Standby Generator

[shooterdon]

If you use 1 gal/hr of LP and run a stand by 24 hr/day, you use 24 g/day. At $1.50/g, that is $36/day. Every stand by unit I looked into 6 years ago used more than that.

I think the numbers came to $50/day.

When we have an outage, I cycle the gasoline unit for an hour or so every 5-6 hours. During that hour, we take showers and do laundry if needed. Also charge up any battery operated items. An hour is enough to get the fridge cold. The freezer can go a lot longer but we do not unplug it.

I have a Honda 11000. It uses about 1 g/hr. By cycling it it runs 4 hr/day.....cost about $12/day.

I keep 100-250 gallons of gasoline in a storage tank. So I could go 1-2 months if the SHTF... not counting fuel in the vehicles.

I got the Honda from a buddy going through a divorce. The 11000 Honda is bigger than I need so will end up selling it and getting a smaller unit.

 

[newbury]

500 LP gallon tank.Is that enough info ??

Yup, thanks. This should also help with MossRoads post.

/edit- so for 4 days of running you used between 35 and 50 gallons of propane if my math is correct

 

[coobie]

If you use 1 gal/hr of LP and run a stand by 24 hr/day, you use 24 g/day. At $1.50/g, that is $36/day. Every stand by unit I looked into 6 years ago used more than that.

I think the numbers came to $50/day.

When we have an outage, I cycle the gasoline unit for an hour or so every 5-6 hours. During that hour, we take showers and do laundry if needed. Also charge up any battery operated items. An hour is enough to get the fridge cold. The freezer can go a lot longer but we do not unplug it.

I have a Honda 11000. It uses about 1 g/hr. By cycling it it runs 4 hr/day.....cost about $12/day.

I keep 100-250 gallons of gasoline in a storage tank. So I could go 1-2 months if the SHTF... not counting fuel in the vehicles.

I got the Honda from a buddy going through a divorce. The 11000 Honda is bigger than I need so will end up selling it and getting a smaller unit.

At 1gal(LP) per hour are you talking FULL electric load or less load? We use 1 tank(500 gal.)per year of LP as we burn wood pellets for heat.My last fill was august(2018) at $1.09 per gal last year(2017) in august we filled up for 93 cents per gal.

 

[J.Wal]

For me it’s not so much the cost per gallon/ per day as it is having to get a tank just for the portable, putting in a tri fuel kit... all that.

If I really wanted to use something other than gasoline I would have a natural gas line ran from the fireplace to the garage ( 30’ or so) and do a quick connect to the generator from there.... and may do that one day, but not as of now.

 

[Diggin It]

Thing to think about.....

If stuff gets really bad .... ice storm, wind storm, worse ...... and roads are closed/impassible, how will the propane truck get to you? How many of you already have gasoline or diesel on hand in some quantity?

 

[J.Wal]

Thing to think about.....

If stuff gets really bad .... ice storm, wind storm, worse ...... and roads are closed/impassible, how will the propane truck get to you? How many of you already have gasoline or diesel on hand in some quantity?

May be a long ride time wise but chain saw, Kubota with loader and warm cloths I can get to the store for more gasoline.

But the idea of getting my natural gas line ran for it is a future plan. When finances are ready and other products completed.

 

[coobie]

Thing to think about.....

If stuff gets really bad .... ice storm, wind storm, worse ...... and roads are closed/impassible, how will the propane truck get to you? How many of you already have gasoline or diesel on hand in some quantity?

I have both,propane and gas/diesel farm tanks (300 gals.per tank).We also have small gas generator in case the propane one takes a crap.Being a retired electric lineman and have seen quite a few outages and how crazy folks can get.

 

[Diggin It]

May be a long ride time wise but chain saw, Kubota with loader and warm cloths I can get to the store for more gasoline.

If you don't have power, will they? If not, do they have a generator to run the gas pumps?

 

[J.Wal]

If you don't have power, will they? If not, do they have a generator to run the gas pumps?

It would be very rare for one of the two towns I am between to be fully out of power.

South of me is Memphis TN, north of me is Millington TN.... I know outages have caused long term outages so it is possible... but once I get the road clear I can go further with my truck.

I have looked for a ways to safely store gasoline for extended periods of time... I can get 100% gas with no ethanol also.

Best I saw was a 55 gallon drum filled 90%, with a 5psi vent on the smaller bung for releasing pressure to prevent expansion or collapse of barrel.

I treat every bit of my fuel ( excluding regular vehicles) with PRI-G to prevent breakdown best I can.

 

[goeduck]

You guys out there on the East side of the state don't have any trees to fall onto power lines and cause outages!!! :laughing:

Our trees over here sure do not help. The Doug Firs loose limbs and the Big Leaf Maples are snappy. KPUD has their hands full after a windstorm. I have a Honda gas 7KW that I use when we are home and a Yanmar air cooled diesel 3KW that I use at night when it is just the fridge, freezer and fireplace insert blower. The Yanmar sips fuel. Summertime outages are as rare as hens teeth.

