Home Generators, Choices, Pros & Cons, Needed?
- Thread starter Onomea
- Start date
bigwheelzip
Absent Comrade
Doesn't a wine fridge count as life critical equipment?The only exception here is a medical equipment waiver.
Last edited:
Not only will you recoup, it will SELL your house too:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/140860183-post30.html
Thanks for the info.
The only exception here is a medical equipment waiver.
I frankly am surprised that those nice 55+ communities in FL don't have a generator with each unit or a commercial/industrial unit capable of running the whole community. This would be easy to set up on the front end.
I believe I have figured out from various posts that you don't have readily available natural gas lines. I think that would be required to make it feasible for a community because otherwise you would need a propane tank the size of the Goodyear Blimp.
Last edited:
Yeah, unfortunately at this house no access to natural gas, and the HOA ( 55+ Community ) will not allow propane tanks.
I DO MISS MY NG HOME
Just one of many reasons not to live where there is an HOA.
I seem to recall reading (on the internet so I know it must be true) that there are two or three different "grades" or Generac generators...... IIRC American made (commercial grade) Chinese made and maybe a third ( for the big box stores).
Anybody have info on this?????
Anybody have info on this?????
GypsmJim
Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2009
- Messages
- 4,104
- Reaction score
- 7,223
I guess that's OK if you have frequent power outages and can use up the fuel in a "reasonable" amount of time. In my case, though, we get a power outage once every 2 years and it only lasts a couple hours. Our multi-day outage was a once-in-a-100 year event. If I had a tankfull of fuel it would go bad before it was used up.
If we didn't have NG I don't know what I would have done.
You had better consider the fuel consumption of your unit and your source for fuel. You folks that talk about a 100 pound propane tank, that is 23.6 gallons of propane when completely full. That will run a large whole house generator for about 12 hours give or take. What do you do next? Do you have two 100 lb tanks? Great- you are fixed for a whole 24 hours. If you are connected to NG and that source is reliable you are in good shape as long as you can afford $50 to $100 a day for fuel cost. We have a 1000 gallon propane tank which runs our generator and furnace. In very cold weather during a power outage even that tank will only run a few days with both units using fuel. The generator ads never mention the fuel consumption. Our electric bill is about $4 per day when the power is on. When we generate our own it would be between $30 and $100 a day depending on propane prices. The bigger the generator the more fuel it uses.
Our record was 7 days one time from an ice storm—I seem to recall the natural gas bill was over a $1000 that month, but I would have to go back and look. I can't imagine trying to use anything but natural gas as a fuel source, because as you point out, you are going to be continuously hauling propane, gasoline, diesel, etc (whatever your fuel source). In times of natural disaster, those services seem to be the first to close and the last to reopen—I think because the tanker trucks can't travel.
One gets an appreciation for what utilities accomplish and provide when you look at this in terms of just running your house for a few days.
One gets an appreciation for what utilities accomplish and provide when you look at this in terms of just running your house for a few days.
Fuel consumption ...................
Only if you run 24/7 .......... with good insulation you can run a portable Gen intermittently.
Fridg/freezer cool down , bump the heat back up, fix a meal, charge your lap top/tablets/ batteries; run your well and fill your water jugs........
Only if you run 24/7 .......... with good insulation you can run a portable Gen intermittently.
Fridg/freezer cool down , bump the heat back up, fix a meal, charge your lap top/tablets/ batteries; run your well and fill your water jugs........
My main concern is keeping the hot tub at 105 degrees so I need continuous power!
You are correct on that. The Generac web site has a page where you can indicate how big your building is and how many of the electric powered items you want to operate during a power outage.
I got mine put in back in 2017.
The HOA for my neighborhood couldn't have been nicer about approving my generator. I was probably the first case they had to approve. I did the best I could on the application, and probably it really helped when I copied the whole Generac web site and attached that to the application. The other thing I did was refer the HOA manager to a web site called "ShowMyStreet.com" that could pull up photos of my house and yard and I could pinpoint where the prospective location for the generator would be. Being able to see how the generator would fit in the yard must have carried the day because the HOA approved the installation of the generator and rescinded its initial requirement of having to put a screen around it.
I have probably been a little wordy but I wanted to pass along my experience and save everyone some time and/or aggravation.
Several poster have spoken of the costs of using a home generator. Yes, the power company is much cheaper. My last power bill was under $70. My 5000w Champion uses 10 gallons of gas @ 24 hours. The latest prediction I read was that gas would hit $3 a gallon by Memorial Day.
BUT, I'd rather pay $30 a day than to not have any power-at least for a little while.
BUT, I'd rather pay $30 a day than to not have any power-at least for a little while.
Several poster have spoken of the costs of using a home generator. Yes, the power company is much cheaper. My last power bill was under $70. My 5000w Champion uses 10 gallons of gas @ 24 hours. The latest prediction I read was that gas would hit $3 a gallon by Memorial Day.
BUT, I'd rather pay $30 a day than to not have any power-at least for a little while.
Thirty that peanuts! Some of the people in Texas are getting bills in the thousands! I do not realy understand it but it was on the news and in the papers!
