Generators

[Frederick]

I like it when the power goes out. I have a fireplace, and it gives me an excuse to read some books...

Having said that, the cost of running a generator is probably more than it's worth to run the whole house. Just decide what you want to run and you can get a generator from there.

 

[Perplexed]

Having said that, the cost of running a generator is probably more than it's worth to run the whole house. Just decide what you want to run and you can get a generator from there.

I agree. In the winter, my primary concern is to keep the electric blower going on my NG furnace. All else can wait.

 

[Shadowrider]

As someone w/33+ years in the trade & a licensed Electrical contractor in OK & Master in TX, I have been inspecting industrial projects & oil & gas for about the last 10yrs or so. Usually, your best bet would be to hire a licensed electrician to do the connections & many places it's illegal for homeowners to DIY. Licensed contractors own the liability, just in case. That said...they may NOT necessarily have the knowledge, merely because they have a license! I have seen some CRAP trying to be passed off!

Since I work out of state most always & seldom home when these power problems show up...I have a Generac 22kW on my house. Auto transfer switch, 500Gal propane tank & it cycles every week automatically. I even had the distributor install it so it would extend my warranty 5 more years! Very nice piece of mind living in these parts!

That's only about 10 days of runtime at 50% load. I hope you have a best friend that owns a propane company. If I were in the boonies (I wish I were), I'd be looking at diesel or looking for a NG line to tap into. These standby generators are almost too expensive to run on propane but if I had to I would. They are much more reasonable if you have natural gas service.

 

[Hobbes]

Couple of different ways to approach this.

One way is to only power the bare necessities,. furnace, fridge, medical devices, maybe a tv or a fan in warm weather.
The other way is the whole home approach trying to replace a lost/failed utility system.

The second option requires prodigious amounts of fuel for more than a few days and can quickly become a new mission in its own right.

 

[Frederick]

Couple of different ways to approach this.

One way is to only power the bare necessities,. furnace, fridge, medical devices, maybe a tv or a fan in warm weather.
The other way is the whole home approach trying to replace a lost/failed utility system.

The second option requires prodigious amounts of fuel for more than a few days and can quickly become a new mission in its own right.

Third option is just to get a fireplace put in and some books. haha.

If you've got medical devices that require power, that's a different story. Fridge i can understand.

Probably better off without the T.V. That's just my preference, though.

 

[Hobbes]

Third option is just to get a fireplace put in and some books. haha.

If you've got medical devices that require power, that's a different story. Fridge i can understand.

Probably better off without the T.V. That's just my preference, though.

I went 6 days without power and NG after the May 3 1999 tornado in Moore.

Used a 3500 watt generator to keep the fridge cold, make coffee, and watch some of the news coverage following that F5 monster.
It helps to make things seem somewhat normal and connected to the outside world.

 

[Frederick]

I went 6 days without power and NG after the May 3 1999 tornado in Moore.

Used a 3500 watt generator to keep the fridge cold, make coffee, and watch some of the news coverage following that F5 monster.
It helps to make things seem somewhat normal and connected to the outside world.

I've been in a situation like that before, in Florida after a hurricane wrecked a bunch of stuff. We had a radio with plenty of batteries. No natural gas stoves in Florida, though. Not like here.

 

[Hobbes]

I've been in a situation like that before, in Florida after a hurricane wrecked a bunch of stuff. We had a radio with plenty of batteries. No natural gas stoves in Florida, though. Not like here.

In many situations a battery powered radio will be fine for news and info.

In this particular case tho it was helpful to see the TV coverage, especially the aerial footage of the tornado path, in order for me to estimate in my own mind how extensive the damage was and how long it would probably take to restore services.
Officials usually won't comment on how long it might take and even when they do you can take their press briefings with a large grain of salt.

After viewing the aerial footage of the tornado path my own guesstimate was 10-14 days without power.
I was pleasantly surprised when power came back on after only 6 days.
It took another couple of days to get the NG service restored tho.
That was in the heart of Moore. People on the outskirts probably waited a few more days.

Some people using a CPAP machine can get by using a deep discharge battery and inverter.
Pellet stoves can frequently be powered the same way if the inverter is pure sine wave instead of modified sine wave.
Oxygen concentrators require substantially more power.

 

[Frederick]

In many situations a battery powered radio will be fine for news and info.

In this particular case tho it was helpful to see the TV coverage, especially the aerial footage of the tornado path, in order for me to estimate in my own mind how extensive the damage was and how long it would probably take to restore services.
Officials usually won't comment on how long it might take and even when they do you can take their press briefings with a large grain of salt.

After viewing the aerial footage of the tornado path my own guesstimate was 10-14 days without power.
I was pleasantly surprised when power came back on after only 6 days.
It took another couple of days to get the NG service restored tho.
That was in the heart of Moore. People on the outskirts probably waited a few more days.

Some people using a CPAP machine can get by using a deep discharge battery and inverter.
Pellet stoves can frequently be powered the same way if the inverter is pure sine wave instead of modified sine wave.
Oxygen concentrators require substantially more power.

My preference is to save the extra money of a generator by just using the fireplace, an emergency radio and so on. If you would prefer the comfort of a generator, or need it for medical devices, that's a totally legitimate choice. I'm a young, healthy guy. If i were older, Richer or needed to power medical devices, that may not be an option.

Hurricanes are a whole other deal than tornadoes. I question the actual usefulness of seeing the T.V. vs a radio, personally.

 

[Hobbes]

My preference is to save the extra money of a generator by just using the fireplace, an emergency radio and so on. If you would prefer the comfort of a generator, or need it for medical devices, that's a totally legitimate choice. I'm a young, healthy guy. If i were older, Richer or needed to power medical devices, that may not be an option.

Hurricanes are a whole other deal than tornadoes. I question the actual usefulness of seeing the T.V. vs a radio, personally.

Hurricane is a widespread event over very large area.
Tornados are a different animal.

Besides