Whole Home Generator

[Down South]

Since I'll be retiring in a week and a half. I decided to get a generator for the house since we live in a very rural farm community. I hope that I made a good decision. I bought a Generac 22 KW and installed a 500 gallon propane tank. The generator is hooked up to an automatic transfer switch so I don't have to worry about back feeding the power lines.
The wife and I are getting older and I hate the thought of maybe having to stay at home for days to possibly more than a week without power.
We tested the Generator yesterday and it will pull both upstairs and downstairs AC units without a problem. Although I doubt that I'd need the upstairs unit in a power outage. I just wanted to see if it would pull both of the units at the same time.

Any of you guys have a home generator? Is the Generac a good one? I got a good deal on it on a tax free day at a large hardware store.

Oh, on EDIT: we have two competing propane companies. Supposedly they are having a price war? I paid $1.75 per gallon for propane. I assume this was a good deal?

[Mal Paso]

Generac would be my choice. They will actually let you have service manuals unlike Kohler and Onan. Parts are easy, they often arrive overnight here with UPS Ground! They have come a long way and build most of their own engines now. Had good luck programming the Nexus controller.

[NyFirefighter357]

In May my neighbor's son called for a fill up for the generator they charged them $6gal when he complained they dropped it to $4.75gal. lol Just so you know you might not get over a week on that tank if running 24/7. Here they don't guarantee emergency delivery & won't come unless your 3/4 or more empty. Congrats and good luck. Jay

[beemer]

Propane service around here is a joke. Several years ago the company delivered propane to me, my Mom and brother, all within spitting distance from each other. One was $2.75, one $3.00 and mine was $4.25, called and got a runaround. The next year was $150 tank rental plus $120 to lock the price to $3.00 a gallon. I was paying $60-$75 a month for a water heater, cook stove and little wall heater that was rarely used.

I switched over to all electric and my power bill went up $20 a month. The company I was with for almost 30 years sold out and things went crazy.

[Hossfly]

Our price for propane generally stays at about price of unleaded gas $2.35-$2.50 per gallon,during cold weather. Summer goes down due to low demand. We also bought a Generac 22 kw gen with auto transfer switch. It will exercise once per week for 12 mins. Which is good to schedule for a time you can watch it do this and get to understand how this unit works, and operates. I look everyday at the light system for green yellow or red, usually on green but have seen red once in 5 years when original battery died. Bought heavy duty battery and mounted it outside of housing in Marine box. Only other problem was with switch main contact or got loose on one leg and only fed 1/2 house which was hard to find, this switch list for about $350 so I was able to find problem and bend one of supports to get better contact. Works great, very dependable,very expensive to run for days tho. 500 gallons will last for about a week, unless you shut it off when not needed. But very good peace of mind knowing its there and will keep everything powered when its needed. Very happy with it as we depend on it with 2 green houses winter and summer.

[Finster101]

I have nearly the same setup as you just installed. We built the house about 3 years ago and opted for a gas stove, water heater and dryer as well. By doing this and shedding those loads we are able to run everything in the house just as we would on power. 1000 gal tanks buried in the ground. Buy don't rent. After Irma we were without power for ten days. I shut the generator off when we left for work and then back on when we got home. No issues with running out of fuel. It's an investment that I am very happy I made.

[RED BEAR]

i only have a small 3500 watt that i have to switch myself .but it runs 18 hours on 4.5 gallons of gas. it runs the fridge and a chest freezer the tv dvd cable small window ac coffe pot or microwave not both unless not running much else. looked into a whole house and decided i can't afford to run it. i do have gas logs for heat and a 100 gal tank will last about 2 months. the longest i have lost power where i am at is 10 days. we have been here 24 years and about every 3 to 4 years we lose power for more than a couple days. and that little generator has been a life saver. if i could afford to run one i would love to have one like you bought.

[lightman]

When I retired from the power company probably 25% of my neighbors including me bought generators. A local coop had a decent price on them. They are all Generac 22KW’s. A few of them had problems, including mine, right out of the crate. They covered everything under warranty and once fixed seem to work ok.

I had natural gas run to the house so I don’t know about propane prices.

[Down South]

When I retired from the power company probably 25% of my neighbors including me bought generators. A local coop had a decent price on them. They are all Generac 22KW’s. A few of them had problems, including mine, right out of the crate. They covered everything under warranty and once fixed seem to work ok.

