Portable Generator for temp power outages.

[kenmac]

We had 16 deg, and about 3-4 inches of snow here. Never lost power.
My VRF HP sure was kicking it to keep the house warm but it did it's job

Got gas logs and several outlets plumbed for nat gas space heaters just incase

 

[ultrarunner]

My first 3 bedroom house had a single 30amp main... always had enough electricity.

When earthquake knocked out power for a week I still had hot water, range, central furnace... only thing I missed was refrigeration but my Honda 1000 was enough to carry on life.

My neighbors did not fare as well... no generator and converted to all electric with 125 amp 240 service.

 

[Industrial Toys]

So much stuff that people gravitate toward either from marketing or just "doing and having what everyone else has) is just a GIANT TRAP! Waiting to spring shut and leave them with nothing at all.

They won't even have their sanity when their phones quit! lol

 

[JethroB]

My brother in Houston didn't appreciate my attempt at humor today.

Your power:



My power:

 

[Industrial Toys]

But the one can sleep well at night, knowing they are doing the "right" thing even as they freeze in their beds. Or cars from what I just saw.

 

[AWSubie]

I’ve been running a harbor freight predator 8750 Watt (7000 watt continuous) all day today. It suits my needs. I only need my generator two or three times a year.

 

[Buggs67]

what fuel does your furnace run on? Oil or propane presumably since you don稚 have ng? i know you said your house is all electric, but i wasn稚 sure if that included heating.

I ask because if you use propane, that may present other options.

We have Geothermal. Three well that coolant is pumped thru and then the heat is extracted. It require a lot of Amps.

 

[Buggs67]

I’ve been running a harbor freight predator 8750 Watt (7000 watt continuous) all day today. It suits my needs. I only need my generator two or three times a year.

After SS Sandy some friends bought Predator gennies. (Sandy caused us to lose power for 10 days) I took care of breakin for the friend next door. Ran it the specified time and changed the oil. It looked like metal flake. I refilled it with full synthetic. After that we didn't lose power for long again.

I can sympathize with the Texans. Every major storm would knock out power for 4-7 days with Sandy being worst. No traffic lights, many roads closed due to literally dozens of trees across them. My 2nd in command in my squad could not get into town because of all the trees down. No power at gas stations til the gov't supplied and hooked up a large generator to 1 station. Then we had 1/4 mile lines and people with gas cans trying to cut in line to fill cans for generators. I stationed another officer and myself at the station to enforce order. While my wife tried to keep things going at home. We were lucky it wasn't ice cold.

Here in PA things are much better. And because of the way the mountains go SW to NE many storm pass thru the valleys north and south of our valley.

And having the large IBC filled with water would do no good cuz I don't have a heated space to store it. We can always get water for toilets from the ponds.

Thanks for all the input and I'm looking into all the generators specified by make/model.

 

[txdon]

If you need a pick-up also.
2?21 Ford F-15? Hybrid Pro Power generator saves the day for Texas man - SlashGear

[FONT=&quot]"He says that the generator integrated into his truck gave him and his family light at night, TV to watch news and weather, a little heat, and coffee. Jones also used power from the truck to run a toaster oven and his refrigerator. He said that he ran the refrigerator between 10 and 12 hours a day to keep the freezer food frozen."[/FONT]

 

[Alan W.]

For the $3-5K you guys are discussing,, one of these can be found on Craigs List, or Facebook,,,

It will do any type welding, so, it has a reason to be run more than a couple times a year,, ( the fuel will stay fresh that way)
Guys earning a living welding do not have time to try and keep "junk" running,, this welder starts when you want it to run,,

This is a real , honest , 10KW generator, and it does not even sweat making the 10KW,, and it can weld at the same time as it is generating.

Not many people reading this have even seen a welding rod that is too big for this machine to be able to weld. ( I have welded 1/4" rod with it)

MIG, TIG, STICK,, and this welder modified the trailer this generator/welder is sitting on,,,

This generator has been keeping me happy for about 1.5 decades,, IIRC,,,

I like multi-taskers!! :cool2:

I agree my main large generator is my welder also.
My Miller is bit older and smaller than yours. Mine is a 252 and has 8000 watt gen.
I gave $1200 for it. That 20 hp Onan has always ran well. But it does like the fuel.
Plus I can weld with it.

 

[groundcover]

I'll second the welder ! Lincoln Ranger 8 with an Onan. Runs the whole house without a problem. Would love to upgrade to the diesel Kubota driven one - Vantage(R) 322 (Kubota(R))
But even I can't justify that ( and I justify some pretty stupid stuff !)

 

[Industrial Toys]

Easy! Just pretend you work for the Government.

 

[TheMan419]

We have natural gas heat. Also need to run the well. We have a 6900 running watt generator. It is plenty powerful to run everything we need. Well, fridge, some lights, hot plate/griddle.

In 5 years at this house we have had 2 power outages lasting more than a couple hours. Both during winter when running the heat is critical.

I have a no name gas generator that claims to be powered by a Honda engine.

 

[gsganzer]

I'll second the welder ! Lincoln Ranger 8 with an Onan. Runs the whole house without a problem. Would love to upgrade to the diesel Kubota driven one - Vantage(R) 322 (Kubota(R))
But even I can't justify that ( and I justify some pretty stupid stuff !)

I have a Lincoln Ranger 305G that I used during our outage. I plan to put in a load side manual transfer after this latest storm to make my life simpler. It has the Kohler Commander 23Hp Command engine and it certainly doesn't sip fuel. The one thing with the welder is it's either on idle or rated RPM with nothing in between. Are actual generators variable speed?

I did notice on a Miller Trailblazer they tout an autospeed capability to improve fuel efficiency. I'm guessing that means it's variable speed.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It can also potentially cause untold damage in your home. Unless it's an inverter style generator. They are meant for a grinder or other power tool. Nothing much more than that.

 

[gsganzer]

It can also potentially cause untold damage in your home. Unless it's an inverter style generator. They are meant for a grinder or other power tool. Nothing much more than that.

I did some google-fu this morning and I haven't read anything saying that a welder/generator shouldn't be used for temp house power. A Miller Bobcat/trailblazer or Lincoln Ranger are mid-line welders with some pretty advanced power control. They're not entry level farm/ranch welders so I would think they provide pretty stable power.

 

[ultrarunner]

May require a bonding change to avoid tripping...

The Honda website states their OSHA jobsite require modification to work to power residence.

 

[grsthegreat]

there are some generators that have onboard main GFCI breakers that will trip when attached to a whole house setup, unless you rewire generator. pretty easy to do, but need manual

 

[bigtiller]

there are some generators that have onboard main GFCI breakers that will trip when attached to a whole house setup, unless you rewire generator. pretty easy to do, but need manual

I had one of those Hondas and it was easy. Following the manual (!!) it took about 5~ minutes to remove the cover and remove a 3" long white wire. But then it was advised to ground the generator with a grounding strap if I wanted to use it any place else.

 

[gsganzer]

Depending what other needs you have, you might consider buying a welder/generator. The small Lincoln Bulldogs or Miller Bluestars/Fusion can give you 5000-6500 watts. That's more than enough for most people, plus you'd have a welder for other tasks!