Gas generator to power home when there are power outtages

[..]

To power fridge, some lights and a TV.

The house has an outlet outside for a generator to be plugged in as needed.

Suggestions please.

[da prez]

  Find a generator with the KW that you need. Go up a little in size. I suggest a Honda for a portable. Be sure you can lock it up when in use.  They have been known to grow legs. We have a sub-panel for the needed items. Run it on occasion and use marine stabil in the fuel. Keep fresh treated fuel. Use the extra fuel in yard use or in your car. Do not do like I did. No fuel when needed.

                                            da prez

[Pete]

To power fridge, some lights and a TV.

The house has an outlet outside for a generator to be plugged in as needed.

Suggestions please.

I have had a setup in the last three houses I have owned, used it twice in 18 years.
Not really sure that it is worth the trouble.

If you have access to natural gas pipeline pipe it in, transporting/storing gas is a pain.

[hubcapsc]

Make sure you're confident about the way it switches over so there no possibility
of the electric company men getting shocked because your house is hot...

-Mike

[msb]

We used a small 2500W  Firman  to do just that this past New Years when we were without power for 4 days. Worked OK for the fridge and a few lights. Since we're up in an area that when outages do occur can take a few days to go back on line, I've upgraded to a 4000W Honda generator/inverter which is extremely quiet and also distributes even power for sensitive electronics such as your computer and TV ( surges from regular generators can damage these devices). If you want to stay small, that's what I would recommend.
Then of course you can go with larger portable units for more power or even  large permanent options that stay connected and  can run your whole house. These can be hooked up to run  automatically off your house's propane or natural gas as well when the power goes out...making them hassle-free ( albeit expensive).
Note....if plugging in directly into your house's circuitry,  a Transfer Switch is required which isolates the power to your house. Otherwise , your auxhilary power goes directly through  to the grid and could cause issues for a serviceman working to restore power on the main line.

[Ramie]

I've got a nice Honda my son bought me a few years ago.  I've powered, my fridge, a freezer, TV, lights, cable box, modem and sump pump all at the same time no problems.  The nice thing is it's supper quiet and always starts.

https://www.amazon.com/Honda-2200-Watt-120-Volt-Portable-Generator/dp/B079YF1HF6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526388649&sr=8-1&keywords=honda+eb2000i+generator&dpID=51GiKgXDzjL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

[..]

We used a small 2500W  Firman  to do just that this past New Years when we were without power for 4 days. Worked OK for the fridge and a few lights. Since we're up in an area that when outages do occur can take a few days to go back on line, I've upgraded to a 4000W Honda generator/inverter which is extremely quiet and also distributes even power for sensitive electronics such as your computer and TV ( surges from regular generators can damage these devices). If you want to stay small, that's what I would recommend.
Then of course you can go with larger portable units for more power or even  large permanent options that stay connected and  can run your whole house. These can be hooked up to run  automatically off your house's propane or natural gas as well when the power goes out...making them hassle-free ( albeit expensive).
Note....if plugging in directly into your house's circuitry,  a Transfer Switch is required which isolates the power to your house. Otherwise , your auxhilary power goes directly through  to the grid and could cause issues for a serviceman working to restore power on the main line.

Thanks

[LandElephant]

Personally I would go with a Generac (I think that's how you spell it) propane powered generator.  Fuel doesn't go bad and although maybe a bit more money they are quieter.  I have a 5 KV that I run my property in Colorado when I am there.  Had to get it fine tuned for the elevation but it gets three to four days to 60 lbs of Propane (here in Texas that's about $60).

It came with a protected 30 amp plug and 4 GFCI 120 plugs.  It is portable and I have four tanks.  I think it would take a major storm event to ever have to run that much.  Might be a bit pricey (under $1,000 )but well worth it in MHO.

