Home Backup Generator

[PopcornSutton]

Thanks for the comments. First, I'm not concerned about noise I'm out in the country and don't have to worry about others. JonB, I'm sure it's made in China, maybe it similar to a HF model, but one would be hard pressed to get service from HF. Thanks for the Amazon reviews, but Amazon also sells the Champion model listed, and there are negative review comments as well, and not good responses from service calls. I first looked at a Firman in Costco, then read where those have a high harmonic distortion rating, enough so there could be damage to electronics. The inverter models don't have that. I'm also aware of stacking wattage numbers, and those don't include startup loads. I guess anything now days are iffy whether you get a good one or not.

[Jeff Michel]

Honda 3000 inverter, quiet, thrifty on gas and enough to run a pump and refrigerator. I used one for years before upgrading to a Generac 22K, never a problem, even has a low oil shut off.

[Dante]

I would recommend Honda. May be a bit more price but I have had one for thirty years and have used it here and at our camp. Frugal on gasoline. Oil changed more often than Honda recommended and only synthetic. Good luck. Dave

[MrWolf]

I have not even once regretted going with my 22kw Generac standby generator with 500 gal. buried tank.

I have the 20kw I bought from Costco for about $3,700 5 years ago. Paid about $1,000 for a 500 gal propane tank. I dug the ditch to the generator. Electrician charged me about $1,500 to connect it to the transfer box and to run an overhead line about 75' to my garage and put in an RV electric connection box (just in case). Only the two of us plus dogs but I am disabled and cannot cut wood, etc to heat our place. Zero regrets so far. I had to replace the controller card this summer for about $450 but it looks like it may have been a connector that worked its way loose. I did the repair and kept the old one just in case. Overall cost were very reasonable for peace of mind, especially being remote. Good luck.
Ron

[Blkpwdrbuff]

You guys with Generacs, I hope you have good luck.
I used to work on concrete lifting foam outfits.
They ran Generac 17.5 KW units. What a ***!!
I can't count how many we replaced in the last 10-15 years.
Personally, I'd run like a cut cat from Generacs.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Blkpwdrbuff

[.429&H110]

It's a big subject.
I had a Honda 3000, bet my house on it at thirty below, worked great. Noisy.
One outage was all night in North Pole AK and it was cold that night.
People's houses freeze first under the kitchen sink, open the doors. Antifreeze the boiler.
(you only need to antifreeze a heating system to 10F then it won't split)
(want to test your antifreeze? put some in your freezer, should get slushy, not freeze solid)
(copper pipes split from refreezing, each cycle jacks them bigger)

Gasoline. You are going to need to store a lot of gasoline.
Power out, gas stations out. For how long?
There is no good answer.

You live way too far north. Are any kids learning to soft solder pipes anymore?

[PopcornSutton]

After reading through the comments here, I found Generac makes portable units that fall into the same price range as the others. Their website sucks, hard to find the models. One thing I found curious, they have a 8000watt and a 9300watt. The 9300 model has the same outlets as the 8000. 2 duplex 20A GFI, and one 240V 30A. I would have thought the 240 outlet would have been a 40 since the more wattage.

I never had looked at the HF Preditor either, but they are about the same as others. All of them made in China. What makes one brand better than the other, other than parts/service?

[augercreek]

Why even have it if you won't run it in a emergency! That's when you need it!

[Moleman-]

Why even have it if you won't run it in a emergency! That's when you need it!

That's why I like the diesel units. The fuel keeps a long time, no carbs to gunk up or regulators to freeze/clog.

[georgerkahn]

I'm looking at two makes/models, both are 8750 watt inverter, WEN GN875i and Champion 100520. Not looking to power the whole house, just a few circuits and well pump. Anyone familiar with either one/brand?

A distant neighbor has the Champion -- seems pretty -- and have heard zero complaints. As a note, my late brother-in-law went on a big diatribe re "where are you going to get the gasoline?" in a major black-out, versus just about EVERY quickie-mart having cages full of propane tanks. Hence -- like Winger Ed -- I bought a dual-fuel generator (Generac) and have ONLY used propane to run it. Fred -- my b.i.l. -- also lauded that, he professed, one can run their propane generator for a few hours; turn it off; and then, three years later it will start as when brand new. NO carb to gum up!!! (This was the main reason I made the purchase! Even using more-than-recommended Sta-Bil in ethanol-free gasoline, the fuel DOES have a rather short finite life. I also have a Honda invertor generator as well as a gasoline-powered Generac, and "have been sleeping uneasy" as, albeit on my "to do it" list, these were not run and drained at summer's end. WILL they start come Spring, or, if needed during a power-failure this winter???)
Just some thoughts... If I had to do it all over again -- I'd JUST have the propane!
geo

[Markopolo]

I am also a fan of Multi fuel Generator. I run a 10k to charge up my battery bank if that power is down for more then 1 day. My battery bank keeps critical stuff running in the house for almost 9 hours which takes care of most of the usual interruptions, and ai have found that using the propane insures that my Gen is ready to roll whenever.. been using it for about 3 years now.. did I mention electric start is sooooo awesome. I have an acoustic box with insulation around it to keep the noise down. I do find that starting it up when it’s cold can be an issue with propane.. but, I keep some fresh gas in a container, and use that to do the initial startup, then switch it over to propane… never have an issue that way. I have had good luck with Firman.

