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ScottDLS wrote: ↑Mon Mar 01, 2021 10:25 pm

Greybeard wrote: ↑Sun Feb 28, 2021 8:04 pm Quote: "$1,700.00 seems a bit much to run just one item."

I am far from an electrical guru, but think that $1700 setup would let a homeowner just flip on as many breakers as a generator could handle. Based upon the rolling blackouts that we experienced in our part of Flower Mound, I believe such would have allowed us to run the gas fired furnace (with electric blower), the refridgerator, freezer, microwave, coffee pot and maybe a few lights. Bare bones stuff. Depending upon the size of the generator, possibly not the electric heaters that we kept handy next to the (gas) fireplace. But again, $1700 for an event that may not happen again in our lifetime ? .......

I'll suspect one could get a manual transfer switch/interlock and a plug in for a portable genset for way less than $1700. And I agree with your point to use the breaker panel to pick the circuits to power up to the rating of your generator. I rehabbed and flipped a house in Flower Mound last year and I got a whole new 100 amp panel and install with permit for $700. That was a VERY good bid as I got one for $3500!. I have a 8kw tri fuel (Gas/Propane/NG) generator and I've really been wanting to add a transfer switch and plug in on my outside panel (another FM quirk in the newer developments). Luckily I didn't lose power recently or I might have lost $8000 in pool equipment. I've since researched how to drain it. But 8KW could pretty much run my house in the winter since I have gas furnaces. I have a spare 12,000BTU window A/C for summer. For my two 4ton regular A/C would probably need a 22KW Generac. Problem with portables is they are really loud. I have gas and propane stored and installed a tap on my NG line, but until I build an enclosure, I'm afraid my neighbors may start shooting...

permits for a permanent unit in Naples is a nightmare. I takes over three months to get approvals, unit has to be on a re-bar enforced slab and many more restrictions. Oh yes, you need an architectural rendition to start. I received cost figures of up to $2,500 just to get all this done.

philip964 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 4:03 pm So a building is being demolished. It has a 100 KVA diesel generator. Stewart and Stephenson with 900 hrs. I ask what’s happening with the generator. They respond do you want it. I say sure. How much and they say just take it.

I line up a contractor to move it. And yeah they sign a contract that the demolition contractor gets the generator.

I will always miss it.

03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:31 pm

puma guy wrote: ↑Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:00 am

03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:48 pm Funny thing about having a generator. Not having gas for it is the same as not having it. Yep, and since my driveway slopes down to the retaining wall behind my house, I learned years ago not to try and back down my driveway when there is ice on my driveway. I tried that once and got my truck stuck with the rear bumper resting on the wall and the front end sticking half way out of the driveway. So yep, I have a generator and had no gas to power it.

03LR, Sorry to hear that. Fortunately I had 15 gallons of ethanol free gasoline from hurricane season. I have a siphon if I needed to get gas out of my vehicles, as well.

In addition to having no gas for my generator, my truck only had about 3-5 gallons in the tank. I had planned to fill up the Friday before the cold hit but got a phone call on the way home, got distracted, and forgot to stop. Then on the second day of no power, after a good 12 hours of no heat, I was shivering so bad I thought i was gonna die. I open my garage a third of the way, hop in my truck with my dog and fire it up. Dog and I both fell asleep from having no sleep for so long and literally ran the truck out of gas. Yeah, I was a real mess.

03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:48 pm Funny thing about having a generator. Not having gas for it is the same as not having it. Yep, and since my driveway slopes down to the retaining wall behind my house, I learned years ago not to try and back down my driveway when there is ice on my driveway. I tried that once and got my truck stuck with the rear bumper resting on the wall and the front end sticking half way out of the driveway. So yep, I have a generator and had no gas to power it.

