Portable Generators

[John Terefenko]

Started looking into getting a portable generator for the occassional power outage in my area. I have seen power outages here anywhere from 1/2 hour to 3 days. The more I look the more I am unsure what to get. I looked at Honda because of the reputation of being reliable and quiet. I started looking at the Handi3000watt unit and was told this is not enough power for the things I want. I like the idea of the clean power aspect which is done with an inverter but it is adding quite abit of money. With todays electronics in just about everything I thought it was a good idea. I am being told to get at least a 5000watt unit and the one I am looking at is a 6500i unit which runs about $4000.

My question is what are you all using and is it a good reliable unit and why did you choose it?? I want to run a sump pump, refrig, lights, and possible a tv or computer, also a circulating pump for heat. Not worried about air cond.

Looking forward to reading some advice. Thanks in advance.

[Joe Pelonio]

I have a 10HP 5,000 watt Generac, it's very reliable though loud. It's never let me down and was a lot less money than a Honda, under $1,000 when I bought it. When the power goes out I alternate between the refrigerator and freezer, along with running the TV/Cable, several lights and the motor for the gas furnace. Due to the noise I only run it 7am-10pm. It's also compact and light enough with wheels to use for running power tools on a job site. A neighbor has a Honda and it's definitely quieter, though his is less powerful and cannot run as much.

[Joe Mioux]

I have a 15Kw 25 hp Kohler engine Northern Tool generator. I like it but.... when ever there is a power outage, I need gas for the generator. Unfortunately if I am out of power so is the gas station. therefore I can't get gas to run the generator.

I am toying around with selling this generator and buying one that runs off propane or NG or a combination of Pro/ng/ or gas.

Whatever you do make sure you put in some sort of bypass or transfer switch to run your essential electrical items.

[Matt Meiser]

I've also got a Briggs and Stratton powered Generac 5000W which has been good for us. I've got 100-something hours on it after a few longer and several shorter outages in the last 8 years. I keep it in the garage, use Mobil 1 oil, keep the tank full with Stabil in the gas, and run it every spring and fall for a 1/2 hour or so with something plugged into it. It starts on the first pull virtually every time. If it takes 2, more often than not its because I forgot to turn on the on/off switch.

That said, we are in the market for a natural gas standby unit since they are running natural gas down our road (this week!)

[David G Baker]

John,
I have the 6500i and love it. I have the quietest generator in the neighborhood. I purchased it around 2 years ago for $3000 from an Amish shop that sells new generators and repairs equipment. Do some shopping online and in your area, you may find it much cheaper due to the recession. I haven't run my computers on it but I use it for my TV, INTERNET phone, well, furnace, refrigerator, freezer, several lights and a few receptacles. It has preformed well during all power outages.

[Scott T Smith]

Started looking into getting a portable generator for the occassional power outage in my area. I have seen power outages here anywhere from 1/2 hour to 3 days. The more I look the more I am unsure what to get. I looked at Honda because of the reputation of being reliable and quiet. I started looking at the Handi3000watt unit and was told this is not enough power for the things I want. I like the idea of the clean power aspect which is done with an inverter but it is adding quite abit of money. With todays electronics in just about everything I thought it was a good idea. I am being told to get at least a 5000watt unit and the one I am looking at is a 6500i unit which runs about $4000.

My question is what are you all using and is it a good reliable unit and why did you choose it?? I want to run a sump pump, refrig, lights, and possible a tv or computer, also a circulating pump for heat. Not worried about air cond.

Looking forward to reading some advice. Thanks in advance.


John, if you search the archives here you will find several good threads about generators.

I live on a farm and look after 7 generators - ranging in power from 5500W up to 225KW. Based upon what you want to run, something in the 5500 watt range or higher should meet your needs. More KW (to a point) is better, especially if you purchase one of the lower end models that does not have the surge capacity (very important for starting the sump pump or a well pump).

Propane or natural gas is probably your best bet. The fuel does not go bad, and it is rare to have a NG outage at the same time as an electrical outage. You also don't have to worry about finding fuel during an extended power outage.

Most quality generators provide adequate power w/o the need for an inverter model. The inverter models usually have the benefit of matching the generator RPM to the actual power demand, so their fuel consumption per KW generated may be slightly less than a non-inverter model.

The generator that I have hooked up to my house is an older Onan 2 cylinder model that runs on propane. It outputs 7500KW (continuous rating) 3 phase or 5500W on single phase. It is hooked up to an automatic transfer switch, so there is no user intervention required.

Another good option - if you're into welding - is to purchase an engine-driven welder and use it as a backup power source. That way you get two tools in one.

[Chase Mueller]

Whoa, 2010. Lurking much there, Andy? :D

[Dave Anderson NH]

FYI Chase. Resurrected posts like this are often the way spammers try to get folks attention. Another member reported it and Bruce nuked it. It is a frequent occurrence here.

