Need information about generators

I live in East Texas, and I lost the contents of my refrigerator and freezer for the second time in 2 years (this time from Hurricane Rita -- which also caused a power outage for 1 week, so air conditioning was off in all this heat). Can anyone give me some advice about home generators -- cost, safety, ease of use, etc.? I would need to set it up myself if I ever lost power, and I have some arthritis in my fingers. Therefore, I think I would need to get one with an electric (battery-powered) switch instead of one that has to be "cranked up." I read about several deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by an generator, so I know it would need to be wheeled outside, and I understand that appliances would have to be connected to it by long extension cords.

How heavy are they and how difficult to wheel around? (There are *none* available in this community right now, so I haven't had a chance to actually look at one, but I would like to be prepared "next time.") I know they come in different sizes. I was thinking of one that would handle an upright freezer, a large double-door refrigerator, a lamp, and a fan. The house has central air, so that is out of the question, but I would like to get a fan that is powerful enough to make life more livable if I lose power for an extended period again.

Thanks for any help! MaryL

Reply to
MaryL
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Welcome to the club, fellow Texan, I just went thru the same ordeal, (actually no power yet for me) and just finished searching into generators to be better prepared next time.

Yes Some models have a push button starter, similar to what was on old cars/trucks.

Not necessarily. An electrician can connect all the circuits that have to be on during an outage to switches between the breaker panel from the electric co and the generator's.

Typical portable generators are around 200 pounds. Home Depot has a

15000 Watts (should power a 4 ton AC, they say) that is just over 400 pounds. has also a starter and a switching panel for about $2,400.

Any model, $600 and up should handle that load, but you should also consider how much noise you can handle. Usually smaller = noisier.

If budget allow, you can have installed a permanent unit sized to support also your air conditioning unit. They are a bit pricey, $3.500 and up, depending on the load, plus the cost of an external tank for propane or diesel (unless you already have one, plus the installation cost.

Some come up automatically when there is an outage and test themselves automatically once a month. If it's within budget go with one of these.

Check out some here:

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Fuel is another thing to consider. Small portable units run on gasoline. A thank last perhaps 10hours, then you have to let the unit cool down completely and refuel.

Storing gasoline is a pain: it's dangerous and gets stale quickly, so you can only store little quantity.

Propane is much easier to store and doesn't go bad. Plus can be delivered, so that you don't have to lug heavy containers.

Hope this helps some, but for more info do a google search on newsgroups: the generators topics has been discussed over and over in this newsgroup.

Whatever you choose, the first step should be to hire an electrician to quantify the load and check if any re-wiring is needed.

Good luck

Reply to
Carpenter

Thanks for the suggestion. I knew a "repair" newsgroup wasn't quite right, but I didn't know where else to look.

MaryL

Reply to
MaryL

"MaryL" wrote on 03 Oct

2005:

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Reply to
Doug Boulter

"MaryL" wrote in news:_Ul0f.29$xE1.27@okepread07:

You may want to post this to alt.energy.homepower.

That said: Look up the nameplate ratings for your refrigerator and freezer. These will tell you the opperating power needed. The generator needs to be able to supply at least that much power. Size it a bit larger to account for starting surge and a bit more for a few lights and fans.

Reply to
Gordon Reeder

If I had the money I would go with one of those natural gas models that kick in automatically when the electric goes out. No fuel handling or storage necessary. Of course, if you suffer from natural gas outages in East Texas this may not be an option.

Reply to
sleepdog

Exactly how much food did you lose in your refrigerator vs how much you are going to spend on this?

Consider solar cells that could run your refrigerator for at least a few hours/day.

Reply to
scott21230

On 10/3/2005 10:36 PM US(ET), MaryL took fingers to keyboard, and typed the following:

I live in upstate NY and I have a Generac 5500 generator that runs the whole 2000 sq ft house, including refrigerator/freezers (2), TVs, computers (if the cable company hasn't lost power), and a 3/4 hp well pump. The only difference between it and the electric utility noted is when the well pump kicks in. There is a momentary dimming of the lights. I've had it since Hurricane Floyd in Sept. 1999 and only used it about 4 times since. I got it in Home Depot and it cost less than $1000 (It is a pull start and I forgot the exact amount).

Reply to
willshak

This is the best generator in the world if you only need 110V and not too much power. Its 47 dB at 1/4 power. That's really like a whipser. And its commercial engine too. I like its idle control, which means its only as fast as it needs to go, which makes it quiet, and it has a very long run time on one tank.