Charlie Morse
Landelephant

[¿spoom]

Hard to give one perfect answer, as so much depends on the price tag. Can't beat a whole house unit that comes on by itself, running natural gas or LP, but depending on brand, size and local codes/labor prices it could run more the 3 used Valks. I have a gasoline Generac 3250/3750watt constant/peak rated unit with a 220/110 output. I would have gone with a nice small, quiet, efficient Honda unit putting out just enough for running the fridge & freezer one at a time along with a few lights & the tv & cable box, but in WI you need to have capacity & clean power to run both the blower and electronics of the furnace or you risk frozen pipes and having to relocate to where there's warmth. I've got a 220 welder outlet & 40a breaker in the garage, so I made up a short #8awg. cord & appliance plugs to adapt the generator 220 output into the welder cord to backfeed the house from the non-attached garage, where the generator can be run with the garage door open 4"-5" for fresh air. To use it, one simply opens the main breaker and turns off any breakers for circuits you don't wish to power. Turn on the generator and it feeds the main panel through the 40a welder breaker to any breaker that's on. One can turn the furnace breaker off while running the basement freezer, kitchen fridge, etc, then when it's time to heat the house back up you turn off the breaker to the freezer and turn on the furnace's. Would have gone with a natural gas one but I wanted it portable to use elsewhere.   
   

[Serk]

Good to see you're researching now, and not like I did.

We were 12 hours into what turned out to be a 3 day power outage from an ice storm, and my 500 gallons of saltwater reef aquarium was 1-2 hours form becoming a very large pot of expensive seafood gumbo.

Home Depot, Lowe's, etc were all sold out. On a hunch I dropped by Northern Tool and bought what they had, at the price it was listed for.

Some no-name, but it did the trick, and the 2-3 times I've needed it since it's done the trick. I run extension cords all over the house instead of back-powering the switch box but it works.

(Would have to go to the garage to get the name and capacity, mostly just saying yeah, get one while the weather's nice and you don't need it!)

[Jess from VA]

Hey Paul, I asked the same question and there was a long thread on here a couple years ago.

If you have natural gas, and will part with several $K for a lifetime deal, one of those whole house Generac setups cannot be beat, and it will run 220 AC unlike any gas jobs out in the shed (or garage) (and it starts itself up automatically monthly for a test check, and kicks in automatically for power outages). The only way you're going to lose your natural gas is an earthquake, which seems unlikely.

You need to ask around and find out how often and how long your local outages have been in the area.  If neighbors are scarce, call your power company and ask.

I would have gone with the spendy natural gas whole house deal, except it was going to be a bunch or torn up concrete (I already paid for), and I still am not sure I'm staying here until I'm dead.

So, what I did, I found a good deal on a big powerful Costco gas generator that was not Honda brand name, but powered by a big Honda engine (which is the important part of a gas generator).  It was around a $K, but would have been three times that if was a Honda brand name.  And it had battery/electric start, which beats the hell out of pulling your arm out of the socket on a higher horsepower (with no compression release) generator that only gets run once a year or so, in the dark, and an ice storm; and/or breaking the pull rope in the dark and having to drill out rivets to get the housing off to wrap the rope for each pull.  And I got a 4th battery tender jr and leave it on my generator (tiny) battery 24/7/365, just like my bikes.  (on my past generators, I have multiple times foked up my shoulder and broken pull ropes and profaned loud and long) (a can of ether start fluid can be your very good friend)

I don't keep any gas in mine, and no corn gas, and try to get 10 gal of good gas in cans (still treated) come fall/winter when most of our power outages occur (but not always).

I really looked hard at propane generators too, as there is no worry about corn gas or gummed up carbs, but the downside was I discovered the 3-5gal propane tanks would not work/feed when real cold or frozen, I didn't have or want a big propane tank out in my yard which does not have the cold problem little tanks do, and I sure as hell was not going to store a pile of propane tanks in my house to blow it up (right under where I sleep).  And if you do the math, you will need a pile of small tanks to keep a propane generator going for a day or two. I also considered keeping one tank warm inside, hooking it up when needed, then bringing in one or two more inside to warm up before use, and so on. That sounded like a lot of trouble.

And propane is less efficient than gas.  IE, per volume, gasoline is best bang per unit of fuel, propane is next, and natural gas is least (but if it is piped to the house, who cares?).

