How many of you own generators and what size?

[Cottonhawk]

My generator is 8,000 watts which runs the well pump, freezer, refrig, some lights, and few other things during the power outage.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have a Generac Mega Force that I bought around 98'. Marketed for construction use, I got it for using off grid around my farm. Rated 6500 watts continuous and 8500 peak, I find it suits my house needs quite well albeit with a lot of noise.

Having had occasion to install some of those Generac self contained automatic systems while working for an electrical contractor, I highly recommend them if you have the money.

 

[Slamfire]

My generator is 8,000 watts which runs the well pump, freezer, refrig, some lights, and few other things during the power outage.

Me too, and it's rigged for dual fuel. We had an ice storm here one time that had the power out for 9 days. You can't keep enough gasoline around for that kind of work. Oh yeah, it helps if your wife can cook on a wood stove.

 

[shvl73]

We have a 5500/7250surge portable. Runs everything we need in an emergency such as, well, boiler, lights, freezers, fridge and tv. We really don't need the stove/oven as we use the gas grill on all but the very coldest nights, year round. Here in New England we are unlikely to be unable to get gas to run it.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I have a 12,000 watt tri fuel generator. It runs the well, refrigerator, furnace and about 1/2 the house lights, TVs, etc. Longest we were out of power was 8 days after an ice storm. Temps were also below zero for 4 or 5 of those days. I have mine connected to the natural gas line so I never have to go down in the middle of the night to refuel it.

 

[LarryRB]

We have a Coleman commercial, 12,000 continuous, 14,400 surge, Keeps up with everything except a gas station... Loud too,, It will be a while, someday we will get a 25,000 and propane tank...

 

[gordon21]

5500 continuos watts. $599 at Home Depot 2 years ago. I think they are about $699 now. If you hook it up to your breaker box, you can selectively turn on house circuits so you don't have extension cords everywhere. Turn on the water heater for one hour at a time and it will hold the water hot for up to 18 hours. Then run a 1200 watt microwave as needed. The best part is that a couple lightbulbs, a tv and your satelitte box will only use less than 900 of your 5500 watts. They can stay on all the time. That leaves a lot for AC, water heater, etc.

 

[MossRoad]

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?

I have a 4500 watt unit that will run the furnace fan, well pump and lights just fine. I alternate the refrigerator and freezer. As long as you don't open the freezer, it only runs once or twice a day. Get a chest model freezer. I have an upright and lose all my "cold" each time I open it.

One thing to note... my cheap generator runs its engine at 3600 RPM all the time. It has a small tank and can only run for about 2-4 hours, depending on load. If you want to run it continuosly, you will suck 10 or more gallons of gas a day. So start looking into sine wave generators with extended run fuel tanks(large tanks). Those only run the engine at the needed speed for the load. They are expensive, but are usually much quieter and more fuel efficient.

For quick a dirty hook ups that are also safe, put a twist-lock plug on the power feed to your furnace. That way, when the power fails, you just unplug the furnace and plug it into an extension cord to the generator. It is cheap, quick and safe for you and the linemen that are making repairs down the line. Otherwise, you should invest in disconnect panel that can switch between the generator and grid power without the possibility of back feeding the grid. It is probably the law where you live.

Last note. Keep your refrigerator and freezer full all the time. If you don't have enough beer, use old sterilized milk jugs full of water with a teaspoon of bleach in them(check with your Red Cross for the exact proportions of the bleach/water). Rotate them in and out as you need space. It is easier to keep a full unit cold than it is to keep one that is half or more empty air space and you will usually have a good supply of emergency drinking water.

 

[EddieWalker]

Before I started to build my home, and without any need of one, I saw a reconditioned Coleman for sale at Home Depot for a couple hundred dollars cheaper than brand new. I new I'd need a generator one day and had been casually looking, but wasn't real serious.

One thing I wanted after price was a decent engine. There were lots of Tekemush engines out there, but nobody has anything good to say about those engines. I wanted Honda, but that was more money than I wanted to spend. I did come across a used Onan, but just looking at it I could see issues that I didn't want to deal with.

Mine has a Briggs & Stratton engine that starts every time and runs all day. It's peak rating is 6,250 watts and it has a 220 outlet that I've used my welder on. It's not great for welding, but it will do the job if you go slow and use a small rod.

I ran that generator every day, 7 days a week, for over 3 months while building my home and shop. The noise started to really bother me after awhile and I'd wear ear plugs or turn it off.

Having a generator is very handy for repairs far from the house or even building new projects. I have a small trailer that I put mine on and drag it around. I can run my cement mixer, my air compressor and all my power tools on it. I even thought about buying an electric pump and using the generator to power the pump to fill my lake.

I've never needed it for my home during a power outage, but it's there if I ever do. When Rita came through, I had 20 gallons of fuel on hand just in case. If nothing else, it's worth it for piece of mind.

Eddie

 

[_RaT_]

MossRoad,
Those are "inverter" generators. I had one and they are very nice. They can provide 120v at idle if the load is that small. Heres a link to what they are. Honda Generators - Honda's Portable Electric Power Generator Line