I had natural gas run to the house so I don’t know about propane prices.
I wish we had the option of natural gas. I live so far out in the sticks, we don't have cable or natural gas.
I had heard these units can burn a 500 gal tank in a week if loaded. I plan to run a light load and shut it off at night if it isn't too hot. Winter, I have a gas log fire place that is pretty easy on propane.

[winelover]

I have pretty much the same set up as Finster. Mine was installed six years ago when I built the house. Other than changing the oil, yearly, only the battery has been replaced. I lease a 90 gallon electric water heater from the electric company. However, I installed a 40 gallon gas heater as a backup, if and when needed, to reduce the load on the generator during extended outages.

I buy propane, every other year, during the late Summer. Rates are historically the best then, for my area. My average use is 100 gallons per year for a gas range, fireplace, BBQ grill and clothes dryer. Local propane prices vary due to competition, if you own your tank. Don't own your tank..........your stuck buying from the place you lease your tank from and the price per gallon reflects that. I just filled my tank, last month and paid $1.49/gallon which is up from the $1.09/gallon, two years ago.

I went with thousand gallon tank and buried it............don't own you can't bury it, either. I fill to the 90% level, instead of the 80% maximum for a above ground tank. Plus, I don't have to look at the unsightly thing. More than likely, our extended outages would be from a ice storm. No propane would be delivered if the roads are unsafe.....so the bigger the tank the better.

Winelover

[FISH4BUGS]

We have a Honda 7500 (?) that is wired to do the well pump (240v - the well is 880' and the pump is at 550'), the freezers, a few lights, both refrigerators, the sump pump and of course, the man cave. I was able to cast while the power was out!
We had a bad ice storm in '08 and power was out for 9 days. With 50 gallons of backup gasoline, we were fine. Run it for a few hours then shut it off when not needed. neighbors came here to shower and get water.
I really don't see the reason to wire a whole house up for a generator, but that is a personal opinion. Lanterns and candles worked just fine.
Very interesting time it was......
As for the propane, it is for hot water and cooking only.

[bullet maker 57]

I have an 8kw Generac with auto transfer switch. Keeps the essentials on. I installed it in 2010. The longest without power was 6 days. Used $84.00 worth of propane. We pay over $4.00 per gallon here.

[mattw]

I have several diesels here at work, mine run from 80kw to 750kw. If I were to do it, I would go with something in the range of 40-50kw diesel. The fuel consumption is good, they are not that much more expensive on the secondary market and with a little basic service can run 5000 hours over their lifetime.

[jmort]

Have Generec 22kw and dedicated propane tank. Will run everything. This is my second one, first had access to natural gas. In a true extended emergency, you can run it for a couple hours and off for a few hours and on again, and it will keep fridge and freezer cold. Keep it going for a long time. Also Have a small Honda generator and small solar system for lights and entertainment.

[Geezer in NH]

Mine is the same as F4B's It runs our well pump, oil FHA furnace, Oil fired water heater, 1 light circuit , 2 freezers, 1 fridge. It is hooked through a transfer panel with 6 circuits so no backfeed.

We keep it in the detached garage with it's fuel cans pull it out when needed plug it in with the shore cord I made up. Its gas tank holds 4 gallons of gas and runs the house around 16 hours on a fill.

It gets used around 12 times per year sometimes for a few hours 8-12 at a time and once avg for a couple of days. Change the Mobil 1 oil every 24 hrs of run time. We store the gas in a 55 gallon barrel with a bottom hose to fill the 5 gallon cans off of.

Being on a no loop grid last from civilization it works for us. Total cost for the Gen and switch panel was under a grand a round 15 years ago. This is the second Gen we have had in this house with the first one the same size bought in 1990. I sold that one off when I got the newer one that is on wheels so it is easier to move.

[lightman]

I wish we had the option of natural gas. I live so far out in the sticks, we don't have cable or natural gas.
I had heard these units can burn a 500 gal tank in a week if loaded. I plan to run a light load and shut it off at night if it isn't too hot. Winter, I have a gas log fire place that is pretty easy on propane.

My 2000 square ft house is all electric and my 22 KW generator will run the house under normal conditions. I mean that we can live like we normally do, using whatever we want including the heat pump. I’ve encouraged my Wife not to run everything all at once but the generator will do it.

