Portable Generators

[Keith B]

I stumbled across a video today that might help someone out.

I tried to get approval to trial one of these with one of the rural electric co-ops and their engineer wouldn’t even talk to me, though many others actually sell them theirselves. I am a State and local licensed Master Electrician and am on the city electrical board

One thing to remember is you will still be limited to a maximum of 30 amps (7200 watts) with this device and a portable generator, so you can run a well pump by itself, or a water heater all alone, snd you would have very little spare capacity to run anything else if one of those was in use.

[Pawpaw]

I stumbled across a video today that might help someone out.

I tried to get approval to trial one of these with one of the rural electric co-ops and their engineer wouldn’t even talk to me, though many others actually sell them theirselves. I am a State and local licensed Master Electrician and am on the city electrical board

One thing to remember is you will still be limited to a maximum of 30 amps (7200 watts) with this device and a portable generator, so you can run a well pump by itself, or a water heater all alone, snd you would have very little spare capacity to run anything else if one of those was in use.

They have both 30 amp and 40 amp models. http://generlink.com/generlink.html

[puma guy]

Many larger generators come with the 50 amp outlet. RV Plug. In the link it's the 14-50. I don't know if the gen sets actually have a 50 amp breaker, though. My 8KW Run/ 10.5KW Surge has a 30 amp breaker on the 240 v connection

[Take Down Sicko]

$1,700.00 seems a bit much to run just one item.

[mrvmax]

This one looks promising, I need to find out if Texas New Mexico Power will allow them: https://www.homedepot.com/p/GenerLink-4 ... /301962200

[tomneal]

$1,700.00 seems a bit much to run just one item.

Whole house generators are now costing in the $12,000 to $22,000 range. (Based on info from buddies at the range.) A buddy from work got one installed in 2006-2007 for around $8,000.

Estimate for a freezer full of food is $600+

The $1,700 estimate included the switch, the electrician, and the generator. If you already have a generator, your additional cost should be lower.

We've lived in the city of Houston for about 40 years and have lost power for days an average of once about every 8 years. Always because of hurricanes. This months freeze took out our power for less than a day.

Not mentioned in the set up cost is the maintenance cost of having a generator. Whole house generators are run about an hour every week. The oil must be checked / changed just like any other internal combustion engine. I set up a monthly reminder to drag out my portable generator monthly to test. I am planning to change the oil once per year, UNLESS it gets run more than just a test. This could be a lot of maintenance as my wife and I get older.

[Archery1]

I'm thinking the 22kw Generac at around $5000 is not a bad deal. Right now they have a deal for two extra years of warranty for a total of 7. Installation is shown to be $2000. Does anyone know if they ever have an installation special?

I rather doubt there will be any discounts between now and hurricane season. Given how miserably the grid just performed due to freezing I’m not optimistic about the summer capabilities. Right now $7g give or take to get one installed your biggest problem is getting in before the supplies from China run out

Given current dealer lead times, one would be lucky to have it installed before the end of 2021. Current lead time is about 24 weeks before the dealer even gets it, and several folks have told me they are being told not to expect installation till even much later.

[ScottDLS]

If one has a sense of adventure they might take a look at some military surplus diesel gensets. They are available at some of the surplus auction sites and come in 5Kw - 60 kw versions. From what I read, like most military designs they are underrated by 10-20%. So a 10KW could probably reliably supply 11-12KW. These are primary power units designed for forward operating units and made to run for days to weeks at a time. They have auxiliary pumps that can take a suction on 55gal drums of diesel. I mean what self respecting Texas urban or suburban dweller doesn't have a couple hundred gallons of red-dye tax free diesel sitting around the condo.

Here's one I keep looking at on IronPlanet and GovPlanet auction sites. Some even come with trailers:

Cummins Power Generation MEP-1040 10kW Gen Set


You could look into the commercial variants also, often used for off grid primary power in remote locations.

PS: My friend Butthead says these Gensets RULE!!! -Beavis

[Greybeard]

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 ? .......

[Take Down Sicko]

I heard from a coworker that the electric co will install a generator on a house and charge a certain amount till paid off. Dont know if its true or not but plan to call them tomorrow. Supposedly they supply everything.

[Keith B]

This one looks promising, I need to find out if Texas New Mexico Power will allow them: https://www.homedepot.com/p/GenerLink-4 ... /301962200

This one is for 50 amps, so you would need a large generator with a 50 amp outlet Oran adapter to convert from a 14-50 plug to a 14-30 plug.

[howdy]

I just had an electrician install the 30 amp plug on my house and I just bought a 9400 watt surge/8000 watts dual fuel portable generator. My water heater, home heater and dryer are gas. My range top and oven are electric. I just changed out all my light bulbs to LEDs at 7w each. (Amazon has a 24 pack for $19) During this last freeze, I ran a 4500/3600 generator and I powered a 12,000btu heat pump, 1 refrigerator, a coffee pot and some lights. I also had hooked up a space heater in a 3 side covered breezeway for some feral cats. I figure with the 7500 watt, I can run my furnace blower, 2 refrigerators, a microwave and most the lights in my house. In summer, I can run 3 window units, a microwave, 2 refrigerators and all my lights. I paid $400 for the electrician and $900 for the generator. I already have about 15, 5 gallon gas cans and just bought 3 more at Walmart. The generator burns about 16 gallons a day so I have about 6 days with gas and 1 more day with the propane. There is a kit offered for the portable generator to hook up natural gas. The problem with that is the power loss on the generator. Natural gas loses about 30% of the power. I had an estimate of $12,000 for a 20KW Generac whole home system and it will be August before they can install it.

[mrvmax]

I heard from a coworker that the electric co will install a generator on a house and charge a certain amount till paid off. Dont know if its true or not but plan to call them tomorrow. Supposedly they supply everything.

I've seen where the natural gas company has offered that in the past.

[ScottDLS]

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...

[puma guy]

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...

My 8KW portable Generac is not much louder than my neighbor's 22KW whole house gen. Now that I think about it, I should probably should buy a spare muffler for it while the parts are current. I ran my pool pump with the piping and filter covered with tarps and moving quilts and a 1500W electric heater inside the enclosure.
I can't justify the cost of a full house genset to use infrequently.