Target Sports

Generator for home during power outages

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  • IT4me

    Member
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Mar 26, 2019
    74
    11
    By the River, under a tree
    Ours is a 3cyl air cooled auto engine. although shielded, it does make noise running. It is a comforting sound for me, but Wife hates the noise. The entire deal was about $11,000 if installed during construction; unit ~ 8,000., wiring harness & controls ~$1,500., pedestal ~ 1,200, protective devices ~ $500.


    leVieux
    .
    what are the protective devices ~ $500. you mentioned?
    thx
     

    ZX9RCAM

    Over the Rainbow bridge...
    TGT Supporter
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    2   0   0
    May 14, 2008
    59,737
    96
    The Woodlands, Tx.
    I agree. I've got a couple older Kubota GL6500S lowboy gensets. One is not serviceable at the moment, but is a spare. The other is just fine.

    We put in a brand new breaker box in April, and took the time to reorganize and categorize everything--we chose the circuits we'd absolutely want during a power outage and placed the circuit arrangement so that in the breaker box, all the emergency circuits were on one side. We also installed a manual transfer switch--both the switch and the breaker boxes are mounted outside. We connect between the transfer switch box and the Kubota with a 25' NEMA L14-30P connector cable, which can handle 30Amps.

    There's a 55gal drum in the backyard with red-dye diesel and pump/filtration setup. There's also two 55gal drums in the garage with road diesel and pump/filtration setup. We do all our refueling here at the house. I shuttle fuel with my Ram 1500 ecodiesel, which has a 40gal transfer tank in the bed.

    By the time fuel has gone from the transfer tank to the first drum and then to the second drum (from which we dispense our fuel), the fuel has been "polished" via two separate water block filters, and two particulate filters--the final filter being a 2micron.

    So yeah, we're ready for hurricanes, winter apocalypse, and whatnot.

    Welcome back stranger....
     

    diesel1959

    por vida
    Lifetime Member
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    0   0   0
    Nov 7, 2013
    3,837
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    Houston & BFE

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    diesel1959

    por vida
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    Nov 7, 2013
    3,837
    96
    Houston & BFE
    Here’s my garage fuel-handling setup, though I've updated it to include use of that 25' hose reel, which dispenses from the final, polished fuel drum.
     

    Attachments

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    leVieux

    TSRA/NRA Life Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    I don't recall the technical details, I wasn't here then. The general contractor, withour my specific permission, installed a GENERAC only connecting system. My electrical guy wasn't a GENERAC authorized dealer, so he got the unit from another local dealer and installed it. I seem to recall something about "overload" protections. Anyway, shortly afterwards, a local GENERAC dealer was appointed and took-over. Our 7-year factory warranty requires service by an authorized dealer every 6 months (oil change, filter, air filter, etc) but it was cheaper if done by them anyway. Once a week, it auto-starts, runs a diagnostic series, and modem-reports to the GENERAC folks.We are going on three years, the unit has hundreds of hours, and everythig has been just fine. I believe the engine part has a TBO on natural gas of something like 3,500 hours. One early consideration was whether to pay more to get a dual-fuel engine set-up; but my guy said "When have you ever heard of anyone losing their NATURAL GAS?" Were that a consideration, I'd just have a CNG tank installed for back-up. A friend outside Houston has that type.
    leVieux
     

    mentalarson

    New Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jun 7, 2021
    14
    11
    Gilmer, TX
    I'm planning to buy a Champion dual fuel when we get set up on our new property in a couple months.
    Example Review:


    Gas Rotation: We use 12 quality 5gal cans rotating 1 per month.
    It's a nice way to go because it's simple, and you can buy one can a month and fill it if you're on a budget.
    I put a black 6 for June, 7 for July, etc. and get in the habit of putting #6 into my car the first week of June and refill the can.

    However, I want to have the option of LP backup, and LP also provides backup cooking.
     

    Axxe55

    Retiretgtshit stirrer
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Dec 15, 2019
    47,022
    96
    Lost in East Texas Elhart Texas
    I'm planning to buy a Champion dual fuel when we get set up on our new property in a couple months.
    Example Review:


    Gas Rotation: We use 12 quality 5gal cans rotating 1 per month.
    It's a nice way to go because it's simple, and you can buy one can a month and fill it if you're on a budget.
    I put a black 6 for June, 7 for July, etc. and get in the habit of putting #6 into my car the first week of June and refill the can.

    However, I want to have the option of LP backup, and LP also provides backup cooking.


    First of all, welcome to TGT.

    Only problem with that system is, that unless you are buying non-ethanol gasoline, and storing them in metal gas cans, ethanol gasoline in plastic fuel containers degrades rapidly, and will still degrade even if using a fuel stabilizer for ethanol gasoline.
     

    leVieux

    TSRA/NRA Life Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    I'm planning to buy a Champion dual fuel when we get set up on our new property in a couple months.
    Example Review:


    Gas Rotation: We use 12 quality 5gal cans rotating 1 per month.
    It's a nice way to go because it's simple, and you can buy one can a month and fill it if you're on a budget.
    I put a black 6 for June, 7 for July, etc. and get in the habit of putting #6 into my car the first week of June and refill the can.

