portable generators --- advice needed please

[mafibisha]

We want to buy a portable generator to back up our sump pump & electricity.

Haven't a clue what to look for or buy. Something that's middle of the line, IOW that won't break the bank, but will be reliable.

Any advice appreciated! TIA!

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

A generator is only good if you're home for sump pump. I'd first invest in a battery backup sump pump. DH installed ours and total cost was a little under $250. We went with the Basement Watchdog brand. That way we should be covered if not home for not only a power fail but also if our main one was to just wear out over time.

I did a lot of research on generators and we were able to get by with a 3500w unit, we paid under $500. We determined that size as it could power the following at once; refrigerator (or chest freezer but not both at the same time), one TV, Internet/cable modem, uverse TV box, space heater or fan, and charging phones/iPads. Or in the winter it'd power our furnace. Ours doesn't power a lot but for us it works, I wasn't going to invest thousands in a generator which we will hopefully never use. Plus in winter I'd have it run furnace then disconnect furnace and goto TV.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

We went a little bigger and got a 5500 watt unit several years ago. Prices may have risen a bit, but I think we paid about 625 for ours. Be sure to get a couple of 5 gallon gas cans and use stabilizer and "rotate" the gas to your cars and refill the cans once a year.

I have no actual proof, but I feel the name brand units should be more reliable and have better parts availability than a no-name brand offered at a rock bottom price.

 

[Sadie22]

You need to have a battery backup in place for your sump pump at all times that will take over if the house power goes out. That's separate and apart from having a portable gasoline-powered generator that you have to be there to fuel and turn on to power selected appliances.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I agree with the others a battery back up to the sump is the way to go. But if you really want a generator you can not get one that is less than 3500 watts. 3500 watts is what is needed just to run just a sump and nothing else. Too bad you did not ask this a week ago. Sams club had a killer deal on generators on Black Friday and it was still available on Sat. 10,000 watt for $600.00 with a wheeled cart.

 

[Pooh2]

Not sure what brand we have but the generator itself cost us about $600. The electrician and wiring materials ran about another $600. Seemed like a lot of money at the time but last week we were without power for 4 days. We were very grateful for hot shower and not worrying about losing two freezers full of food!

 

[manning]

BE AWARE

If you are planning to connect the generator to the house line you have to have a switch that disconnects the house electrical lines from the electric company power grid.

If you don't do this you will be feeding power back to the grid. This will endanger anyone repairing the lines on the grid.

 

[Pooh2]

BE AWARE

If you are planning to connect the generator to the house line you have to have a switch that disconnects the house electrical lines from the electric company power grid.

If you don't do this you will be feeding power back to the grid. This will endanger anyone repairing the lines on the grid.

Well worth having a licensed electrician take care of things.

 

[Anthony1971]

First you need to explain your intentions.
A battery buck up sump pump is a decent idea but will only last for a few hours or less for a heavy storm more for light use.
You can also accomplish this by buying an invertor and a car battery while more costly it will give you a far greater time span for the back up... you must also buy a small battery maintainer type charger. The battery will only also last 3-5 years (maybe longer but you push your luck) depending on the quality but it is the same with a pre built battery back up.
If your intention is for a storm then a generator is a far better idea. What you need depends on what you truly want to power at once.... If it is just for one sump pump and run other high draw appliances after it calms down than a 1,500 watt running not startup or max will serve your needs... if you want to run more and have just in case a 3,000 is fine.... they have worksheets online to help... just remember the bigger the generator the more gas it will use and if it is hard to get gas and you have none.............
as far as brand... there are off name brands some are good some are junk.. Champion and the like are the upper of the bottom end and work well as a pure emergency only run once a year or less type... they can be had on a good sale for under 300 sometimes well under for a 3000 watt one
other things to consider are heat.. for this you may need a higher end inverter generator like Honda(around 8-1000 for a 2000 watt). a traditional generators power output is very unstable by nature as it is a gas motor attached to a generator head and as the power output of the motor fluctuates so does the output (not just volts amps) this can cause a newer furnace to either not function at all or burn it out. if you have an older furnace like 15-20 years you are fine with a traditional generator.
again truly consider what you want it for and gas supply....
You can also go with a whole house natural gas powered which can easily run into 5-7 thousand all in.
lastly as far as hook up... for the most part you can use extension cords but make sure they are heavier gage and run them with the least distance you can. for higher watt there are ways of hooking into you panel that are illegal but if done correctly and YOU ABSOLUTELY follow how to... it is 100% safe. the wright way is to have a manual or auto switch installed that you plug into (RV plug for the easy name) but this was to done by an electrician and will run as others have said 600 and up depending if you want an auto or manual switch and how big of a sub panel you need...
for the record my neighbor had a harbor freight 89 (now maybe 99 or a little more) special generator that powered his lower watt sump fine and stopped him from flooding during a hurricane... as I said you need to weigh your needs and understand what you are powering... if you have a little giant or such sump pump you will need more than the harbor freight... if you have a pump from Lowes or HD the HF generator will power it without issue... Would I use this generator as my main back up... no but I would be happy to have if nothing else.. I also would not buy a high end generator as I use mine for emergency only (years apart).. Please also remember that if you store the generator outside when NOT in use you need to run it under load every 3-6 months otherwise the head (generator part) can rust and will be useless when you need it.

 

[tvguy]

You need to have a battery backup in place for your sump pump at all times that will take over if the house power goes out. That's separate and apart from having a portable gasoline-powered generator that you have to be there to fuel and turn on to power selected appliances.

Fueling certainly can be an issue if you are away for a long time when the power failure happens. But my FIL has his wired into his breaker box with a sensor that starts it when the power goes out, and it only powers the circuits he wants powered, so no need to turn any other breakers off.

He has a Sears generator and it ran almost non-stop for 2 and 1/2 months after Hurricaine Rita. He got the extended 14 gallon tank, and only had to refuel once a day, and change the oil every other day (50 hours of operation is the recommendation.

 

[Sadie22]

BTW the backup we have for our sump pump is a marine battery.

 

[North of Mouse]

BE AWARE

If you are planning to connect the generator to the house line you have to have a switch that disconnects the house electrical lines from the electric company power grid.

If you don't do this you will be feeding power back to the grid. This will endanger anyone repairing the lines on the grid.

Yes, can be 'very' dangerous! We had our house wired on a separate circuit for the necessary things we wanted to have powered by our generator - just flip a switch and plug the gen. in. Works like a charm - worth getting a larger one on wheels that can handle more than just lights, couple outlets, etc. Money well worth spent.

 

[mafibisha]

OP here. Thanks for your replies.

We already do have a back-up battery for our sump pump. It has saved us from flooding more than a few times.

This is in addition to that, mostly for electrical.

Appreciate all the feedback.