I think you will be happy with your choice.

[lightman]

I have several diesels here at work, mine run from 80kw to 750kw. If I were to do it, I would go with something in the range of 40-50kw diesel. The fuel consumption is good, they are not that much more expensive on the secondary market and with a little basic service can run 5000 hours over their lifetime.

I considered a diesel because I’ve been around them and have connected several. I chose natural gas because of the issues of storing, monitoring, buying and just dealing with fuel. I can buy diesel wholesale and have it delivered but not when the roads are icy or closed. Also, a cold dead diesel can be a bear to start. I know a diesel is much tougher and with the added torque won’t see the fluxations in voltage when loads change.

[Hossfly]

After I hooked mine up, I ran a test on it. With gen up and running warmed up, went in house and turned everything on. Including 2, 3 ton water source heat pumps all lights fans, including 7 in greenhouses, with exception of electric oven which I forgot. Checked amps on each leg and was surprised was only 35 on one and other was close to 40 amps. Added timers to compressor on each heat pump so they wouldn’t start at same time, tho I think it would start both if needed.very happy.

[MrWolf]

I just installed almost the exact same thing last week. Mine is a 20kw and bought a 500 gallon propane tank. Got the generator from Costco ($3,699) and delivery, registration, etc. is all Generac. Paid the same $1.75 gallon. Already used for almost two hours, kicks on in 5 seconds. Was warned about noise so mine is installed near service pole on side of house with no windows facing. On this mountain would have cost a small fortune to try burying a tank. So far love mine and extra peace of mind with being somewhat remote. Still have my old 5000 contractor generator for emergencies.

[mazo kid]

We have an old stone house, about 1500 square feet, in the boonies. 8 years ago I got a 14KW Generac on sale, including free delivery. Installed it myself (retired electrician) and while it is not hooked up as a whole-house generator, it does everything except the electric clothes dryer and the AC unit (ran out of breaker space!). We can live with that. Since I put our generator in service, we have 2 friends who installed 22 KW Generacs. Great for convenience and peace of mind!

[Handloader109]

Would love one, Generac is the brand of quality at this time. Brother put one in about 10 yrs ago after Katrina. We were without power in central MS for over a week. Since then he's been out just occasionally, less than a day, usually 4-6 hours after a storm. Had issue just after install, but was repaired under warranty. No issues since. Propane, auto start. Oh, his comes on I think monthly for a couple of minutes to test.

[gwpercle]

Propane or natural gas is the best way to go .
Last hurricane that left power out for two weeks (Gustav) also left gasoline in very short supply and expensive . Long lines and fights at stations that had gasoline and rationing .
Most filling stations didn't have emergency generators and couldn't pump any gas untill the power was restored.
A friend had a freezer , refrigerator and a few lights connected to his gasoline powered generator .. The power was out for two weeks . He said I spent $500.00 on gasoline , got in two fist fights and almost got shot getting gasoline to keep the generator running..... and all this for $300.00 worth of food that was in my freezer and ref'g.....That wasn't too bright...I need a natural gas generator !

[jmort]

My 22 kw Generec comes on every Wednesday at 2 pm for a 15 minute maintenance cycle. Propane stays good forever in human terms.

[Char-Gar]

I live on the Texas Gulf Coast where it get bad storms and hurricans from time to time. Quite a few folks have Generac whole house propane systems and are pleased with them. The community of 2,000 where I live has three of them with propane tanks to run the street lights when the power goes down. When the power goes down here, it can be down for days on end, weeks in some places.

[MT Gianni]

I own a 500 gallon tank and heat, cook and dry clothes with lp gas. Fillup in August was $1.60 with 20C off for Aug delivery. Paid $2.05 last February. I use around 600 gallons a year and they have a $60 charge for less than 200 gallon fill, same for an emergency fill. They are in my half of the county two days a month. 3 delivery outlets will sell to you here with your own tank but they all prefer their own rental tanks.
We will install a wood stove for backup heat this fall. In general food will stay frozen in our area for 3-4 days if you don't open the freezer and fill open spaces with sleeping bags or blankets.
My generator will run our pump and heater. In an extended power outage, running it 2-3 hours a day should get us by. Plan is to cycle it on for water and fill what we need then every 4-6 hours to keep house warm and food cold. At 0 F furnaces cycles about twice an hour.

