Generators

[abifae]

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[lighthawk]

abi... I have a Briggs and Stratton 5550 watt 30 amp generator extended run (holds 7 gallons of gas and runs 13 hours). More than enough to power my three bedroom ranch home and the well. I have an electric water heater that I cannot leave on when using the generator but I can shut everything else off and power the water heater, it draws 5000 watts by itself I also do not use the dryer while running the generator.
I ran 60 amp service to my shed last summer and set it up so that I can plug it in out there and power the house without having to listen to it all night running next to the house (main electric box is right outside my master bedroom) I like my sleep and I rarely sleep more than 8 hours so the extended run model is more than adequate. Most have a 4 gallon tank and I would have to set my alarm to get up and fill it.
Other than that it is easy to start, reliable (so far, knock wood) and more than adequate for my needs.
Cost was about $750.00.
I bought it online at Generators Direct a few years back.

 

[k0xxx]

We use a Coleman Powermate 5500w gas generator (purchased used), and an All Power America 5000w propane powered generator (purchased new).

We use the gas generator more for powering tools and such away from the house. It works fine, but keeping the gas in the tank and cans rotated can be a pain.

We have adapters and piping to enable use of the propane generator with our 250 gallon propane tank, besides the smaller 20 pound grill type bottles. It should give us up to around 80 hours of run time when using the large tank. Also, propane has pretty much an unlimited shelf life.

The propane generator was around $900 plus shipping (about $80, if I remember correctly) from Northern Tools. For my money, it was well worth it.

In the two instances where we were without power for a week or more, we only ran a generator for a couple of hours each day. We would run the freezer and the refrigerator for an hour each, to keep the cold, and charge batteries and watch the news while the two appliances were running.

 

[Denim Deb]

I think this is the one we have. It works quite well in a power outage. http://www.harborfreight.com/13-hp-...atts-generator-with-electric-start-98839.html

 

[abifae]

Thank you all!! I'm passing this all along to her

I'll pass back any questions.

 

[THEFAN]

Due to inflation my $.02 don't matter anymore.

 

[SKR8PN]

Thank you all!! I'm passing this all along to her

I'll pass back any questions.

We have 15,000 watt, 60 amp standby generator with a 200 amp automatic transfer switch. It is propane fired and I have it tied into 2- 500 gallon tanks. Continuous run time would be somewhere around a month, lots longer if I shut it down periodically. It runs everything in my house and shop, with the exception of my air compressor. I also have it set up to "exercise" itself once a week for 20 minutes, to insure operation when I need it.
THE most important thing to have is a transfer switch. If you know what your doing and understand the risks, you can get by without one, but it can be very dangerous(deadly) for the linemen if you screw up and forget to open your main breakers. A transfer switch does this for you. I can't stress this enough. GET a transfer switch. Even a manual transfer switch works OK if your home to throw it. I went with an automatic because my generator is electric start and it will start and run when the power goes out even if we are not at home. Very good insurance if you have freezers full of food..........

 

[lighthawk]

Years ago (1980) after a tornado hit Kalamazoo a friend of mine hooked a commercial size generator to his house and forgot to throw his main. He lit up his entire block. The neighbors thought the power was restored. They were very disappointed when he finally threw the main and cut them off. Fortunately there was no one working on the lines at the time.

 

[abifae]

That's awesome Lighthawk. *laughing*

 

[SKR8PN]

Years ago (1980) after a tornado hit Kalamazoo a friend of mine hooked a commercial size generator to his house and forgot to throw his main. He lit up his entire block. The neighbors thought the power was restored. They were very disappointed when he finally threw the main and cut them off. Fortunately there was no one working on the lines at the time.

25 or so years ago, when I was hooking up my very first generator set, I called Ohio Edison and asked them about "back feeding" the breaker box by plugging the generator into my dryer plug. There was a bit of silence on the other end of the phone, and then the gentleman said: "Yup, you can do that, but remember there is a LOT of paperwork to fill out if you happen to fry a lineman because you forgot to open the mains."

I went ahead and bought my first transfer switch.