The thing to do is to decide what you want to run from a generator in a power outage, then tally up the watts for those things (and refrigerators have a surge and a run requirement... and so do generators).  It gets real miserable hot here in summer, and my gas generator will not run 220 AC, but it WILL run my smallest 110 window unit I keep in my bedroom just fine (even with good central air), and that was a lifesaver once a few years back when we lost power for 3 days in high heat summer (it won't cool the house, but with the doors closed, you have one room that is nice).  You total up what you want to use (no 220, no coffemakers, no microwave, no toaster or toaster ovens, but fridges, computers, lights, TVs, and run and surge, and add it up and that is the size you want (and a little bigger is good).

If you already have a way to back feed your breaker box from a 220 generator feed (4-prong twist plugs), you just have to remember (without fail) to throw off your main breaker during use, so you don't risk back feeding the pole and hurting some guy working out on the lines.  There is a way to install something in the box that does this automatically for you, but I don't have it.  I handmade my own 220 feed lines with 10guage flexible (heavy) wire with double male 4 prong 220 twist plugs on each end.  Obviously, you never want to carry a hot 220 plug in your hand, so you plug in the house panel, start the generator, and the last step is to plug into the generator last to bring the house on line.  Just like shooting guns, none of this should be EVER be done under the influence of intoxicants of any kind.

Also, when you use any generator setup, the best plan is to throw off the main, and all 220 feeds, and most everything else (like surge refrigerator circuits), then get the generator plugged in and running, then go back to the box, and begin slowly bringing back on individual circuits you do want to feed on the generator (one by one).  This minimizes the chances of browning something out.  I also have all my electronics, computer and TV on dual surge protectors; one real good one at the wall plugs, plugging surge protected and fused power strips into them, and plugging the electronics into the power strips.  I've many times had the power co bringing back the power to the house (while not using the generator), on/off, on.... off, multiple times and this will brown out and trash any electronics and refrigerators.  Never lost a thing with my setup.

Here is the one I got (I didn't see it on the Costco website just now):  https://www.homedepot.com/p/PowerStroke-6-800-Watt-Gasoline-Powered-Electric-Start-Portable-Generator-with-Honda-GX390-Engine-PS906811P-H/204401587?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cgoogle%7c&mid=sFuEiqKzf%7cdc_mtid_890338a25189_pcrid_241252334077_pkw__pmt__product_204401587_slid_&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzNP-pe6H2wIVAeDICh3MWg5FEAQYAiABEgLam_D_BwE&dclid=CLnK_qfuh9sCFUtDDAodju8OVw

Sorry the link is goofy, copy paste to a new url window.  Or highlight, right click, and open in a new tab/window.

http://www.powerstroketools.com/catalog/generators/PS906811PA

The wheels and wheelbarrow arms beat the hell out of dragging one around on skids like all my past generators.  It gets stored in a shed corner, but needs drug to an open shed door to vent exhaust when running.  If you think some asswipe would try to steal it running overnight with your garage door open a foot, chain it to something.

Large 8 Gallon Fuel Tank for Up to 13 Hours at 50% Load

[Tx Bohemian]

To power fridge, some lights and a TV.

The house has an outlet outside for a generator to be plugged in as needed.

Suggestions please.

I have had a setup in the last three houses I have owned, used it twice in 18 years.
Not really sure that it is worth the trouble.

If you have access to natural gas pipeline pipe it in, transporting/storing gas is a pain.

As I always say:
To each his own

But in my opinion about generators, it's well worth it!!

I bought a 5500 watt generator when my wife was in a wheelchair after a severe accident. (12 yrs ago, she’s better now)
I remember after Hurricane Claudette passed through (Cat 1) and we lost power for about 12hrs.
I was thinking it wasn't going to be easy packing a wife with a bad leg, wheelchair and half the house that would need to go with it going somewhere, fighting the horrendous traffic, for a few days until we got electricity back!

So I bought the generator and had it for 10-12 years and never needed it (which is ok). Every 4-6 weeks I’d put fresh gas in it, crank it and let it run 15-20 minutes.

Well, when Harvey past through here last August we were without power for a week!
This thing was worth its weight in Gold!

Who ever been through a hurricane, or like disaster, knows the hectic-ness that goes along with preparedness and living through the event before things are back to normal, having electricity makes it way more bearable!
PLUS, knowing you got that covered, that's one less thing to worry about as you are preparing!

