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Back up Generator

3K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  hndlbarmonkey 
#1 ·
What are you guys using...

I'm concerned about lossing power for hours, days or even weeks..in below freezing temps.

Old house have a wood furnace for a back up, as most do in this area.. new house doesn't even have a chimmey.

I could buy a gas generator and have no gas.... grand kids..

or buy a PTO generator for my diesel tractor.
 
#2 ·
I was thinking about getting a Propane one for my new house. Since it has a Propane fireplace,I'll already have the fuel on hand for the generator.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Generac 20KW whole house generator. Just intalled on at my dads house. It will run the entire house, plus one of the 2 heat pumps. He too has a propane fire place, so it was an easy decision to get one. I thought they cost too much, but my dad, being the wise one, told me that $4000 for a generator is far less painfull than listening to a cold bitching woman in the dark;)



On a plus side I get his 15KW gas generator. I just need to go through the engine
 
#4 ·
Tractor pto is a good way and some of the older ones the HZs were a little coarse for electronics but the new ones are much better because of automation and electronics in feeding barns milking etc so that should not be a problem anymore shotgun.
 
#5 ·
We have a small 5000 watt 5hp honda 120v gen.

I have a ng gaslog in the living room.
mollivolt system-requiers no external power--just gas.
With a few fans--it heats the whole house.
So we use the gen for fans,fridge ,tv ,lights small appliances--even the washing machine.:D
Since I bought it and set up the wireing--we haven`t lost power:rolleyes:
 
#20 ·
We have a small 5000 watt 5hp honda 120v gen.

I have a ng gaslog in the living room.
mollivolt system-requiers no external power--just gas.
With a few fans--it heats the whole house.
So we use the gen for fans,fridge ,tv ,lights small appliances--even the washing machine.:D
Since I bought it and set up the wireing--we haven`t lost power:rolleyes:
I have a 5000 honda 120v and only run a few things on it bought it 4 years ago and never used it.I guess the time will come I hope:lol:
 
#7 · (Edited)
good question...

I was going to wire a 220 line out to my garage, two pole breaker..

when the power went out, I was going to turn the main breaker off and plug into this line from my generator... generator would power the breaker box but with the main off, it wouldn't back feed into the main power line.. I think... and the two pole breaker that I'm now suppling power to would act as the main breaker feeding both sides of the box..

Just my idea, not sure if it's legal or will work..:lol: Any electricians here?

I have a 10,000 generator/welder now, but the only way that would keep you warm is hauling gas to it..:eek:

I was thinking of PTO generator like Jim says, my three cyclinder desiel John Deere would probably run for quite a while on a tank of fuel, I mowed all last summer on one tank of fuel. I just hate to put hours on a tractor just setting.

Propane would also work, have a tank now for the pool heater, but it cost like heck, here in the north.

Will the home service type, start on their own when the power goes off?
 
#9 ·
if you have the option of contacts to start the generator from a signal they should start and transfer to generator automatically. At least in an ATS situation and they'll even monitor the utility power when it comes back, transfer back and run a cool down timer for the generator so your turbos don't get damaged. Sorry my nerdyness is showing I work on ATS's for a living:lol:.
 
#8 · (Edited)
You can backfeed through an outlet, such as the dryer, but very important that you cut your main breaker off before you do. My breaker panel has a rocker switch built into it for a gen hookup. when you switch that on, it automaticly kills the main power input


The home service type will start on their own like 30 seconds after power goes out, warm up for a minute, and then cuts in to the power. It will cut istself off after the power comes back on too. It even starts itself once a month to keep everything going !! And with propane fuel, there are no gummed carbs!!!!!
 
#10 ·
shotgun i got a 5500 from home depot for $499 and $100 for the back feed set up. works great. cant use the dryer but evrething else works. best bang for the buck. burns around 4 gal in 12 hours. we havent had power since thursday. last ice strom was 7 days. cheap insurance...
 
#11 ·
I run a 110 kw 3 phase with a big ATS, burns 6 gallons of diesel an hour under full load
 
#12 ·
I wired my parents place like a few mentioned....there is a welder outlet in the detached shop, so I just made a plug to use the generator to backfeed through the welder outlet and into the panel in the house. I wrote specific instructions for them to follow when doing this....if the main breaker is not shut off, the generator is running, and the power comes back on, your gonna fry all your goodies. :eek:

I like the tractor PTO idea also....one less engine to maintain, plus the diesels are more powerful and fuel efficient then the little gassers....but I had heard they are not consistent enough to run electronics....from JIm's post it sounds like they have improved them a lot.

If I had the extra cash I would go get a Honda 3000 watt inverter....enough to run the basics at home and also light and quiet enough to take camping or to the pits at the races...
 
#15 ·
Lol, yeah for business, no didn't steal it, well only gave 3000 for it. Few things about fueling....diesel, if you don't have electricity most likely neither does the gas stations, roads passable to go get diesel. I have capacity to store 2000 gallons, but diesel isn't best for long time storage.
Natural gas is great, the biggest problem people had with natural gas down her during Katrina was when trees toppled and the root system broke the gas lines.
Another choice is LPG, I know a few that have buried big tanks in their yard, doesn't suffer the long term storage problems you have with diesel
 
#19 ·
Damn, I feel like a *******. Just got a 5500 watt generator under a cover off to the side off the front porch (wife isn't too crazy about it:lol:). We don't lose power very often, just once for about 12 hours this winter, and once last winter when a tree fell in front of my house and took the lines down:eek:). Power goes off - just wheel it to the front door, run a few heavy duty cords, and I'm good to go. I really should wire in a box to the house wiring, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
 
#23 ·
You say 5000 120 v.. do they sell 5000 with 220 v.?

wouldn't you need 220 to run both sides of your panel?

Stove and Dryer would be the only 220???
I have a 5000 watt (120/240v) with a Tecumseh 10hp. Nothing fancy, but it does the job. My next one will have a Honda engine.
I'm still too cheap; no transfer panel, just lots of extension cords. I have a wood furnace, so I just hook a wire up to the blower motor and force it to run all the time. The house stays toasty warm.
 
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