FINAL UPDATED 08/11 - WE GOT SLAMMED BY THE STORM TODAY!
- Thread starter chief38
- Start date
We've had a generator of some sort, starting with a small gasoline portable to a whole house propane, since moving to "upstate" NY in 1995. They were used often as the area was heavily wooded.
Then we moved in early 2016.
When asked what features we wanted in our yet to be built house in N.C., we said " a whole house generator".
The builder looked at us sideways and said, " no one has them here". Well, "we'll be the first ones then".
Just talked with my electrician a few days ago, they put in 9 generators in the past week and said they can't keep up with demand.
Three and a half years and I haven't used it but once for 10 minutes. I could care less, it's there for just in case. This one is natural gas so no need to get out of my chair.
I would never not have one. YMMV
Then we moved in early 2016.
When asked what features we wanted in our yet to be built house in N.C., we said " a whole house generator".
The builder looked at us sideways and said, " no one has them here". Well, "we'll be the first ones then".
Just talked with my electrician a few days ago, they put in 9 generators in the past week and said they can't keep up with demand.
Three and a half years and I haven't used it but once for 10 minutes. I could care less, it's there for just in case. This one is natural gas so no need to get out of my chair.
I would never not have one. YMMV
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We haven't had any really bad storms here in a few years but I'm pretty well prepared for any power outage. Between my generator and solar array I produce about 15kw when the sun is shining and about 7kw at night.
Just getting back on-line now...
I don't think the weather forecasters expected things to get nearly so bad here in Southeastern MA, but we got slammed very hard here Tuesday late afternoon and just got our power back last night... roughly 26 hours or so without power in our neighborhood.
Fortunately for us, neither my wife or I was home when the worst of it hit. She was at work and I was driving home from Western MA and... while it was raining and windy... it was nothing like what I found when I got home. I looked at the radar history and HOLY COW!!! Guess I am lucky that our house is still standing!
Mama Mia!!! 
We lost no big trees near the house, but there were leaves and branches everywhere. Some neighbors weren't so lucky.
Thank God for our little 3,500 watt Chinese generator. We didn't put it on at first because we had no concept of the extent of the damage. The power company misled us (as usual) and made us believe that we'd have power return sooner rather than later. Nope. Didn't work out that way.
Finally, we got some good information that we'd be out for quite a while, so out came the generator and we started to power the refrigerators again. Thank God, no food spoiled... although the ice maker froze up solid and broke the auger. Damn!
We were very happy when power came back on. I use a Bi-Pap machine to sleep and being without it for one night was a horror show. Next time, the generator comes out right away no matter what the power company tells us.
I don't think the weather forecasters expected things to get nearly so bad here in Southeastern MA, but we got slammed very hard here Tuesday late afternoon and just got our power back last night... roughly 26 hours or so without power in our neighborhood.
Fortunately for us, neither my wife or I was home when the worst of it hit. She was at work and I was driving home from Western MA and... while it was raining and windy... it was nothing like what I found when I got home. I looked at the radar history and HOLY COW!!! Guess I am lucky that our house is still standing!
Mama Mia!!! We lost no big trees near the house, but there were leaves and branches everywhere. Some neighbors weren't so lucky.
Thank God for our little 3,500 watt Chinese generator. We didn't put it on at first because we had no concept of the extent of the damage. The power company misled us (as usual) and made us believe that we'd have power return sooner rather than later. Nope. Didn't work out that way.
Finally, we got some good information that we'd be out for quite a while, so out came the generator and we started to power the refrigerators again. Thank God, no food spoiled... although the ice maker froze up solid and broke the auger. Damn!
We were very happy when power came back on. I use a Bi-Pap machine to sleep and being without it for one night was a horror show. Next time, the generator comes out right away no matter what the power company tells us.
Where we live now, smallish 110v gasoline generators make the most sense. Portable, easy to handle, sips fuel and just fine for limited essential uses. But once we move to our retirement property it will be a whole 'nother story. For starters, we will be on well water, so 110v is out the door and hello 220v.We've had a generator of some sort, starting with a small gasoline portable to a whole house propane, since moving to "upstate" NY in 1995. They were used often as the area was heavily wooded.
Then we moved in early 2016. When asked what features we wanted in our yet to be built house in N.C., we said " a whole house generator". The builder looked at us sideways and said, " no one has them here". Well, "we'll be the first ones then".
Just talked with my electrician a few days ago, they put in 9 generators in the past week and said they can't keep up with demand.
Three and a half years and I haven't used it but once for 10 minutes. I could care less, it's there for just in case. This one is natural gas so no need to get out of my chair. I would never not have one. YMMV
Since we are building from scratch, it made sense to divide our electric uses into an essential power bus and a non-essential bus so we can power one and not the other during power outages. We'd need a monster-sized generator if we wanted to power everything during a power outage.
But it still leaves the question of large portable vs. permanently-installed... and we were somewhat forced into a decision to go with a large portable generator, the main reason being that there is no good, safe, unobtrusive place to install a permanent generator around our house.
