Buying a generator after Sandy

[Best F100]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
My advice:

1) Purchase a construction style generator (much easier to service and repair) (remember you will be doing 50 or 100 hour oil changes)
2) Purchase one with an 11HP or 13HP Honda engine, it's the HP that does the work.
3) Ignore the watt ratings, some 9HP models are rated at 5500W (a lie)
4) Avoid larger inverter generators, they are exceedingly expensive and impossible to repair.
5) Avoid Chinese
6) Always remember a water heater element is 4500W and requires 11HP.
7) Conventional generator heads are easy to repair, and replace and will last a lifetime.
8) Store it in the garage or inside.
9) Portable units can be moved to another house if necessary.








Good advice> and I second those recommendations.

I have a Ridgid 8000W (10,000 peak) generator which meets most, if not all of these recommendations. Home Depot sells them.

The good part: Subaru gasoline powered engine, construction style generator, 14HP. Portable by way of a 2 wheel hand dolly style intergral cage (your wife can move it around, in spite of it weighing 250 lbs). Fold down handle, so it does not take up much space.

The bad part: It is loud. However if you build a small enclosure around it, it is not bad.

Someone can provide a link to it, if interested.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: itguy08
Originally Posted By: ron917

The cost of fuel is not the issue. The ability to obtain fuel is the issue.

For a time after Sandy, gasoline was not available at any price - some areas for a day, others for more than week. Even as gas stations came back on line, there were very few of them open at first. There were long lines and rationing was imposed by the state. In my area, it was more than a week before the gasoline supply was close to normal.


If you are using gasoline, depending where you are you may be able to drive to get it. Fill up yuor car before the storm and if you need to you can most likely drive to get gas once a day or every other day.

PA had plenty of gas and is about 60 miles away for many Jerseyans. I think many could have drove inland and south for gas as well. Or to upstate NY. Certainly not preferrable but doable to keep things running.

Another option is to not run the generator 24/7. Run it when you get home and maybe through the night. Shut off when you are done. If you have the heater set up with it, crank it high while you are on generator and let the nouse naturally cool at night. Fridges/freezers will be OK as you are not opening them at night.

Like you, I'd reccomend at least a 3-5 day supply of gas, probably 10-20 gallons on hand. Remember to fill the generator up before the storm and then fill your gas cans. Fill every gas can, the big ones and small ones. Use stabilizer and rotate it every 6-12 months.

Run your generator under load at least every other month (I do it every month) and CHANGE THE OIL REGULARLY WHEN IN USE!


I personally think you should NOT fill the generator before the storm. Better to buy an extra 5 gallon container. If the storm does not hit, nor the next one, it may be years before the 5 gallons in the generator is used up, despite test starts every 60 days and Stabil.

Also keep in mind there will be grid failures and storm failures. Make sure your gas plan covers both.

My main generator is propane and I have two 100lb tanks of propane which I believe is 44 gallons.

 

[Drew2000]

Another thing to keep in mind, you do not have to run your genset 24 hours per day during a outage. I ran my B&G Storm Responder around 4-5 hours in the morning from 6-10am, and around 5 hours in the evening from 6-11pm.

I turned down the T-stat on the fridge and freezer all the way, and the 9-10 hours of power was more than enough....the temp in the fridge never got above 40', and the house stayed comfortably heated.

Fuel was a major issue. I filled the gen-set before the storm w/ 7 gallons, had 15 gallons in cans, and around 10 gallons in the motorcycle tanks for reserve. This was enough for 10 days of run-time on my 10 hour/ day schedule before I ran low. Managed to get more gas at 1am during the height of the 2nd Nor'easter/snowstorm, but got back power on the 11th day.

Ran the recommended rate of Marvel oil in the gas. After the storm, I siphoned the gas from the gen-set and let it run dry before storage for the next event. The left over fuel was poured into the car gas tanks.

I want the generator filled with fresh oil and gas BEFORE the storm. You don't want to fiddle around with set-up when the wind is gusting at 90mph and limbs are falling all around.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: Donald

I personally think you should NOT fill the generator before the storm. Better to buy an extra 5 gallon container. If the storm does not hit, nor the next one, it may be years before the 5 gallons in the generator is used up, despite test starts every 60 days and Stabil.


I guess it depends on how good you are abut exercising it. For me it's monthly runs at around 1/2 load. So in about 10 months I'm running it dry. I think it all depends on how well a person will maintain the generator. For me it's a reminder on my iPhone at the end of the month so I don't forget.

 

[eljefino]

My generator has a nice 4 gallon tank. Filled it up well ahead of the panic so I could free up one of my 5 gallon cans so I could fill the can in time for the gas station to get more gas from the terminal. (phew!)




Then I unrolled everything post-storm, drained my generator tank, and lived off my cache of gas, so there was more to go around in the Northeast.

Most of my loads are motors, which like perfect sine waves. Even the good inverter generators have sawtoothy shaped waves. An old school generator makes a perfect wave in theory. My fridge compressor sounded a little "sad" on my old (conventional) generator: not fast, not slow, just sad. This is a function of dirty power; its brushes were probably on the way out. Listen to your gut, your machinery, follow your mechanical empathy. If something is not quite right, it's probably suffering slightly.

