Home Backup Generator

[PopcornSutton]

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?

[ascast]

no but you have the right idea I think. Have you looked into an inverter that your car runs to power those same circuits? I know they are out there. I went with a genny so as to take to camp etc.

[Dom]

I'm going with a portable solar charged battery system. Just for running my freezer & refrigerator. I'm going with solar so I don't have to depend on a fuel source. I heat my house with wood, & have a considerable amount of acreage with an abundance of trees. Lots of different options out there. A lot of serious thought & information needs to go into what ever type of system you are considering.

[GregLaROCHE]

Remember that what generations are rated for are their max output, not continuous running, at least if you want it to last. Also the key to longevity for small 4cycle motors, is to frequently change the oil.

[PopcornSutton]

I have a smaller inverter generator that I used for my RV, but it doesn't have a 240 volt outlet. Either of these new gens can do the RV of course. I've never seen a automobile inverter that does 240 volts. I know the breaker for my pump is a 20 amp, never had it trip, so the 30 amps on these gens will drive the pump easy. I have 2 refrigerators and 2 freezers. Definitely need to keep those running. I'll be putting a manual transfer switch in powered by the 240V on the gen. I can isolate one or two of the circuits for the frigs when the pump is used.

I'm not sold on solar power to power a frig or freezer. A large solar array and multiple batteries would be needed to power them, and of course, lots of sun.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Wen is a private label. Their equipment is nearly same or exactly same as Harbor Freight. Now I am not a HF hater, but just know that it's a 50-50 that you get a problem free generator.

[Winger Ed.]

I've got the Champion dual fuel.
I like it, but it is kind of loud, and when there isn't a load on it, it doesn't really idle down.

I got it to mainly run the refrigerators, a few lights, coffee pot, and either a space heater or window unit AC
when our power goes out in a storm.

A small propane tank seems to last about 10 hours, and the 5-6gallon gas tank about 12.
The output is supposed to be higher running on gas, but I try not to since its easier to clean & store
after its run on propane, and I never needed the extra output.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

For things like this, I like to read Amazon's customer reviews, if there are enough of them, it gives a pretty good idea of what to expect.

https://www.amazon.com/product-revie...r&pageNumber=1

[Finster101]

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

[JustinP]

I have a small house and only my wife and I.
I bought a Generac 8500 watt portable and it runs the whole house. It'll even run the central air. I had it kick out only once. The air was on, the well pump kicked in and I think the electric water heater came on. I forgot I had a big dehumidifier running in the basement all at the same time. Now I shut the dehumidifier off and never have had a problem again. It has exceeded my expectations and I've been using it for several years now.

[rancher1913]

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?

thats about 35 amps at 240 volt so make sure you keep that in mind when adding stuff to it, a fridge needs 15 amps and a well could be 15 amps. you can not just add up wattage on the stuff you want to power, you need to allow a cushion for surges.

[Shawlerbrook]

We love our Generac.

[nidrab]

No experience with either above. We use a dual fuel Firman from Costco.

[ascast]

Your not gettin much help here. hmmm I use my HF gas unit for an hour or so for the freezer, frig, water pump. Not all three at the same time. I did buy extra cords for seperate runs sp I can "change circuits" at the genny and not have to run around all over. Not sure where you live, but freezer needs about 1 hour a day, maybe half hour twice a day. Frig maybe that or twice that. Water as needed to flush toilet as needed. Currently my hot water is electric. I would not run that at all. Wood stove runs for 6 months straight. I'm guessing you have already run all this through your computor.

[10x]

No experience with either above. We use a dual fuel Firman from Costco.

Firman warrantee is not worth the paper it is written on in Canada.
Have a dead 2 year old Firman, it seized at -35C when it was needed the most....
Firman suggested i "decoke" the head - they won't supply gaskets or torque specs.

[Budzilla 19]

After I got the price for a 22kw standby generator, 1000 gallon in ground propane tank, and installation price, I decided to purchase a portable on wheels Generac generator. 27kw starting Watts, 17.5kw running watts, on gasoline. ( May change to dual fuel later).For a savings of almost $15k!! Most all small ( 10kw or less) will run all your fridges, small heaters, and freezers. The recommendation of changing the oil frequently is spot on! I think you’re going in the right direction. Just my opinion. Good luck.

[Moleman-]

We got a 6600watt air cooled diesel generator 14 years ago. Not sure on the total hours, but it gets at least 100hrs of use a year. I prefer it over gas as the fuel stores longer and we use less fuel per hour than our neighbor who uses a similar size gas generator. It's loud though, but we live in the country so there's no one to complain. It'll run the whole house minus the hot tub and AC. It would start the old AC unit which had a slow start capacitor system on it. We mainly have it for the well, lights, heat (gas furnace), and fridge-freezers. When it wears out we'll get a slightly larger one that runs our AC, or add a slow start capacitor on the AC unit.

In the time we've owned it, we've replaced the fuel filter, brushes, and fuel lines. I did have to resolder a wire on the comutator pad which had cracked 4-5 years ago.

[kerplode]

I have an 8kW dual fuel Champion. It runs well, but it's LOUD. Like loud enough that I would be very hesitant to run it in a true emergency.

[Bazoo]

I have a wen 4500, aint had no trouble out of it, and I use it some around the farm and for my woodshop. I also have a powerboss with a brings engine, but it needs a new voltage regulator. It is easy starting though, normally on one pull, and was an excellent tool before for the first about 5 years of continuous use. I plan to fix it and use it some more.

[fg-machine]

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 .