We may change our thinking in the future. I guess it will all depend on how things work out during the first 1-3 years. Lord knows we aren't getting any younger and the good wife may someday end up demanding something that is fully automatic vs. manual.
Where we live now, smallish 110v gasoline generators make the most sense. Portable, easy to handle, sips fuel and just fine for limited essential uses. But once we move to our retirement property it will be a whole 'nother story. For starters, we will be on well water, so 110v is out the door and hello 220v.
Since we are building from scratch, it made sense to divide our electric uses into an essential power bus and a non-essential bus so we can power one and not the other during power outages. We'd need a monster-sized generator if we wanted to power everything during a power outage.
But it still leaves the question of large portable vs. permanently-installed... and we were somewhat forced into a decision to go with a large portable generator, the main reason being that there is no good, safe, unobtrusive place to install a permanent generator around our house.
We may change our thinking in the future. I guess it will all depend on how things work out during the first 1-3 years. Lord knows we aren't getting any younger and the good wife may someday end up demanding something that is fully automatic vs. manual.
The main reasons for my first 5500w portable generator. Well water, oil burner for heat.
No power, no running water. No potty or hot showers.
There's all sorts of rules for placement of standby power. Windows nearby, heat sources, any type of house vents, etc.
Yeah, and none of them seemed to work out well for our property and house layout. We had a difficult enough time locating our heat pump and our propane tank & piping. Two companies told us that the latter was impossible before we found a third company that came up with a workable, legal solution. Welcome to Massachusetts!The main reasons for my first 5500w portable generator. Well water, oil burner for heat.
No power, no running water. No potty or hot showers.
There's all sorts of rules for placement of standby power. Windows nearby, heat sources, any type of house vents, etc.
Proper (legal) venting and finding an unobtrusive spot free from potential flooding did us in on the permanent generator... at least for now.
Our hot water heater is a 110v heat pump-type, so running it on the essential power bus should not be a problem.
On the other hand, the main heating & cooling heat pump is too large for a portable generator to handle. If heating is needed, we revert back to the propane furnace. If we need air conditioning... well, too bad for us!
Yeah, and none of them seemed to work out well for our property and house layout. We had a difficult enough time locating our heat pump and our propane tank & piping. Two companies told us that the latter was impossible before we found a third company that came up with a workable, legal solution. Welcome to Massachusetts!
Proper (legal) venting and finding an unobtrusive spot free from potential flooding did us in on the permanent generator... at least for now.
Our hot water heater is a 110v heat pump-type, so running it on the essential power bus should not be a problem.
On the other hand, the main heating & cooling heat pump is too large for a portable generator to handle. If heating is needed, we revert back to the propane furnace. If we need air conditioning... well, too bad for us!
We had no spot to install our propane gen in NY that would meet code, so we put put it behind our shed, 50 feet from the house. The bonus was no noise whatsoever, though it cost us a lot more to run the electric line to the panel.
wheelgun28
Member
Heres the outage map of my area, it aint pretty.
I don't have a whole house gen, I do have natural gas but no good place to put the unit. Gas comes in on one side of the house the electric on the other. The house is a strange design so its not easy to run lines through it. We could put it kinda right outside the front door, not exactly the welcome mat...
Here's what keeps the place going. Powers most everything but not the central AC or electric oven. We have two small window AC units and they keep a room or two livable. The problem with this is keeping a supply of gas. It burns 10 gal per day, I have enough cans to keep 40 gallons. In the past when gas was not available we were close to running out.
In areas close to the shore where flooding was a concern, they turned off the natural gas before the storm. Many people with NG generators were unhappy to say the least.
Yes, its locked and cabled to the trees, never had an issue and dont want one.
I don't have a whole house gen, I do have natural gas but no good place to put the unit. Gas comes in on one side of the house the electric on the other. The house is a strange design so its not easy to run lines through it. We could put it kinda right outside the front door, not exactly the welcome mat...
Here's what keeps the place going. Powers most everything but not the central AC or electric oven. We have two small window AC units and they keep a room or two livable. The problem with this is keeping a supply of gas. It burns 10 gal per day, I have enough cans to keep 40 gallons. In the past when gas was not available we were close to running out.
In areas close to the shore where flooding was a concern, they turned off the natural gas before the storm. Many people with NG generators were unhappy to say the least.
Yes, its locked and cabled to the trees, never had an issue and dont want one.
You will find if you ever want to sell your home that a whole-house generator is a tremendous help in resale. The couple that bought our former home did so because of the generator. They were looking at several homes with the same or similar features, neighborhoods, pricing, etc. but the generator carried the day.
Plenty of stories about people finding their gens going quiet during storms.
I even heard about some whole house units disappearing.
The portable ones were a whole lot easier though unless chained to something.
I even heard about some whole house units disappearing.
The portable ones were a whole lot easier though unless chained to something.
Ahhh!!!