My fabulous SIL, electrician with his own company, came by and “bohemian rigged” it into the outside panel so we could use the house lights, outlets, ceiling fans, water heater, etc… instead of running extension cords throughout the house (although that would’ve worked too if that’s all we had).
With it hooked up to the house it also ran our water well without having to do extra wiring for it.
This did make life much easier during this time!!
SILs electricians are scheduled to come out in a couple of weeks to rig up a proper transfer switch.

Also I read somewhere, maybe here, about a guy that bought a new gen and also cranked it every month and all was well.  Except when he needed it the thing started and ran, as usual, but when he plugged in a cord the Electrical part didn’t work.
So, since reading that I’d always check the plugs to make sure there was current there.

IMO even if I bought this thing and never needed it for an emergency I feel the "piece of mind" is worth it.

[Tx Bohemian]

Just recently, after going through a Hurricane and the aftermath, you hear all kinds of stories of "survival".

I have heard the Honda Inverters do a fabulous job and are really quiet.

Although I was very appreciative that I had power, the Troy-Built generator I had was a bit noisy.

I did get used to it, but was WAAAY happy once we got power back and I didn't have to listen to this thing running outside my window anymore!

[MarkT]

+1 on the comments above. I'll add my story - I picked up a 7kw (startup, 6kw run) generator from Costco for about $500 a dozen or so years back when we lost power on the average monthly from our power Co-op.  They have much nicer ones now - multi-fuel, electric start, a little more watts, good name on the engine for about $650 or so.  Rewired the main panel so it had a master breaker - house was built before code required that. Marked the breakers we don't want run on the main panel - the hot tub, water heater. This generator will run everything except the water heater and spa and compressor in the shop (does run the welders).  I have UPS protecting the computers and AV equipment - but not the well or furnace.  I added an LED nightlight that comes into the kitchen - just inside the panel outside - plugged into one side of the 240 service & common so it's 120, above the master breaker, and with it's own fuse.  That LED is on when the grid is powered, so when it comes back on I know it and can shut down my generator power.  The generator then backfeeds thru a cable into the 240 service wired into the shop, while the generator runs in the bike barn outside.  I added a big muffler to it so it's quieter than OEM muffling - but still loud enough you can tell it's running out there from in the house.  Can't imagine anyone thinking it's stealable while running, but crime isn't an issue out here anyway.  Of course one must take care, follow the procedure, first and last thing of the generator use is hit the master breaker.  I keep a label on the generator, date when the gas was changed.  I use non-corn gas with Seafoam in it and change it every 12 months.  Set up a T-fitting and petcock to make changing the gas easy, run the unit for 5 minutes annually to be sure it runs OK, and always shut it off by turning off the fuel valve so the gas is gone from the carb.  The gas I remove then goes into the Exploder - poor guy always gets the old gas I remove from my various gas tools.  I have to make it a point to run the Exploder at least monthly to scrub the rust off the brakes - it's a gas hog so it's use is only when I need to haul something big or pull a trailer or go to the range or if the snow gets too deep for the CR5 but not enough to run the Kubota to plow it.

I'll add, after I set up my system and no longer had to put up with no heat, no water, no lights, no refrig every time there was a mild storm - the co-op got to work and fixed their lines and the adjacent trees and we stopped losing power - now it's much more rare and generally then only for maybe an hour. But it can still happen and I'm prepared.  I keep the tank full and always have on hand a couple more cans of fresh gas. Each can is good for about 10 hours.

We had a thread on this a couple years back and one guy got all up in arms about powering your house with a generator without a code-approved switch system.  All about electrocuting a lineman.  I sympathize with his point but he isn't paying the high cost of that system for me and I'm not going to fail to operate my switches correctly.  For one thing, even if I have a brain fart my generator has a fuse that blows immediately with too much load - meaning if it's connected to the grid.  And if I was a lineman - I wouldn't trust any line was unpowered without testing it.  I would assume it's always hot and dangerous.  Just like I take the same kind of precautions with guns - treated always like they are loaded.

[Pete]

On some power units if the generator sits or is not used for a long period of time, it will fail when needed.

