Help, portable generator opinions please

[chief38]

Generac has a calculation program on its web site to determine the size of the generators you will need. I have a pretty typical 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house and I needed a 22KW generator to give me whole house service.

For the size home you have you probably could have done nicely with a 18K and if you have a pool and or hot tub a 20K unit, but the 22K's are actually more popular and only a hundred or so dollars more. The 22K will not even break a sweat for you size home. They are GREAT units!

 

[ladder13]

In reality, just to get by, you don’t need much. For years I ran a gas powered pull start 5500 watt generator. I was on well water with an oil burner. It powered both of those, a refrigerator and a couple outlets.Heat running water and a fridge, enough for short periods. With a transfer switch.
Did ok for a number of years with just that. Does one need a hot tub heated and driveway lights on?
The pain in the butt was to go outside and start the generator each time the power went out and then go back out when the power was restored. Yeah, but it worked for a few years.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Reading comprehension not very good today.
Only 1 response actually addressed the question asked.

Don’t forget to include your post in that statement.

 

[SMSgt]

Seems no one can tough it out anymore. My 5500W gasoline portable makes life bearable when the hurricanes try to make it unbearable. It all depends on your expectations.

 

[mick1213]

I managed 5 days after Hurricane Sally with a 1400 watt gen. It ran the fridge, a couple of fans, tv, wifi. Used about 7 gallons of gasoline. My choice. I don’t like to store large volumes of gasoline due to risk of fire nor do I enjoy trying to find gasoline after a storm. I do have a 5000 watt gen with an lp conversion and a 120 gallon tank but managed ok with that 1400. Everyones needs or requirements are different.

 

[anoblefox]

We also had a Westinghouse dual fuel 12,500 generator but have since gave it to my cousin, it was/is a very nice unit.

 

[A10]

Seems no one can tough it out anymore. My 5500W gasoline portable makes life bearable when the hurricanes try to make it unbearable. It all depends on your expectations.

For us the issue was food preservation. I've had the experience of cleaning out refrigerators after 3 days of power outage and it's not a lot of fun, not to mention the waste. I would be very upset if we lost power to the freezer.

 

[chief38]

In reality, just to get by, you don’t need much. For years I ran a gas powered pull start 5500 watt generator. I was on well water with an oil burner. It powered both of those, a refrigerator and a couple outlets.Heat running water and a fridge, enough for short periods. With a transfer switch.
Did ok for a number of years with just that. Does one need a hot tub heated and driveway lights on?
The pain in the butt was to go outside and start the generator each time the power went out and then go back out when the power was restored. Yeah, but it worked for a few years.

In general, I do agree with your assessment.

That said, where we live now I consider AC an absolute must, not an option. When we lived up North, yes the AC was very nice but we could get by for a few weeks without it by using fans. Here down South, no way!

Does one need to power up a pool and a hot tub during a power outage? Maybe not essential, however if a pool does not filter and sanitize the water for two weeks or so it will wind up like a green swamp. That would have to be remedied by massive chemical treatments or by draining it and refilling. So maybe not exactly essential, much more practical in the long run.

I'll be 71 in a few months and I would like to enjoy my life, my creature comforts and my home as long and as best as possible. Our Generac 22K whole house standby unit was expensive (no argument there) but it's a buy once - cry once deal. I also never want to worry about a closed up house soaring to super high temperatures and high humidity if we are not home for a few weeks. Mold and mildew is not a pretty thing to come home to!

When buying a generator of any type, much thought and figuring should be done before actually buying one. One should also be realistic about how they want to live for a few weeks without electricity. Of course a generator's reliability, service support and longevity are important things to consider.

I am unfamiliar with other brands as I have always owned a Generac of some sort, but I can and will unequivocally state, Generac's 24/7/365 hot line is incredibly helpful - even on Christmas Eve! They are a US based support team, speak our lingo, are incredible knowledgable and helpful. They have walked me through whatever concerns I've ever encountered. They also answer their phone lines quickly - I've never spent more than a couple of minutes on hold.

 

[ladder13]

In general, I do agree with your assessment.

That said, where we live now I consider AC an absolute must, not an option. When we lived up North, yes the AC was very nice but we could get by for a few weeks without it by using fans. Here down South, no way!

Does one need to power up a pool and a hot tub during a power outage? Maybe not essential, however if a pool does not filter and sanitize the water for two weeks or so it will wind up like a green swamp. That would have to be remedied by massive chemical treatments or by draining it and refilling. So maybe not exactly essential, much more practical in the long run.

I'll be 71 in a few months and I would like to enjoy my life, my creature comforts and my home as long and as best as possible. Our Generac 22K whole house standby unit was expensive (no argument there) but it's a buy once - cry once deal. I also never want to worry about a closed up house soaring to super high temperatures and high humidity if we are not home for a few weeks. Mold and mildew is not a pretty thing to come home to!

When buying a generator of any type, much thought and figuring should be done before actually buying one. One should also be realistic about how they want to live for a few weeks without electricity. Of course a generator's reliability, service support and longevity are important things to consider.

I am unfamiliar with other brands as I have always owned a Generac of some sort, but I can and will unequivocally state, Generac's 24/7/365 hot line is incredibly helpful - even on Christmas Eve! They are a US based support team, speak our lingo, are incredible knowledgable and helpful. They have walked me through whatever concerns I've ever encountered. They also answer their phone lines quickly - I've never spent more than a couple of minutes on hold.

