Whole Home Generator Help/Advice Needed

[KOPBET]

Make sure you (or electrician) evaluate your main panel, as it will become a sub-panel with the install of the ATS and whatever you may need to add to bring it all up to code (disconnects, etc.). As a sub-panel it will have to have the neutrals separated from the grounds with separate bus bars. I have an older split bus 150 amp main that is FULL. It was going to cost me $8-$10k just to upgrade/prepare my house for installation of an ATS before I even got started on the generator install. Ruined my plans altogether.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

Buy a Generjunk unit from Costco or Sams Club. You'll need a plumber for the natural gas line installation and an electrician to install the transfer switch and wiring.
I used to sell Generac's commercial units in another life where we gave them the name Generjunk; mainly because of the weird off-brand engines they were using.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I bought an 8500 watt continuous (10000 watt peak) Generac portable with EFI and electric start from Costco w/free shipping. I bought a manual lockout switch for my main house panel. I need to install an outdoor outlet for the generator cord to hook into the panel. It should power pretty much everything I need in the house during an outage.

I haven't installed it yet because I need to get rid of the electric stove in the kitchen (to make room in my full panel) and install a gas stove. I haven't ran the gas line yet so it's holding up the generator install.

Anyway, there are tons of YouTube videos on this. If you feel comfortable installing a breaker in a panel it's not that big of a deal to run a wire and install an outlet.

The generator was $1149. It runs on gas only but...it was $1149. So there's that. It also produces "clean" power (less than 5% THD) so it's safe to run sensitive electronics. That's pretty rare unless you get into inverter generators. That was important to me. Generac has a large support network.

I'll have less than $1500 into everything once it's installed and it should run the heater or A/C depending on the season, fridge/freezer, well pump and lights pretty easily. I wanted one that ran off propane and gas but just wasn't one in my price range. Gas will do fine for the money and how often we'll actually use it.

Once I get this thing installed we'll be set. 500 gal propane tank, well for water, generator for power. We won't be reliant on any utility company during outages. I'm a big fan of being self-sufficient as much as possible without totally going off grid.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

I bought an 8500 watt continuous (10000 watt peak) Generac portable with EFI and electric start from Costco w/free shipping. I bought a manual lockout switch for my main house panel. I need to install an outdoor outlet for the generator cord to hook into the panel. It should power pretty much everything I need in the house during an outage.

I haven't installed it yet because I need to get rid of the electric stove in the kitchen (to make room in my full panel) and install a gas stove. I haven't ran the gas line yet so it's holding up the generator install.

Anyway, there are tons of YouTube videos on this. If you feel comfortable installing a breaker in a panel it's not that big of a deal to run a wire and install an outlet.

The generator was $1149. It runs on gas only but...it was $1149. So there's that. It also produces "clean" power (less than 5% THD) so it's safe to run sensitive electronics. That's pretty rare unless you get into inverter generators. That was important to me. Generac has a large support network.

I'll have less than $1500 into everything once it's installed and it should run the heater or A/C depending on the season, fridge/freezer, well pump and lights pretty easily. I wanted one that ran off propane and gas but just wasn't one in my price range. Gas will do fine for the money and how often we'll actually use it.

Once I get this thing installed we'll be set. 500 gal propane tank, well for water, generator for power. We won't be reliant on any utility company during outages. I'm a big fan of being self-sufficient as much as possible without totally going off grid.

My only concern with a gas powered Generator is sourcing gasoline (unless you have ability to store) My thought is natural gas seems like less of a potential issue? It is literally piped to my house. Am I wrong? I mean I guess they could just as easily shut off natural gas?

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

That's what I figured. That's why I wanted one that ran on gas and propane. But, same thing with propane. Once it's in my tank, it's mine. But there's lots of potential interruptions in getting to my tank. There is a propane mod that's available for this model. There may be a natural gas mod, too. I didn't look.

I was attracted by the price, the clean power, and the ease of setup. Plus, the portability factor means I can use it for other things if needed.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

Well look at that...

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

Looks like the NG conversion kit is about $550 to $650 depending on what you want.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

Looks like the NG conversion kit is about $550 to $650 depending on what you want.

Thank you for sharing. That makes it much more enticing. Would allow me to accomplish my goal for a much fairer price

 

[Hodrod]

I purchased a Generac 22KW generator last August.....The unit runs the entire house (2650 sq ft.) with two A/C units, refrigerator, freezer, 3 tv's, washer and dryer, electric oven, microwave and lights. It runs on natural gas and has been worry free (7 year warranty). The total cost installed was $8600 and it was worth every penny......now I don't have to charge the battery bank and invertor setup or cart out the gas gen.....my old body likes it easy when possible.

 

[golddigger14s]

Do you really need a whole-house unit? I have a dual fuel 8500-watt unit that I haven't even started yet in 3+ years. My power has never been out for more than a few hours. I got it just to run the fridge so the food won't spoil. Everything else I can live without for a short time. I have plenty of stoves and BBQ's to cook with and a battery "generator" that will run my CPAP for a few days. If your power goes out that much it might be worthwhile, but if it only goes out for a few minutes to a few hours why spend that kind of money?