 

[Doofy]

Standby genset would be great but propane here is $3.89 per gallon and heating oil prices are creeping back up too. I have Honda 2000 watt inverter generator that I can rotate thru powering heaters, freezers, etc. Good enough for us.

 

[rekees4300]

We finally bit the bullet and installed a standby whole house generator last Friday. Interestingly, we had a power outage the following Monday!

My wife said, "worth every penny". I agree.:thumbsup:

Congrats, whole house are nice when power is essential. We have portable gasoline generator attached to transfer switch when needed. Not whole house but enough for refrigerator + 2 freezers + furnace + water pump + PC + TV and a few lights. Lived here 18 years and the longest outage so far was 39 hours.

 

[BAP]

Has anyone had to have any warranty work done on their generator? I have read some online about people having troubles getting companies to actually honor their warranties. Of course as usual, only the people with problems post, so it is hard to tell how many have problems versus those that don’t.

 

[coobie]

Has anyone had to have any warranty work done on their generator? I have read some online about people having troubles getting companies to actually honor their warranties. Of course as usual, only the people with problems post, so it is hard to tell how many have problems versus those that don稚.

NOPE !!! 8 years on 17kw Generac..Change the oil/filter once per yr with 5w-30 full syn.oil check battery water.Had the valves adjusted once per owners manual.

 

[BAP]

Good to hear that it is holding up well for you.

 

[BAP]

What have people paid for their generators with installation?

 

[zmountaineer]

What have people paid for their generators with installation?

I have a 22kw Generac. Price of the actual unit and transfer switch was around $4600 with a 10% off at lowes. After I bought it, I got a quote from a local generac installer. After I got the quote, I installed it myself. They wanted $3k for the install which didn’t include the transfer switch that I had my builder install when the service went in (automatic transfer switch install was $300 which I was very agreeable to). So all that had to be done was an inch and a quarter gas line run through the house (approx. 100 feet), unit mounted on a concrete pad, electric line from generator to transfer switch (25 feet of wire). I wasn’t about to pay $3k for that. I ended up doing it myself for around $1200. $2k was my “I’ll pay for the install” price I had figured up.

 

[nikdfish]

What have people paid for their generators with installation?

We installed our 22kw going through Costco. After the various cash back & rebates, we ended up laying out about $8500 total. That included the extra costs associated with placement of the generator 75' from the 200 amp autoswitch, converting the house breaker panel from 3 wire to 4 wire, and trenching a propane line and adding/upgrading a total of 3 regulators through the local propane service folks (two existing regulators were 20 years old & I chose to update them).

If interested, a thread detailing the whole install process can be found here:
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/367609-getting-whole-house-genny-installed.html

 

[TractorGuy]

Congrats on the new gen! Having power during an outage is a wondrous thing.

My house is all electric so diesel made more sense for me. Hurricane Hermine in 2016 was the last straw for us not having backup power. The power was out for a week but I got lucky and bought one of the last remaining PTO generators just north of it's path in GA. I rigged a backfeed cable and ran it through our dryer outlet. Not the best setup but it worked okay for a short term solution.

The cheap 10KW PTO generator had a super noisy gearbox and was puking oil out of the vent. It never got dangerously low but wasn't something I wanted to keep for long term. I also had to run my little tractor wide azz open to maintain hertz. I put 25 hours on it and returned it.

After that I began researching alternatives and discovered the military surplus generators being auctioned. I got lucky and won a 10KW set that cost me $1185 after fees. Prices jumped on them last year and people are paying ridiculous amounts for them now. Buying a new Perkins generator makes more sense than trying to fool with a surplus unit that may or may not run right when you get it. By the time I figured in the travel cost to pick it up, wiring and interlock parts, and building a load bank for regular testing I was right at two grand all in. I have pushed it to 13,500 watts and it will hold and could probably do more. It consumes .7 GPH on average. I keep two 55 gallon drums of diesel on hand and rotate it through my tractors. I have to refill the drums 2 or 3 times a year.

I don't try to run my whole house with it but I can run everything at intervals with load management. I usually turn all the 240 breakers off at start up then run any two of them along with all the 120V loads. I typically run the 3.5 ton AC and 1.5 HP well. When I want to heat water I will turn the AC off and run the 50 gallon water heater. I can run it for an hour a day and have enough hot water for multiple showers. When we want to cook I turn off the well and energize the stove/oven then toggle them back after cooking.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I got my (Top Industrial Quality) 200 amp ASCO transfer switch off E-Bay Cheap. Various Slow Running Diesel (Top Industrial Quality) Generators that usually just required a rotor rewind, from a dealer, also cheap.

There are ways to get the best (non-consumer garbage) at a really good price, and then you really have something you can rely on. Something that is made to run 24/7.

On another note. I saw a documentary about cyber hacking the grid. Apparently, not a matter if IF, just WHEN. And it could take months to re-establish power! It really upset me. Why in the world would utilities put control of their systems on the garbage internet? It seemed to run just fine, before the Internet existed!