[SRR]

What do you have and what do you recommend? My house is 100% electric with no gas, would have to be on a propane tank.

[Ben M.]

My dad just put one in on his house that will run his AC and refrigerators, runs off of natural gas or propane. I'll inquire on brand, we used it several times this summer when the power went out in south Texas and it kept everything up. He had an auto-transfer switch put in as well so it's entirely up to code.

[scott70]

You'll have to figure out exactly what you want to do. I have a 6000 watt generator that will run my whole house except I don't try to run the clothes dryer or electric stove. If you want to be able to run everything, you'll have to figure up the total wattage that you're house is capable of using. Obviously a a/c unit,electric dryers and electric stoves are a big wattage suck.

[mgarblik]

There have been several threads about your topic in the last year on here. You may find some good info in a search. In your situation, you need to do a little homework. Do you want the generator to run everything your utility power does? If you have a typical size home, 100% electric, that will probably require a 16-20KW generator. But that is just a very general guess. Size of incoming service, number of AC units, so many variables. I would recommend looking at Norwall Power Systems on the internet for some good information and pricing as well as sizing for your needs. I have a 17KW Generac here that is 8 years old on natural gas and it has been flawless. Longest continuous running time to date has been 5 days. Good luck. I forgot to mention, you need to consider how long you want the unit to run without refilling the tank. For several days of running time, you will need a stationary propane tank probably 200+ gallons.

[Elarson]

I'm in the process of installing a 16kW Generac unit; based on Mike's experience with his. I can run my whole-house A/C on my 8000 watt portable, but can't run the water heater, stove or dryer at the same time. The 16 kW should run everything.

I'll be on propane. I was thinking of a 320 gallon tank but the propane supplier recommended a 500 gallon tank (actually holds 400 gallons). At an estimated 35-38 gallons a day, that will last a little over a week. The propane guy warned me to oversize the tank a bit, since they sometimes have delays in getting out to refill after a bad storm.

Eric

[Stuart]

As mentioned, you need to figure out how much power you need first in an outage, then work from there. You're in San Diego so heat is probably not a big concern, but you may want to keep the a/c running. What other loads do you have? Kitchen stove, water heater, well pump, washer or dryer, lights, outlets, etc.? In an emergency all you may really need are a few lights and outlets. Most generator manufacturers have guidelines for sizing the generator on their website, or you can look up any number of sizing calculators online.

Then, you need to decide if you want a portable that you manually connect when needed, or a permanently installed unit with an automatic transfer switch that can turn itself on and off. From there you need to look at what modifications will be required to your house's electrical system to safely operate it.

What kind of fuel? You can get them that operate on gasoline, diesel, propane and natural gas. Permanently installed generators are often natural gas or propane, portables are typically gasoline. Diesel isn't that common for the smaller generators for home use.

Some common brands include Honda and Yamaha for small portable units. When you get into larger portables or permanently installed units, name brands include Kohler, Cummins/Onan, and Generac. There are any number of other brands you can get from the local big box store or Harbor Freight, but it's up to you to decide if the price versus quality tradeoff is worth the gamble.

[PunchT37]

Stand by generators have their uses. And sometimes they are a waste in certain areas. Down here, if one`s house floods to the outlets [ i have seen light switch levels], or a large tree falls through the house, or the roof is torn off by a hurricane, you`re not going to stay there anyway.

[prostreet64]

My wife and I have a friend with a small farm about 20 miles out of town. She put in a 20kw Generac unit about 4 years ago. She loses power a number of times every year for various reasons and the generator has saved her a lot of misery. We have been there when the power went out and the transition is seamless to the generator; hard to tell the power ever went off. I think the tank she has is around 350 gal.

[Chris65LeMans]

You don’t have a gas line feeding your property? I’ve never heard of that in CA.

[SRR]

Originally Posted by Chris65LeMans

You don’t have a gas line feeding your property? I’ve never heard of that in CA.

I live in a very old neighborhood. My house was built in 1942, neighbors house in 1928, 1950 etc. All of us are on septic, city water.