    However, I want to have the option of LP backup, and LP also provides backup cooking.



    Just use CNG, have a two way valve put into the line to the engine intake.

    leVieux
     

    ZX9RCAM

    Over the Rainbow bridge...
    TGT Supporter
    Lifetime Member
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    May 14, 2008
    59,737
    96
    The Woodlands, Tx.
    I'm planning to buy a Champion dual fuel when we get set up on our new property in a couple months.
    Example Review:


    Gas Rotation: We use 12 quality 5gal cans rotating 1 per month.
    It's a nice way to go because it's simple, and you can buy one can a month and fill it if you're on a budget.
    I put a black 6 for June, 7 for July, etc. and get in the habit of putting #6 into my car the first week of June and refill the can.

    However, I want to have the option of LP backup, and LP also provides backup cooking.


    Welcome to the Forum!
     

    msharley

    TGT Addict
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Feb 28, 2021
    24,710
    96
    Central Pennsylvania
    I agree. I've got a couple older Kubota GL6500S lowboy gensets. One is not serviceable at the moment, but is a spare. The other is just fine.

    We put in a brand new breaker box in April, and took the time to reorganize and categorize everything--we chose the circuits we'd absolutely want during a power outage and placed the circuit arrangement so that in the breaker box, all the emergency circuits were on one side. We also installed a manual transfer switch (Reliance R310A, see below)--both the switch and the breaker boxes are mounted outside. We connect between the transfer switch box and the Kubota with a 25' NEMA L14-30P connector cable, which can handle 30Amps.

    There's a 55gal drum in the backyard with red-dye diesel and pump/filtration setup. There's also two 55gal drums in the garage with road diesel and pump/filtration setup. We do all our refueling here at the house. I shuttle fuel with my Ram 1500 ecodiesel, which has a 40gal transfer tank in the bed.

    By the time fuel has gone from the transfer tank to the first drum and then to the second drum (from which we dispense our fuel), the fuel has been "polished" via two separate water block filters, and two particulate filters--the final filter being a 2micron.

    So yeah, we're ready for hurricanes, winter apocalypse, and whatnot.


    EDIT: My brother is a sparky and handled all the heavy lifting on this project. He was able to carefully balance the loads on the A and B phases on the selected emergency circuits and optimize the setup. Our home has two central AC units--a five-ton and three-ton. Our emergency setup permits the three-ton AC to be operated, along with the furnace, and seven other circuits, as the manual transfer switch has ten slots. When we tested the system, we were able to run the washer, gas dryer, AC, and the refrigerator in the kitchen and freezer in the garage, along with plenty of lights all at the same time. Of course, we can also run anything out in the garage, like the diesel pumps.

    View attachment 260645
    I would add, for up this way (where ten below zero for weeks on end is about an every 4 or 5yr occurrence....add tank heaters to the fuel tanks)

    My fuel, 550gal, is in the basement...so it stays about 65 degrees....If I think it is going to be a bad winter, I toss in a couple gallons of conditioner around Christmas....

    Filled my tanks in April, $2.40/gal. Think "sniFF & bLO" are going to really mess up the price of fuel? (hope not...but ....)

    I use about 350 to 400gal a year. We have a small, well insulated home and a fairly efficient boiler.. which we Service every year...about Halloween...
     

    mentalarson

    New Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jun 7, 2021
    14
    11
    Gilmer, TX
    Only problem with that system is, that unless you are buying non-ethanol gasoline, and storing them in metal gas cans, ethanol gasoline in plastic fuel containers degrades rapidly, and will still degrade even if using a fuel stabilizer for ethanol gasoline.
    Thank you. Good to be here.
    Agreed.

    I avoid plastic cans these days, and can usually find the good metal cans for $25-30...at least I could BC.

    We lived in Hawaii 2016-03/2021. I had gas stored in these metal cans in a hot garage in Kihei Maui for 15 months.
    Zero fumes in the 1-car garage and fuel appeared to work find running through my Pilot.
    It made me a metal can-only guy.
    Amazon product ASIN B00004Y75M
     

    mentalarson

    New Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jun 7, 2021
    14
    11
    Gilmer, TX
    I have found the cheapest method for backup power to be a 1,000 watt inverter tied to our car battery.

    That's enough to handle the start-up and running load of a fridge/freezer/room AC, and also provides plenty of power to charge devices and batteries for lights, tv, etc.

    Even if you have a genni, this is a cheap way to get another layer of redundancy.
    It's a good option for people who are unable or unwilling to deal with a genni and fuel storage.

    I set this up for my 80-year-old mom and showed her how to connect it just in case.
    The inverter, cords, splitters, etc. all sit in a tote ready to go.

