OT - Need help with selecting a generator

Only 50?

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

My 20kw eats that in a day. We were out from Friday at 4pm to yesterday at 3pm. 250 gallons and glad to have heat, lights, water, and anything else electrical. Since my propane costs $1.50/gallon, I'm not cryin' the blues.

Re: Only 50?

John C Lucas

Cant help.answer your question although i will be watching. We lose power a lot where i am bere in middle tennesee. Never had that problem before and ive lived near here for 30 years. I had to run out and buy a generator. A generac was out of the question. I found a really cheap used offbrand gas generator. Man you talk about loud. Hard to crank with a pull cord. It could power the whole house but i dont have a disconnect switch to keep from electrocuting someone xow the line so i just run extension cords to the freezer and refrigerators and we live without lights. We have a.wood stove and gas water heater and range. We are on natural gas. Anyway where i was heading with this is i run it for about 4 hours on less than 2 gallons of gas.

Re: OT - Need help with selecting a generator

Larry Clinton At Frankfort, (Central) Indiana

Ralph, you may want to calculate the cost vs the fuel savings to replace your unit!

Guessing your propane is in the same price range as it is locally it cost you around $75.00. I have a portable unit 7.5kw continuous duty electric start, I paid about $1,000 for about 5 years ago. It uses gasoline and if fully loaded will use about 10 ~ 15 gal in one day, so costs me about $25- $30 / day. AND I have to disconnect the meter base, tie into my system manually. Not easy when the snow is blowing etc. I also have to change the fuel annually and add stabilizer when I fuel.

So to purchase a 10KW gasoline unit you will have to pay probably at least 2K, and you loose the convenience and dependability of your current system! If you opt for another propane unit the cost will increase, granted you can probably sell your current system for near the replacement cost, but you will still have to pay for installation.

Personally I am thinking about doing the opposite and purchasing a unit like yours! I do have natural gas so fuel would be much cheaper for me. I don't know your situation but lengthy power outages are pretty rare here, that is the only reason I haven't purchased a better unit.

Unless you have frequent outages I can't believe you would save any money for years. You may want to look into adding some type of noise reduction enclosure if that is your main issue. Reducing your load will also reduce your fuel usage significantly. Per Generac's fuel usage chart the full load for the 11KW is almost the same as the half load for the 16kW.

Re: Only 50?

ebd

I have an electrical cut off (switch) in the line to the furnace from the junction box. I just opened the power box on the furnace and ran a short male extension out (covered with a blind female when not in use). I can isolate the furnace from outside lines by shutting the switch from the junction box to the furnace and simply plug the furnace into the gas generator.

That way I only have to run extensions to the furnace (winter) and the freezer and refrigerator. Stove is gas, though I do need to light burners with matches. Lights etc. are optional depending on how long the power will be out. I can run the TV to watch DVD's if I want but I mostly eat, read and nap. LOL

If

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

like me, you run a business out of your home, the cost of the generator and the fuel are business expenses to be used as adjustments to your taxable income so long as your income exceeds the expenses.

We just came off generator after 5 full days without "net" power. The $250 in propane paid for itself many times over in billable hours.

Re: OT - Need help with selecting a generator

Keith Newton

I'm with Larry on this, . At first I was thinking maybe building some kind of fence, or rather block or brick wall with sound absorbing material on the inside. But it the muffler just points out toward your bedroom, maybe something simpler like a box with some kind of sound absorbing material on the inside that you set into place only when it's running, might be more visually unobtrusive.

If the fuel cost is still the issue, maybe not letting it run full time would help.

Re: Only 50?

Bill Howatt

I would consider this dangerous because it relies on you physically operating the switch to isolate the line and prevent backfeeding.

For my water pump I have a plug on it which gets moved from the house power receptacle to the generator power receptacle so there is no way it can backfeed. However, I think where I am it is illegal to have a furnace in normal use connected by a plug but I'm not certain.

Bill

Re: Only 50?

ebd

Pretty certain I won't forget to flip the switch before starting the generater and plugging in the furnace since the situation is so unique - power gone in the middle of winter. Gonna be pretty hard to forget that things need to be done in a specific order.

As far as illegal - I'm far more concerned with "is it safe" or am I going to burn down my house. I do believe there is no danger of that so I guess legality really isn't an issue for me.

Re: OT - Need help with selecting a generator

Larry Clinton At Frankfort, (Central) Indiana

Ralph, don't have any idea of the cost today, but you can have a propane company install a 500 gal tank. If the appearance of a large tank in the yard is an issue to you, these can be buried so only the small "hood" is exposed. I would expect any reputable propane supplier to fill your tank in the time required to empty it, even in bad conditions. They have too do this to customers depending on heat!

Again per what I was seeing when I looked at fuel usage your existing unit is just about as efficient for the power provided as a smaller unit, therefore replacing it with a smaller unit would not give you any benefit that reducing the load on your existing will.