There is a little known procedure that may get some to start working.

With the generator running, plug a electric drill into the 110 outlet, put a T handle into the chuck and spin it as fast as you can. If the T handle reverses by itself as you are spinning it it will slowly start generating and will restore itself. If the first try does not work reverse the spin and spin it again. What you are doing is back feeding a small amount of current into the generator to energize it.

If neither direction works forget it.

When I was told of this I laughed, but I had  chance to try it on a friends generator and it worked. Initially the current was low and intermittent. In just a minute or so it cleaned up. You can monitor it with an AC test meter.

[Jess from VA]

Mark, it's funny, in my neck of the highly populated urban Northern VA area, but we used to lose power many times a year, but mostly for 1-3 hour durations, where even in hot summer (or cold winter), you could just do without and not die of heat/cold or lose your food.  Even in hot summers or cold winters, I tend to wait a few hours before going through the paces to fire up and power up (I keep my generator tank and carb bone dry), because our outages were not that long.  But this has cut way down over the last five years or so, and my educated guess on the whole thing is that .... all the ancient and/or sick old trees that can fall on our lines in our area have finally fallen already (after my 26 years here).  

It's either that, or Karma has happened where now that I have got a big expensive generator and 220 heavy up with back feed hard wire setup, and gas backup, karma requires I no longer hardley ever need it anymore.

But I think it's the most-of-the-old-trees-have-finally-fallen-over thing, and not the Karma thing.    

[robin]

put a whole house gen in last year does everything all by it's self no fussing with anything

[rocketray]

ditto on Serk

[bill-jr]

Like hubcap said make sure you have a transfer switch . . . .

[Robert]

I have a whole house natural gas Generac and its good. I can power the whole house including ac which after a storm here power was out for 5 days and it was a real blessing to have. Nothing beats being able to keep everything going when its a crisis situation. All the advice here was right on the money, but I would say also consider the ability to keep a generator going. When problems arise sometimes its not easy to get fuel and not easy to get out. Even before a storm things get pretty dicey here and people are a bit nuts so to have bases covered without having to hassle is best.

A recommendation for anyone who has a gen set that does a self test especially Generac. They are a home use generator and not a heavy duty unit. The self test mode over years is really not necessary if on propane or natural gas and will save wear and tear on the generator. I keep my unit in manual mode and have a panel interlock so I can turn it on when I want. Otherwise if the power goes out for 3 minutes the gen set will kick on.

[sheets]

Had been dealing with intermittent power failures ranging from four hours to four days for forty-four years. After the last major outage we packed the goods from the fridge in the snow and left town for a motel for three days till the power was restored. Last year I broke down and purchased a Honda generator - eu300is (good enough for the fridge/freezer, a couple lights and the coffee pot). Had a transfer switch installed so I don't back-feed the grid. As fate would have it we never lost power last winter. I purchased 92 octane ethanol free gas by the five gallon can. Supposedly the gas is good for two years. Will use the year-old stored gas in my lawnmowers and such and purchase three or four new cans of gas each winter. I run the generator periodically with a 500 watt halogen shop light plugged in to create load once in a while. Will purchase a second generator this fall to run in parallel to run the whole house.   

[..]

Thanks to all.

[Tx Bohemian]

One thing I'd like to add;

After this Hurricane business we went through I got to checking how to make it easier in the future, among other things, to hook up power from a generator.
I came across a device called "Gener-link"

The best I can tell is it fits between your meter and the house and has a "plug" on it that you plug in the cord from the generator. It automatically disconnects the grid from your house.

Powers the whole house. (of course depending on the size of your generator)

Once power is restored you unplug the cord and it goes back on the grid.

It looks like it's a bit pricey ($850-ish) but if it works, to me, seems like the easiest way to being able to hook up gen power.
I'm not sure if that's a lot or not.  I'll find out in a couple of weeks once I get my "Transfer switch" installed.

Evidently some power companies don't allow it because the adds strongly suggest checking to make sure it's legal to use in your area.

