Comparison Home Stand By Generators

[aczlan]

Put a power indicator light before the main.

Or an alarm such as: Amazon.com: Reliance Controls THP108 PowerBack Utility Power Return Alert Home Monitoring Products: Home Improvement (cheaper at Home Depot)

Aaron Z

 

[charles todd]

Personally for our needs, this is how we will roll. I haven't bought the generator or xfer switch, but have the power source!

25kw-30kw PTO generator.
Manual 200 amp xfer switch.
LS P7010C with 540/750/1000 rpm. Run generator in 750 rpm @ about 1400 rpm to reduce fuel consumption.
100 gallon diesel tank is usually at least half-full.

Same setup as what I grew up using on the farm. Just replace the LS with Deere 3010 and a Farmall 504, without multi speed PTO.

We usually maintain our tractors better and more frequently than small engines (at least in my case). I KNOW the tractors will start when inclement weather is present.

CT

 

[kiotiken]

We had a huge (for us) wind storm last night. I was outside working on the tractor when I looked around and felt a little guilty when I realized there wasn't a light on in sight and every light in our house was on, the outside lights, street lights, garage lights, not to mention 8 LED flood lights on my tractor :thumbsup: It's nice to be able to see, but a lot nicer to be able to run the well pump, heat pump, fireplace fans, fridges, stove etc.

We have a Generac 16 KW propane generator. It comes with a transfer switch and panel. Instead of buying a very expensive whole home transfer switch, I just bought a 100 amp breaker for the Generac panel and wired up a large pony panel beside it, works perfectly. I have most circuits backed up with the exception of a few things like my welder.

I wouldn't go gas since the quality of gas is terrible these days. It's stale in 6 weeks and causes nothing but issues with carburetors. Automatic operation is really nice, especially if your away a lot and concerned about sump pumps, freezers etc. They do exercise once a week and chew through fuel in the process, but it's been a great investment over the past 10 years.

 

[PILOON]

Well we had freeky winds last night resulting in 24 hr outage.
My Champion ran like a champ!
Pulled the choke, pushed the start and flipped the transfer panel to gen pwr.
Made coffee and toasts.
No internet as relays were down but I did enjoy TV 'til I nodded off.

 

[Sodo]

Looks nice. Solid no-flat tires and a 12v for charging, too. Give us a review when you get it. :thumbsup:

I will report back, but it might take awhile. The 12v output is wimpy (10A). For charging a dead battery it's better to plug a real charger into the 120v (such as a 25 or 40A smart charger). A 40A might charge 4x as fast.

 

[3930dave]

We have a Generac 16 KW propane generator. It comes with a transfer switch and panel. Instead of buying a very expensive whole home transfer switch, I just bought a 100 amp breaker for the Generac panel and wired up a large pony panel beside it, works perfectly. I have most circuits backed up with the exception of a few things like my welder.

I'm not clear on how you isolate the gen..... it has it's own main breaker and sub-panel - With no interconnect, do you run duplicate circuits, and manually re-plug appliances ?

Rgds, D.

 

[kenmac]

Put a power indicator light before the main.

Easy and cheap !... I still back feed,,, sorry, I refuse to run extension cords every where. I have a manual disconnect at the point of back feed . If that counts

 

[MossRoad]

Easy and cheap !... I still back feed,,, sorry, I refuse to run extension cords every where. I have a manual disconnect at the point of back feed . If that counts

Well, in 5,4,3,2,1... the safety police will be all over you. :laughing:

Let's sit back and see how long it takes.

Legally, it doesn't count. Morally, you are good. Only problem happens if you don't follow your check-list or someone else tries to do it for you. Then there's the potential to hurt someone down the line. Anyhow, the subject has been beaten to death. Anyone that has never done anything wrong in their entire life is free to step up and stone us, right?

 

[kenmac]

Ok, I'll just start pulling the meter every time. Problem solved !... I would like to have a larger portable. I'm just not sold (as of yet) on the Chinese gensets. I'm just concerned that all the internal parts lacking quality control or,use of quality parts

 

[K man]

Wow, after reading all these posts on generator hook ups etc sounds confusing have installed a Generac 11kw with automatic transfer switch. Power goes out and within 15 seconds generator kicks in and off automatically when power is restored that simple and easy. I am not running around with extension cords or turn that on or that off. At my age 63 it was the logical thing to do as I am not fit to run around like a chicken without a head . Forgot to mention my Generac is very quiet can hardly hear it when it is running unless I walk up to about 20 feet from it. It is connected to a 420 pound propane tank so no need to keep gasoline around. So at my age I think I did a good investment. :thumbsup: