Generators

[IDBillzFan]

2 minutes ago, Sherpa said:

 

Not sure what KW capacity you had installed, but my 22KW, installed last year and powers the entire house with very minor common sense management.

Ended up at about the $8K range, all in.

Purchased the Generac 22KW, had a licensed gas guy connect the plumbing, and an electrician do the connection to the two transfer panels and the CB service panels.

I was quoted abut $12k from a whole house generator outfit, but did it my way.

 

Yeah, the difference is I bought mine including full install with wall panel, gas connection, etc, from my electrician. Full service is made for guys like me. No way I was going to direct that project to completion, even if it meant saving 7K.

[MothersMilk]

6 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  Sorry, but I have to comment.  Plenty of items such as mowers, generators, and grills along with power tools get stolen.  It's not some guy from the inner city kicking in doors or doing daring raids but usually somebody you know operating in stealth or that somebody you know inadvertently mentioning it to crooks.  I have been on the end of being a victim to such a situation.  It would be pretty dumb to think that you are impervious to crime.  

Sucks that you were robbed. Really it just depends on where you live... possibly the actual area around. I've been in the same house for 24 years and there has been no crime of any kind here in that time. If someone lives in an area that is prone to it just hide an air pod or something similar in/on it. But I get it... once bitten twice shy. 

 

 

[Taro T]

Back when the Labor Day storm hit Ra-cha-cha ('99?) were staying in Buffalo for a couple of days staying w/ the 'rents because we had very small children & the neighborhood was nearly as torn up as Baton Rouge was when Andrew had a direct hit.

 

Just on a lark went to the OP Home Depot & bought the 2nd last 5.5kW portable generator they had.  We were back home, up & running that evening.

 

Don't use it often, but when we need it, we need it.  It was well worth what we paid.

 

In a few years we might buy a permanent on-demand generator, but haven't seen the need for it yet.

 

Of course, we can heat the house w/ wood & have all sorts of ways to cook food outside.  So, 4 or so extension cords get us by.

[RochesterRob]

1 hour ago, MothersMilk said:

Sucks that you were robbed. Really it just depends on where you live... possibly the actual area around. I've been in the same house for 24 years and there has been no crime of any kind here in that time. If someone lives in an area that is prone to it just hide an air pod or something similar in/on it. But I get it... once bitten twice shy. 

 

 

  My area is not crime ridden but there are plenty of dirtbags waiting to pounce.  I suspect family for a couple of things based on disputes that have gone on for decades.  Probably pisses them off that myself or the wife is home most times of the day currently.  Monitoring a situation concerning my father where he loaned something of his out and its been a year and a half since I have seen it.  Got all the info off of the data plate if the old man passes I'm coming for his property.  

Edited June 17, 2022 by RochesterRob

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

7 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  You really should not take blindshots as to what you need for wattage.  It is simple math.  Just add up the wattage of the crucial items in your house then decide if you want to cover all the bases.  So many people just opt for the 5000 watt special at Lowe's then are disappointed that it cannot handle the electric stove, refrigerator, furnace, base board heater(s), electric water heater, and etc. all at the same time.  Then dad goes into melt down when the wife and kids harass him as to why the house cannot run as normal.  Honda is very good on most products but local service support is very important.  Hit or miss as to a Honda supporting dealer being close by if you need them.  One reason why I mentioned Kubota as they are supported out in the rural areas typically.  

 

Yeah, when I got a generator, we were very specific about what it would run (refrigerator, window AC unit, internet, one computer, charge cell phones, couple of lamps).  Then went a couple thousand watts above that, for incidentals.

 

Got it during the last week-long power outage, when a derecho trashed the whole area 'bout ten years ago.  Resulted in the entire grid in the county being all-but rebuilt...so haven't had an outage, or used the generator, since.  (Yes, it's stored drained of oil and gas.)