[Finster101]

You guys with Generacs, I hope you have good luck.
I used to work on concrete lifting foam outfits.
They ran Generac 17.5 KW units. What a ***!!
I can't count how many we replaced in the last 10-15 years.
Personally, I'd run like a cut cat from Generacs.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Blkpwdrbuff

Since 2015 I have replaced two batteries and changed the oil in the 22 kw propane powered unit. It starts and runs a maintenance cycle every other Sunday on it's own. It has had two stretches after hurricanes Wilma and Ian where it has run for 10 day stretches without ever being powered down with zero issues. I'll take my chances with it.

[lancem]

I run two of these on the job, have had them over 2 years and have hundreds of hours on both of them and they have been great for the price just thought I'd toss them in. I'm running air compressors and welders on them all day.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP>>>

I never had looked at the HF Preditor either, but they are about the same as others. All of them made in China. What makes one brand better than the other, other than parts/service?

As I started before, you need to read customer reviews for the different China equipment...because the quality does vary from one importer to another, whatever quality they demand from the exporter. I haven't found any other way to figure out which is better, other than using customer reviews, and the quality can change as the years change. Good Luck.

Side note, I have a Harbor Freight retail store near me, so I would look closely at them first, as they have a real good return/exchange policy if the thing has a defect right out of the box. Something as big as a generator, is most likely to be a
"keep it no matter what", if you buy online with no retail store nearby.

[John Wayne]

I can't speak for the 2 brands you mention but I can say my Miller Bobcat is built more ruggedly than anything else and I weld with it too

[Rapier]

I had a full use computer run done based on actual use. By a certified installer. Would suggest you contact of the certified installer to give you a full inspection and print out on actual need +10%. My assumed need was substantially off, and the actual whole house generator was smaller and less expensive than, my presumed need for a partial house need.

Found out that starting a large generator without a certified installer present, gets you a big 0 warranty. So that buying business is only the very beginning. Did not take long to figure out the arithmetic, better off just buying from the warranty provider guys to start with.

[GONRA]

GONRA's "natural gas" GENERAC has run perfectly for over 2 decades.
Runs everything except Central Air......
Its professionally installed and maintained twice a year.....

[Whole Bunches]

We average 1 power outage longer than 30 minutes every 2 months in NW Florida rural. I have UPS’s attached to computer, tv, router, satellite dish. I have a 2kw solar generator sitting by the tv. Power goes out and I have about 15 minutes to plug tv and satellite into it…actual time needed to switch to solar generator is about 10 seconds. Now I have 2 hours before fridge gets too hot and needs plugging in. Solar generator will run those about 9-10 hours without plugging it into my extra battery. Extra LFP battery adds hours to the run time.

If enough sun, I plug solar generator into outside solar panels. No sun…I have a Honda 2400 inverter generator to recharge solar generator every six or so hours so Honda is not running constantly. Outage is gonna last a while: plug solar generator into the house wiring via a generator transfer switch so no extension cords are needed. I like fiddling with this stuff, so a hands on approach works for me.

Wife needs microwave…go ahead and run the Honda to replenish solar generator at the same time.

The best cheapest advice is buy a kilowatt meter so you know exactly what your electric needs are. Also, I only run non ethanol gas in the Honda.

[5090SS]

I have a 20kw 2/71 Detroit powered genset it's loud , but far enough away from the house that it's not a big deal .
It's also fairly easy on fuel , with a medium size load it will use about 5 gallons every 8 hours .

The problem is its 50 years old and while I trust the engine well enough it's getting hard to trust the generator end and all its associated 50 year old parts .
So I started looking for a smaller inverter generator . Almost all of the "off brand " units like the wen, champion, predator etc etc etc all come out of the same factory . I don't know how much difference you can expect as to quality between brands .

I ended up just going to harbor freight and buying a predator, I ran the break in , changed the oil .
Set up a load bank and ran one tank of fuel at half load then a tank at 90% load .
I did this to be somewhat certain it wouldn't instantly fail when I needed it .
Didn't get fancy with the load bank , just started plugging stuff in like space heaters , lights , heat gun till my clip on ammeter showed the load I was looking for .
I'd like to give a reliability report but I haven't needed it since I bought it and the only run time it gets is 10 minutes or so of exercise when ever I remember to do it .

Any chance of a few pictures of that Detroit? We did manufacture stuff here once didn't we?

[rockrat]

I bought a dual fuel Champion 9300. I keep Avgas in the tank for initial starting. Haven't needed it yet, knock on wood.