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Post by PaulKay on Jan 11, 2020 11:32:48 GMT -5
I have been debating getting one just in case. But every time it comes down to cost vs likelihood it’ll ever be needed.
I’m wondering how many have decided it’s worth it to have one on hand. How many have had to use theirs?
Then there’s the question of gasoline vs propane. A generator is only as useful when there is assurance of adequate fuel during power outages.
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Post by Marshall on Jan 11, 2020 12:13:29 GMT -5
Oh I keep thinking of getting one. I'd get s simple one that could run the refirgerator and the sump pump. I'd have to maunally plug it in.
My next door neighbors have a fancy one sitting on a pad between our houses. His is fueled by natural gas and has an automatic transfer switch. That's EXPENSIVE stuff. But then he's a guy that has 3 Mercedes, a 1970 Corvette and a Maserati. So there's that.
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Post by drlj on Jan 11, 2020 12:21:32 GMT -5
Some of my neighbors have them. None have ever had to come on in the four years we’ve been here, other than the one across the street that the owner runs every 6 months or so just to be sure it works.
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Post by TKennedy on Jan 11, 2020 12:33:56 GMT -5
Living in the “country” with our own well I think about it all the time especially in winter.
We have been in the same house for 42 years though and have never had a power outage that lasted long enough to cause concern.
I still think about it all the time however at age 75 the odds are that we’ll squeak through without one😃
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Post by Cornflake on Jan 11, 2020 12:41:41 GMT -5
Paul, we've been in this house for thirty years. In the early years we would sometimes lose power during the monsoon for up to five hours. I had a lantern for such evenings. In recent years it has never been more than two hours and there are far fewer outages. SRP got better at dealing with these things.
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Post by majorminor on Jan 11, 2020 13:08:24 GMT -5
I’ve got 2 of the Honda 2Ks and 1 of the Honda Euro 3Ks and can link 2 together. The house is minimally wired to run off a generator (not enough power for well pump and showers though) and I can keep lights and fridge/ freezer going with 2 linked Hondas. The most real world use I’ve gotten was working in places with no power using it to run power tools. Sometimes you want to use a grinder or a sawzall around the place so it’s easy to strap a generator to an ATV and bring the power with you.
I like the idea of having one around in a prepper sort of way. If the asteroid hits I want to have a way to power a blender y’ know?
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Post by epaul on Jan 11, 2020 13:23:41 GMT -5
I have one on the farm (I'm on my second one). I've needed twice. In late March of '97, I needed it for close to a week (hell of a storm. Three weeks later, Grand Forks flooded. We didn't know it at the time, but it was due to climate change).
I have a throw out switch on the powerline transformer into the farm. If/when the power goes, I throw the switch and plug the generator into an outlet in the shed use it to power the house. I have enough juice to run a couple heaters, the water pump, and lights (I also have a propane heater and a gas stove/fireplace). I cycle usage. For example, when I'm running the water pump to fill the tank, I turn off heaters and I don't heat unused rooms.)
When the power returns, I shut off the generator and throw the switch open on the transformer.
I don't recall the wattage of my unit offhand and it's at farm right now and I'm not. But, it is a portable unit with, I think, a 20 or 25 hp Honda. I start it up several times a year and run whatever gas is in the tank out and then add some fresh gas and Seafoam. Keep fresh gas handy, enough to run for however long you think you might want to (I usually have a couple hundred gallons on hand in one of the farm tanks).
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Post by coachdoc on Jan 11, 2020 13:30:28 GMT -5
I'm on one. It ran for 3 days once. Would not have enjoyed being without it. Just now we had another outage. It didn't pop on. Needs a battery to turn it over. The battery is dead. Will be replaced Monday. Only so so service. Luckily the power was only out for an hour. This is the first time it has failed me. I love it.
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Post by aquaduct on Jan 11, 2020 13:31:33 GMT -5
Never had one. Always been a city kid and never needed it. Current sub was built in the 90s with underground electricity. Don't anticipate ever needing one.
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Post by brucemacneill on Jan 11, 2020 13:36:53 GMT -5
I have a 5.5K Honda I got the day before the first hurricane we saw here. I do start it now and then to make sure it works but I've never needed it for a storm, knock on wood. I give any outage we have 2 hours to get fixed and so far they've always made it within 2 hours. I just know that if I sold it, I'd need it the next day.
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Post by Hobson on Jan 11, 2020 13:49:27 GMT -5
We own two, both gasoline powered. The small 120V would run the refrigerator and some lights. We bought the 240V strictly to run the well pump. Bad part about having a private well is that no electricity = no water. We've had many outages over the years at the rural home that we're selling. Some as long as 8 hours. But nothing very long since we bought the second generator. We'll leave that with the house for the next owners. Weather there is on the mild side in summer compared to Phoenix or Tucson. And there's a wood fireplace for winter. Bought both generators at Costco.
Next door neighbors there went all out and put in a propane generator that can run about half of their house.