Keith B wrote: ↑Sun Feb 21, 2021 1:44 pm

puma guy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 21, 2021 12:45 pm I have my Generac XT8000E (8KW running/10KW starting) back fed to my breaker panel. We have a gas furnace in the central air unit w/ a 1HP fan motor that ran constantly and I it energized first. I had our entire 5 B/R house on it. Two refrigerators, two freezers, all rooms w/ led light bulbs (I still admonished everyone to turn off light when leaving a room), electric stove - used one large burner. Couldn't use the oven. I had two 1500W heaters running as well. The generator breaker tripped the first night about 2AM. I discovered what happened when I tripped all the panel breakers and turned them one on at a time until the gen tripped again. It was the very last 120 V breaker I energized that had a 2HP air compressor on the circuit. I leave it turned on and it leaked down and was trying to start. I just left that breaker tripped. I was surprised how long the gen ran between fill ups. It has a 7.5 gallon capacity, but I only fill it with 5 gallons of ethanol free stabilized gasoline in it.

You have conquered the challenge with smaller portable generators set up for temporary use. ‘Load balancing’ is necessary to not exceed the available wattage (amperage) of your gen set. Bringing individual circuits on one at a time will keep you from throwing a large surge to your generator and keep it from tripping. Large resistive element items like heaters, coffee makers, hair dryers, etc are the large current draw items that will cause you trouble when brought online.

It surprising how much of a house that can be kept operational with a portable generator during an outage. One thing that can really help during an outage as well as every day with your bill is to replace incandescent and CFL (curly-que) bulbs with LED. A 60 watt equivalent LED bulb uses only 8 watts compared to the 60 of the incandescent. Additionally, you can choose the color temperature, or Kelvin, the light emits. I like daylight (5k) for kitchens, utility and laundry rooms, and garages. 4K bright white for bathrooms and 3k for living/family rooms and bedrooms where a ‘warmer’ light is more my liking.

Keith B wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:00 pm

Chemist45 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:29 pm Carlson1 asked

Has anyone checked into or own a Generac Generator? I was wondering how elk they worked and what the cost might be for a small house.

I have a Generac 20KW that runs on propane. Its about 5 years old and has only been used a few hours here and there until this past week.
It does a self test every week and I have a 250 gal propane tank in the ground.
This past week, it ran from Monday morning until Wednesday at 5:30. It shut itself off twice when we got power back for short periods.
I got the automatic transfer switch, so I don't have to do a thing.
This generator was worth every dollar I paid for it.
5 years ago, Mrs Chemist gave me a little grief about the cost.
2 days ago she thanked me for buying it.

A whole-home auto start generator with a automatic transfer switch is optimum for situations like this snowmagedon. In Texas, it’s probably more likely it would be used during a power outage from a severe storm or tornado, If you have natural gas available, it’s even better than a propane model. A 22kw is enough to run most all electric homes. With natural gas you can go with a smaller unit. A smart transfer switch will prioritize your items in the home and take non-essential items off line if a higher priority item like water heater or heat strips need to be utilized.

A reputable electric contractor can evaluate your needs and properly size a unit for your home. Well worth the money if you can afford the initial expense.

eieio1 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 21, 2021 11:41 am Here is my setup with approximate costs - we were without power for over 2 weeks after hurricane Ike in 2008. During that time we borrowed a friend's generator - gasoline only. Based on that experience I knew that I wanted multiple fuel options - finding and dealing with the gasoline was a major hassle.

This has been a series of small projects over the years. The transfer switch feeds 6 circuits (1) freezer, (2) refrigerator, (3) microwave, (4) kitchen plugs, (5) living room plugs, (6) master bedroom plugs (for window A/C and furnace). I never considered powering the furnace until now so I added cords to the furnace yesterday.

2011 Powermate PM0675700 (5.7kW running, 7.1 kW peak, gasoline only), Home Depot (clearance) $450
2011 Tri-fuel kit (NG, propane, gasoline), US Carburation $200
2012 Reliance 6 circuit transfer switch and cord, Home Depot $300
2012 25 ft. 10/4 STW 30 Amp 125/250-Volt Power Cord $90
2013 50 foot natural gas hose, Fairview Fittings $220
2013 Natural Gas valve and quick disconnects, The WEBstaurant Store $150
2020 Mineral wool / OSB sound panels, ATSAcoustics.com / Home Depot $150
2021 Furnace cords, Lowe's $35
Total$1,595. Note that this does not include any labor - I have done all of the installation myself.

philip964 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 4:58 pm I run everything out of gas. I never leave gas in anything but my cars. If I don’t, they don’t start the next time.

Am I the only one?