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Dean

Reply to
dean

Mary--- Since you are just beginning your search, go here

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and send for their free catalog. Use it as a reference. Use can also then click on the "Generator" section on the left side and get and idea. If you can get to a Northern store, you can actually see and discuss. But, generators will be scarce and expensive for a while I have had one of their electric starting, Honda powered, North Star generators for several years. I keep it on a trickle charger when not in use. I also got a wheel kit for it, so I can move it around. I would not buy without it being either Honda powered or a Honda generator. You want it to start each and every time You can have an electrician set up a transfer panel for you so that all you have to do is move the generator outside, plug it in and start it up. We had a tree on the house and no power for 10 days during Isabel. The generator worked like a champ. Ran everything but the AC and water heater. YMMV Roy

Reply to
Roy Starrin

Those Generacs went for about $499 at BJs for awhile. My sister and her husband got one. After a while, it wouldn't stay running. So, they gave it to me and bought another one. I found the problem, got it running. traded it with my Dad, for a smaller one (I don't need 5500 watts, and 220 volts, the one he traded me was a lot easier to carry, and more convenient). Then one power cut, it wouldn't start. The "helpful" neighbor sprayed ether in the spark plug hole, and it locked up solid and threw a piston rod. Probably had less than 25 hours of actual run time.

Hint: It's OK to spray ether on the air filter, but not in the spark hole.

I've used my smaller generator a couple times since then. For running furnace during power cuts. has come in really handy.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

That seems high. Gasoline has an energy density of 9700Wh/l or about

2500Wh/gallon. At 2200Wh/g that means an efficiency of 88%, which seems way high for an engine+generator. ...maybe I missed something though.

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Reply to
krw

I ran some numbers, from the Northern Tools catalog. They list how long the generator runs, gas tank size, and watts of the generators. What worked out is that a galon of gasoline supplies about 2200 watts, for one hour.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Did you slip a decimal point?

Gasoline has 127613 BTU/ gallon and there are 3412 BTU/kWh which comes to 37 kWh per gallon at 100% efficiency

At 10% eficency that would be 3.7 kWh per gallon which seems about right Mark

Reply to
Mark

"MaryL" wrote in message news:_Ul0f.29$xE1.27@okepread07...

Thanks for the help, everyone. I also posted the message to alt.energy.homepower, as someone on this group suggested. The information I obtained from both newsgroups has been *very* useful, even though the end result is that I have now decided that a generator really would not be very practical for me. I had not considered maintenance, the necessity to keep fuel available, etc., and I am also concerned about safety and whether I could physically handle the process since I would not have anyone to help me. The cost is a big factor in practicality. I have lost the contents of my refrigerator and freezer twice in two years. Before that, I had not had a power outage long enough to cause loss of food for about 12 years. So, I really could afford to lose the amount of food I store (for one person) several times over before paying for a generator. The extreme discomfort from lack of air conditioning is another factor, but a generator that I would have bought would not be large enough to take care of that, anyway (although I would have been able to run a fan). Two years ago, I simply packed up and moved to a motel for a couple of days! This time, I was without power for a week, but there were no motel/hotel rooms available for many miles because of hurricane evacuees. However, a friend learned that I still didn't have power and invited me to stay with them. Their power was back on, and they had air conditining. So, I spent the last two days in relative comfort ("relative" only because it is never quite the same when staying at someone else's home -- but they were wonderful to think of me).

Thanks, again. All of you have been extremely helpful.

MaryL

Reply to
MaryL

While a generator large enough to run a central a/c would be fairly expensive both to purchase and also to operate, you can buy a 5K window unit -large enough to cool a bedroom- for $79 that will operate on a

2000 watt generator and leave plenty of capacity left for lights, refrigerator, freezer etc. In HVAC, Turtle said his generator (I think he recently said it was 4500 watt) was costing $30/day to run last week after Rita. That would equal to about 10 gal/day, so I think Stormin is mistaken about the 1 gal/hr, unless he is talking about a huge machine. Pretty bad when using a half gallon of gas an hour for a week will cost $200 or more. Larry
Reply to
lp13-30

What I had to say in another newsgroup last year:

--begin included text-- We have two generators--a 1000-watt inverter-equipped one for running electronics, and a 4300-watt one for "everything else." Right now I use a well-planned system of extension cords and power strips, but may have a transfer switch installed eventually. My current system takes me about 30 minutes to deploy fully, and I could get that down to 8 or 10 with a transfer switch--and it would be more goofproof. I'm going to explore a whole-house natural gas generator if/when we build another house.

Incidentally, there are two big things at odds in a lot of circumstances in which you want to deploy a portable generator. There is often precipitation during an extended power outage, and it's important to keep a generator dry. BUT, if you run it in the garage, you can die.