My house has:
-Central air/heating.
-50 gallon electric water heater.
-17 solar panels.
-2 refrigerators.
-200 AMP service.
-2 post lift 220volt.
-80 gallon air compressor 220volt.

I had a portable gas powered generator that would run the 2 fridges. I sold it due to never needing it. To be honest in recent years the power hasn't gone off for more than a couple hours at a time. My wife is pushing this generator thing. She's a diva/prepper combo. lol Between the rolling blackouts and the wildfires here she's getting paranoid. I did request a evaluation from Home depot to get an idea for one of those whole house Generac's. We will see. The location for the generator and tank would be less than 10' from the main panel in a shaded fenced in part of the yard.

[Chris65LeMans]

I got a quote from the Generac dealer that was something along the lines of $5,000 for the generator, $12,000 to install it. (Installation consists of setting it on the ground (no pad needed) and running a new cable to the electrical box.) I was going to explore buying a generator and hiring an electrician on my own, but then the economy slowed down.

[66sprint6]

Thanks for reminding me to check my genny. It's just a pull-start jobby, but it does everything I need. I rotate what I need, by extension cord. The water heater is gas, so it's only 120v to drive it. I put a plug end on that, one on the furnace, etc. So I just unplug them from the recepticle that I installed at each device and plug them into the extension cord. I guess that's one advantage of living in a northern clime: it's easier to make heat than it is to make A/C.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by Chris65LeMans

You don’t have a gas line feeding your property? I’ve never heard of that in CA.

New neighborhoods won't have natural gas options to hookup to in many CA communities...

https://www.sierraclub.org/articles/...as-free-future

Seems foolish to be banning a relatively clean fuel that is economical in an area where rolling blackouts are occurring. Putting a higher load on the grid is only going to compound the problems.

[wovenweb]

Generac has a sizing guide for whole and managed setups. It is probably a decent starting point

https://www.generac.com/for-homeowne...your-generator

In my area, they suggest installation costs of about $2,000 for a whole house generator costing $4,600 or so. Not sure what other parts might be needed.

[John V.]

I discussed my installation in this recent thread:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...31#post6162831

Others also offered advice.

On propane, mine is rated at 18 kW.

I mentioned my neighbor in that thread, 30+ years living here, never had a generator.. His wife recently decided she wants one. He thinks it would be a waste of money. Knowing we have one, she got me in the middle of their debate.:

I sided with her husband. No way is it worth what it cost to install mine.

She got an estimate, $7000 installed. I'm guessing a little smaller than mine. Chris was quoted $12,000 for install? How is that even possible??!!

Propane here cost $2/gal. Check what it costs in your area. I took mine off Auto. I will run it if and when the power is off long enough to become a bother. No sense spending $4/hr for propane while I'm sleeping or away from home for a few hours. Check the consumption, I think mine can consume as much as 2 gal/hr depending on load.

If mine wasn't here when I bought the house little more than a year ago, I wouldn't be thinking of installing one. Much smarter home improvements can be found if you need to spend some money.

But, happy wife, happy life. Sounds like a rock and a hard place for you.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by John V.

Propane here cost $2/gal.

John

Glad I don't live where you do.

I just paid $1.129 for 900 gallons for my annual supply (I buy and pay for it in the fall for delivery as needed). It went up from $1.059 last year. I've never paid $2.00 per gallon.

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by The Champ

Seems foolish to be banning a relatively clean fuel that is economical in an area where rolling blackouts are occurring. Putting a higher load on the grid is only going to compound the problems.

California is trying to lead the way in self-sustaining homes where they can. Add extra solar cells on buildings to try and minimize the need for natural gas or propane and lessen the grid requirements. It's not perfect but without trying to improve where we are, we'll never get there as people are too entrenched in what they know and have already. People got angry over coal being phased out years ago for heating, but the benefits of a newer technology are there despite the hiccups and birthing pains.

[ponyakr]

Well, this ain't even in the same league as what ya'll are talkin about, but for us low budget folks, we can get by with just a small, portable gasoline model. The recent hurricane knocked out our power for 2-3 days.