[SELoader]

I can't add much other than to say I plan to eventually upgrade my small Honda generator to a Generac whole house backup unit running off my natural gas. All of my appliances (including a pilot light gas water heater) and fireplace are natural gas and we have a well so I could run it too.

I talked to the local power company and they said we should have natural gas pressure to our house indefinitely after a power outage.

I don't know if that's true but it's a nice thought if so.

Anyway, all my research shows Generac is the best buy going right now.

[Edward]

Since I'll be retiring in a week and a half. I decided to get a generator for the house since we live in a very rural farm community. I hope that I made a good decision. I bought a Generac 22 KW and installed a 500 gallon propane tank. The generator is hooked up to an automatic transfer switch so I don't have to worry about back feeding the power lines.
The wife and I are getting older and I hate the thought of maybe having to stay at home for days to possibly more than a week without power.
We tested the Generator yesterday and it will pull both upstairs and downstairs AC units without a problem. Although I doubt that I'd need the upstairs unit in a power outage. I just wanted to see if it would pull both of the units at the same time.

Any of you guys have a home generator? Is the Generac a good one? I got a good deal on it on a tax free day at a large hardware store.

Oh, on EDIT: we have two competing propane companies. Supposedly they are having a price war? I paid $1.75 per gallon for propane. I assume this was a good deal?

I have the 10k going on 10 yrs however forget the AC , its better suited for essentials water/heat/and (TV) ha ! You cannot predict how long your out and my wife"s breathing depends on it and you don"t know how fast your tank will empty(FAST) and how unreliable your supplier is when there"s a thousand others running out at the same time . Trust me been there done that and it ain"t pretty/Ed

[MrWolf]

I was also thinking of a seperate switch for my portable generator in case power is out for more than a week to compliment the whole house one. My electrician said my 5000 was to small. If it was a 9000 or higher might make sense.

[Finster101]

I would love to have the natural gas option but it is not available in my area.

[DCP]

16kw Generac NG with an auto transfer switch. Runs the whole house including AC.
If I went any bigger I had to go to a 200amp service and that would have driven the price way up.

Cost about $6700.00 installed. The best money I ever spent for peace of mind.

[labradigger1]

i bought a 1963 onan jc electric plant from Craigslist 3 years ago. 4 cylinder liquid cooled overhead valve. Runs at 1800 rpm and much quieter than a screaming 3600 rpm unit. 12.5 kw/67.5 amps.
Runs house, mini split ac, 220v water pump, 220 v hot water tank, washer dryer and also a detached garage. Tri fuel, runs on lpg, no or gasoline. Has over 9000 hours on it now. No smoke and does not use oil.
Paid $300 for it and it came with new plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor button and air filter. Installed these parts and rebuilt the mechanical fuel pump and off she went.

[Down South]

I'm in Houston, my generator is in central La. I see on my phone app that the generator came on twice today due to power outages. We have some storms going through right now and I figure that a storm knocked out power to the house a couple times today. Well, it has an hr run time on it now.

[jonp]

Wife's dad is a retired commercial/industrial electrician. He put a Generac whole house in and is very happy with it. It powers not only the house but also radiant heat floors. The propane..your as good with one company as another I think as long as you can get a rate lock and make sure they don't charge extra fee's like delivery or the dubious "haz-mat" fee. There is no such thing and I just switched companies because of it when they tried to feed me a line about a "federally mandated fee on all deliveries". Been hauling Haz Mat for over 25yrs and never heard of such a thing.

[Sam Casey]

We have a large natural gas Generac. No propane worries, but still not a cheep date. Cost 8k. Annual service $150. Needs new battery every 3 years ... Another $150. Constant "offers" for extended warranty, another $8-900. That said, it has keep us out of a motel on 2 or 3 times since installed 3-4 years ago.

[dbmjr1]

My father just installed a 17 KW Generac system. Natural gas. I was impressed with the installers and the generator itself. Generac offers a kit that includes oil and air filter. I made dad order one. The oil change interval on dad's is every 200 hours. That's eight days, more or less. If you don't have the ability to do maintenance when it needs to be done, you're likely to loose your generator.

I know this for a fact. I have a Coleman 6750 portable gas generator that I use to back feed the house when needed. I used this generator for 28 days after Hurricane Katrina, Six days after another storm, and three days after yet another. At eighteen hours a day, that's over 650 hours. It still runs great. The secret is to change the oil every four days. Change the air filter every year, and only use good gasoline, (None of that corn syrup stuff).

I know that Generac tells you they'll be out to change the oil when it's needed, but if you question them about after a disaster, they'll tell you there are no guarantees. Be sure to have the ability to do it yourself. It's easy. If you open your genset you'll see three orange items. One it the drain, one is the filter, the third is the fill. They give you a long flexible drain hose to make it even easier. I'm shocked they didn't put a funnel in the cabinet. They thought of everything else.

[DCM]

I have a 12KW that I can run my whole house including air conditioning on. I checked my whole hose current draw back when I had mostly florescent lighting and it was 49 amps with every light turned on and the AC running, bet it is lower now with LEDs.
Close friend has a 10KW and can do the same. We are both using Natural gas to run the genset and have mostly LED lights.
Another friend up north has a 13KW propane and can do the same.
These are all Generac units due mostly to availability.

[Beau Cassidy]

I have a portable Generac 16.5k. I have never put in a transfer switch. Guess I need to do that. Never had to run anything with it other than some large inflatable water slides and jump houses for kids. Guess I have been luck owning it. I have enough 5 gallon tanks to lay in about 100 gallons should it be needed

[David2011]

I have a portable Generac 16.5k. I have never put in a transfer switch. Guess I need to do that. Never had to run anything with it other than some large inflatable water slides and jump houses for kids. Guess I have been luck owning it. I have enough 5 gallon tanks to lay in about 100 gallons should it be needed

Beau,

Having lived in hurricane zones most of my life if there is one thing I have learned it's that you can't buy gas after the event. If the power is out gas pumps don't work. Be prepared to fill the gas cans at the first hint of a bad weather forecast or get the generator set up to run on natural gas if you have it available. I know you're more likely to have ice storms but they make the same mess of power delivery as hurricanes. Maybe worse.

Significant visitors during my life: Carla, Alicia, Ivan, Katrina, Rita, Ike and a while bunch of lesser storms. I was without electricity for 2 weeks each time with Alicia and Katrina.

[mold maker]

I need to rethink my situation. Many years ago (even before Hugo) I purchased a 4000 W generator from Northern. I had drop cords made up to connect to panels and meters bases. I could power essentials for my parents, myself or Son and Daughter. It was mounted on a purpose-built trailer. During Hugo and several long-term ice storms, I kept everyone reasonably comfortable and fed. I'd move it from place to place for a few hr each. We all had alternative heat sources, but hot water and circulated heat were a plus to avoid frozen pipes.
Now as happens, I'm no longer able to be the family energy safety provider and energy demands have increased to the point that my trailered generator is just a toy.
It's time to install a Generac, donate the generator to a fire dept, and retire. The kids are welcome to share my home in an emergency.

[thekidd76]

I guess I'll stop complaining that my summer price for propane only dropped to $1.25 per gallon when I filled up my 1000 gal tank last month.

[Finster101]

mold maker, you will never regret having a true standby generator installed. My builder thought I was nuts when I insisted that it be part of the house plans. We have frequent thunderstorms here where it may run from a few minutes to an hour or two. After Irma we needed it for ten days. It was well worth the investment.

[reloader28]

WOW 22,000? You must be running a whole city block. 10,000 will run a house with no problem and cheaper

[jmort]

Two seperate AC systems and well pump and on and on, and you get to 22kw pretty quick. 10k is a joke for me. I have a small Honda for double emergency and portable power situations. At the low end, I want TV/entertainment and lights. Otherwise, I want normal.

[Hossfly]

I had a 10kw years ago, it ran everything ok, but you had to watch how every thing started up. Because of lock rotor amps of a/c. Have a 45 kw that i never installed because of how much fuel it would consume, and too large for the load. Settled on 22kw,with some time delays installed on 2 a/c units compressors every thing works great. Entire farm runs now with no worries.

[oldlongbeard]

Wow. 2kw inverter here. Run one circuit at a time. Ya'll need WAY more power than I do to survive. Every car in the neighborhood is a potential power source, and I don't have to maintain or buy them. Works fer me.