So I run the generators in the garage with the door opened about a foot at the bottom, and a high-power utility blower (such as you'd dry a wet carpet with) directed outward between the exhausts of the generators and the opening. I put a CO detector in the laundry room, where the door from the garage enters the house. This allows me to refuel, configure, etc. without creating unacceptable shock hazards, without having to go out in the rain/ice/snow, and without having an unsightly "generator doghouse" in the yard. During tests and one short "real" deployment, the CO detector has yet to sound--and its alert threshold is quite low.

--end included text--

Additional notes:

Note that by "everything else" in the first paragraph I don't mean an HVAC system.

I've also since incorporated a couple of APC uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) into the "system," which gives me some buffer for refueling and resting times.

Others have given you good feedback about startup surges, and I strongly agree with the poster who endorsed Honda engines.

Reply to
Bo Williams

Scott wrote Exactly how much food did you lose in your refrigerator vs how much you are going to spend on this? Consider solar cells that could run your refrigerator for at least a few hours/day.

==================

What is the cost of a solar cell bank, a set of deep cycle batteries and an inverter to handle his refrigerator and even a minimal number of small items during an outage? The generator is cheaper and more flexible.

Reply to
Gideon

cayoung61-#spamblock*-

Maybe... I've done it before. ;-)

The reference I gave says 9.7kWh/l, which at 3.78l/gal is:

9.7kWh/l * 3.8l/Gal = 37kWh/gal

Shit! I divided instead of multiplying! (actually the other way around, but...) Oops! (good thing for disclaimers ;-)

I seem to remember that number from somewhere. ...now! ;-)

You are right. 10% is much more believable.

Thanks for correcting me.

Reply to
keith

qMary,

A bit of Google searching should provide you with a wealth of information for picking the correct generator for your needs. There is a lot of information about the average electrical draw for various devices, including the temporary (surge) requirements when devices first turn on. There is also a lot of info about the advantages of various generator types, sizes and features such as electric start, auto start, 1800 rpm vs 3600 rpm, diesel vs gasoline vs natural gas, extension cords vs transfer switches, etc.

You failed to mention your budget and the importance of convenience to you. Both are extremely important in picking a system. If you have deep pockets, you can get whatever you need or desire. Otherwise, you'll have to make some trade-offs. Can you save the cost of electric start by finding a helpful neighbor?

I've got about $800 invested in a medium generator and a smaller generator. With them, I can keep my refrigerator, my freezer and an emergency small window AC ($100 or so) running in addition to a small number of convenience items. Note that I can only run one large item at a time, but those devices don't have to run continuously. You just rotate among them.

Advise - if you know that a hurricane is heading your way, turn the fridge thermostat very low - about 35 degrees. Turn your freezer thermostats as low as they will go and also fill as much space as possible with plastic containers full of water. These blocks of ice plus the low temperatures will allow the food in the fridge and freezers to survive a much longer outage. Don't forget to turn the AC as low as possible to also provide comfort for as long as possible after the outage hits.

Dorm-sized fridges are a nice second fridge around the house. If you buy one, then during an outage you can remove non- essential items from the dorm fridge (pop, beer, etc.) and load it with the critical items from your big fridge. The dorm fridge uses much less electricity and is easier to run off of a small generator.

Also, compact fluorescent light bulbs are very popular and practical for saving energy. They are particularly useful when you have to rely upon a generator because these bulbs produce the same amount of light for about one fourth the electrical consumption. These CF bulbs will reduce the load on your generator, but keep in mind that the savings in electrical consumption for a few light bulbs is somewhat trivial compared to the load of big items such as a freezer, fridge, hair dryer, toaster, microwave or window AC.

You've also got to consider how much gasoline you are going to need for a "typical" emergency and where you are going to obtain the gas during the emergency. I own 4 vehicles plus a gasoline pump, so on average I've got access to about 60 gallons of gasoline from the vehicles. Of course, I still need to drive and I'm not sure how available gasoline will be in an emergency, so I've also got 60 gallons of gasoline stored in the shed.

I'd like to hook my generators up on the natural gas supply, but there is a non-trivial cost for the conversion parts, the conversion process and the hook-up to the natural gas. If you do the installation yourself or get it done for free by a friend, then you save considerably and I'd guess that the price drops down to about $150 or so. Please note that a generator converted to natural gas puts out about 10% less electricity. Also note that most conversions are reasonably permanent and you can't just toggle back-and-forth between natural gas and gasoline.

Final advise - try to find somebody with whom you can discuss this decision. It is just too complex and difficult to have a really useful question-and-answer discussion on a newsgroup.

Good luck, Gideon

Reply to
Gideon

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