Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Folks, I'm sure y'all heard about the storms that knocked out much of Alabama. I don't know beans about Electrical Generators. However, after being without power for four days and loosing all refrigerated and frozen foods, I want to have get a backup electrical generator. Here are my requirements: Will power -- one refrigerator one freezer a two burner hot plate a coffee pot Want it to be quiet. My neighbor's across the street is very noicy! Want it to be as fuel efficient as possible. Without power, gas stations could not pump the gas they had. Pards, what do you recommend? God bless y'all. Birdgun Quail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooting Bull Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 The wife and I got the Honday EU2000i and EU2000i Companion. They're made to be hooked together and run in parallel. If you don't need much power just run one. When you need more juice, run both. They're super quiet and will run about six hour when maxed out. You can also get or build an external auxilary fuel tank to extend that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cactus Cris SASS#2790 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 The one from Cabelas is what I have--3500/4000. Powers my a/c unit,micro,TV in camper trailer. Not pretty, is fairly quiet, price was right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Cry one time and buy the best. HONDA Find out what your AMP needs are and buy one higher rated than what you need. Cheers, LG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madd Mike #8595 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 here in the beautiful city of Pahrump we went one week without power (not a storm in sight) high tension line had gone down (poor maintance, so they blamed a high caliber rifle shot???)perhaps that true I am on a well, and have a wood stove for back up heat (it was winter when this happened) no water................for a week gud thing I had the RV toilet fer backup I now have a PROPANE generator, large enough to run the well...... next time WHY PROPANE,,,,,,you may ask, gas goes bad in sitting generators and when the 100 year storm hits there wont be gas anywhere, but I can hop fences and aquire propane bottels from bar-bee-ques and the like when folks panic, and leave fer higher ground at least I will have water------------to sell and or trade during the 100 year storm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pit Bull Tex Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 The last big storm for us on the coast of Tx. and La. We in Baytown Texas were with out power for 20 days. I have two 5500 gens. and I built jumpers to hook into my breaker box and I would run what I needed at the time by just throwing a breaker.My well is 220 the air is 220,the hotwater heater heater is 220 only ran the air a little,ran the well when everyone wanted to shower. Our stove is duel fuel,gas top and ele.oven.We did ok with the two 5500,but I want a 25000 ,which will run on nat.gas and will run my whole house.I was working on getting that when I found sass so I will wait until I get what I want for sass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooting Bull Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 high tension line had gone down (poor maintance, so they blamed a high caliber rifle shot???)perhaps that true I'm tellin' Cocky you said that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Coles SASS 1188 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 I have a 5kw gen head powered by a 6 hp Lister CS diesel (mine is actually a listeroid built in India) at the ranch, but the setup weighs about 800lbs and sits in its own building. They are hard to get these days due to EPA import restrictions, but they are very frugal, easy to maintain and some CSs of have been running for 50 years with very little maintenance. Its a bit more than your average portable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWO DOG DUTCHMAN Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Last major storm here in Ohio <back a couple of years> I went on line & bought a Centurion 17,500 watt model. It was delivered in 2-3 days. This gives us enough power to run the freezers, the frig, the lights, the A/C and most important, the pump on the well. <cant shower, or flush without water & carring buckets from the lake gets old real fast> Major problem is that I should have purchased the nat gas model instead of the gasoline unit that I bought. This one runs great, not too loud, but it uses about a gallon an hour. So, I would suggest one run on natural gas. If you have a well make certain that you consider that when you size teh unit. dutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tequila Jim #14501 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Birdgun, I have a Honda 3000i it is right at 150lbs. and a pain to move about. With 2 of the Honda 2000i's and the connector kit you will have more power and each unit can be carried by one person. Regards, TJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Thanks folks. Unfortunately, my house does not have natural gas. Therefore, some other fuel will be required for my Electrical Generator. God bless y'all. Birdgun Quail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kajun Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Folks, I'm sure y'all heard about the storms that knocked out much of Alabama. I don't know beans about Electrical Generators. However, after being without power for four days and loosing all refrigerated and frozen foods, I want to have get a backup electrical generator. Here are my requirements: Will power -- one refrigerator one freezer a two burner hot plate a coffee pot Want it to be quiet. My neighbor's