I'm considering buying a generator. Just a portable that would keep the refrigerator going, maybe the TV or internet. Nothing of higher power demand and only for a few hours a day if power goes out after a hurricane. AFAIK, this is not a really bad area for that and out lines are underground so that help. But stuff happens. I'm in Florida now and they do get hurricanes.
The inverters run a couple of hundred more from what I've seen. I'd like to keep it down to less than $1k. I'm thinking 2,000 to 3000 watts should handle my needs.
Thing I wonder about is you need to keep enough gas on hand to run the thing, possibly for a good while.
The gas gotta stay fresh- and storing a lot of it isn't safe. I know there are stabilizers you can add to help keep fresh- but I wonder how well they actually work- and how long they last.
If you don't have a supply of gas stored and the problem/outage is widespread, local gas stations won't be able to pump gas and/or you may not be able to drive to one due to road conditions.
My stabilized gas will last over 2 years. If can is not sealed or gas exposed at length to air the stabilizer will not last as long.
It is a pain to store gas but if I had natural gas service I would run the generator on that.
When I got my generator I put in a transfer panel to handle circuits I needed like the well, furnace, refrigerator and freezer. I believe they have smart systems today that can handle the whole house as long as everything is not on at once so they manage it as such.
IIRC Florida may now require gas stations to have generators so pump perorate. I believe FL passed a law related to evacuation routes. Road conditions is another concern as you say.
The problem in the long term is not having the gasoline in the ground. The generator law is more about evacuation, not living after the storm. Going into a storm I make sure I have 50 gallons of gas in cans and that the boat and all of the cars/trucks are full. I also have a 125 gallon propane tank I keep full. That 50 gallons of gas and 125 gallons of propane is still less than 2 weeks on a 5.5 KW generator. After Irma gas stations were coming back online in about 5-6 days and we had a direct hit that pretty much when straight up I-75.
For the OP. the advantage of the inverter is if you really do have a modest load, the generator can throttle down to handle the actual load and not have to turn 3600 RPM no matter what the load is. With light loads, gasoline lasts a lot longer. I was burning 0.5 GPH gasoline and 0.8 GPH on Propane. with my old school generator. Inverter guys were bragging about a couple gallons a day with their
I do have natural gas but I've not seen any small generators that use it. Well, one, but it had terrible reviews. I have a gas line on the lanai for the grill so it would be easy to use a connector for a generator.
I'd keep minimal gas on hand for the occasional outage but for a big storm, there is enough notice to stock up.
An inverter generator can be a lot quieter than a regular one because it does not need to run at full speed under light load. Don't know about in Florida, but up here you don't get a decent inverter unit for under a grand. For your use you don't NEED an inverter unit - but they sure are nice for camping etc where you want things quiet. GOOD inverters are also better for sensitive electronics.
Everyone has different needs - if I could get by on 110 v 3000 watts - I certainly have an inverter generator. I need 230 volts and about 5 kw and I haven't yet stumbled across one that I can afford - so I'll hang in there with my 20 year old Honda EM5000 ... .. not sure if the inverter output wave-form has any affect on electronics ? John T.
It is best to rotate the gas out. I quit using the gas that has ethanol in it. That sutff is death on small engines if left in the tank very long. Using the ethanol free stuff and I do add the Stabil to it, I have keptit for about 4 to 5 months in sealed gas cans over the winter. No problems. My mowing season stops from about the last of Novermber to around March. The ethanol free wwith the stabil in it is fine. If it was the ethanol stuff I would have to clean out the carborator. Have had to do that several times for being lazy.
As I mow for about half the year, I have 3 of the 5 gallon cans and a 2 gallon can. When I get two of the 5 gallon cans empty, I fill them. It usually takes me about 1 1/2 gallons per week to mow the yard. Over the winter I do try to have at least 2 full cans. We usually just have mild winters, but some have been without power for a week or more. That seldom hapens. I have only been out for about 2 days one time and a day the other. I have been without for 3 or 4 hours a few times.
I would not worry one way or the other about an inverter or not for the equipment no matter what the hype is. I run a large TV and computers on a regular 5 kw generator all the time during the power outages. It will burn though a lot of gas if left running.
The main thing is how much gas do you want to use and store. The inverters usually use less , especially if not loaded too much.
I think Honda makes an inverter generator that is about 2 kw for right at $ 1000.