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Post by Dave Poor on Jan 11, 2020 14:05:46 GMT -5
We have the little Honda 1kw generator. We got it to charge Lorraine's power wheelchair on camping trips. It's way, way more campground-friendly than running an inverter off the van's alternator. It works great. Our house power has never gone off long enough to turn it on at home. It would certainly run a couple of laptops and our various device chargers, along with the one for the wheelchair. As far as the other essential, running a blender, check out Daiquiri Whacker
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 11, 2020 16:14:21 GMT -5
I have one on the farm (I'm on my second one). I've needed twice. In late March of '97, I needed it for close to a week (hell of a storm. Three weeks later, Grand Forks flooded. We didn't know it at the time, but it was due to climate change). I have a throw out switch on the powerline transformer into the farm. If/when the power goes, I throw the switch and plug the generator into an outlet in the shed use it to power the house. I have enough juice to run a couple heaters, the water pump, and lights (I also have a propane heater and a gas stove/fireplace). I cycle usage. For example, when I'm running the water pump to fill the tank, I turn off heaters and I don't heat unused rooms.) When the power returns, I shut off the generator and throw the switch open on the transformer. I don't recall the wattage of my unit offhand and it's at farm right now and I'm not. But, it is a portable unit with, I think, a 20 or 25 hp Honda. I start it up several times a year and run whatever gas is in the tank out and then add some fresh gas and Seafoam. Keep fresh gas handy, enough to run for however long you think you might want to (I usually have a couple hundred gallons on hand in one of the farm tanks). I think if one were to have one, it seems essential to have a generator transfer switch installed in the house first. Similar to what you have. Those can run $300-500 to have professionally installed. Then you’d have control over what gets powered and easy switchover.
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Post by PaulKay on Jan 11, 2020 16:18:39 GMT -5
Paul, we've been in this house for thirty years. In the early years we would sometimes lose power during the monsoon for up to five hours. I had a lantern for such evenings. In recent years it has never been more than two hours and there are far fewer outages. SRP got better at dealing with these things. Yes, that’s the “how likely you’ll ever need it question”.
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Post by Marshall on Jan 11, 2020 16:22:57 GMT -5
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Post by brucemacneill on Jan 11, 2020 16:23:21 GMT -5
I have one on the farm (I'm on my second one). I've needed twice. In late March of '97, I needed it for close to a week (hell of a storm. Three weeks later, Grand Forks flooded. We didn't know it at the time, but it was due to climate change). I have a throw out switch on the powerline transformer into the farm. If/when the power goes, I throw the switch and plug the generator into an outlet in the shed use it to power the house. I have enough juice to run a couple heaters, the water pump, and lights (I also have a propane heater and a gas stove/fireplace). I cycle usage. For example, when I'm running the water pump to fill the tank, I turn off heaters and I don't heat unused rooms.) When the power returns, I shut off the generator and throw the switch open on the transformer. I don't recall the wattage of my unit offhand and it's at farm right now and I'm not. But, it is a portable unit with, I think, a 20 or 25 hp Honda. I start it up several times a year and run whatever gas is in the tank out and then add some fresh gas and Seafoam. Keep fresh gas handy, enough to run for however long you think you might want to (I usually have a couple hundred gallons on hand in one of the farm tanks). I think if one were to have one, it seems essential to have a generator transfer switch installed in the house first. Similar to what you have. Those can run $300-500 to have professionally installed. Then you’d have control over what gets powered and easy switchover. I got a quote for a transfer switch a couple of years ago and it was $1500, so I don't have one. I think it was Rick who pointed out a switch box that mounts behind the meter and is easy to install. I checked with the power company here and they aren't legal here. If I was up against it, there's 220 in the garage and I could construct a cable to plug into it, just remember to flip the connection from the breaker box to the outside line first so as not to fry a lineman or something.
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Post by Marty on Jan 11, 2020 18:38:39 GMT -5
Todd bought a real nifty electric one.
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Post by david on Jan 11, 2020 18:54:49 GMT -5
Bought a used Generac 5000 watt at an estate sale about 7 years ago. Have not started it since my purchase. I hope it runs if I need it and that someone brings some gas by.
We have lost power 3 times in the 40 years that we have lived in our suburban area. The longest period without power was 4 days and I lost about 1/4 of a beef and some venison. Since then we got rid of our freezer. The most useful purpose might be to have it run our gas furnace/fan, but I would have no idea how to wire it to do that.
Since I rarely play electric guitar, I am not certain why I might need a generator.
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Post by RickW on Jan 11, 2020 20:41:54 GMT -5
We’ve been getting worse and worse wind storms over the years. Supposed to have a real doozy tonight, along with snow, (WTF, where do I live?) We have lost power several times. There was a bad storm here last year where people were out for over a week, so lost all the food in their freezers and fridges.
The problem here is the number of trees. Power company trims them back, but when a big one blows over it causes a lot of damage. Evergreen trees, at least the ones around like fir and cedar have very shallow root systems.
But... I live in a townhouse, not much I can do about it.
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Post by jdd2 on Jan 11, 2020 21:27:57 GMT -5
... simple one that could run the refirgerator and the sump pump. ... Guy I know back in CU built a house and had two sump pumps put in, one is water powered for when the elec goes off.
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