[Chase Mueller]

Oh ok, I was unaware! Should I report necro threads if it happens again?

[John Terefenko]

Hey that was my thread. I did buy the Honda EU6000IS back then that was largest. Now they are 7000 It has paid for itself many times already. Needed between my house and back then My parents house. Highly recommend Honda. Man 2010

[lowell holmes]

I had a generator many years ago when a storm took out the electric service.
I ran it for four or five days. We live in Galveston county, and it is hot in the summer. It kept a fan
ventilating the house and allowed us to sleep. I think I will but another one and store it in my garage
workshop up off of the floor. Hurricane season is upon us.

[Thomas L Carpenter]

I have an old 4500 watt off brand I bought for 400 bucks at least 25 years ago. Rebuilt the carb last year but my old bones have a hard time starting it so I bought a 4000 watt electric start from Amazon. Haven't had to use either in several years. Have been meaning to get the house wired for proper use but I lost my round tuit somewhere and so will just use extension cords for now. Getting gas can be an issue during large scale power outages so whenever it looks like a big storm coming I fill up both cars with the thought I could siphon gas out of them for several days. I had to buy a auto siphon system to bypass ball valves and such that are now part of newer cars.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Having gone without power for 4 months after Irma and Maria, let me give my advice. If you can afford an inverter unit, get one. They are much quieter, and put out pure sine power which won't screw up your electronics. A generator, on the other hand, puts out "dirty" power with dips and peaks, and it can especially be bad for your computer or cell phone. If you can't afford that, then I recommend getting a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Source) and use the generator to keep it charged, and use it to run your cell phone and laptop. Use a surge protector for the refrigerator.

The one thing you want to run that's going to draw a lot of power is the heater blower. It is likely going to be 220 and pull a lot of amps. If not for this one item, a 4000 watt would be perfect. The one thing I learned through my long power outage was not to get too big of a generator. Although generators do have throttles that go up and down with power demand changes, basically you don't want to have to fuel a larger generator if you don't need it. A larger generator will still have a larger engine and will burn more fuel. It's better to get one exactly suited to your power demand. It was especially nice when we had to go wait in line for hours to get fuel. The less we had to get fuel, the better.

You might find one that uses dual fuel- LP gas and gasoline. I would consider that simply because it gives you another option if gas stations run out of fuel, but please take note- they burn a LOT of propane. I was surprised to see how much they burn. I was considering getting one, but when I saw the fuel burn, I decided to stick with my gasoline generator for now. It was very hard to get propane after the storms, but at the same time stations were running out of fuel- so it was kind of darned if you do, darned if you don't. I liked the idea of running either LP Gas or Gasoline.

That's my $0.02.

[Mike Cutler]

Malcolm

4 months without power still amazes me.

I didn't exactly follow your advice on generator sizing. After we lost power for only 4 days last fall, my wife had had it. The 4000 watt generator just didn't keep up, especially because for the first time we had to run one of the electric baseboard heaters in the house to keep our parrots warm.
I bought a Generac 17500 simply because it has a 50 amp outlet and I could just feed the whole panel. In retrospect I probably would change that decision to a Generac XP10000. Smaller engine, cleaner sine wave output, cost is about equal, and it too has a 50 amp outlet. ( Maybe the 50 amp outlet is new for this year. I thought I was pretty thorough looking last fall, but looking at generators and spec's online, things can get a little fuzzy after a while.)

I know it's an old thread, but someone is going to be looking for a generator this fall during hurricane season. Maybe continuing this thread will help that person make a more informed decision.

[James Waldron]

After a three week outage with only a 3KW portable Honda, (the last and longest in a long series of local outages that victimized us) we put in a 15KW Generac with an automatic transfer switch running on a 500 gal. propane tank. Good for whole-house service 24X7, calculated to be good for up to 30 days, plus we use the propane for cooking, too. Last summer, we were also visited by Irma and the local utility had an outage that lasted 8 days for us. Nothing like Malcolm's situation, but bad enough for some folks around us. We don't get victimized any more.

Based on our experience, I suggest that whatever genset you choose, a substantial fuel store is a very important consideration.


That mandates natural gas if you can get it, propane if natural gas isn't available.
Diesel is messy, smelly and hard to get delivered; it does work okay.
Gasoline is very dangerous stuff and I suggest you should avoid it if possible. You're not going to find any delivery sources and gas stations are likely to be out of power, too, so you may be counting on a large brick once your on-hand supply runs out.

Whatever your fuel choice, make sure you fill up at the beginning of the hazard season if you have one. (Hurricanes, tornados and, to a degree, Spring floods and forest fires are seasonal. Earthquakes not so much.)

