Suggestions on generator for power outages

[815C]

We've had a couple power outages where I live from storms taking down power lines. One lasted 24 hours, another lasted for 3 days.

I'm going to buy a generator to run the refrigerators/freezers in our kitchen & garage (so the food in them won't go bad).

Any suggestions? I'm hoping not to spend more than $1,200.

Thanks!

[imwjl]

The requirements can add up. Newer appliances and some things in a home can need power conditioning, and extra capacity such as when a compressor starts.

We've decided against this a few times but with a new freezer that is more efficient would maybe consider it again.

When we had floods here in 2018 it seemed like a whole lot of prep stuff some people did made little sense or was of minimal value over our having basic food supplies and bicycles when you could not drive very far. It left me feeling a reserve battery that can power laptop and phones made the most sense.

I recall a web site - generatorist???? - that had guidance to find products to fit your needs.

[Gitfiddlemann]

I'm looking to do the same thing, since power outages, not necessarily due to storms, are seemingly and alarmingly more and more likely in our collective futures.
I'm actually more worried about a winter storm knocking the heat out in the dead of winter, so I'm planning on finding the best kind of alternate/stand-by emergency source which can power the furnace in an emergency, and ideally additional key appliances.
You might find something adequate in your budget range for the scenario you described but I have a feeling I might have to spend more to cover what I envision for around here.
If I find anything of interest I'll post back in.

[Mr. Jelly]

I also believe that we all will be experiencing more power outages in the future. My main question is how you get the power from the generator to the house? I mean the whole house not just running extension cords all over.

[RedJoker]

We have a 5000 watt generator that connects through a manual transfer switch to a 'critical load' sub-panel. When the power goes out, I fire up the generator, throw the switch and only some of the circuits come on. We have well, furnace, sump pump, refrigerator, microwave and one or two other outlets.

Our typical use case is to put just enough fuel in the tank to run for 15 minutes or so. That's enough to take showers, cool the fridge, heat the house, drain the sump, flush the toilets, and fill water buckets for the animals. Do that a couple times a day and we're fine. We once lost power for 5 days but only used about 3 gallons of gas. A side benefit is that when the tank / carburetor runs dry, it's ready for storage and there is a lot less chance of gas fouling.

Additionally, we have an electric golf cart and lawnmower and a 1000w inverter that can run smaller 110VAC items for days. Most new electric cars can also handle bi-directional charging so that's what I'm hoping to use in the future to power the critical load panel. A typical electric car and hold almost a week's worth of power based on normal usage (including a hot tub.) Imagine how long it would last with if we're careful. Add in our solar panels and we could be fine for a long time.

Having said all that, I've lived there for 22 years and I bet I haven't been out of power for 10 days total...

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by RedJoker

We have a 5000 watt generator that connects through a manual transfer switch to a 'critical load' sub-panel. When the power goes out, I fire up the generator, throw the switch and only some of the circuits come on. We have well, furnace, sump pump, refrigerator, microwave and one or two other outlets....

...Having said all that, I've lived there for 22 years and I bet I haven't been out of power for 10 days total...

Yes, a power transfer switch is what I was envisioning as well. That's the "elegant" way to do it, and avoid the need for plugging extension chords into the generator. It's like a parallel unit, assembled usually next to the regular panel board, except with a smaller number of circuits.
I imagine you have the generator outside next to the house, plugged into a receptacle that connects to your transfer switch. Is that how you are set up?
Something like that might be a little on the elaborate side in our case, but, peace of mind also comes at a price.

[Tahitijack]

When we were living in Seattle we had a three day power outage from a major storm. Got a generator for critical powered stuff. When it was all said and done the electrician told me that we probably would not have another outage. Just a reverse Murphy's law thing. We put in a Kohler generator. Don't know if its any good as...the man said....we moved from Seattle within three years of the install without every having to need it.

[RedJoker]

Originally Posted by AndreF

I imagine you have the generator outside next to the house, plugged into a receptacle that connects to your transfer switch. Is that how you are set up?

Yes, that is exactly how we have it set up.

[David Eastwood]

Several years ago, we had a 4-hour outage during a very heavy rainstorm - an inch an hour, while the power was out. My basement flooded, as the sump pump wasn’t working. It cost a substantial amount of money to fix that mess up, even after insurance coverage.

With that memory in mind, two freezers full of fish and meat, and the threat of more widespread power disruptions in our future, we made the decision to invest in a whole-house generator last year. We have a 14kW Generac unit, powered by natural gas. Total cost, installed, was $8300, including the automatic transfer switch.

It sounds like a lot of money, but I consider it good insurance - it’s way less than our out-of-pocket cost to redo our basement after the flood episode.

[Horseflesh]

If you are only running a genny occasionally to re-cool your fridges/freezers you thankfully don't need a big, powerful, expensive one.

I would look at Hondas, as far as I know they are still good 'n' reliable.

I sure do worry about the fuel getting old despite the Sta-Bil I added to mine. I just hate having little-used gas engines sitting around, slowly dying. I am hoping to convert my Honda to tri-fuel so I can run it off propane or natural gas too. A gas plug outside the house would be a wonderful way to run a portable generator.

Of course, since I got my Honda and transfer switch some years ago, we have never had an outage long enough to make it worth the hassle of firing it up. So... I guess it is doing its job?

[Steve DeRosa]

In the wake of Irene and Sandy, the overwhelmingly-preferred option in my locale is solar - keeps your whole house going independent of gasoline/propane availability or natural gas supply, and you may be eligible for significant reductions on your electric bill depending where you live...

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

In the wake of Irene and Sandy, the overwhelmingly-preferred option in my locale is solar - keeps your whole house going independent of gasoline/propane availability or natural gas supply, and you may be eligible for significant reductions on your electric bill depending where you live...

Are they all installing batteries as well, for when the sun doesn’t shine?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

Are they all installing batteries as well, for when the sun doesn’t shine?

TMK yes...

[Methos1979]

We needed a new electrical panel anyway so had my guy come in for quotes. Originally wanted one of those 'side panels', basically a separate panel that you can power selected things from with a plug in for the generator outside. He talked me into a model where the whole panel itself is powered from outside with a master switch to select the source (main power or the outside generator). That way he said I could pick and choose myself based on how big of a generator I bought and what I wanted to run. Made sense.

We ended up buying an 8500 watt generator with a 10,000 watt max surge capacity. So basically it can run the whole house minus the 240 volt stuff (electric stove, dryer, baseboard heat, hot water heater) which I turn off. I do keep the well pump on which is the only 240 thing we run. When that kicks on while the generator is running you can really hear the generator groan. At some point in the near future we'll likely put in a full whole house system that runs on propane and kicks on automatically when it senses a loss of power so you barely notice.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by 815C

I'm going to buy a generator to run the refrigerators/freezers in our kitchen & garage... Any suggestions? I'm hoping not to spend more than $1,200.

We live in the forest, so we've got a whole house Generac with automatic transfer switch. Runs on propane. It exceeded your budget, though, by quite a bit.