor this year than most, and at a lot of high rpm's time for backhoe work too. Normally I don't use that much fuel in summer. When winter gets here and the tractor only goes out for snow, I bet I don't use over 30 gal. for the entire winter.

 

[coobie]

I do use marine Stabil because I don't need to rotate the cans all that often, maybe twice a year. I sure don't use enough gas or diesel to justify a large tank. That leaves rotating 5 gal. cans, and relying on the gas in the cars as a backup, as the least expensive method.

If I needed/used more fuel volume on a regular basis, then I think a tank would make sense for me. I think I've filled my diesel cans 6 or 7 times this spring and summer. That's 90-105 gallons. I've put more hours on the tractor this year than most, and at a lot of high rpm's time for backhoe work too. Normally I don't use that much fuel in summer. When winter gets here and the tractor only goes out for snow, I bet I don't use over 30 gal. for the entire winter.

I have a 300 gal.gas tank(marine stabil) and 150gal diesel tank(schaffers diesel treat)I use
additives in both.I fill them 1 time per year.Never had any fuel related issues.I have Diesel tractor,JD diesel lawn mower & diesel Kubota RTV 900.Other gas mowers and equipment

 

[GManBart]

It applies because the last brand of gas genny Id suggest to the OP is Generac.

You could have said that without including me at all. :thumbsup:

I find it more than a little ironic that your bragging on here just how important having lots of stable electric power is for your lifestyle and VP wife, yet you go out and buy the absolute cheapest genset you can.

I didn't brag about anything, I just stated facts. If that makes you feel bad...sorry. It actually wasn't the cheapest, but I won't bother with the details as they have nothing to do with this thread.

Ralph's post above shows what a TRUE, genuine 20kW genset should cost, not only for the generator, but tansfer and installation. How anyone thinks you can get $20,000 worth of generator for $4500 is beyond me.

Ralph's generator is a really nice setup, no doubt...pretty far removed from the OP's question, but still cool.

I don't recall anybody saying they could get a $20K setup for $4500....we have something like $7500 into ours after installation, but I wouldn't compare it with a setup like Ralph has. I didn't want diesel for the house backup, for a number of reasons, and that changed what's available.

For my outbuilding/shop, I'm leaning towards diesel, so it's a different story, and I'm curious to see what folks here recommend. It would be awesome if that were the actual topic of discussion!

 

[dave1949]

I don't understand why some people take such delight in " making do" with an undersized generator? What a thrill wondering if the fridge, freezer or AC compressor is going to start without tripping the breaker in the gen set.
That is when generators, motors and control boards are ruined.
The only thing worse than people running extension cords through windows and doors to run loads. Which b.t.w. leaves a path for CO to enter the home. Are the ding dongs who run 120/240 from a generator to a three prong 240V welding plug. With a double male ended cord set.

I see your point but I don't think I am "making do." Everyone has different circumstances.

I don't have AC, don't need any electricity to stay warm. Propane range. I know from repeated experience that my 6500W generator will power my well, frig, freezer, microwave, lights, TV & DVD player to watch a movie, and the coffee maker. What else am I supposed to need? The computer, tv and phone are on cable which is down when there is no utility power.

My generator powered most of our house build (air compressors, saws, etc.) while powering the well pump too. It was the only power available well into the build. My air compressor, saws and pump still work just fine.

My electric load changed when I switched from propane-fired hot water to electric last summer. My generator was 12 years old when I switched that. So far, so good, but as I said, I know it has to be marginal and a tripped breaker wouldn't surprise me. The well pump is a soft-start Grundfos, so that makes a difference too.

Should I have purchased a 10KW generator 13 years ago? That doesn't make a lot of sense either. If I have to replace my current generator I would probably look at something a little bigger to account for my changed load. Do I want to spend money on a new generator if I don't have to? Heck no, I want a new tractor. :laughing:

 

[dave1949]

I have a 300 gal.gas tank(marine stabil) and 150gal diesel tank(schaffers diesel treat)I use
additives in both.I fill them 1 time per year.Never had any fuel related issues.I have Diesel tractor,JD diesel lawn mower & diesel Kubota RTV 900.Other gas mowers and equipment

That Stabil is good stuff, no doubt. I suppose I could push my rotation to one year and not have problems. For the half-hour it takes, it seems like cheap insurance though.

