Power outage

[bgrafsr]

When we bought our home (in a rural area), I wanted to be sure we had a backup power source, as I wasn't sure about the electric service we had.
I purchased a Kohler 14KV generator, which runs on Natural Gas, and will run everything in the house if the power goes out.
We have had a couple of very short outages and the generator starts up quickly and runs very good.
Today our power went out at 1:15PM and is still out at 7:12PM.
The generator has been running since 1:15PM and everything in the house is working.
Cost for installation was around $10,000, and it was money well spent.
I went with Kohler since a contractor recommended them over Generac. Also I have learned that the Kohler engines have hydraulic valve lifters,whereas the Generac engines use
adjustable lifters, which need to be adjusted every now and then, depending on how often and long the generator runs.


Power just came back on, 8:00PM.

 

[twodog max]

IMO a very sound decision. I looked into whole house setups when we built 10 years ago. Around here the price was15,000.00 +. I did not bite on that. All the salesman were telling me I needed a 20 KW setup when a close friend with a house over twice the square footage as mine and a lot more electronics had a 16KW that runs his whole home with ease.
I think the folks around here in that business are talking to each other and inflating the prices.
I went with another setup and run most of our house off a portable generator and a link to the house installed by our electric coop. It works accepably well if a little inconvenient. We just came through a 36 hour outage after tornados.

 

[bgrafsr]

IMO a very sound decision. I looked into whole house setups when we built 10 years ago. Around here the price was15,000.00 +. I did not bite on that. All the salesman were telling me I needed a 20 KW setup when a close friend with a house over twice the square footage as mine and a lot more electronics had a 16KW that runs his whole home with ease.
I think the folks around here in that business are talking to each other and inflating the prices.
I went with another setup and run most of our house off a portable generator and a link to the house installed by our electric coop. It works accepably well if a little inconvenient. We just came through a 36 hour outage after tornados.

Hope you were spared from any tornado damage.

 

[Iggy]

I think generators are wonderful. We installed a Generac over 10 years ago and the power has failed once for 1/2 an hour since then.

As it turns out, I’ve been on a oxygen concentrator for about a year and the sound of that thing firing up every monday morning in a self check is reassuring.

 

[Onomea]

Two years ago we hit 114° in Oregon. A few weeks later, when it was in the 90°s we had a three hour power outage on my block of the neighborhood. Sweated that one out until the power came back on, and decided to bite the bullet and buy a whole house generator.

Did some research, including on this forum. (There are some good whole house generator threads here.) Wound up buying a 20 KW Kohler. Runs on the gas piped into the house. Think I paid $17K. 28,000 sq ft. If it's overkill, I'm okay with that. I've considered a back-up propane tank, but so far haven't explored that deeply.

It comes on once a week to do its thing for 20 minutes or whatever the duration is. The only outages since have been when we've been out of the country. Last spring it came on for six hours. (There's an app that lets you know what its doing wherever you are.)

I like the peace of mind it provides.

 

[NYlakesider]

Two years ago we hit 114° in Oregon. A few weeks later, when it was in the 90°s we had a three hour power outage on my block of the neighborhood. Sweated that one out until the power came back on, and decided to bite the bullet and buy a whole house generator.

Did some research, including on this forum. (There are some good whole house generator threads here.) Wound up buying a 20 KW Kohler. Runs on the gas piped into the house. Think I paid $17K. 28,000 sq ft. If it's overkill, I'm okay with that. I've considered a back-up propane tank, but so far haven't explored that deeply.

It comes on once a week to do its thing for 20 minutes or whatever the duration is. The only outages since have been when we've been out of the country. Last spring it came on for six hours. (There's an app that lets you know what its doing wherever you are.)

I like the peace of mind it provides.

Living in the mountains of NYs we can get some real bad weather. We have had much longer outs, some for over a day and one that went 3 days right after a big ice storm that took out lots of infrastructure. Good to hear that generator running when the temp is -20F or worse.-

Don't forget to check the oil occasionally if running long time. In my case after it runs 24 hours I will shut it down and dip the stick. Add Mobile 1 if necessary.

 

[Narragansett]

I thought about a generator a few times but never put one in. I did have a 7 day outage about 8 years ago from a hurricane. Could have used it then.