That said, I suggest that a whole-house capacity is worth it: they are quieter, more efficient and always ready to go. They will make your home more comfortable for everyone and will please your bride. Peace will reign and you will be a hero in your castle. Sizing is a matter of math and deciding what you want to run and what you're willing to do without. Maker sure you have enough to handle start-up surges if you have any such equipment (air handler?), but extra capacity isn't a good thing. It's just extra cost with no return on investment and higher operating costs. Don't forget to allow for your shop lighting. You don't need to worry about shop machines, but even hand tool work needs light.

In some situations, an automatic transfer switch and autostart may be an extravagance. OTOH, if the need arises at 2 o 3 AM, in a hurricane, with rain coming "down" at 2 inches per hour and debris being swirled around in 110 MPH wind, you won't want to be running outside to start the generator. It won't be much better in the morning, but at least you'll be able to see what you're doing (if your wife is willing to wait that long). With the automatic system, the thunk of the transfer switch will wake you up, you'll hear the low growl of the genset starting up, and then you'll roll over and go back to sleep.

[Mike Cutler]

James

Good points all, but I went with gasoline for the following reason.

During Sandy we lost power for 9 days. The natural gas plant in town also lost power and for some reason, I still don't understand, without electricity they couldn't distribute natural gas. I have been putting some type of gas through a pipe my whole life and still don't understand that one. Regardless, they should have had a backup generator system. They may have one now as they got sued by some very large businesses here in town.
Propane in Connecticut is like the wild west. There are very few consumer protection laws concerning propane in this state. The governor had to sign a law into effect that during power outages, a person could get their propane tanks filled by any supplier licensed in the state. You did not have to wait on your supplier. It was bad the price gouging and game playing was total BS. Propane is normally twice the national average here.
Diesel would have been my first choice, but I have no diesel powered equipment at my house. Not even the house is heated with fuel oil. I would have basically had to store diesel with no way to rotate it out and keep it viable in the container.
Gasoline works for me. Between our two cars the truck, tractor, and various lawn equipment, I always have 50-60 gallons of gas at the house in the tanks, which is easy enough to get out. I also have eight 5 gallon gas cans that I can rotate to the vehicles and always keep it "fresh". I might have to drive 50 or 60 miles to get gas, but that's doable.

I really looked into complete standby units and wanted to install one badly, but the cost to install was going to be between $12K and $14K, and put me dependent on propane.
We're not that hurricane prone in New England. I worry more about ice damage in the winter. Of course we have Eversource as a power distributor ,and if the wind blows they get everyone in a panic about falling trees taking out power. Snow and wind and they lose their minds.

[Bill Dufour]

Any thoughts on the whole house battery system being pushed by Musk? I have a feeling that their life time will not be that long and you would not know they have lost capacity until you need it.
Bil lD.

[Ronald Blue]

James

Good points all, but I went with gasoline for the following reason.

During Sandy we lost power for 9 days. The natural gas plant in town also lost power and for some reason, I still don't understand, without electricity they couldn't distribute natural gas. I have been putting some type of gas through a pipe my whole life and still don't understand that one. Regardless, they should have had a backup generator system. They may have one now as they got sued by some very large businesses here in town.
Propane in Connecticut is like the wild west. There are very few consumer protection laws concerning propane in this state. The governor had to sign a law into effect that during power outages, a person could get their propane tanks filled by any supplier licensed in the state. You did not have to wait on your supplier. It was bad the price gouging and game playing was total BS. Propane is normally twice the national average here.
Diesel would have been my first choice, but I have no diesel powered equipment at my house. Not even the house is heated with fuel oil. I would have basically had to store diesel with no way to rotate it out and keep it viable in the container.
Gasoline works for me. Between our two cars the truck, tractor, and various lawn equipment, I always have 50-60 gallons of gas at the house in the tanks, which is easy enough to get out. I also have eight 5 gallon gas cans that I can rotate to the vehicles and always keep it "fresh". I might have to drive 50 or 60 miles to get gas, but that's doable.

I really looked into complete standby units and wanted to install one badly, but the cost to install was going to be between $12K and $14K, and put me dependent on propane.
We're not that hurricane prone in New England. I worry more about ice damage in the winter. Of course we have Eversource as a power distributor ,and if the wind blows they get everyone in a panic about falling trees taking out power. Snow and wind and they lose their minds.

Mike if you buy your own propane tank then it can be filled by anyone. Otherwise it's proprietary and the company that owns the tank is the only one who (except in your situation where a temporary law was signed) can fill it. However if you have it sitting there filled and ready to go I'm not sure where the gouging comes into play. The nice thing about propane is it doesn't need rotated out to keep it fresh and ready. Even if your propane costs are double what they are here it's still less expensive than gasoline. However unless your system is dual fuel it doesn't much matter now. Hopefully you won't have much need for it.

