Chris, as of this morning they are still without power. Hope you and yours are ok.
FINAL UPDATED 08/11 - WE GOT SLAMMED BY THE STORM TODAY!
- Thread starter chief38
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Chris, as of this morning they are still without power. Hope you and yours are ok.
Here on Long Island, I lost power from 1pm on Tuesday until 1pm yesterday.
Used our generator that we bought on day 10 of our 11 day outage from Sandy.
(I was wondering why it was so loud. Not that many hours on the thing, and it broke the juncture of the one piece exhaust pipe and muffler. Seems to be a poor design, given the vibration created. Of course, it appears to be a part no longer available, so something with a flex pipe might be the solution)
The crew that repaired our lines is from Indiana.
I can't believe that some housewives being interviewed by the local station, actually think that PSEG should compensate them for their lost groceries.
...Only in America, the land of the entitled.
Used our generator that we bought on day 10 of our 11 day outage from Sandy.
(I was wondering why it was so loud. Not that many hours on the thing, and it broke the juncture of the one piece exhaust pipe and muffler. Seems to be a poor design, given the vibration created. Of course, it appears to be a part no longer available, so something with a flex pipe might be the solution)
The crew that repaired our lines is from Indiana.
I can't believe that some housewives being interviewed by the local station, actually think that PSEG should compensate them for their lost groceries.
...Only in America, the land of the entitled.
A lot of my concern about those issues goes back to our infamous October Snowstorm in 2011, which instantly became my design basis outage. My folks, my kids and a lot of my friends were without power for over a week, some well over a week. I took care of both my folks and their neighbor by sharing one of my fleet of 3,500 watt generators for 8+ days. Obviously, we did a lot of wire switching to be able to cook, heat the houses and keep the lights on.On the positive side, that little generator sipped so little fuel that it truly amazed me.
Some friends with permanent whole house generators did just fine, others not so much... but again, they were not all Generac products so I can't honestly say how the Generac-owning folks made out. I just know that there were failures and those folks had to scramble to find portables. It was not pretty.
But in regard to the propane cost issue, I seem to remember whole house consumption numbers in the 3-4 gallons per hour range. So for my 8-day design basis outage, that's maybe 700 gallons, give or take depending on load. That's a lot of money to a poor old retired poverty case like me!
I don't know all the technical aspects but I think they consume more fuel depending on load. I never had my house lit up like a Christmas tree during any storm.
My only concern was to keep warm and have running water. And if away, that the heat stay on and the frig stay cold.
Nothing like coming home to a burst pipe.
I was in Williamsburg VA looking at houses during that Halloween storm. We beat feet back home, because we only had a portable, to find most of our tree stops hugging the ground.
Hurricane Sandy was the final straw, got the automatic gen right after.
What's the fun of having a big whole house generator if you can't turn on all the lights and make the neighbors envious?
That's what they all do around here.
What's the fun of having a big whole house generator if you can't turn on all the lights and make the neighbors envious?
That's what they all do around here.
I know, everyone on my street in NY had one. The folks across the street had a 45k
generator and 500 gallon propane tank.They love to put everything on, even the driveway lights.
The owner was some Wall St guy and needed all kinds of electronics.
With my little 5500 watt we sat in the dark, but had heat and running water.
The two things I worry about most in regard to whole house propane-fired generators of any brand are: a) What do you do if it fails to start when needed (or stops running) and, b) the cost of running it on propane for other than brief outages. I'm not advocating against them at all, but those are the two problems my friends with permanent generators complain about most.
If I can get over those two worries and solve the location issue, maybe I can have one too someday.
TTSH—I don't have the mobil uplink plan Mike talks about above and I have never had an issue at two homes where I have had Generac whole-house generators. I had both units set to start at 6:00 a.m. Monday for their weekly, 15 minute test run. Neither has ever failed to start.
Plus I have the excellent Generac service plan. A serviceman comes out every 6 months and changes the oil, does a full page diagnostic check list on the unit, trips the power to the house to check the relays and make sure the unit automatically kicks on as it should. I believe yearly they change all the belts and hoses. The battery gets changed every three years, I believe (it's all on the check list and Generac keeps a complete electronic file on your generator).
These generators are simply small engines that need maintenance and service just like any automobile. (Generac had a far superior service plan to Mercedes Benz—which is the best I have ever seen).