[MothersMilk]

35 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  My area is not crime ridden but there are plenty of dirtbags waiting to pounce.  I suspect family for a couple of things based on disputes that have gone on for decades.  Probably pisses them off that myself or the wife is home most times of the day currently.  Monitoring a situation concerning my father where he loaned something of his out and its been a year and a half since I have seen it.  Got all the info off of the data plate if the old man passes I'm coming for his property.  

So the idea here for your family is to Rob RochesterRob? Best of luck with that man, makes me glad that I don't have those kind of close hassles. Really, we could start a whole new thread on this kind of stuff but... generators.

 

No one I know or knows of has the full in house version... really not needed here as we don't ever have to worry about extreme cold. The thing down here is to just power the fridge and maybe a small A/C window unit... throw in a tv and a way to charge devices and that's about it... maybe a fan. Power is usually up and running in a few days with outlying area's maybe 5 or 6. 

 

My stance has always been that if someone/s can't live a little rougher than normal for a few days out of your life then you have no grit. This does Not account for those with medical needs. 

[Ann]

2 minutes ago, MothersMilk said:

So the idea here for your family is to Rob RochesterRob? Best of luck with that man, makes me glad that I don't have those kind of close hassles. Really, we could start a whole new thread on this kind of stuff but... generators.

 

No one I know or knows of has the full in house version... really not needed here as we don't ever have to worry about extreme cold. The thing down here is to just power the fridge and maybe a small A/C window unit... throw in a tv and a way to charge devices and that's about it... maybe a fan. Power is usually up and running in a few days with outlying area's maybe 5 or 6. 

 

My stance has always been that if someone/s can't live a little rougher than normal for a few days out of your life then you have no grit. This does Not account for those with medical needs. 

I have no grit. I am spoiled. My idea of roughing it is a weekend at the St Regis. I have zero desire to live through a hurricane and then wait for the power to be restored a week later. Whole. House. Generator. That was my mantra after the "October Surprise" and I was beating the drum for one the day we closed on this house in Florida. 

[MothersMilk]

15 hours ago, Ann said:

I have no grit. I am spoiled. My idea of roughing it is a weekend at the St Regis. I have zero desire to live through a hurricane and then wait for the power to be restored a week later. Whole. House. Generator. That was my mantra after the "October Surprise" and I was beating the drum for one the day we closed on this house in Florida. 

Such a pampered little baby lol. So, you were beating the drum but were you also pounding the table?

[Ann]

1 hour ago, MothersMilk said:

Such a pampered little baby lol. So, you were beating the drum but were you also pounding the table?

My husband read my comment last night, didn't blink and eye, and basically said, "yup, I know." 

 

And, he's a lucky one as all his friends married women much more high maintenance than I could ever be.   Oh, and I don't like bugs either. So glad we moved to Florida...

[MothersMilk]

27 minutes ago, Ann said:

My husband read my comment last night, didn't blink and eye, and basically said, "yup, I know." 

 

And, he's a lucky one as all his friends married women much more high maintenance than I could ever be.   Oh, and I don't like bugs either. So glad we moved to Florida...

Florida here too... just outside of Tampa. What part of the state for you? 

 

Bugs aren't really a problem with all of the anoles around, I used to have one that I could hand feed. The article mentions that they are annoying but that's bullshit... they aren't annoying at all.

 

https://newfloridians.com/florida-living/anoles-harmless-but-annoying

[Ann]

6 hours ago, MothersMilk said:

Florida here too... just outside of Tampa. What part of the state for you? 

 

Bugs aren't really a problem with all of the anoles around, I used to have one that I could hand feed. The article mentions that they are annoying but that's bullshit... they aren't annoying at all.

 

https://newfloridians.com/florida-living/anoles-harmless-but-annoying

 

Above you in Pensacola.

 

  We have a collection of dead bugs in front of our front door every few days. The leaf blower gets rid of the pile. 

 

Let's just say that we got monthly pest control. 

[MothersMilk]

2 hours ago, Ann said:

 

Above you in Pensacola.

