Need a residential generator, suggestions?

[oly884]

Long story short (with a full thread to follow), I bought a house!

So, my power went out last night, although it was only for 4 hours from midnight to 4AM, it's a sign that power will go out again for me. Knowing the area, I'm expecting the power to go out a fair amount, and in some cases, for at least a few days. With a 23 cubic foot chest freezer full of delicious meats, I can't afford to have it go bad. As a result, I need a generator. A quick little calc I did puts me in the 5-10kW range for heat, and power in the appropriate places.

I'm not a big fan of gasoline generators simply because the fuel doesn't last long enough to store reliably. So, I've been looking at diesel or propane generators. I can't get NG, so that's out of the question, but propane has the benefit of easy storage and long life. However, the fuel system is complicated, and you don't get the energy you can out of diesel.

Diesel, on the other hand, stores pretty well, though not as good as propane, the generator itself lasts a LONG time, and contains a lot of energy. Downsides are that they tend to be noisy.

So, I'm looking for anyone that has had experience with either of these two types of systems and can offer suggestions!

Thanks guys

[corax]

If you were thinking gas, I would highly recommend a Honda Generator (http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/Generators/), you do get what you pay for with Honda, though other brands might hold up as well for less money - in my experience the Hondas sip gas and are quieter than you would ever expect (some of their gen sets are also listed as "true sine wave" meaning they're very electronics friendly) - the 6,500 watt EU6500iSA lists fuel consumption at 4.5 gallons for 14 hours of run time, but costs ~$4,400 new

You should be able to do a gas->propane conversion rather easily, so don&#39;t rule out buying a used gas powered gen set to save some cash. A quick Google of "propane generator conversion" found this site listed at the top among many others -> http://www.propane-generators.com/ <- kits start at just over $150, and they also have tri-fuel kits where you could run unleaded, propane or natural gas

[Erich_870]

Great info Corax :thumbup:

My folks have a back up generator because they loose power for about a week each winter. I'm going to talk to my dad about switching his over to NG since they use it for heat and hot water anyway.

Erich

[oly884]

Thanks Corax!

I'll probably have to get a cheap gas for this winter, but ideally, I'd like to get something a bit more reliable down the line, as well as fuel efficient.

[CJM]

Expect to pay 3-5k+ for a 6-10kw diesel, also anything more thanabout 6500w usually isnt portable unless its one of those big tow behinds.

My vote goes for a 6500w gas honda.

[oly884]

While I agree that a portable gas honda would be nice (and I've used a 2kW when camping) I'd much rather stick with a diesel.

This winter isn't going to work for buying a generator, but next spring through next summer I'm going to start looking heavy for the 7 to 12 kW range. Sure, it won't be cheap, or light, or portable. But a few 55 gallon drums of diesel will supply all the power I need for any emergency.

I'm prone to power outages from what a neighbor said, and the road I'm on will usually be blocked off (aka, I'm stuck), so anything I can do to provide power to cook, heat, and entertain myself will probably help a bit.

I agree that a portable makes sense in certain cases, and would most likely in other areas around where I live. However, for some reason, the road I live on tends to be last on the list, and I can't afford to loose several thousand dollars worth of meat and other delicous food if the power goes out for a week or more (typical at least once a year around here).

I will see how the winter goes, if it's mild, perhaps I'll hold off some more, but if I get hit hard, I'll need to pony up the cash to keep the goodies nice and cold.