jas67
Platinum Member
I have a pair of 3600W Xantrex power inverters that slave together to create a 7200W, 240V/120V power inverter. I have two deep cycle batteries running the inverters. In an emergency, I can run my furnace, water pump, refrigerator, and freezer for about 8 hours on a charge. I have an old (circa 1986) 6KW Onan Diesel generator (1800 RPM) that will outlive any box store generator; paid $400 gov't surplus for it. I can use that to recharge the batteries, and provide power during the recharge for heavier loads if needed. This way, I can have continuous power, but only need to run the generator 1/2 the time.
I'm also building a 24V DC (my inverters are 24V) generator using a Humvee alternator, and a 4HP Yanmar single-cylinder air-cooled diesel engine. When that is done, I can charge the batteries on the inverters on about .1gal/hour, and can provide about 2KW of continuous power, letting the batteries provide the juice for the larger intermittent loads like the well pump. With being able to turn it (generator) completely, I can have continuous emergency power on about 1.5 to 2 gal of diesel per day (which I can get out of my 500gal fuel-oil tank). Fuel consumption is much more than just an issue of cost, it is an issue of supply. If you can't buy fuel, and you only have 10 gal on hand, a setup like mine will go for 5 days on that.
With either generator setup, I can also keep the heat (+fridge+freezer) going through the night w/o having a noisy generator running, and attracting would-be thieves who may not have planned ahead for the emergency.
I definitely would say, buy a used high-quality diesel generator like an Onan, or one of the many Kubota or Yanmar-powered ones for a little more money than a cheap box-store gasoline powered unit. Diesel stores much better, and diesel engines are much more likely to start after sitting for a long time. Plus, most of the diesel engines on these generators oil filtration, and can go 100 hours between changes, not 25 like the cheap gas-powered units (yes, my friends, you read that right, you need to change the oil DAILY on those).
This brings up another topic -- no matter what your generator type, in addition to fuel, keep oil on hand for those oil changes, be it a stand alone or your tractor, you'll need to change the oil every 1-4 days of operation. If things are that bad, you might not be able to get out to buy it, or stores may not be open to sell it.
Also, when selecting a generator, not matter what type, don't buy one bigger than your needs. All AC generators except the more expensive inverter type need to run a full speed (RPM's), either 1800 or 3600 RPM depending on whether it has a 4-pole or 2-pole alternator. This is required to have the proper 60 Hz (1500/3000 RPM and 50 Hz for those in most of the rest of the world). Most generators will consume nearly 1/2 the full-power fuel usage just to run at this speed with no load. A 5 KW gas-powered generator uses a minimum of 1/2gal/hour. A 15 KW gas-powered generator (largest that I've seen at the box stores) will use minimum 1 1/2 gal/hour -- thats 36 GAL per DAY if you running all day! Thus, if you are trying to keep your house heated, and food from spoiling, you'll want the smallest one that can pull the load, or maybe a small one for these loads, and a larger one to run any intermittent heavy loads that you don't need all day (like maybe the electric water heater), or for those in hotter climates, AC during the post-hurricane power outage).
I'm also building a 24V DC (my inverters are 24V) generator using a Humvee alternator, and a 4HP Yanmar single-cylinder air-cooled diesel engine. When that is done, I can charge the batteries on the inverters on about .1gal/hour, and can provide about 2KW of continuous power, letting the batteries provide the juice for the larger intermittent loads like the well pump. With being able to turn it (generator) completely, I can have continuous emergency power on about 1.5 to 2 gal of diesel per day (which I can get out of my 500gal fuel-oil tank). Fuel consumption is much more than just an issue of cost, it is an issue of supply. If you can't buy fuel, and you only have 10 gal on hand, a setup like mine will go for 5 days on that.
With either generator setup, I can also keep the heat (+fridge+freezer) going through the night w/o having a noisy generator running, and attracting would-be thieves who may not have planned ahead for the emergency.
I definitely would say, buy a used high-quality diesel generator like an Onan, or one of the many Kubota or Yanmar-powered ones for a little more money than a cheap box-store gasoline powered unit. Diesel stores much better, and diesel engines are much more likely to start after sitting for a long time. Plus, most of the diesel engines on these generators oil filtration, and can go 100 hours between changes, not 25 like the cheap gas-powered units (yes, my friends, you read that right, you need to change the oil DAILY on those).
This brings up another topic -- no matter what your generator type, in addition to fuel, keep oil on hand for those oil changes, be it a stand alone or your tractor, you'll need to change the oil every 1-4 days of operation. If things are that bad, you might not be able to get out to buy it, or stores may not be open to sell it.
Also, when selecting a generator, not matter what type, don't buy one bigger than your needs. All AC generators except the more expensive inverter type need to run a full speed (RPM's), either 1800 or 3600 RPM depending on whether it has a 4-pole or 2-pole alternator. This is required to have the proper 60 Hz (1500/3000 RPM and 50 Hz for those in most of the rest of the world). Most generators will consume nearly 1/2 the full-power fuel usage just to run at this speed with no load. A 5 KW gas-powered generator uses a minimum of 1/2gal/hour. A 15 KW gas-powered generator (largest that I've seen at the box stores) will use minimum 1 1/2 gal/hour -- thats 36 GAL per DAY if you running all day! Thus, if you are trying to keep your house heated, and food from spoiling, you'll want the smallest one that can pull the load, or maybe a small one for these loads, and a larger one to run any intermittent heavy loads that you don't need all day (like maybe the electric water heater), or for those in hotter climates, AC during the post-hurricane power outage).