across the street is very noicy! Want it to be as fuel efficient as possible. Without power, gas stations could not pump the gas they had. Pards, what do you recommend? God bless y'all. Birdgun Quail Finally, something I am a little bit qualified to answer. I am electrical engineer for a power company so let me see if I can help you out here. Let's see what you've got here. I am assuming (big word there) that you will be running all of this at one time. Watts = Volts times Amps (Watt's Law) Assuming your voltage for all of these items is 120 volts Fridge (depends how big) let's assume about 25cu ft, about 8 amps should more than cover it. (120 x 8 = 960 watts) Freezer (depends how big) let's assume about 15 cu ft, again 8 amps should more than cover it (120 x 8 = 960 watts) 2 burner hot plate - at 120 voltage the most you would have is a 1500 watts here Coffee pot - since it has a heating element lets be safe and say 1500 watts as well. So if my ciphering is right (960 + 960 + 1500 + 1500 = 4920 watts) If you are going to run everything at one time you'd need 4800 - 5500 watt generator. If you will run them sporadically you could get by with less, say a 3600 watt. If it was me I'd get the 5500 watt generator and I call it covered. If you don't already have natural gas or propane to your house and this is temporary I'd get a regular gas powered one. THIS NEXT POINT IS EXTREMELY EXTREMELY IMPORTANT (yes I mean important) Make sure your main breaker to your house is OFF before powering up your electrical loads if you plan on backfeeding your electrical panel from the generator. The reason is if you backfeed your electrical panel with the main breaker turned on and the electrical utility is troubleshooting the lines you will actually backfeed the high voltage system through the transformer serving your house and someone could get shocked. Lineman are supposed to ground everything they work on but sometimes in the heat of battle trying to restore power in such a devastated area they take shortcuts and don't always ground stuff out. I'd hate to have anyone injured. The other reason is that if the line serving your house has a fault on it your generator would be again backfeeding the electrical distribution system but now will be feeding a fault meaning that you could possibly damage your generator if the overload protection on your generator does not work correctly. Also if your generator is running with your main breaker on and backfeeding your electrical panel and the utility powers up your house your generator again would be trying to feed not only your house but also everyone else connected to your line.....again if your overload protection on your generator fails to function correctly it can damage the generator. One more thing and I'll shut up. If you elect to not backfeed your panel and use extension cords make sure they are large enough to handle the load. They should be at least 14 gauge wire, preferably 12 gauge wire. Krazy Kajun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Also, the gas co. will turn the gas off after the event to reduce fire risks. BTW, LPG will go bad over a period of time too. Cheers, LG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cash Duckett Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Post #2, by Philly Slim has your answer. A Honda eu200i, and an eu2000i companion. Delivers what you need quietly. Sell them used for 90% of retail. Shoot, call me when your done and I'll buy the companion for 90% of retail. If you can find one under retail, you can use it and sell it for a profit! Costs about $8.00 for 9 hrs continuous use. (for the pair!) Cash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Thinking out loud here, But if ya can run a hotplate OR a coffee maker at 1500W, you can always unplug the fridge while ya make coffee then cook, (what, an hour?), then plug the fridge back in. That way a 2000W INVERTER TYPE generator could be used. The cool feature is quiet and fuel efficient, AND, they will drop automatically to idle when the fridge's compressor isn't running. At that rate, ya'd get by on a gallon or two of gas a day. A 5500W alternator type will run at full speed all the time, and mine burns a gallon of gas an HOUR. Take it a little further, get ya a coleman stove and make coffee on the stove, and ya only need to keep the fridge going, maybe a light bulb or two, and then my little 1000W Yamaha INVERTER type will do, and it;s as quiet and frugal as they come, and weighs 30 lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tennessee Stud, SASS# 43634 Life Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Will power -- one refrigerator one freezer a two burner hot plate a coffee pot Add one more for me.... 5. Air pump for my inflatable woman. ts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mink Shoals Bandit, #49388 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Look here http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Outdoor-Power-Equipment-Generators-Standby-Generators/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbx9s/R-202214401/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 Mink........