[Bill Dufour]

Propane really is not practical for a portable generator. the small tanks may not be able to flow enough gas to run an engine continuously without freezing up. A NG tank is too heavy and hard to find a place that can fill them to be a serous portable alternative.
Bil lD

[Ronald Blue]

Propane really is not practical for a portable generator. the small tanks may not be able to flow enough gas to run an engine continuously without freezing up. A NG tank is too heavy and hard to find a place that can fill them to be a serous portable alternative.
Bil lD

It's very practical. I have a 1000 gallon propane tank in my back yard. No the tank off your grill isn't going to be practical but no propane supplier is going to come fill a portable tank for you either. Larger tanks are available in 100-125, 250, 500, and 1000 gallon sizes and readily available for such uses.
https://www.gasteconline.com/img.php?f=Photo_Feb_03_1_23_20_PM.jpg&w=300&h=225

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Any thoughts on the whole house battery system being pushed by Musk? I have a feeling that their life time will not be that long and you would not know they have lost capacity until you need it.
Bil lD.

I have been saving up for an off-grid solar system. Sadly, I have to redo my roof before I can install one, so that will add to the cost. The local company here pushes the Tesla battery. I have some friends that have installed them, and our church is about to install them. The advantage of the Tesla battery is that it includes the inverter. The disadvantage is that I'm not sure if you can replace just the batteries and not the whole unit. I like the Tesla because lithium ion batteries are much more efficient than other options, but the flip side is they are much more costly. Everything is a trade-off, isn't it? I am skeptical of the Tesla battery life. They do design the system to be overpowered to compensate for battery output decline over time. The battery is a big cost- $6,000 each.

As for loss of capacity- the battery/inverter monitors the output and battery life, so you will have an indication of how well the battery is performing, giving you an indication of when it will need replacing.

[Bill Dufour]

It's very practical. I have a 1000 gallon propane tank in my back yard. No the tank off your grill isn't going to be practical but no propane supplier is going to come fill a portable tank for you either. Larger tanks are available in 100-125, 250, 500, and 1000 gallon sizes and readily available for such uses.
https://www.gasteconline.com/img.php?f=Photo_Feb_03_1_23_20_PM.jpg&w=300&h=225

The op title did say "portable". I bet towing that tank, full, on a trailer will get the highway patrol excited. Might get into restrictions about tunnels etc.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Sheesh. We had suffered outages such that I was beginning to think some third world countries had more reliable power. In two years we had almost ten days of outages in full day to four day spells. Nothing frosts me more than having my power go out because the happy harry homeowner up the road planted a silver maple under the power line 15 years ago. Frankly, I think such idiots whould be reequired to reimburse the power company and neighbors for repairs same as if they ran off the road and busted off a power pole. I am tired of paying the price for such fools.

We looked into getting a whole house propane unit. to do everything but airconditioning, we would need a 9600 watt unit costing in the range of 10K We need 220 to operate the well. We can survive on bottled water, but I need over 200 gallons a day for the livestock. So I got a 6000 watt unit at Harbor Freight. It has somewhere around 300 hours on it. Noisy, but handles the well, a few lights, the freezers, the TV set and most importantly, Mrs'. Coffee maker. We have several redundancies for back up. Propane stove, coleman camp stove, gas grill, wood grill. Electric lights, flash lights, kerosene lights (with special smokeless fuel) and candles. Whenever a storm is coming, we fill a dozen gallon jugs with potable water. In the old house we had a 1930's kerosene cook stove on the enclosed porch for Mrs. to do her canning. It came in handy for making meals during outages too. One thing I lost when the old house burned was an Aladdin oil lamp with shade. It threw four times the light of a normal kerosene light. I am considering a PTO powered generator now, that we got a brand new diesel tractor. A buddy has a work truck with a built in generator that runs off the diesel engine. He just runs a few cords out to his truck.

[Ronald Blue]

The op title did say "portable". I bet towing that tank, full, on a trailer will get the highway patrol excited. Might get into restrictions about tunnels etc.

Actually your wrong. That is a DOT approved tank. It's also placarded if you notice. You can have quick disconnects if you want to remove the generator for whatever reason. The OP was also 8 years ago and the post has evolved into permanent installations for the most part. As I said propane is a far better choice than gasoline if it will work in your application. No need to rotate the reserve tanks out to keep it fresh. Natural gas would be even better but not everyone has access to it.

[Bill Dufour]

I have a kerosene lamp and a few things that use kero. I switched to jet fuel wehn it got hard to find kero. price is about the same as gasoline and jet fuel has very little smell.
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

As far as the big propane tanks I thought if more then 115 gallons they require a hazmat license to transport. Must cost extra to have a tank built with baffles etc as needed for transport. Of cour emy info is probably out of date and out of state.
Bill D