You make a good point. I was only trying to get thru the current situation.
Now I have a whole house NG unit.

 

[oldbrownhat]

For us the issue was food preservation. I've had the experience of cleaning out refrigerators after 3 days of power outage and it's not a lot of fun, not to mention the waste. I would be very upset if we lost power to the freezer.

This was why my gf north of you in Bellingham put in an automatic 13k NG Generac. Some idjit took out a power pole at 3am and although "only" 27 hours w/o power, she had to throw out a lot of spoiled food. No outages since, but as long as she has gas, she's good.

 

[Farmer17]

The new house I just built has a simple sliding plate installed on the panel that makes you have to shut the main power off and slide it over before you turn on the generator power switch. This keeps it from ever backfeeding the main if power was out and you switch your generator on. It was about $30 from Amazon and is UL approved and meets all electrical codes and you can buy them to fit all the major electric panels. The outlet is on the back of my garage so I can easily plug my generator in if power goes out which is really rare around here.

 

[mtgianni]

With you being in Colorado I would trust Gas over propane due to the cold temps. Propane can and will freeze. I had that problem back when we had 9 degrees a few years back and yes in San Antonio Texas. You can buy safety kits for your panel that locks out your main breaker before being able to energize your back feed breaker. I like Invertor generators much more than regular generators, quieter and safer power for electronics. Look at the motor each brand uses

Liquid propane gas freezes at -40 F. Butane freezes at 0. Depending on how "wet" the gas is you may have balls of liquid happen in cold temperatures with undersized lines and undersized regulators.

Wet gas is determined by the contract at the well but basically is how many non propane hydrocarbons are in it that burn but at a higher btu content than LP. Btu content is higher but they do not flow as well.

I had a discussion with a pipeline rep one day on what determines wet gas as two wells can have the same btu ratings and one is dry with a lower payout. He told me the determining factor they go by is what was negociated in the contract.

 

[Iggy]

Our full house Generac has been wonderful. I need electricity to run an oxygen concentrator 24 hours a day.
We used to have several electric outages a year but since we put in the natural gas powered generator 7 years ago there has only been one for half an hour.

 

[mtgianni]

Cost of running is determined by btu content of fuel as efficiency should remain the same.
#2 diesel is about 160 btu per gallon
LP 91,800 btu per gallon
Natural Gas 100,000 btu per therm. Cubic foot billing is all over the place but about 950-1000 btu per cu ft.

 

[Rule3]

Why can you not have regular gas? Honda is tops but for propane here is a list


The 7 Best Propane Generators of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

 

[djohns6]

To get back on track , the OP asked about portable , Inverter generators .

 

[Golddollar]

Our full house Generac has been wonderful. I need electricity to run an oxygen concentrator 24 hours a day.
We used to have several electric outages a year but since we put in the natural gas powered generator 7 years ago there has only been one for half an hour.

Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

A big factor in my decision to get the whole house Generac generator was a power failure around Baltimore from either Hurricane Sandy or an ice storm that lasted for a week. Baltimore is only 45 miles from my place in PA. With my medical issues I would not want to be without power for a week.

 

[Step N. Mud]

Last year we got this Champion inverter open frame genie dual fuel and included propane regulator to run my off grid cabin along with solar power setup 8000 watt window ac, small freezer, ceiling fan, micro wave, toaster, 6 gal. heater on demand, small water pump, house hold lights , radio, Tv, and used a 40 lb. propane tank for 30 hrs. and switched to gas when needed. Propane and gas was really helpful with temps over 100 degrees in west Tx. Like open frame inverter generators over closed frames just for easy access to carburetor and stuff. Gonna be some noise involved no matter what type of generator and also have a well used Honda 2000 for occasional use for table saw and chop saw portability.Have had good luck with the Champion line generators.

 

[SMSgt]

For us the issue was food preservation. I've had the experience of cleaning out refrigerators after 3 days of power outage and it's not a lot of fun, not to mention the waste. I would be very upset if we lost power to the freezer.

Mine ran almost everything except the AC and dryer, but not everything at once. Heat the water heater, shut it off. power something else. No problem running fridge and freezer. Mr. Coffee was a big drain. Bought a window AC unit to cool one bedroom for sleeping. It made no power something of a minor inconvenience. Fuel was an issue at the time as all the gas stations went down, but since then, most gas stations and groceries installed generatotrs for such events.

 

[chief38]

During and after hurricane Ian two years ago we lost power for just shy of 3 days. Our new development has all the power lines buried however the lines supplying our development are above ground and subject to the weather.

When I got my monthly natural gas bill I noticed it was about 1/3 higher than normal but in the scope of things I didn't give a hoot! We lived just the same as we normally do and once inside the house we don't even hear the Generac running. Outside, yes they are noisy but our home has cat 5 hurricane windows and doors and they are very thick and well insulate sound. BTW, they are also bullet proof for handgun calibers.

We have also lost power for non weather related issues like someone hitting a pole with a truck. The power was out for only a few hours however it was a weekend and we had a house full of guests. The generator saved the evening and a few of the guests who witnessed this said they were going to get one soon.