    The basics:
    1. We already have nifty quiet generators sitting in our driveways.

    2. We always have at least half a tank of fuel, and usually top off before a storm, then can supplement with cans if necessary or switch cars and go fuel the other one up if that's available. You can get a lot of idle time out of 15-25g of gas.

    3. It's easy to quietly idle the car for an hour or two at a time to keep food cold....obviously not an issue if you're having a polar vortex, but it does save having to put your stuff outside in a cooler.

    If things get really funky, I don't want to be the only one with a purring generator sound emanating from my property, and an idling car is barely noticeable.

    They typically only come with 3' cables which forces you to put the inverter on the fender/radiator and leave the hood open.
    Everything gets hot and rain blows into the engine compartment.
    I got the 6' cables and put the inverter under the car on a block of wood where everything stays cool and dry.

    Then I run a heavy 100' cord into the house and split as necessary to handle the stuff I need.
    Setup is 10-15min.

    During an extended outage on Maui I ran our fridge and freezer and also took care of the elderly land lady's two fridges.

    NOTE: I moved away from Hawaii due to the politics among other things. I'm not a carpetbagger. :)
     

    diesel1959

    por vida
    Lifetime Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 7, 2013
    3,837
    96
    Houston & BFE
    I would add, for up this way (where ten below zero for weeks on end is about an every 4 or 5yr occurrence....add tank heaters to the fuel tanks)

    My fuel, 550gal, is in the basement...so it stays about 65 degrees....If I think it is going to be a bad winter, I toss in a couple gallons of conditioner around Christmas....

    Filled my tanks in April, $2.40/gal. Think "sniFF & bLO" are going to really mess up the price of fuel? (hope not...but ....)

    I use about 350 to 400gal a year. We have a small, well insulated home and a fairly efficient boiler.. which we Service every year...about Halloween...
    That's definitely an imperative for living up north, but hereabouts in Houston, we rarely go even to the freezing point, so diesel gelling isn't really an issue for us. Though, if I must, I can run a heater in my garage. The only diesel which would be exposed would be the 7.4gal in the genset's tank, and the 55gal of red-dye diesel in the drum in the back yard.

    For us, the most realistic urgent need is for hurricane emergencies and such like.
     

    AR1911

    Active Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Apr 26, 2009
    201
    26
    I bought a 3500 Craftsman generator 10 years ago. So far I haven't taken it out of the box. Last winter we had power while all our neighbors were out. Seems we happen to be on the same line with a hospital a mile away.

    But preparedness is some thing I live by. I ordered a new truck in March. The F150 Hybrid as an optional 7200W generator panel in the bed. If that ever gets here (chip shortage) that will be my backup power.

    The 1000W inverter is a good idea. I have a Ford Escape Hybrid. Many owners are using these with an invertor for backup power. The little hybrids have a much more efficient generator than a conventional vehicle.
     

    Axxe55

    Retiretgtshit stirrer
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Dec 15, 2019
    47,022
    96
    Lost in East Texas Elhart Texas
    That's definitely an imperative for living up north, but hereabouts in Houston, we rarely go even to the freezing point, so diesel gelling isn't really an issue for us. Though, if I must, I can run a heater in my garage. The only diesel which would be exposed would be the 7.4gal in the genset's tank, and the 55gal of red-dye diesel in the drum in the back yard.

    For us, the most realistic urgent need is for hurricane emergencies and such like.

    I'm pretty sure a lot of people thought the same thing before the snow and ice storm hit last February.

    Will it ever be an issue in the near future? Who knows? But it sure got me to thinking about some things I wasn't as prepared for as I thought I was.
     

    DD130

    Active Member
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    2   0   0
    Aug 21, 2017
    522
    46
    Devil's Backbone
    I have an older 5k watt generator that i had around and pulled out and prepped during the February extended freeze. Although I didn’t have to resort to using it, it was nice to have around.

    ...
    I got a Ryobi inverter 2300 watt gen at Home Despot's 'broken' isle for $250. Started first pull, have used it to power the tire warmers on my bike for track days for a couple of years. I had one of those nasty Chicom non-invertes I got of CL for $100 was good when the CA grid crashed during a winter storm in 2015.

    For purposful use (like track days where I'm trying to enjoy myself) I prefer the quieter inverter for sure, but when the S-hite the breeze generator...it was all hands one deck and noise be damned.. .I got food to save.

    So my advise would be to get 1of each. :) Oh.. and keep your eye out. I got a Subraru/Coleman 2000w for free, it was sitting on the curb when my neighbors moved out. $10 in spray paint, a good cleaning and a new $5 fuel filter and it too, started first pull.

    I guess what I'm saying is with no urgency, a careful eye can get some generators cheap (or, free!). They really do come in handy. I've found the 2300w is just barely capable of handling the startup on our fridge, so my suggestion is if you plan to use it for disasters... test it first to make sure it will get the job done.
     
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