[Ford SD]

Done a just in case generator Purchase
Where I am the most I have lost power is 3-4 h in 5 years

Most times 1/2 h to 1 hour no power

Therefore, What I bought was a portable 3k inverter 2100watts continuous (one phase 120v) which I think will run 1 appliance at a time plus some led lights

If it comes down to it should run the furnace (Have to switch it to a 3-prong plug)

2 fridge's, 1 freezer (in rotation) , NG fireplace fan, Plus lights , plus TV and dvd player..

Could maybe get away with 1 appiance and everthing else hooked up.

Generator has a low load fuel save mode

[DCP]

Wow. 2kw inverter here. Run one circuit at a time. Ya'll need WAY more power than I do to survive. Every car in the neighborhood is a potential power source, and I don't have to maintain or buy them. Works fer me.

Seems to me what your saying could get you shot or arrested. It called looting

[oldlongbeard]

Seems to me what your saying could get you shot or arrested. It called looting

No.... I have helped others with my setup using their vehicle. I wasn't clear at all. I ain't takin anybodys stuff. My momma didn't raise no thief. My setup is very portable. Everyone has different wants/needs. When power is out, I just need necessary stuff to run. One at a time. My neighbor was tickled when we ran his furnace for an hour, while his car idled.

Different places, different needs. But don't call me a looter. 😉

Best,
Greg in West Mitten

[Finster101]

I did a 22kw because I wanted to be comfortable and live normal, not be on a forced camping trip.

[winelover]

I did 22K...............cause that's the biggest air cooled unit available that would handle my 4000 square foot house. Next step is liquid cooled and they get almost twice as much for them.

Winelover

[reloader28]

Two seperate AC systems and well pump and on and on, and you get to 22kw pretty quick. 10k is a joke for me. I have a small Honda for double emergency and portable power situations. At the low end, I want TV/entertainment and lights. Otherwise, I want normal.



So your saying that everything in your house is all on at the same time?? Most people think they need big power because of the stuff in their home. Fact is that its extremely rare that 2 big appliances are on at the same time. Lights dont really take any juice as well as new TV's.

[lightman]

You can load a generator pretty quick, even with residential use. A heat pump can have 10kw heat strips. An electric water heater is 4.8kw as is an electric clothes dryer. An electric oven/stove is even more. Electric lighting usually makes up only a small part of the load. Add in a freezer or two, a refrigerator, a dishwasher, ect. Small kitchen appliances also add up. Coffee pot, microwave, it all adds up. A little too big is better than a little too small.

[Hossfly]

Exactly, that’s why I have timers on my heat pumps. Evan tho they don’t have emergency strip heat, when that gen set comes and starts carrying the load I will jump up and turn off every thing that isn’t necessary. When we’re not here, which is seldom, I have confidence the 22kw unit will function and take care of it all with no problem. Just have to take care of it, and fuel supply, and change oil regularly, and battery maintenance.

[jmort]

I have radient floor heating and central heat inserts on the AC systems. I am not telling anyone to get a 22kw whole house unit. I know that the loads for us, can blow past 10kw easily. I want normal everything if the power goes out. Last severe ice storm here in 2012 knocked out power for two weeks. I want two weeks of normal. If there is a cataclysmic event, then I will use the Honda until there is no gas, and the solar panels until they fail for entertainment and lighting, and use wood for heating and be uncomfortable in the summer. Such is life. Get what works for you.

[blackthorn]

I am curious with respect to natural gas and its delivery during a major power outage. Some here have stated their emergency power supply is operated on natural gas. Now I know that a large tank of propane will continue to supply power until the tank runs dry. What happens with natural gas?? At what point (or circumstance) does its delivery system fail? Personally I have a small generator that will get me through any short term power outage by judicious use for critical things such as heat, freezer, fridge etc. I keep and rotate 35 to 40 gallons of fuel (gas) on hand.

[dragon813gt]

I am curious with respect to natural gas and its delivery during a major power outage. Some here have stated their emergency power supply is operated on natural gas. Now I know that a large tank of propane will continue to supply power until the tank runs dry. What happens with natural gas?? At what point (or circumstance) does its delivery system fail? Personally I have a small generator that will get me through any short term power outage by judicious use for critical things such as heat, freezer, fridge etc. I keep and rotate 35 to 40 gallons of fuel (gas) on hand.

I don’t know of anytime that the natural gas supply has been interrupted in my area. There were times when we had multiple back to back ice storms and everything was shut down for two weeks. Natural gas was flowing the entire time. Earthquakes and hurricanes are more likely to interrupt the supply more than anything else.

[Big Tom]

I just got a 3.5 kw pure sine generator that we also take out camping. Runs on gas and propane and I always have enough for about a week around the house. Installed the manual transfer switch myself (yes had a licensed electrician bless it...). Runs the 3D printers, fridges, freezer, lights, TV, internet and most importantly, the coffee maker with no problem. Would run the furnace in the winter as well. Just no AC, but with an average of 2-3 outages/year lasting typically less than a day, I could not justify a full house generator plus the generator for camper was already there...

[Finster101]

Big Tom I agree with you that not everyone needs a whole house standby unit but after being through several hurricanes and being without power for days at a time, it was high on the list when we built this house. I made it through two hurricanes using a Honda EU-2000 and back feeding it in to the house it worked for the necessities. Do you have any idea how hot it is here during hurricane season? Usually in the low 90s with about 80% humidity. I work outside during the day, it's nice to come home to some AC and get a good nights sleep. Everyone's situation is different, get what you want or can afford. I'm just saying if you think you want a whole house and can afford a whole house, that I certainly have no regrets about doing mine.

[MT Gianni]

I am curious with respect to natural gas and its delivery during a major power outage. Some here have stated their emergency power supply is operated on natural gas. Now I know that a large tank of propane will continue to supply power until the tank runs dry. What happens with natural gas?? At what point (or circumstance) does its delivery system fail? Personally I have a small generator that will get me through any short term power outage by judicious use for critical things such as heat, freezer, fridge etc. I keep and rotate 35 to 40 gallons of fuel (gas) on hand.

It depends on the pipeline and the utility. Our local transmission and distribution company has both gas fired and electrically driven compressors. Gas comes from the well pressurized and goes to a gathering system. It is then stripped of heavies and liquids are set off as LPG, Butane, etc. The Natural gas hits a pipeline compressor that sends it down at relatively high pressure. We might have seen 700 psig [pounds square inch gauge] to 1150 psig. It goes to a city where pressure is cut to distribution pressures any where from 125 psig to 30 psig. At the point of entry into a home it's generally cut to 1/4 psig, very rarely 2 psig. Some large cities deliver in small areas at 1/5 psig or 7 inches water column. These are where you usually see blocks on fire if something screws up.
One summer they cut the pressure down to 350 lbs on a local transmission line so we could work it, doing some valve replacement. It took three days to drop the pressure to 350 lbs from 750 on a 60 mile line with perhaps 10,000-15,000 customers. In the winter it would have been less than 12 hours and no gas.
I am aware of some of the lines running out of Alberta but not into western B.C.. I have met some very intelligent folks that worked for the utility and believe with the regulations Canada has you should not have much to worry about.

[Down South]

I live in an area that's close enough to the coast that we are affected by hurricanes. I live far enough inland that we have occasional ice storms.
Either one can put us out of power for days to weeks. I also live out in a rual area where we are the last to get power back.
I just retired and at my wife's and my age, I don't want to sit in a house after a hurricane for days on end in 90+ degree weather.
Like others have mentioned, when the power goes off, I'd like to enjoy life with full power capability.

[lightman]

I live in an area that's close enough to the coast that we are affected by hurricanes. I live far enough inland that we have occasional ice storms.
Either one can put us out of power for days to weeks. I also live out in a rual area where we are the last to get power back.
I just retired and at my wife's and my age, I don't want to sit in a house after a hurricane for days on end in 90+ degree weather.
Like others have mentioned, when the power goes off, I'd like to enjoy life with full power capability.

These are my feelings too! When I retired I had seven weeks of vacation coming and that vacation check bought my generator. It runs whatever I want and I don't have to store fuel for it. While I'm 400+ miles from the coast we usually get some weather from any hurricane that hits the gulf. High winds, lots of rain and sometimes tornadoes. We also get ice storms. I retired from an electric utility as a lineman and I've had rural customers out of power for 7 to 10 days despite of me working 18 hours days making repairs.

[Down South]

These are my feelings too! When I retired I had seven weeks of vacation coming and that vacation check bought my generator. It runs whatever I want and I don't have to store fuel for it. While I'm 400+ miles from the coast we usually get some weather from any hurricane that hits the gulf. High winds, lots of rain and sometimes tornadoes. We also get ice storms. I retired from an electric utility as a lineman and I've had rural customers out of power for 7 to 10 days despite of me working 18 hours days making repairs.

Yup, My point to the point. It's been a priority of mine to install a generator at my home that would pull the load on everything that I needed before I retired and moved back home. When I found out that I would be retiring about a year earlier than I had planned, the first thing that I did was invest in a generator that would do what I wanted.

My wife had second thoughts as usual. And as usual, I told her that the day would come that she would say that I am glad that you made that decision as she has already done numerous times.

[Chad5005]

we have a 22kw generac also with a 250gal tank and even with the generator running 5 days along with our stove,tankless hot water heater and fire place we only have to fill up every 6 to 8 months and I figured we needed 22kw many because we use a lot of electricity on normal power and I don't want anything to change when the grid goes down for whatever reason,plus im old and cripple and don't like carrying gas in the rain lol

[jmort]

Exact same set up. Dedicated tank for the generator and a larger tank for the house.

[429421Cowboy]

We also have a Generac unit at the ranch that is hooked into the natural gas line. It is likely close to 15 years old, and has given good service with only regular maintenance. We got the 22kw unit to have enough power to keep the freezers full of sale beef frozen during summer time, as well as run the deep well pump and keep 2-400 head of cattle watered in the winter time, and keep the wellhouse from freezing up, and the ranch house. Those are real possibilities since we are most likely to lose power during the real cold snaps during winter. As others have said, it cycles once a week, just have to check that it does and watch the light to make sure it's online and working. One of the best investments we have ever made without a doubt!

[gishooter]

I went with diesel. Since I have a lot of experience using the military diesel gensets overseas, I was very confident in their abilities. Bought a surplus MEP-003A with very low hours at the local base auction. It is a 10kw. Built like a tank. It is a commercial quality generator. Very conservatively rated. They are meant to supply 10K continuously. Runs my house and shop (A/C, well pump,lights, microwave, machine shop) with literally everything turned on without issue. And yes I actually tried doing that. Couldn't tell the difference between idle and everything on. Was hard wired in by a electrical company that does a lot of residential stand-by generators. The generating head on mine weighs as much or more than the entire consumer grade gensets I looked at. Uses about 1 gallon an hour under load. Had it for about 5 years. Run it under load once a month. Only thing I've done was change the filters and oil once. Diesel stores well and easy to keep. Much lower risk of fire/explosion compared to compressed flammable cylinders. Does not require special pumping equipment to refill fuel tanks. I've had coworkers run out of propane during winter conditions because the delivery trucks couldn't get to them. In the event of a extended/bad road conditions, I can literally walk to multiple neighbors with a fuel can who have bulk diesel tanks for their farm equipment. But I keep 55 gallon barrels on hand already.

[jmort]

Sounds like you have what you want. Diesel has good storage life. Propane has insane great storage life. I have two completely seperate central air/heat units. 10kw would be a joke for me. If things go way south, none of this will matter. Otherwise, I am completely happy with the 22kw unit I have with a dedicated propane tank. I keep my tanks full. Preparation, common sense.

[gishooter]

jmort, the MEP series produces high amps in single or three phase. And it puts out a full 10k at normal running speed at 1800rpm. You can see specs here: https://greenmountaingenerators.com/product/mep003a-10kw-military-diesel-generator/
No affiliation with this company. They do have a lot of info and parts available on their site however.
Much heavier than an equivalent rated consumer unit. I went with the MEP-003a because it was way more than I needed for my acreage and shop. There are much bigger mil surplus generator sets available. Mine is actually one of the smaller ones. If you have really big AC units, might make more sense to wire a dedicated generator for them only. Then run the smaller load stuff on a smaller generator.
I'm actually looking for another reasonably priced generator as a spare back up. Would like to have two to alternate between.

[jmort]

All good ideas. I get the fact that these units are ultra heavy. This can be suboptimal. If I got another large generator it would be a 3-point hitch pto generator for the tractor. Far less $$$