Due to all of this, I never saw the need for the monitoring program. Plus I have a 24/7/365 1-800 number to call for emergency service. (I test called it once at midnight on Christmas Eve and it was cheerfully answered on the second ring. I never did that again because we had an actual blizzard with warnings in Arkansas—the first in my lifetime—the next day! But we never lost power although I figured I jinxed us).
Both my past and current unit run on natural gas which is dirt cheap in these parts, so I can't speak to propane. You would have probably an hours consumption monthly for the weekly test starts.
I don't believe anyone with a Generac service plan would have the slightest concern about the unit running when needed because of all I describe above. Plus I hear it power up weekly. (I also forgot to mention it has a Light panel on the side (Red, Yellow, Green) where you can visually check the unit too. Red/Yellow—call for service immediately, Green you are good to go).
As to propane costs, you would have to simply decide what it's worth to you to keep power, plus how frequently you lose power. At our former home we lost power frequently because the power lines were all strung on poles above ground. At our current home they are buried and we have not lost power once in 18 months.
If at your home the power lines are buried, I am not sure these generators are worth the expense of putting in—we got our current unit with the house, so I did not put in. At our former home, we installed.
You are welcome to PM me if you have any other questions.
I know, everyone on my street in NY had one. The folks across the street had a 45k
I just checked mine downstairs and it is a 20KW. The Generac man told me it would run the wing of a hospital! At my former home it was a 12kw.
At 45kw would probably run the whole hospital!
Maybe they were growing tomatoes
in their basement. People love to show off in any case.
bigwheelzip
Absent Comrade
Just spoke to my sister in Lindenhurst, and she lost power from the storm until last night. Only her block and the one next to it were knocked out. Lucky for her, the block behind her house never lost power, and the back neighbor ran an extension cord over for sis's refrigerator.
Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
It sounds like both you and Mike are extremely satisfied customers of Generac.
That says a lot.At our new place, the service line coming in from the street is buried, but the poles and lines on the road are exposed and very old. Neighbors report lots of outages, but typically not long outages. That is partly due to our location on top of a hill where the wind blows like stink. If anyone is going to lose power, it will be us on top of the hill before any others.
And yet the neighbors we know about with generators have gone with gasoline portables.
That could be because we don't have natural gas available and some of the houses don't even have propane. It seems the approach is to tolerate the short outages and only drag out the big portables when it looks like it's going to be a while. That's our read on it anyway.Propane costs vary a lot with location, season, tank size, your contract and other factors, so it is hard to know exactly what it cost my friend's neighbor to keep his house up and functioning during our infamous October 2011 outage. I seem to remember something approaching $2K. It shocked me pretty good at the time. Still does.
That was a very expensive power outage!
wheelgun28
Member
Well as of 11am today we have power back
No noisy generator running, ahh silence.
A friend has a big gen at his house its water cooled and 1800 rpm. It just rumbles away quite as a mouse. He has a big house and runs three central AC units plus the rest of the house. Only thing is it seems to burn just under fourty gallons of propane per day. It has a small car engine for power, maybe a Mitsubishi?
I dont know what a gallon of propane costs in bulk, its got to add up after a few days
No noisy generator running, ahh silence.
A friend has a big gen at his house its water cooled and 1800 rpm. It just rumbles away quite as a mouse. He has a big house and runs three central AC units plus the rest of the house. Only thing is it seems to burn just under fourty gallons of propane per day. It has a small car engine for power, maybe a Mitsubishi?
I dont know what a gallon of propane costs in bulk, its got to add up after a few days
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It sounds like both you and Mike are extremely satisfied customers of Generac.
At our new place, the service line coming in from the street is buried, but the poles and lines on the road are exposed and very old. Neighbors report lots of outages, but typically not long outages. That is partly due to our location on top of a hill where the wind blows like stink. If anyone is going to lose power, it will be us on top of the hill before any others.
And yet the neighbors we know about with generators have gone with gasoline portables.
Propane costs vary a lot with location, season, tank size, your contract and other factors, so it is hard to know exactly what it cost my friend's neighbor to keep his house up and functioning during our infamous October 2011 outage. I seem to remember something approaching $2K. It shocked me pretty good at the time. Still does.
That was a very expensive power outage!
Nothing wrong with a portable, just requires a bit of planning as to size and fuel sources. During an outage such as Sandy most gas stations were closed.
I think some states now require a generator backup for service stations.
If you stay mostly close to home a portable is fine, imo.