[Binkie]

I have a Coleman powermate 6500kw generator that I have used to power my house when I lived in Michigan. I just hooked it into the 220v feed for my sprinkler pump and feed the house that way. Of course I also pulled the main breaker on the electrical box. The big draws are electric motors. They take more current to start than to run....its called rush in current. But, it’s also very unlikely all the electrical motors in your house will come on at the same time. One thing to remember is to never connect to the house when starting a generator.....it’s dirty power .....the current fluctuates until it’s up and ruining. This is only a concern if you hook up manually....automatic switchover have a delay device to handle this.

[Jess from VA]

When I had my 200amp heavy-up (some 17 years ago) (original 6 screw-in fuse 100amp service, to many circuit 200amp breaker box), I asked my electrical contractor to give me a back feed to my new box for a 4-prong 220Volt twist plug from my shed generator.  It worked out well since the outdoor box plug (with weather cover) is just outside my basement breaker box (maybe four feet of distance, including through the wall).  They told me the way they did it was to take that 220Volt line, and split it into two 110 volt lines inside the box itself.  

They did everything up to code all the way (and pulled my county required permit for the job), but they did not install any sort of switch (automatic or otherwise) in the box to ensure power from a running generator could not back feed the pole (and maybe injure a lineman working on the local power outage).  

The contractor did provide a stern warning that I had to knock off my main breaker circuit (from the pole) any time I used the generator.  I had already been doing this, since before the heavy-up, I had been back feeding my house by running the heavy cord from the generator through my basement storm door window and cracked door to the the 220 volt three-prong dryer plug on the wall, 6 feet from the old 100 amp service box.

It may be that code would now require that some sort of automatic switch be installed in the box to prevent feeding the pole from the generator, but I don't believe it was a code requirement when my job was done, or they would have installed one.  (It wasn't code, but they also installed a mini halon fire extinguisher inside my new box.)

There are a whole series of safety and step-by-step ordered procedures that must be scrupulously followed to backfeed the house electrical service box from a generator, and knocking off the Main is just one of them (but maybe the most important one).

 

[MarkT]

I have a Coleman powermate 6500kw generator that I have used to power my house when I lived in Michigan. I just hooked it into the 220v feed for my sprinkler pump and feed the house that way. Of course I also pulled the main breaker on the electrical box. The big draws are electric motors. They take more current to start than to run....its called rush in current. But, it’s also very unlikely all the electrical motors in your house will come on at the same time. One thing to remember is to never connect to the house when starting a generator.....it’s dirty power .....the current fluctuates until it’s up and ruining. This is only a concern if you hook up manually....automatic switchover have a delay device to handle this.

After all the other plug-ins are set up, and the appropriate breakers thrown, the generator running, the last thing I do is plug in the cable at the generator.  After it's been running a couple minutes.  My big 240v two-stage compressor does not have an onboard on/off switch.  It's wired directly to the sub-panel in the shop and is triggered on/off by it's pressure sw.  I didn't like that when I installed it to replace my previous single-stage compressor which had a switch.  The generator can't power this compressor; draws too much current. The breaker that powers it also connects the 240v plug where I connect the generator.  I need to add a switch.  Or just add a breaker in the sub-panel and separate the circuits.

[Robert]

Transfer switches usually require rewiring the whole panel and installing the switch at a pretty good expense, it also will stop power going to all of the house.  A panel interlock is a manual way to secure that the gen and power cannot be on at the same time while still allowing power to any and all of the house. You have to make sure they are approved but for typical home install it makes a night and day difference. Most don't need emergency immediate power and can go start the generator and flip a switch as long as its already wired in to the panel.

The Interlock Kit: The Affordable, Reliable Alternative to Manual Transfer Switches

https://www.interlockkit.com/

[Jess from VA]

If it's manual, I see no reason install one, when all you have to do is simply (also) manually knock off the main box switch, before going on a generator.

[Robert]

A whole house generator mounted permanently, wired permanently to the existing panel needs a disconnect and the safety of not putting generator power to the box when the power is on or back feeding to the power lines when switched on. That is the job of the transfer switch. Which is essentially a relay mounted permanently in another box with a main breaker and a sub panel to power the things when the gen set is running. Those components are eliminated by this interlock switch. If you are running a small generator and can just plug into the panel and shut off the mains then that would be ok, except even in that situation the interlock switch is a physical Guarantee that you do not back feed the power lines. Most places require by code some sort of safety.

