Cost to run a generator

[Shadowrider]

I have a 22KW Generac and discovered it wasn’t enough when we lost power in 2021. I have a heat exchanger along with electric resistive “emergency” heat strips (which I’d never had before). Was sitting there all fat, dumb and happy when all of a sudden the generator tripped on overload. When utility power came back on I had the Mrs switch those heat strips on while I had a Fluke clamp-meter on the line side of my ATS. Just one heating unit pulled over 80 amperes and I have three. Had to completely rethink my strategy and thankfully I have a very workable solution. There are two gas/propane fireplaces in the house and believe it or not those darn things keep the whole house toasty and then some. We used that to heat the house this past winter and only went through 100 gallons of propane for the entire season. I know that with all the other loads we’d be running between 1/4-1/2 load so I’m back in business.

Those heat strips in heat pumps and even the old school electric heating units pull a bunch of current. And our overlords tell us they're better. My 105,000 BTU gas furnace was ran at night (ETA: during the polar freeze 2-3 years ago) with my Honda EU1000i generator that holds a whopping 1 gallon of fuel and it would run all night on that. I call bull****.

They have a whole lot of work to do before they convince me that electric heat is better than gas or propane.

 

[dennishoddy]

I have a 6500w generator but I haven't used it yet since my power has never been out long enough. The main reason I have it is for the food in the fridge. I have a ton of non-electric cooking devices grills/camping stoves etc so cooking is not an issue. In Wintertime I have blankets and sleeping bags. Summertime I only worry about a lack of AC. I also have some small solar panels that will take care of my phones, light devices, and CPAP. I also have a pantry full of freeze-dried food that requires no refrigeration. So I can survive for quite a while without electricity. I think 6 hours has been my max here in OK, I did one week in the winter in WA.
BTW my generator is dual fuel propane/gas. Propane runs a bit less efficiently but propane never goes stale/bad.

Same here. I've saved all of my old camping gear for cooking and we have hurricane lanterns for short term lighting.
We lost power during an ice storm for 9 days and we did just fine, even taking in another family.
Fireplace helping for the heat, Generator for lighting, and camping gear using propane to cook.
Everyone thought it was quite the adventure and had no idea it could be done, especially the kids.
They got a great lesson in how to survive without electricity.

 

[dennishoddy]

Those heat strips in heat pumps and even the old school electric heating units pull a bunch of current. And our overlords tell us they're better. My 105,000 BTU gas furnace was ran at night (ETA: during the polar freeze 2-3 years ago) with my Honda EU1000i generator that holds a whopping 1 gallon of fuel and it would run all night on that. I call bull****.

They have a whole lot of work to do before they convince me that electric heat is better than gas or propane.

Oh, but they are targeting NOX.
It's such a tiny number that they won't actually tell the numbers, but just scream it's a pollutent and
never present the proof.
They post it makes people dumber including the kids so, now it's all about saving the kids to get rid of the gas stoves and heating.
Meanwhile in San Francisco, the no gas rule was waived for an Asian internationally known chef that wanted to open a restaurant.
Amazing....

 

[JT708]

Probably as it isn't cheap or efficient to convert one source of fuel to another.

My son lost power in Moore after the last tornado.
I loaned him my 2000 watt continuous Inverter and a battery and some jumper cables.

Ran 1 plug in off of it to keep his fish tank and fridge going and his gas central furnace blower.
It also ran the kitchen lights and living room light and plugin's so video games and TV worked.

He used his Ford Festiva to keep the power battery charged when it went down.
2 weeks and 3/4 of a tank of fuel.
That was approximately 7 gallons of fuel.

Swampratt,what brand of inverter do you have? if I may ask. We need a a back-up power source as my wife
is on oxygen 24/7. We are on a tight budgit. Thank you for any replies

 

[CHenry]

rolling blackouts today in OKC.,..

 

[golddigger14s]

Swampratt,what brand of inverter do you have? if I may ask. We need a a back-up power source as my wife
is on oxygen 24/7. We are on a tight budgit. Thank you for any replies

look into Goal Zero or similar.
Portable Power Stations, Solar Generators & Home Backup | Goal Zero{sourceid}&nb_li_ms=&nb_lp_ms=&nb_fii=&nb_ap=&nb_mt=e&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwv8qkBhAnEiwAkY-ahnOAkEocfxLRl2ovpg3v3o8kgjagFuPQY2tx8abh5SANLpcB0VV5qhoCKR8QAvD_BwE

 

[Dumpstick]

rolling blackouts today in OKC.,..

Huh?

 

[swampratt]

Swampratt,what brand of inverter do you have? if I may ask. We need a a back-up power source as my wife
is on oxygen 24/7. We are on a tight budgit. Thank you for any replies

Believe it or not it was from harbor freight the silver colored one.
I bought mine back in the year 2000 and they do not make that one anymore.
Mine has 2 plug in's and the new one has 3 and some sort of phone charger plug in.

4000 peak 2000 continuous.
I ran a chop saw cutting rebar at the same time running a 1/2" drill drilling 3 foot deep holes into railroad ties.
It did just fine. I also ran a 5000 btu window unit with it and my Mig welder on gas. which ran better on it than it did plugged into my friends house with 50 foot of 12 gauge extension cord.
That 110 mig is a Lincoln weld pack 100. His house would not run it at all just BB's For weld.

Buddy had a 1000 watt honda gas generator and was cutting 2/4's with a circular saw and the saw bogged once it got into the wood, I ran a long cord to his saw and it zipped right through .

Some of his buddies there went right to harbor freight and bought the same one.

This is what they sell now.

2000 Watt Continuous/4000 Watt Peak Modified Sine Wave Power Inverter

 

[sklfco]

Some caution might be warranted with sensitive electronics and modified size wave inverters.

Good article here. Do Modified Sine Wave Inverters Damage Electronics?

Sample from it;

If you enjoy camping, having a pure sine wave inverter for your camper is quite useful so you can run your electronics while you are in the wild. Modified sine wave inverters can be found at a great price, but there is always the potential for damage to your electronic devices—which makes it necessary to learn as much as possible before you make your purchase.

There are only two types of electronics that you need to be concerned about when using a modified sine wave inverter: appliances that use AC motors and certain classes of delicate medical equipment.

If your electronics don’t fall into either of those two categories, then it's extremely unlikely that a modified sine wave inverter will do any damage. While a pure sine wave inverter is safe for use with a wider range of devices, the greater cost associated with pure sine wave inverters isn't always worth it.

 

[alank2]

I've been using a Yamaha 3000 watt generator for 15+ years and it burns about 5 gallons of fuel a day, so I guess it costs about $15 a day to run it. Maybe a bit more for the stabil I put in the fuel. We can't run the A/C on it for sure, but it will run the NG furnace, lights, fridge, chest freezer, TV, ceiling fans, etc.