I have installed many single generators and parallel unit installations to run computer centers and prison complexes. Those big Caterpillar units are something else when you have 6 running at the same time. They cost about 500,000.00 each , and have 12 cylinder engines with pistons the size of 5 gallon paint cans. Usually about 2000kw each

 

[pharmer]

I have lived through at least a dozen hurricanes in the 43+ years here in the Swamp. All 3 neighborhoods I have owned houses in had underground utilities. Lost power once long enough to thaw my mom’s deep freeze she brought from NJ but that’s the worst. We got 2 hurricanes spinning out at sea currently, hope they fizzle out. The 2nd has my 1st ex-wife’s name. I lost the house. Joe

 

[Onomea]

...Don't forget to check the oil occasionally if running long time. In my case after it runs 24 hours I will shut it down and dip the stick. Add Mobile 1 if necessary.

Thanks for the reminder. When I first got the unit installed, I checked it monthly religiously. It never needed oil, and at its first year check up, the maintenance guy, who changed the oil, said it had not used any oil that he could discern.

Checked it just now after I read your post. Still at full. Will keep your advice in mind though if it winds up running for a long time.

 

[Tom S.]

I thought about a generator a few times but never put one in. I did have a 7 day outage about 8 years ago from a hurricane. Could have used it then.

I have installed many single generators and parallel unit installations to run computer centers and prison complexes. Those big Caterpillar units are something else when you have 6 running at the same time. They cost about 500,000.00 each , and have 12 cylinder engines with pistons the size of 5 gallon paint cans. Usually about 2000kw each

I toured one of Fidelity Investment's server farms once and if I remember correctly, they had 8 of the big Cat generators. It was an impressive sight, but I bet it was noisy if they had to fire them all up!

 

[Narragansett]

I toured one of Fidelity Investment's server farms once and if I remember correctly, they had 8 of the big Cat generators. It was an impressive sight, but I bet it was noisy if they had to fire them all up!

They are very loud. I mean 2 minutes and a headache loud. The rooms are also like a wind tunnel, wwith the 8' X 12' through the wall radiators.

The switchgear for these installations is highly sophisticated and super expensive. Every one of those generators has to synchronize to a common bus, and with each one connected the transfer window gets smaller for the next one. If they try to synchronize a degree out of phase, that creates a rather violent short circuit.

Equally as impressive are the UPS systems that go with these. Computers cannot experience a flicker, and if the generators fail to start, you have to be able to power down the computers. That batter system can have a couple hundred tons of batteries. each weighing about 600 pounds.

The fuel system is diesel, and will have about 5- 50000 gallon underground storage tanks and the associated pumping systems.

Electrical contracting can be very interesting

 

[gjgalligan]

About 8 or 9 years ago I got 5 bids on installing a backup generator for my home. Each guy suggested a different size unit and priced accordingly.
The guy that suggested the 22kw unit was the lowest price. It was a good sized electrical contractor that had been around for years. Still is around.
My wife has some health issues and I need to be able to run AC in the hot & humid weather we get around here. Seems like the only time the power goes out is in HOT or FREEZING WEATHER. Runs off my propane tank.
So I went with him. No regrets really other then it uses propane a bit more then I care for.
I do have a small portable that I use in the event the I don't need the big one.
I have on several occasions shut down the bigger unit if I don't need to run AC.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Around 2008, Hurricane Ike hit mid Ohio and the power was down for mostly 2 weeks! (In the inner city of Columbus- three weeks.

I had a 5kw Coleman generator with a .8 gallon gas tank. That was good for 4 to 5 hours. I'd get home from work, fire up the Coleman and get the refrigerator and deep freezer cooled off. Run the well for a while and fill up the pressure tank. The oven is electric so cooking was done on the gas grill or Coleman Camping two burner stove set on the electric stove, so everything was convenient.

Instead of a whole house/several thousand dollar system, I had a $800 dollar system that was "Redeployable" and a large number of firearms!

I live in a Condo now and have a 4KW Coleman generator with a 5-gallon tank that will go about 30 hours. Still have to plug the furnace in, NO A/C, and extension cords to run but I haven't needed it!

Ivan

 

[bgrafsr]

Living in the mountains of NYs we can get some real bad weather. We have had much longer outs, some for over a day and one that went 3 days right after a big ice storm that took out lots of infrastructure. Good to hear that generator running when the temp is -20F or worse.-

Don't forget to check the oil occasionally if running long time. In my case after it runs 24 hours I will shut it down and dip the stick. Add Mobile 1 if necessary.

Kohler recommends that the generator be serviced once a year.


I've scheduled a service call for next week with the company who installed the generator. The oil and oil filter will be changed out, as will the spark plug, plus something else which I can't remember.(79 years old and getting CRS)


I can't do the maintenance myself due to medical issues, so I don't mind paying to have it done.

 

[gjgalligan]

Around 2008, Hurricane Ike hit mid Ohio and the power was down for mostly 2 weeks! (In the inner city of Columbus- three weeks.