 The interlock switch is cheap easy to install and doesn't require changing the mains or any other modification. With a permanently mounted system all you do is hit 2 switches and your gold. Another benefit is your system does not come on with every small power outage either. Transfer switches also usually dont power the whole house but selected outlets the interlock can power the whole house. So you get the best of both worlds.

[..]

The house has a separate fuse panel for the generator input. 

Neighbor below me has a generator sitting under his deck. I'll go introduce myself and ask how often it's been needed.

[scooperhsd]

Had been dealing with intermittent power failures ranging from four hours to four days for forty-four years. After the last major outage we packed the goods from the fridge in the snow and left town for a motel for three days till the power was restored. Last year I broke down and purchased a Honda generator - eu300is (good enough for the fridge/freezer, a couple lights and the coffee pot). Had a transfer switch installed so I don't back-feed the grid. As fate would have it we never lost power last winter. I purchased 92 octane ethanol free gas by the five gallon can. Supposedly the gas is good for two years. Will use the year-old stored gas in my lawnmowers and such and purchase three or four new cans of gas each winter. I run the generator periodically with a 500 watt halogen shop light plugged in to create load once in a while. Will purchase a second generator this fall to run in parallel to run the whole house.   

This is NOT such a great idea - you have NO WAY to ensure the 2 generators are properly synchronized (nor any way to make them synchronized). If you want 220V / 240V - get a generator big enough to do right.

[scooperhsd]

My story -
The wife and me moved into this house (that we are now selling) Thanksgiving 1995.

The house was built as all electric. AND we are on a well for water.

Our very longest stretch of being without power has been just over 24 hours - during Hurricane Fran (Sept 1997). By keeping the fridges closed, we managed very well to get by until power was restored. We cooked on my gas grill (we didn't have the gas cooktop yet).

Since then, we have had some outages of up to 12 hours in duration. When we see a storm coming that may cause outages, we get 5-10 gallons of fresh water from the well to carry us on. with a 19K gallon inground pool - we have all the toilet flushing water we could ever need (I suppose you COULD drink it if needed - provided it is clear). Part of the shortness of our outages is the fact that electricity is buried in our subdivision, and apparently some major line  going into Youngsville feeds us as well.

So - as much as I would have liked to get a generator - it has simply not been worth getting.

Other things you could consider - you can get fridges / freezers that run on gas (natural or propane) instead of electricity (also dryers, not to mention water heaters). Using these could substantially lower your power requirements (also  the amount of money in your wallet    ).

[..]

 Part of the shortness of our outages is the fact that electricity is buried in our subdivision, and apparently some major line  going into Youngsville feeds us as well.

overhead power to house and up the street.

[sheets]

Had been dealing with intermittent power failures ranging from four hours to four days for forty-four years. After the last major outage we packed the goods from the fridge in the snow and left town for a motel for three days till the power was restored. Last year I broke down and purchased a Honda generator - eu300is (good enough for the fridge/freezer, a couple lights and the coffee pot). Had a transfer switch installed so I don't back-feed the grid. As fate would have it we never lost power last winter. I purchased 92 octane ethanol free gas by the five gallon can. Supposedly the gas is good for two years. Will use the year-old stored gas in my lawnmowers and such and purchase three or four new cans of gas each winter. I run the generator periodically with a 500 watt halogen shop light plugged in to create load once in a while. Will purchase a second generator this fall to run in parallel to run the whole house.   

This is NOT such a great idea - you have NO WAY to ensure the 2 generators are properly synchronized (nor any way to make them synchronized). If you want 220V / 240V - get a generator big enough to do right.

The Honda generator is designed to run parallel with another duplicate unit. Has a receptacle to connect the two units together. Honda sells the umbilical cord to connect the two together.