Sneaky!!! We actually thought about something similar except that we don't currently have any shed or out building. We were thinking of pouring a raised slab down behind the house and fencing it in... the idea being to get it up and out of any flood potential and away from our windows (that legal venting issue again!). Yes, I know they have their own weather covers, but somehow hiding it with a fence seemed more appropriate.
Then, of course, there was the fuel issue: Gasoline or diesel or run a propane line way out back?
Or possibly a separate propane tank? That's when a portable started to sound really good. Oh yeah! They warn you around here: Don't leave your generator on all night because it won't be there in the morning.Plenty of stories about people finding their gens going quiet during storms.
I even heard about some whole house units disappearing.
The portable ones were a whole lot easier though unless chained to something.
I recently considered buying a small inverter type just for all-night use because of my need for a Bi-Pap machine.
So when the Bi-Pap machine stops Bi-Papping, you'll know when your little portable has been stolen.
Ahhh!!!
We actually thought about something similar except that we don't currently have any shed or out building. We were thinking of pouring a raised slab down behind the house and fencing it in... the idea being to get it up and out of any flood potential and away from our windows (that legal venting issue again!). Yes, I know they have their own weather covers, but somehow hiding it with a fence seemed more appropriate.
Then, of course, there was the fuel issue: Gasoline or diesel or run a propane line way out back?
Have a couple propane tanks installed where the generator is located. I had two 110 gallons if I remember correctly. The code in NY was, I think, 15ft from the unit. Like I said, cost extra to run the electric to the house.
Usually the propane trucks still roll during/after storms, just monitor the tank and call well in advance of running out.
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Plenty of stories about people finding their gens going quiet during storms.
I even heard about some whole house units disappearing.
The portable ones were a whole lot easier though unless chained to something.
Several years back I come rolling in to work on Monday morning after a 3 day ice storm. I am walking by the back to get in the employee entrance and thought something seemed funny, by could not lay my finger on it.
It is ice cold in the office when I open the door. I go the thermostat, it is blinking. I go back outside, BOTH brand-new, enormous commercial heating and cooling units are GONE!
I call heating and air company and police department. Officer beats the heating and air man here, because he is a block away investigating the twenty-seventh call they had received of the units being stolen! (Including from the top of a three story building!).
Multi-state theft ring going from city to city. I actually had an FBI agent come by that was trying to track them. He told me they were professional heating and air people probably tied up in a gang working off drug debts.
My heating and air men said they could not have done a better job disconnecting/carting off the units.
Insurance paid for new units, getting them in cages, and getting a vacuum alarm set (when they depressurize it sets of an alarm that rattles windows a mile away).
CAJUNLAWYER
Member
Soooooo dirty pool and the Generac kicked in....sounds like rich folks problems
Seriously though, looks like you dodged a bullet as far as you are concerned. Loves me some Generac!!! What snapped those trees off like that?? never seen that before.
Worst part about the hurricane aftermath when power is out is the oppressive heat, humidity and skeeters.....while you are outside with the chainsaw clearing stuff cause if you want for the city you'll be there next year
Oh and DO NOT FORGET the two stroke oil along with the gas stockpiles.
COme to think of it, I just might stop off at the tractor dealership this afternoon and replace my Stihl 170-I got a feeling that we are due for one this year that will necessitate clearing some tree limbs from the old Pecan tree along the back fence. Over the years it has broken off enough pieces that it isn't tall enough to reach the house which is the only reason I have left it standing (that and because I'm a cheap *******)
Seriously though, looks like you dodged a bullet as far as you are concerned. Loves me some Generac!!! What snapped those trees off like that?? never seen that before.
Worst part about the hurricane aftermath when power is out is the oppressive heat, humidity and skeeters.....while you are outside with the chainsaw clearing stuff cause if you want for the city you'll be there next year
Oh and DO NOT FORGET the two stroke oil along with the gas stockpiles.
COme to think of it, I just might stop off at the tractor dealership this afternoon and replace my Stihl 170-I got a feeling that we are due for one this year that will necessitate clearing some tree limbs from the old Pecan tree along the back fence. Over the years it has broken off enough pieces that it isn't tall enough to reach the house which is the only reason I have left it standing (that and because I'm a cheap *******
)
We've had a generator of some sort, starting with a small gasoline portable to a whole house propane, since moving to "upstate" NY in 1995. They were used often as the area was heavily wooded.
Then we moved in early 2016.
When asked what features we wanted in our yet to be built house in N.C., we said " a whole house generator".
The builder looked at us sideways and said, " no one has them here". Well, "we'll be the first ones then".
Just talked with my electrician a few days ago, they put in 9 generators in the past week and said they can't keep up with demand.
Three and a half years and I haven't used it but once for 10 minutes. I could care less, it's there for just in case. This one is natural gas so no need to get out of my chair.
I would never not have one. YMMV
I like the way you think
Whole house on wheels!!
wheelgun28
Member
I like the way you think
Whole house on wheels!!
How much gas does that burn a day?