Be _very_ careful when measring the electrical usage of "must run" items (and spec'ing out the generator).
a: Many, especially those with motors such as water (well/sump) pumps and air conditioners and... refrigerators (but see next point) have much higher "starting surge" power draw requirements than the label list. Similarly, using something like a Kill-A-Watt meter (a really great device, about $30) won't necessarily tell you about the starting issue
b: frost free refrigerators draw a _LOT_ of power when they're running the auto-defrost cycle. In my own system the power demand when just cooling down is less than 100 watts. HOWEVER, when it's i defrost mode, it's more like 500. And again, unless you happen to measure it at just the right time, you won't know this.
c: Oh, and a VERY big annoyance with a big chunk of modern gas stoves/ovens. They're often "elctric start", so to speak. The stoves tend to be a spark ignitor whic doesn't draw much, but.. BUT, the ovens are often a problem. Many if them use an electrical glow plate to ignite the gas, and it can draw 500 watts. And what's even worse is that... they'll often stay on, pulling all that electricity ... the entire time the over flame is lit.
A natural gas house should run fine on a little 2kw inverter. Look at any 240v (2 pole) breakers in the panel because those pieces of equipment are not going to work. The other issue is trying to put transfer equipment on your panel will be tough too since you will only be able to feed one phase. You also would have to be sure all 240v breakers were tripped. You might find it easier to just run on cords. I suppose you could put in transfer equipment for a few circuits pretty cheaply. It might be as easy as a 4" square box with 4 "3 way" switches in it to move 4 circuits.
My 5.5k B&S unit will run everything but my electric water heater ... I have it set up to feed the main panel from the shop panel , including
240V stuff . We do minimize loads when we have to use the generator , and I usually have around 10 gallons of non-ethanol gas on hand for the yard equipment plus the generator tank is kept filled with stabilized non-ethanol gas - drained and replaced annually unless I've used the unit enough to burn a full tank , which is seldom . Out here in the woods we often lose power for a minute or two during really nasty weather but I've never needed to run ours for more than a day or two .
I have a Harbor Freight Predator 7000/8750 (watts/peak). During a 40 hour outage in January, I ran it with the old, treated gasoline. It ran ok, but I had to close the choke a bit to make it happy and run smooth. Then I had to go out to get more gas. After putting in the new gas, it ran perfectly with the choke completely off, as it should. When I built the house 10 years ago, the electrical guy (a real jerk) put in a separate panel for the generator. I should have had him put in one of the mechanical interlocks in the main panel and eliminate the separate generator panel, but I didn't really think of it. I have now installed the mechanical interlock, so everything can be run from the generator. And that's what I used in January for the outage. The only problem with the mechanical interlock is that you don't know when power had been restored ... no street lights here, but I did happen to see a light in the neighbor's house, but that's pretty far away. BTW, there are "reverse alarms" available to detect power returned and sound an alarm. I have not installed one of these yet. I did install a generator conversion kit to allow use with propane (or natural gas). I have a 500 gallon propane tank (no ng in my rural area). When my HVAC guy was here, we tried running the AC on the generator on propane. The AC was not happy. But, I did not properly adjust the propane flow valve at that time, so I will be trying that again after the adjustment procedure. Sorry for being so verbose.
Sounds just like what I have with the exception of going into the main panel. Same generator and same amount of gas.
Use today does not extend beyond a day or two but 20 or so years ago I recall a summer outage lasting a week. Summers you cannot miss a day or two without AC or water but in the winter more than 2 days without heat are what it took me to buy a generator. In Florida, AC would probably bemost needed.
In addition to running quieter most of the time, an inverter one should use less fuel too. But they are more expensive and have more electronics that can fail too. I'd probably go with a regular type, but the noise factor is worth considering. That also depends on how close you are to neighbors, if you care, what they have, etc.
Since Ed has nat gas available, I would get one that will run on that. There are companies that sell conversion kits for the common engines, ones that will make it tri-fuel, so it will run on gas, nat gas or propane and you can even switch back and forth. That way if you want to take it elsewhere and run it on gasoline, you can. For ~$1000 should be able to get a 5KW gen and conversion kit.
I would also do it right, get an Interlockit or better yet similar from the maker of your panel, if available and an inlet. That way you can very easily connect the generator when needed and power anything in the house you choose, without cords and all that goes with that.
5KW should be fine for typical house, as long as you don't expect to run big loads like AC, electric ovens, WH, etc.
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