The only problem we had was buying gasoline. Had to drive nearly 50 miles to find it, then drove all over town trying to find a short line. Finally came back to one of the 1st places we'd passed up, & sat in line for 30-45 minutes.

Gas buyers were coming there from all the surrounding rural areas where the power was out, & there were lots of evacuees from South Louisiana in town also looking for gas. Thankfully, by the time we used up what we'd bought, our local area stations had power, so buying gas was no longer a problem. next time, we'll probably buy some extra gas BEFORE the hurricane gets here.

Our gen is just one of the cheap Chinese models. I think it's a 4000 watt. Only cost around $300. Just one I bought to carry to the races, & for short power outages. It ran our fridge, chest freezer, microwave, TV, internet, & some lights. House built in '04, with good insulation. With daytime temps over 90°, the max inside temp was 80°, for a few hours, one day. Mostly stayed in the mid 70's at night & upper 70's in the afternoon.

I think those that have plenty to spend buy a Honda brand, when they need a portable. Last time I priced one, I think it was nearly 10 times the price of my cheapie.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...3079_200833079

Obviously, the best option is a nice stand-by that will run everything, come on instantly, & have enuff fuel to last for as long as the power is out. But, we made it just fine & probably won't need the gen for many months. But, it's there if we need it. I just have to pour gas in it & pull the cord. And when/if this one quits, we'll just spend another $300-$400 & buy another one.

For us, a big investment like ya'll are talkin about ain't gonna happen. But, like I've said about a lot of other things, hey, if you got the money to spend, buy it. For me, OVERKILL would be the word. More power than we'd really need, with more fuel than we'd probably ever need. As the old saying goes: "Better to have it & not need it, than to need it & not have it".

[John V.]

ponyakr, I'm with you. If my Generac ever dies, all I would really want is a portable.

Champ, I actually pay $1.79 delivered but then they add a Hazmat fee regardless of how much I take plus taxes that runs it up to $2 give or take. Better when I need more because it spreads the Hazmat fee out. Tank rental not included.

They figure to come in Oct to start the heating season off full. I'm only down 60 gals or so in the tank but they only come up the mountain about every 3 months. If I pass up a fill in Oct., I risk running out before they return. They will make a special trip but then I pay a trip charge (I think about $75) so doesn't pay to wait. Plus they won't come if the roads are icy.

In Fla I paid $3.50/gal so $2 is a bargain. And before I switched suppliers in Fla I was paying more than $5/gal. But there I only heated water. Here I need to fire a 120,000 btu forced air furnace so go through it much faster. I think I used about 500 gals last winter. Furnace is high efficiency type but single unit. Neighbor went with a dual fuel set-up and has 2 heat pumps plus the gas furnace. Temp usually stays warm enough to run the heat pumps so last winter I don't think he burned any gas for heat. I've thought about replacing my old AC unit with a heat pump to cut down my propane usage. Not sure that would reduce my utility cost much though so payback on the equipment cost would take awhile for sure.

[hgiv]

I looked into a "permanent" stand by generator. They often will kick on automatically when the power goes off so you need to have enough juice to handle whatever might be on. Typically 16k watts or more. You must select a model that will handle your load. Costs a lot to install and you can't move it around or take to a friend in need.

I went with a Generac portable 8K gas powered. It will run everything in my house, I don't have electric heat but it is forced hot air so big fan running. I can also do washer or dryer but not both, with fridge and freezer.. Install is cheap and I can take it where I need it... camp, buddy in need, etc. I went with gas because for portable you have gas everywhere... equipment, mowers etc. Not always a spare propane tank laying around. Although if power is out long term propane tank may be easier to get than gas.

Thing to remember is that it sounds great to think you would run your whole house and go about a normal life if power is out... but it's not a sustainable plan. You really only need to run things a few hours a day to keep things cold and or warm. My run time on a 5 gal tank is like 12 hours. So if I run for 4 hours a day I can go 3 days on one tank. And I have 2 or 3 5 gallon tanks most of the time.

So I vote a larger portable.