I had a 5kw Coleman generator with a .8 gallon gas tank. That was good for 4 to 5 hours. I'd get home from work, fire up the Coleman and get the refrigerator and deep freezer cooled off. Run the well for a while and fill up the pressure tank. The oven is electric so cooking was done on the gas grill or Coleman Camping two burner stove set on the electric stove, so everything was convenient.

Instead of a whole house/several thousand dollar system, I had a $800 dollar system that was "Redeployable" and a large number of firearms!

I live in a Condo now and have a 4KW Coleman generator with a 5-gallon tank that will go about 30 hours. Still have to plug the furnace in, NO A/C, and extension cords to run but I haven't needed it!

Ivan

Great plan, as long as you are able to do your part.
What happens if you are not at home, say on vacation or in the hospital, or maybe injured and can't mange dragging the generator out, hauling gas, ect?
I don't how much cold weather you get but if for some reason your home freezes up and pipes burst you will wish you had planned better. A hot weather outage can cause you refrigerator & freezer to thaw out causing leakage that causes damage to flooring, ect. (ask me how I know that!)
Do you ever go away, hunting, fishing, ect, and leave wife at home alone? Who will help her?
If you have ALL possibilities covered then your great. Otherwise a having an automatic start up unit installed gives great peace of mind. And it will increase the value of your home when you decide to sell it.

 

[StrawHat]

We have 5 freezers and we travel for 2 months a year, just for business. We got the whole house generator just for the freezers. The lights and etc are nice add ons! Mainly got it because if we are out of town, well, it would not be a fragrant return!

Kevin

 

[blues7]

We had a 24kW whole home Generac installed in mid May and got it up and running June 1. After nearly 20 years of more outages than I care to count in our rural area, it's nice to finally have a backup generator.

Got a ten year warranty, (parts, labor, travel, engine, alternator), for free for having purchased during the offer period.

Exercises every Monday morning for about five minutes, and sends us status reports via email as well as an app.

I figure we shouldn't have an outage now for about ten years. LOL.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Great plan, as long as you are able to do your part.
What happens if you are not at home, say on vacation or in the hospital, or maybe injured and can't mange dragging the generator out, hauling gas, ect?

Great questions! Just like what a whole house salesman would ask!

However, they are real considerations. Your needs and results will absolutely be different. But in modern history only 1 hurricane has hit Central Ohio! We do get Blizzards and tornados (not to make a pun, but they are Hit or Miss!)

My freezer full of food and the freezer itself is less than 3 grand! The condo type of homeowners insurance covers it as far as hot weather goes! If can't afford a whole house generator; I sure can't afford winters in the sun.

My system is one that has worked for my 45 years of having a family.

You are right, insurance can only replace stuff, it can never replace memories!

My farmhouse had pipes that froze on cold nights as is, I always shut off the water when I'm gone for a few days, no matter the season. We have no electric dependent medical conditions. But my best friend had CPAP and he has a battery back-up that is portable and dependable for less than my small generator. (plus, there are the suit-case sized generators)

My opinion (and $3 will get you a cup of coffee) is that whole house systems are a disposable income lifestyle choice. Under NORMAL circumstances! But those change!

Ivan

 

[NYlakesider]

Great questions! Just like what a whole house salesman would ask!

However, they are real considerations. Your needs and results will absolutely be different. But in modern history only 1 hurricane has hit Central Ohio! We do get Blizzards and tornados (not to make a pun, but they are Hit or Miss!)

My freezer full of food and the freezer itself is less than 3 grand! The condo type of homeowners insurance covers it as far as hot weather goes! If can't afford a whole house generator; I sure can't afford winters in the sun.

My system is one that has worked for my 45 years of having a family.

You are right, insurance can only replace stuff, it can never replace memories!

My farmhouse had pipes that froze on cold nights as is, I always shut off the water when I'm gone for a few days, no matter the season. We have no electric dependent medical conditions. But my best friend had CPAP and he has a battery back-up that is portable and dependable for less than my small generator. (plus, there are the suit-case sized generators)

My opinion (and $3 will get you a cup of coffee) is that whole house systems are a disposable income lifestyle choice. Under NORMAL circumstances! But those change!

Ivan

Yes its a choice, for me it also means I sleep a little better.

Staying with the sleep thing, loosing power in the middle of the night at very low temperatures and hearing the generator come to life and the transfer switch, making a very loud THUD will wake you up.(With a smile)

 

[Golddollar]

My opinion (and $3 will get you a cup of coffee) is that whole house systems are a disposable income lifestyle choice. Under NORMAL circumstances! But those change!

Ivan

You are probably right, and for me, with my age, medical issues and decreptitude it was money well spent.