All this talk of generators

[ZX9RCAM]

Not fun here a month ago either, when our power was out for 40 hours, and it was high 90s up to 100.

 

[Wudidiz]

$5k to $6k + install + fuel + maintenance to power your whole house? Why spend that when instead you get a perfect excuse to take a stay-cation and a perfect excuse to go on an extended camping trip at your own house. It might actually be nice to be disconnected for a few weeks. Also a good time to grill up those steaks that have been in the back of your freezer for 6 months.

Problem is that when your house gets over 100 degrees inside things start to go to shit pretty quick.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Mine got up to 84 in that time.
At least according to my AC thermostat.
Not sure how accurate it was, though.

 

[Zapp]

You want a generator interlock, a power inlet box on the main panel, and the proper cable running to the generator. An ATS is not needed.

Duramax 12kw generator. $1200
Power inlet box $100
Generator interlock $100
Power cable $300
Electrician labor and an additional breaker $500

YouTube search generator interlock.

Does the Duramax have an inverter? That was the one thing that pushed me to a smaller Champion with inverter. I saw enough people complaining about the issues of running some electronics(including electronic thermostats) off of the noisy power from non inverter units.

 

[SARGE67]

Mine got up to 84 in that time.
At least according to my AC thermostat.
Not sure how accurate it was, though.

It was close enough, many will be off when comparing.

 

[leVieux]

That wasn't too fun in Feb 2021 when our power was out for 5 days and it was below 20 degrees outside.

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Recall that well, our GENERAC “saved” us.

But, there are some major considerations which manufacturers & big-box vendors won’t tell:

1) Very few generator maintenance outfits provide night & after hours emergency service, even for their regular customers on ongoing maintenance agreements.

2) Anyone anticipating extended run-times should consider the significant extra costs of a larger water-cooled unit.

3) Many homes aren’t wired properly for energy distribution; even our brand-new home designed to incorporate a 22KW unit has had problems.

4) Resistance heaters cause massive electricity “loads” each time they kick-on, and may cause bit problems. It may be a good idea to have a few of those portable “catalytic” space heaters with extra fuel supplies for them. Our main heat hasn’t been the difficulty, but those little electric space heaters can cause big troubles.

5) We all see those GENERAC units outside homes, on grade-level slabs. Not good if there is possibility of flooding.

6) While unlikely, one may lose natural gas line supply or line problems. I’m considering getting a CNG tank.

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[Davetex]

Does the Duramax have an inverter? That was the one thing that pushed me to a smaller Champion with inverter. I saw enough people complaining about the issues of running some electronics(including electronic thermostats) off of the noisy power from non inverter units.

No, it does not.

 

[ScottDLS]

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Recall that well, our GENERAC “saved” us.

But, there are some major considerations which manufacturers & big-box vendors won’t tell:

1) Very few generator maintenance outfits provide night & after hours emergency service, even for their regular customers on ongoing maintenance agreements.

2) Anyone anticipating extended run-times should consider the significant extra costs of a larger water-cooled unit.

3) Many homes aren’t wired properly for energy distribution; even our brand-new home designed to incorporate a 22KW unit has had problems.

4) Resistance heaters cause massive electricity “loads” each time they kick-on, and may cause bit problems. It may be a good idea to have a few of those portable “catalytic” space heaters with extra fuel supplies for them. Our main heat hasn’t been the difficulty, but those little electric space heaters can cause big troubles.

5) We all see those GENERAC units outside homes, on grade-level slabs. Not good if there is possibility of flooding.

6) While unlikely, one may lose natural gas line supply or line problems. I’m considering getting a CNG tank.

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(6) Most of the emergency standby units can use propane. It would be easier to get a tank for that, than CNG.

 

[Brains]

(6) Most of the emergency standby units can use propane. It would be easier to get a tank for that, than CNG.

The Generac I just bought supports both out of the box, there's a simple lever on the carb to switch fuels. There's about 36.39 ft3 of gaseous propane per gallon, and it's about ~4.35 lb. per gallon. So in a nutshell, a completely full 420lb. vertical cylinder would last you a couple days. A 500 gallon horizontal tank about a week and a half.

 

[ScottDLS]

Yeah

The Generac I just bought supports both out of the box, there's a simple lever on the carb to switch fuels. There's about 36.39 ft3 of gaseous propane per gallon, and it's about ~4.35 lb. per gallon. So in a nutshell, a completely full 420lb. vertical cylinder would last you a couple days. A 500 gallon horizontal tank about a week and a half.

View attachment 397529

That's great that you can use a switch. That way you could use the gas service as long as it's there, but have a propane tank backup in case it goes out too. One thing I've thought about is getting a military surplus or commercial prime power diesel. These are made to run continuously for weeks and diesel is fairly shelf stable.

 

[Brains]

If only I had the room for a big water cooled diesel generator that would be awesome, but I'm stuck being a suburb dweller. Some day I'll get out of concrete hell.

 

[deemus]

Yeah

. One thing I've thought about is getting a military surplus or commercial prime power diesel. These are made to run continuously for weeks and diesel is fairly shelf stable.

Richie Brothers Auctions has these sometimes. Will run about 8-10 hours on a tank of diesel. And will charge a battery bank and also run a house ( if wired up properly) simultaneously.

 

[leVieux]

(6) Most of the emergency standby units can use propane. It would be easier to get a tank for that, than CNG.

Thanks

I don’t have a “dual fuel” model; will that be a problem?

 

[ScottDLS]

Richie Brothers Auctions has these sometimes. Will run about 8-10 hours on a tank of diesel. And will charge a battery bank and also run a house ( if wired up properly) simultaneously.

I've been looking at the MEP (military electric power) series. The MEP-804 and 1040 15KW units. Govplanet and Ironplanet auction sites often have them. Besides cost my issue is getting them to my suburban house and through my fence gates (they would have to be removed like when I built my pool). Then I would have a small pad poured for it and maybe a shed/enclosure and a couple drums for diesel storage.

 

[Brains]

Thanks

I don’t have a “dual fuel” model; will that be a problem?

Do you know which model you have? It's perhaps not openly advertised as dual fuel, but most are ready.

 

[ScottDLS]

Thanks

I don’t have a “dual fuel” model; will that be a problem?

Yeah I guess that could be an issue, bit I think most companies sell propoane adapter kits.

 

[deemus]

I've been looking at the MEP (military electric power) series. The MEP-804 and 1040 15KW units. Govplanet and Ironplanet auction sites often have them. Besides cost my issue is getting them to my suburban house and through my fence gates (they would have to be removed like when I built my pool). Then I would have a small pad poured for it and maybe a shed/enclosure and a couple drums for diesel storage.

Don’t forget the noise! They are loud. Be sure to put them in the side of your house with the neighbors you don’t like.

 

[popsgarland]

That wasn't too fun in Feb 2021 when our power was out for 5 days and it was below 20 degrees outside.

That was a rough time. We survived with our gas stove and wood burning fire place.

Camped out in the living room for 2 days.

 

[leVieux]

Problem is that when your house gets over 100 degrees inside things start to go to shit pretty quick.

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We went fishing in Puerto Rico back in 2006; our brand-new A/C went out. Got home to find EVERYTHING not in fridge runied. Candles melted, candies spoiled, thousand$ wine ruined, what a mess.

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[ScottDLS]

Don’t forget the noise! They are loud. Be sure to put them in the side of your house with the neighbors you don’t like.

Actually, the 1800 rpm diesels are way quieter than the 3600 RPM GENERAC gas "screamers". The MEP 8xx series is called "tactical quiet". They are basically 4 cylinder small diesel pickup truck engines in these gensets.