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I figured I would pick the brain of my fellow DP posters. Got slammed by the latest storm. Power out for over 2 days, $500 to replace the rear gutter (blew on to the roof). Looking to get a generator and I know nothing about them. 2200 square ft house but I need the well and well mate to be hooked up or we have no water. A coworker said a 5000 watt with an outlet from the box would do. Approx $800 for the outlet plus the cost of the generator. Don't know how accurate that is. Any help, advice would be appreciated. Thanks
How often are you w/o power and for how long?
A whole house generator comes with another set of problems. Maintenance and such. We experienced a three or four day outage many year ago and we called the guy who does the HVAC and electric in our house. We were all set up to have a whole house system set-up at a cost of about 6K. Well our guy dragged his feet and he called back after about 18 months and said he was ready for the install. We had had no outages of consequence in the time frame and I begged off. The missus needs med refrigerated, so i bought a hHonda unit to keep the icebox and a few lights powered. An earlier version of this guy. I have replaced the carb and battery twice in about ten years. They need to be run periodically. Good luck and get some more advice....
What part of NY are you in? If you're anywhere near Schenectady I know the perfect guy for you.
This was the worst in 19 years. I can deal with it but my wife was going ballistic especially since she is working full time from home. Its worth 5k to please the missus. Thanks.
I figured I would pick the brain of my fellow DP posters. Got slammed by the latest storm. Power out for over 2 days, $500 to replace the rear gutter (blew on to the roof). Looking to get a generator and I know nothing about them. 2200 square ft house but I need the well and well mate to be hooked up or we have no water. A coworker said a 5000 watt with an outlet from the box would do. Approx $800 for the outlet plus the cost of the generator. Don't know how accurate that is. Any help, advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Do you have a 220 plug from a dryer or oven or such you can plug a gas generator into that you can live without while the power is out?
How often are you w/o power and for how long?
A whole house generator comes with another set of problems. Maintenance and such. We experienced a three or four day outage many year ago and we called the guy who does the HVAC and electric in our house. We were all set up to have a whole house system set-up at a cost of about 6K. Well our guy dragged his feet and he called back after about 18 months and said he was ready for the install. We had had no outages of consequence in the time frame and I begged off. The missus needs med refrigerated, so i bought a hHonda unit to keep the icebox and a few lights powered. An earlier version of this guy. I have replaced the carb and battery twice in about ten years. They need to be run periodically. Good luck and get some more advice....
Here's what I had when I had a house but I never used it. Had an electrician provide a circuit box outlet to plug it in. You have to roll the generator outside the garage and shut off the circuit box when you plug it in.
9000 Watt Max Starting Extra Long Life Gas Powered Generator - EPA III
Going anecdotally by a few people that I've run across that has them, they (generators) aren't always reliable. You've got to be very regular with the maintenance & especially the battery!How often are you w/o power and for how long?
A whole house generator comes with another set of problems. Maintenance and such. We experienced a three or four day outage many year ago and we called the guy who does the HVAC and electric in our house. We were all set up to have a whole house system set-up at a cost of about 6K. Well our guy dragged his feet and he called back after about 18 months and said he was ready for the install. We had had no outages of consequence in the time frame and I begged off. The missus needs med refrigerated, so i bought a hHonda unit to keep the icebox and a few lights powered. An earlier version of this guy. I have replaced the carb and battery twice in about ten years. They need to be run periodically. Good luck and get some more advice....
Yeah, but Harbor Freight. I'd research that puppy, firstly!Wow that is a great price for 9000 watts. Thanks
I figured I would pick the brain of my fellow DP posters. Got slammed by the latest storm. Power out for over 2 days, $500 to replace the rear gutter (blew on to the roof). Looking to get a generator and I know nothing about them. 2200 square ft house but I need the well and well mate to be hooked up or we have no water. A coworker said a 5000 watt with an outlet from the box would do. Approx $800 for the outlet plus the cost of the generator. Don't know how accurate that is. Any help, advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Yes, electric washer and dryer and stove. I also have solar but its hooked up to the grid so no help during an outage.
Yeah, but Harbor Freight. I'd research that puppy, firstly!
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Wait? Are you looking for an external portable generator? Or one integrated into your home's electrical system, like a Genrac? There's a huge difference in pricing and functionality between the two trypes.
I have a 15,000 and 3500 watt, the 3500 will run my shop heater along with lights, maybe some tools, the 15K watt will run most of my home approximately 1800 sq feet. Just remember what is the peek draw of all the appliances you want to run and add it up, then remember that when they give run times they are thinking half that amount, so while it would be rare to run at full peek draw you have to take it into account. Learned the lesson of having generators by being iced in for over a week without power, the saving grace was our wood burning stove I had installed that year and my brother in law bringing out a 15k generator from his business after four days. I now keep both generators ready to go and fresh fuel to go for at least a week. There are whole home systems out there, think 5 grand or more and they will kick in automatically but will also require a butane tank which you basically rent from the fuel supplier. Any other questions feel free to ask.
Yeah, but Harbor Freight. I'd research that puppy, firstly!
----
Wait? Are you looking for an external portable generator? Or one integrated into your home's electrical system, like a Genrac? There's a huge difference in pricing and functionality between the two trypes.
I figured I would pick the brain of my fellow DP posters. Got slammed by the latest storm. Power out for over 2 days, $500 to replace the rear gutter (blew on to the roof). Looking to get a generator and I know nothing about them. 2200 square ft house but I need the well and well mate to be hooked up or we have no water. A coworker said a 5000 watt with an outlet from the box would do. Approx $800 for the outlet plus the cost of the generator. Don't know how accurate that is. Any help, advice would be appreciated. Thanks
I would want it for my oil heat system as well but the pellet stove at a minimum. Thanks Can you keep stabilizer in the fuel tank? The guy who does my mower and snow blower swears by seafoam and it keeps it perfectly.
I would want it for my oil heat system as well but the pellet stove at a minimum. Thanks Can you keep stabilizer in the fuel tank? The guy who does my mower and snow blower swears by seafoam and it keeps it perfectly.
Yeah, but Harbor Freight. I'd research that puppy, firstly!
----
Wait? Are you looking for an external portable generator? Or one integrated into your home's electrical system, like a Genrac? There's a huge difference in pricing and functionality between the two trypes.
Be careful with these new furnaces. They have control boards that may not work with generators. Some of those control boards are several hundred dollars.
Genrac has models that run on natural gas, FWIW. No idea on how well it works, but it came-up in my research when I was considering buying. But that's the option I was looking at.I have a 15,000 and 3500 watt, the 3500 will run my shop heater along with lights, maybe some tools, the 15K watt will run most of my home approximately 1800 sq feet. Just remember what is the peek draw of all the appliances you want to run and add it up, then remember that when they give run times they are thinking half that amount, so while it would be rare to run at full peek draw you have to take it into account. Learned the lesson of having generators by being iced in for over a week without power, the saving grace was our wood burning stove I had installed that year and my brother in law bringing out a 15k generator from his business after four days. I now keep both generators ready to go and fresh fuel to go for at least a week. There are whole home systems out there, think 5 grand or more and they will kick in automatically but will also require a butane tank which you basically rent from the fuel supplier. Any other questions feel free to ask.
Definitely want it hooked into the box for my well and well mate. 9000 watts would do it.
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