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirt Merchant # 61422 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 LOOK INTO GENERAC, well made, go with 7000 KW peak load,can be hooked up to natural or propane, automatic, worth the $ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack, SASS #20451 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Copper Queen and I have lived "off the grid" for the last 16 years. I know a bit about generators!! First of all you don't need a real primary power generator set. But you don't want a simple construction or RV generator either if you plan to need power for more than a few days. We run Lister Diesel powered generator sets for prime power. (We also have 6Kw of Solar) I have recommended to several friends the Kohler propane units. They have one about 12Kw that will take care of all your needs. Put in a 250gallon propane tank and a GOOD transfer switch(mentioned earlier) and you will be set to go. Generac has QC problems with some of their units. We have the following on site: 30KW 480 3phase White powered for the water well (2000ft. deep), 20KW 1 phase Lister powered for Mine pad, 18Kw Lister powered for house site, 6.5Kw Honda quiet unit for emergency backup and to power the RV (Queen likes to run AC, Microwave, Coffee pot, hair dryer, etc. all at the same time.) 3Kw Yamaha quiet unit for small RV, 5.5 KW Northern contractor generator for emergency use??? Loud. More later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boulder Canyon Bob# 32052L Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Folks, I'm sure y'all heard about the storms that knocked out much of Alabama. I don't know beans about Electrical Generators. However, after being without power for four days and loosing all refrigerated and frozen foods, I want to have get a backup electrical generator. Here are my requirements: Will power -- one refrigerator one freezer a two burner hot plate a coffee pot Want it to be quiet. My neighbor's across the street is very noicy! Want it to be as fuel efficient as possible. Without power, gas stations could not pump the gas they had. Pards, what do you recommend? God bless y'all. Birdgun Quail As others have mentioned the Honda is the way to go, I have a 1000w one I powered my furnace with last winter for a couple of days during a storm. A coworker had a Yamaha for sale cheap and I bought that. I have to say it's as quiet as the Honda and much cheaper. It's a 2600w and I used it a few days after I got and it worked out very well. One of the nice things about it and the newer Honda's is it has a conservation feature where it idles down when not under a big load, this makes it more fuel efficient and quieter . Before I bought a Generac or some other construction generator I'd want to hear it run. There is a big difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malpais Mike Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Hello the camp! While I have never been without power more than half a day, it is a pain in the patoot being without water--my own well, natch. My eye is on a 10kw unit from Northern Tool -- http://www.northerntool.com/. It is available in propane; Home Depot sells the BIG propane bottles--nearly J-size--for a bit over $100. An alternative is to sign on with a gas co. and a stand-alone tank, but that would probably get costly if you don't use it much. I figure 2 of the HD bottles and I'm in business. I tend to agree with Madd Mike: buy the Honda and get on wit da bidness. That said, Wily Yankee showed me his Kipor, and I found Boliy in Trailer Life. Both are of the Honda technology [inverter sine cheezewhiz watchacallit], and I found both on-line. A little surfing and you find sellers arm-wrestling for your trade--free shipping, some throw in the umbilical cord, etc. Now, I have a 6kw in my plastic palace, but no 220 outlets. Can I rewire the panel for 220? Just a thougnt. mm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Texas Jack Black Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 The Generac generator is your best bet. The Generac model 005501 is a 8,000 watt model and it comes with a 100amp prewired 8 circuit automatic switching panel .The Generac OHVI engine is designed specifically for generators and for extended use. Get the propane set up .We install these complete ready to go for around 5,000. T J B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish Red OToole, #48939 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Philly SLim nailed it early. Two Honda 2000s hooked together will give you more than enough power to run all of the above. Mine runs 14 hours on a tank of gas (about a 1-gallon tank) at half load in economy mode. Perfect for back-up generator duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fillmore Coffins, SASS #7884 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Generator repair technician for 20 years. I would not by a Generac standby, I would buy a Kohler. That being said, the "portable" inverter gensets from from Honda (1000-7000) have proven to be reliable. Buy from Costco or Home Depot if you want to answer all your questions on you own. A generator professional might take where you bought it into consideration when you need repairs or advice. Fillmore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Generators have two ratings on them a start-up (higher) and a continues run rating make sure the continues rating is higher than your need ... I have a new Hyundi Inverter gen rated at 2,700 Start 2,200 continues ,,, It will run the fridge, coffee pot and furnace in my camper all at once .... It also has a power-down feature and seems about as quiet as the Honda for 25% of the cost of the Honda .... I have a Coleman 6,750 (Start-up) 5,500 continues run as back-up for the house (Noisy) but my neighbours are not close ... Jabez Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quick Draw Granpaw #48525 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 I myself chose the Honda 2000 and the Honda 2000 "Companion"! Reasons: They weigh 65 lbs and I can handle that, barely! One Honda can handle most jobs, but when I need to run the A/C in the trailer I needed more amps and the two Hondas can be connected together with ease. Buying one 3000 or 4000 generator would be harder for me to handle (170 lbs). Happy trails QDG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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