[scooperhsd]

Had been dealing with intermittent power failures ranging from four hours to four days for forty-four years. After the last major outage we packed the goods from the fridge in the snow and left town for a motel for three days till the power was restored. Last year I broke down and purchased a Honda generator - eu300is (good enough for the fridge/freezer, a couple lights and the coffee pot). Had a transfer switch installed so I don't back-feed the grid. As fate would have it we never lost power last winter. I purchased 92 octane ethanol free gas by the five gallon can. Supposedly the gas is good for two years. Will use the year-old stored gas in my lawnmowers and such and purchase three or four new cans of gas each winter. I run the generator periodically with a 500 watt halogen shop light plugged in to create load once in a while. Will purchase a second generator this fall to run in parallel to run the whole house.   

This is NOT such a great idea - you have NO WAY to ensure the 2 generators are properly synchronized (nor any way to make them synchronized). If you want 220V / 240V - get a generator big enough to do right.

The Honda generator is designed to run parallel with another duplicate unit. Has a receptacle to connect the two units together. Honda sells the umbilical cord to connect the two together.

I wasn't aware that you could get such units.

[fudgie]

I have a big 8750 w Predator generator from Harbor freight. Awesome unit!  I also have a transfer switch that I plug into outside and can run what I want. I run my, fridge, furnace, well, living room outlets/lights, and bedroom outlets/lights. Plus what ever I want to plug into the gen. I can run all this at once and the gen never sputters or bogs down. I paid $500 for the gen and $250 for the transfer switch kit at Home Depot. Transfer kit is easy to hook up if you know basic wiring stuff. The gen starts on the 3rd pull. I run it every month for 30 min. Sadly Ive never had to use it yet. 

[..]

"Winter is coming John Snow" 

Resurrecting this thread.

I'm leaning towards this unit. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VFDJGCE/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00VFDJGCE&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=a54d13fc-b8a1-4ce8-b285-d77489a09cf6&pf_rd_r=FTWJY488Y6G949FZNBZD&pd_rd_wg=ckYZ3&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&pd_rd_w=XbDNi&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pd_rd_r=f26fabab-9cd2-11e8-a3a3-498020d8b3d9

I have a full home propane tank for the double sided fireplace. Ventless, this will heat the house easily. I know this form having a single side in my rebuilt house.

Already have food supplies for at least 2 wees.

City water.

A reminder for all that the house has a separate panel for the generator.

As a single male I feel I don't need all the creature comforts that others might need. 

Fridge, one ring on the cook top, a few lights, TV, laptop.

Of course the fridge can be disconnected for an hour if I need to power up something else.

[3fan4life]

I like the idea of a propane powered generator.

You don't have to worry about the fuel going bad.

[carolinarider09]

[/quote]

The Honda generator is designed to run parallel with another duplicate unit. Has a receptacle to connect the two units together. Honda sells the umbilical cord to connect the two together.
[/quote]

I am not sure how this would work.  Synchronizing to different AC generators is not as easy as plug and play.  The speed of the unit determines the output frequency.  And differences in phase (frequency of the two units) would cause catastrophic results.

In power plants the act of bringing the plant's generator on line with the rest of the world takes some time and skill. 

I am sure it is automated in some places but .....  If it was DC no problem but AC, problems.

I would be very interested in seeing how they accomplish this since they have to control the speed of one or both generators to make the synch work with out causing issues.  And very precise speed control is needed. 

 

[sheets]

The Honda generator is designed to run parallel with another duplicate unit. Has a receptacle to connect the two units together. Honda sells the umbilical cord to connect the two together.
[/quote]

I am not sure how this would work.  Synchronizing to different AC generators is not as easy as plug and play.  The speed of the unit determines the output frequency.  And differences in phase (frequency of the two units) would cause catastrophic results.

In power plants the act of bringing the plant's generator on line with the rest of the world takes some time and skill. 

I am sure it is automated in some places but .....  If it was DC no problem but AC, problems.

I would be very interested in seeing how they accomplish this since they have to control the speed of one or both generators to make the synch work with out causing issues.  And very precise speed control is needed. 

 
[/quote]

I went back a couple months ago to purchase generator #2. The vendor basically said what you have stated. While Honda's literature says they can run in parallel, the vendor advised against the game plan for the reasons you stated. So, I'll stick with the single generator for the purposes originally stated; fridge, coffee pot, toaster oven (as needed), small space heater and one or two lights to get us through the power failure du jour.