I just don't use much gas. The mower takes about 1.5 gal. per week, the rototiller might use 1 gal. a year at the most. Probably mix 5 gal. of two cycle a year for the chainsaw and trimmer. The generator is an unknown of course. Usually I don't even start it for a power outage of less than 4 hours. Much more than that and I figure the frig and freezer need to run.

On a long outage, I'll fire it up so we can eat, take showers, etc. Then I turn it off and go to bed. I always wake up sometime during the night and if the power is still out, I'll get up and run the generator while I sleep some more. Of course that isn't as handy as a unit that auto starts and stops when power is back. For the number of times I have to deal with it though, it's good enough for my needs. And the generator is portable and small enough to take anywhere on our lot for some project or other.

 

[sailfast]

I don't understand why some people take such delight in " making do" with an undersized generator? What a thrill wondering if the fridge, freezer or AC compressor is going to start without tripping the breaker in the gen set.
That is when generators, motors and control boards are ruined.
The only thing worse than people running extension cords through windows and doors to run loads. Which b.t.w. leaves a path for CO to enter the home. Are the ding dongs who run 120/240 from a generator to a three prong 240V welding plug. With a double male ended cord set.

I take great delight in having exactly what I need....

Not wasting thousands on something I don't, money down the drain. And wasting lots of precious, hard to replace during an outage, fuel for a generator 10 x the size I actually need.

I could go on a very nice european vacation, twice, for the cost of the generators some people are insisting one needs. When a long power outage comes up again, I'm spending the money I saved on a vacation.

My Honda 2000 will power every single appliance in my home except central AC...

Microwave
Furnace
Fridge
Deep freeze
Theater system
Lights
Fans
and even a cheap window AC I would put in the den or master bedroom if it is too hot

Of course not all at the same time, but who actually NEEDS to run any of that at the same time.

As well as being easily portable.... Lets take you 20Kw generator on a camping trip or loan it to your neighbor for awhile to help them. Your fuel for 1 day weighs more than my entire generator!

Freezer has several jugs of water frozen as block ice, will stay cold for days without any help from the gen.

If I had a well pump I would have an appropriately sized generator to run it, but no need for 20Kw.

Very low maintenance, and low cost. I'm delighted all the way to the bank!

I'm glad that your huge genset gives you so much personal sanctification.

 

[coobie]

I take great delight in having exactly what I need....

Not wasting thousands on something I don't, money down the drain. And wasting lots of precious, hard to replace during an outage, fuel for a generator 10 x the size I actually need.

I could go on a very nice european vacation, twice, for the cost of the generators some people are insisting one needs. When a long power outage comes up again, I'm spending the money I saved on a vacation.

My Honda 2000 will power every single appliance in my home except central AC...

Microwave
Furnace
Fridge
Deep freeze
Theater system
Lights
Fans
and even a cheap window AC I would put in the den or master bedroom if it is too hot

Of course not all at the same time, but who actually NEEDS to run any of that at the same time.

As well as being easily portable.... Lets take you 20Kw generator on a camping trip or loan it to your neighbor for awhile to help them. Your fuel for 1 day weighs more than my entire generator!

Freezer has several jugs of water frozen as block ice, will stay cold for days without any help from the gen.

If I had a well pump I would have an appropriately sized generator to run it, but no need for 20Kw.

Very low maintenance, and low cost. I'm delighted all the way to the bank!

I'm glad that your huge genset gives you so much personal sanctification.

That's why I own both.My generac 17 kw whole house gen.(LP gas)cost me $4,650 installed about 3 years ago.Won,t be without it.Kinda nice if you gone for any period of time from home.Kicks on automatic if power goes out to keep the heat on so the pipes don,t freeze. Love my Honda 2000 watt portable also,nice to take on camping trips or just around the property use.To each his own I guess?