Propane costs more, the less you buy. If you don't own the tanks, good luck trying to get a competitor to fill you up, ain't going to happen.
I rented mine because we knew we were moving.
Btw, having a standby gen was a big plus when it came time to sell.
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TTSH—I researched this a bit and spoke to my Generac man (I wound up helping him in a divorce and we have become friends). Without a ready, cheap power source—we are blessed in SW/SE with abundant natural gas—I would get a big Generac portable.
https://www.generac.com/generaccorp...onal-power/gp series/0196640-a-gp17500e_1.pdf
However, get the Generac transfer switching system put in just like a whole house set up. You don't want to fool with extension cords and you want to run your heat and air. (I assume you have electric heat, but you may run fuel oil, I know that is common in NE).
Generac Power Systems - The Best Pressure Washers for Sale
(This is not pressure washers, it's transfer systems)
Get your local Generac dealer to set this all up and put together a discounted maintenance plan where they will come check everything for you occasionally. Keep a couple of days gas on hand, and run it though your car every 6 months, where the gas stays fresh. Start and run your unit weekly too.
That is probably going to be your best solution.
https://www.generac.com/generaccorp...onal-power/gp series/0196640-a-gp17500e_1.pdf
However, get the Generac transfer switching system put in just like a whole house set up. You don't want to fool with extension cords and you want to run your heat and air. (I assume you have electric heat, but you may run fuel oil, I know that is common in NE).
Generac Power Systems - The Best Pressure Washers for Sale
(This is not pressure washers, it's transfer systems)
Get your local Generac dealer to set this all up and put together a discounted maintenance plan where they will come check everything for you occasionally. Keep a couple of days gas on hand, and run it though your car every 6 months, where the gas stays fresh. Start and run your unit weekly too.
That is probably going to be your best solution.
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TTSH—I researched this a bit and spoke to my Generac man (I wound up helping him in a divorce and we have become friends). Without a ready, cheap power source—we are blessed in SW/SE with abundant natural gas—I would get a big Generac portable.
https://www.generac.com/generaccorp...onal-power/gp series/0196640-a-gp17500e_1.pdf
YUP.. That's the one alrighty!!!
Hooked it up and ran the electric stove,oven,HVAC and the hot water heater.. Understood not all at the same time mind you
Shop around the prices vary from $2800.00 to $3200.00.
Good luck
You probably missed my earlier post, but our electrician has already wired the house for the portable generator and is putting in some gizmo (haven't seen it yet) wherein we manually switch to the essential power bus during power outages.
We are looking at generators about half the size of that monster Generac. That should be plenty to power the well pump, the heat pump-type water heater, the propane furnace and other vital uses without excessive fuel use.
You probably missed my earlier post, but our electrician has already wired the house for the portable generator and is putting in some gizmo (haven't seen it yet) wherein we manually switch to the essential power bus during power outages.
We are looking at generators about half the size of that monster Generac. That should be plenty to power the well pump, the heat pump-type water heater, the propane furnace and other vital uses without excessive fuel use.
Gizmo= transfer switch.
I have a remote unit that has the signal lights on it, so I don't even have to go outside to check the status of the generator.
I probably sound like a salesman for Generac, but I am sure happy that I was able to get a generator installed and not have to worry about long term power outages.
For some reason, I don't think it's quite that simple.
Remember that we are set-up with two separate buses: Essential and non-essential... with only one bus (the essential bus) to be fed by the portable generator. I admit that I didn't fully understand it all when the electrician described it. 
One thing for sure: Our electrician does everything 110% by the book, so I know that whatever he's installing is legal and per code. The dude is obsessed with the MA electrical code.
For some reason, I don't think it's quite that simple.
One thing for sure: Our electrician does everything 110% by the book, so I know that whatever he's installing is legal and per code. The dude is obsessed with the MA electrical code.
I had a simple 6 circuit transfer switch, off to the side of the panel. It powered just what I needed and kept the power from going to the line side.
I knew when the power was restored as the rest of the house started perking up.
Now, this was a simple switch done almost 30 years ago before I went whole house, so the technology has no doubt evolved.
It was put in by a friend who was a union electrician, so I know it was done right.
Looked similar
https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...n_-zhY_rAhX3oXIEHdUDDTIQ5bgDegUIDxCSAQ&adurl=
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...nd-protests/&usg=AOvVaw2Rt1bCxkOIJkZsd5gn1lam
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