I like the idea of a "flywheel" on a conventional 3600 RPM generator blasting through a motor starting up and demanding current. It's my impression that in "eco mode" this is hard to do. Size your generator for what you need, really need. My conventional generator has AVR circuitry which in a nutshell loads the flywheel effect to keep voltage at the right spot, so the governor has to react twice as quickly to keep engine speed in the right spot. I was worried during the storm when my kitchen light dimmed when the fridge kicked on, but then noticed it did the same thing on shore power.

 

[GBL]

I'll sound like a Honda salesman but the EU2000i is the way to go. It won't run everything, but it will run what you need in an emergency. We had a tornado go across our property a few years ago and lost power for about 4 days. It kept the freezers, fridge, cell phones, fan, TV, and cable going, and used about 2 gallons/day. Fill it up in the morning and at night. It's incredibly quiet. It also works great on our farm when needed.

The only problem is that people borrow it all the time for outside functions as it's so quiet but I'm worried I won't have it when I need it. The other good side is people want to buy it so it'd be easy to unload.

I've had it for about 6 years and it always starts pretty easy.

 

[Ignatz]

This summer I wired in a Reliance Controls transfer switch, and bought a Honda EU6500is generator. I run 9 circuits on my transfer panel. My main reason for the Honda was noise. I'm sure the Generac works fine, but we lose power often and the "more" expensive Hondas are quiet.
When Sandy hit this fall and I threw the first switch on the transfer panel.......all thoughts of cost were gone.
My 11 year old Honda 9hp snowblower was another "overkill" purchace that has paid off.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: GBL


The only problem is that people borrow it all the time for outside functions as it's so quiet but I'm worried I won't have it when I need it.


If they keep the gas fresh and the moving parts clean I'd be okay with this use.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: GBL


The only problem is that people borrow it all the time for outside functions as it's so quiet but I'm worried I won't have it when I need it.


If they keep the gas fresh and the moving parts clean I'd be okay with this use.

Well thats one advantage of the Winco propane generator I have, its too heavy for anyone to want to borrow.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: GBL
I'll sound like a Honda salesman but the EU2000i is the way to go. It won't run everything, but it will run what you need in an emergency. We had a tornado go across our property a few years ago and lost power for about 4 days. It kept the freezers, fridge, cell phones, fan, TV, and cable going, and used about 2 gallons/day. Fill it up in the morning and at night. It's incredibly quiet. It also works great on our farm when needed.

The only problem is that people borrow it all the time for outside functions as it's so quiet but I'm worried I won't have it when I need it. The other good side is people want to buy it so it'd be easy to unload.

I've had it for about 6 years and it always starts pretty easy.


How can a 2000 watt gen power all those items? It takes more than 2KW to start the average frig alone.

 

[ron917]

Originally Posted By: tig1


How can a 2000 watt gen power all those items? It takes more than 2KW to start the average frig alone.


My EU2000i can easily start my refrigerator and freezer on ECO mode. The lights dim for a split second, but otherwise no problem. With ECO mode off, the lights don't dim when either appliance starts. If both started at the same instant I'm sure it would go into overload, but that has never happened (so far). Current draw on steady state run is far less than start current. I don't have equipment to measure the current draw, so I can't provide measured values. I just know it works because I have done it.

 

[Volvohead]

If you're going with a portable of sufficient output, and can be prudent in its use, one of these is more versatile than a traditional transfer switch panel, and a lot easier and cheaper to install:

http://www.generlink.com/about_generlink.cfm

I'm not sure I'd use one with a genset under 5kW continuous, however, unless extreme prudence were observed.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: ron917
Originally Posted By: tig1


How can a 2000 watt gen power all those items? It takes more than 2KW to start the average frig alone.


My EU2000i can easily start my refrigerator and freezer on ECO mode. The lights dim for a split second, but otherwise no problem. With ECO mode off, the lights don't dim when either appliance starts. If both started at the same instant I'm sure it would go into overload, but that has never happened (so far). Current draw on steady state run is far less than start current. I don't have equipment to measure the current draw, so I can't provide measured values. I just know it works because I have done it.



The biggest draw for us non city slickers is a well pump. Can be from 1/3 to 1/2 to 3/4 HP. 220V. The capacitors for starting can be with the pump or in the control box. That makes a difference.

I have a Liebherr refrig which has one compressor for the refrig section and one for the freezer section. (Interesting concept, but small and overpriced, over engineered German).

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: Donald
The biggest draw for us non city slickers is a well pump.


And BY FAR the most important one . . . especially after that first flush.

 

[eljefino]

My 800 watt HF 2 stroke will start my modern capacitor soft-start fridge.

When sizing generators I see people look up worst case scenario loads then add an additional factor on top of that.

Best thing one can do is stick an ammeter on their own stuff and figure out their own loads. Kill-a-watts are okay but only refresh every 1/2 second which might not catch the peakiest peak.

Don't forget that a fridge has a defrost cycle that runs approx twice a day that uses quite a bit of power. Wish Kill A Watt had a "peak" feature that you could check in on later.