 

  We have a collection of dead bugs in front of our front door every few days. The leave blower gets rid of the pile. 

 

Let's just say that we got monthly pest control. 

Above us? No no... yer practically an Alabamer girl now, way up around the bend.

 

If it is a front porch light that is giving you the bugs just change to a yellow bulb. I've never had pest control here ever, don't really need the extra chemicals in this/any house I've owned. This stuff works great sprinkled around the house/yard once a year (1/2 acre):

 

[Alaska Darin]

I've got a whole house Generac from a couple of generations ago.  Two things about it:  you have to keep fuses around and the battery lasts almost exactly 4 years. 

 

As others have said in the thread, they are pretty awesome.  Mine runs 12 minutes a week on a timer to exercise itself.  It comes on automatically and I know when it comes on because the transfer switch in that generation is LOUD but that's no biggie.

 

I paid about $3300 for it 15 years or so ago.  Poured the pad and then did all the work myself.  At the time they wanted about $3500 to install it.  It ended up costing me maybe $150 in wire and a weekend to get everything done the way I wanted to.  It's tapped into my home LNG supply, which costs me about 1k in capacity but it's convenient AF because as long as the fuse is good and the battery isn't dead, it starts every single time.  I'm really surprised that builders don't offer them with new houses because the markups are sick AF and they're a huge selling point with women.

[Ann]

3 hours ago, MothersMilk said:

Above us? No no... yer practically an Alabamer girl now, way up around the bend.

 

If it is a front porch light that is giving you the bugs just change to a yellow bulb. I've never had pest control here ever, don't really need the extra chemicals in this/any house I've owned. This stuff works great sprinkled around the house/yard once a year (1/2 acre):

 

 

Oh, this is definitely southern Alabama. The people are very nice. 
 

Yeah, we yellow lights outside, but the bugs are more like cockroaches and other nasty flying things. As of now, pesticides are killing them. 🙂 We do not take care of the bugs or the lawn, that is on the exterminator and lawn guys. We don’t walk on the lawn either. The golfers playing out of bounds are taking their chances. 

[Ann]

44 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

 I'm really surprised that builders don't offer them with new houses because the markups are sick AF and they're a huge selling point with women.

All the new builds in Amherst and Clarence have whole house generators. It forced a lot of people in older subdivisions to get them just to stay current. 

[CarpetCrawler]

On 6/17/2022 at 10:32 AM, Ann said:

This is the portable he bought for "just in case" before we install a whole house generator: 

Pulsar G12KBN Heavy Duty Portable Dual Fuel Generator

 

Heavier duty than I was thinking, but probably a smart buy for my needs, thanks.

 

You got it at Walmart you said, right? 

[Ann]

1 minute ago, CarpetCrawler said:

 

Heavier duty than I was thinking, but probably a smart buy for my needs, thanks.

 

You got it at Walmart you said, right? 

 

Yes, Walmart which was cheaper than Amazon.

 

It was delivered on a truck with a lift gate. It was on a pallet jack and the guy put it where we wanted it in the garage. 

[mead107]

Friend of mine has a generator business in  Burnt Hills near me. He used to work at GE. 
put 10 years in and left.  Think his brother is a partner 

 

[Ann]

1 hour ago, mead107 said:

Friend of mine has a generator business in  Burnt Hills near me. He used to work at GE. 
put 10 years in and left.  Think his brother is a partner 

 

So what does he recommend for a portable?

[Seasons1992]

On 6/17/2022 at 1:07 AM, MothersMilk said:

Walmart and Harbor Freight mostly sell low end merchandise... similar to buying a John Deere mower at Home Depot. One other thing I can mention is that if you or anyone gets a gas operated generator Always use ethanol free gasoline. Same goes with all small engine tools... weedeaters, mowers, chainsaws, etc. Ethanol isn't kind to small motors at all.

 

Use Sta-Bil in all of your small-engine gas cans and you will never have an issue with pump gas.

Ever.