Talking about hurricanes...Power question

[Tuffcookie]

Does anyone here have a generator at their home for when the power goes out? I was just wondering how much they cost and what's involved in the installation and upkeep and what's the lifespan. Also, if you have one, do you use it for whole house or just for certain things (ie: refrigerator, lights)?
Here in Ohio we still have people without power!

TC

 

[Hercules10]

When Rita was threatening us in '05. I bought a HONDA/Northstar 13K watt generator for $2,300. It can run the fridge, washing machine and dryer if need be.

Regarding maintenance: You can either add stabalizer to the fuel and it's good for about a year (I personally never push 8 months) and I run it at least twice a year to keep every thing lubricated. Stored with a cover and spray around it with ant spray (for some reason the little boogers love electrical stuff). Still running like a champ.

 

[mom2rb]

You can get a small one that will run you fridge, lights and T.V. for about $650. My dad says they use about five gallons a gas a day. They will not power a stove or a hot water heater.

My dad has a huge propane tank outside his house. Only about 50% of his neighborhood put a tank in. The rest did all electric ( it was cheaper ). Now those people are having to take showers and cook and my dad's house. They will be out of power for weeks.

 

[eeyore65]

We have a half house generator on our current house and a whole house generator on our new house that we are building. My parents have a half house generator on their home in Buffalo.

There is a lot involved in a permanent back up generator. First, do you have a natural gas line or would you need to bury a propane tank? This is a huge cost difference. Also, propane can run out during an emergency just like gasoline.

Next, you need permits. There are many rules for where one can be installed near a home. You also need a pad to put it on and a switch that is wired in to your electrical panel. All this needs to be done with a licensed electician. If you are hooking in to gas you also need a plumber.

The system tests itself every week. You als need to check the battery - which we do before every hurricane season. I love my generators!

I think they are an okay investment if you live in a hurricane zone for piece of mind. I think they are more cost efficient if you have a natural gas line. I can't remember how much ours cost for the half house - but I think it was a couple of thousand.

 

[Chicago526]

We bought one after a tornado did a near miss of my town last year and they estimated that power would be out for a couple of days. We paid $400 for it, it's enough to power our fridge, freezer, tv, some lights, and my home office (i work from home so I need power for my phone and computer, otherwise I have to go in to the office! ). I think it can also run one of our window a/c units so if it's hot, we can run the a/c at night so we can sleep. We've only had it a year so I don't know how long it will last (i imagine it also will have to do with how much it gets used). DH hasn't mentioned anything about up keep, I'd have to ask him.

 

[bsnyder]

We bought one after a tornado did a near miss of my town last year and they estimated that power would be out for a couple of days. We paid $400 for it, it's enough to power our fridge, freezer, tv, some lights, and my home office (i work from home so I need power for my phone and computer, otherwise I have to go in to the office! ). I think it can also run one of our window a/c units so if it's hot, we can run the a/c at night so we can sleep. We've only had it a year so I don't know how long it will last (i imagine it also will have to do with how much it gets used). DH hasn't mentioned anything about up keep, I'd have to ask him.

We did the same after the multiple hurricanes of 2004 and were without power for a few miserable days. We went in with my BIL and his wife to buy the generator and a window A/C unit - they live just a block from us, and we're on the same power lines, so when we go out, they do too. Our plan is that they would come stay with us if we have an extended outage. We'd use the generator to keep the fridge going, as well as whatever else we can power it with it. At night, we'd have a "slumber party" in our master bedroom and use the generator to power the A/C unit.

I'm grateful that we haven't had to test this plan yet...

 

[Feralpeg]

I don't have a generator, but I am looking into the possibility of a Guardian. It is a huge generator that will run the entire house (including central air conditioning). The Guardian works off of natural gas or propane. Since we don't have natural gas in my area, I would need a propane tank. The Guardian has a sensor that detects when the power fails and cuts in after 3 minutes. When the power comes back on, it turns itself off. A Guardian large enough to run my home would run in the area of $8k plus the cost of the propane tank.

If I lived in another area, I wouldn't worry about it. I do worry about it living in Florida. Even though there are no overhead lines in my area, that doesn't mean a hurricane couldn't take out the power lines that feed my area. The thought of going without air conditioning during the summer here is just not a pleasant thought.

 

[brerrabbit]

A generator around 3500 watts would be fine for running a fridge, a tv and a fan or a couple of lights. I know because thats what we have run on a 2200 watt generator for the past week. My father bought it in October of 1983 after Alicia hit in August of 1983 so its 25 years old and still works fine.

A few tips for generators.

Never run them in enclosed spaces due to the dange of carbon monoxide. Over 30 people in the Texas Gulf coast have had to be treated for that thus far after Ike. One person has died as a result.

Never tie them into you houses electrical supply. The voltage would be there but the amperage would not and the result would be underpower which causes huge resistance in the line and could result in fire or damage to your homes wiring.

Be careful where you do place them because more than likely you will be sleeping with the windows open and the fumes can make it back into the house through open windows.

If you live in a reformulated gasoline area ( in other words 10% of your gas is ethanol) do not leave fuel in your tank when you store the generator. Even adding a stabilizer will not help. Ethanol is a great solvent as well as having negative effects on the fuel lines and hoses. Over time the ethanol and gas will seperate and the pure seperated ethanol will attract water into the tank causing engine problems down the line. Either run the generator out of gas when you are through, or empty the tank before you store it.

These are all applicable to small emergency generators and do not apply to the huge and expensive whole house systems you can get for home backup. Those are required to be wired in through your home electrical service panel and are ususally run with propane or natural gas.

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

I don't have a generator, but I am looking into the possibility of a Guardian. It is a huge generator that will run the entire house (including central air conditioning). The Guardian works off of natural gas or propane. Since we don't have natural gas in my area, I would need a propane tank. The Guardian has a sensor that detects when the power fails and cuts in after 3 minutes. When the power comes back on, it turns itself off. A Guardian large enough to run my home would run in the area of $8k plus the cost of the propane tank.

If I lived in another area, I wouldn't worry about it. I do worry about it living in Florida. Even though there are no overhead lines in my area, that doesn't mean a hurricane couldn't take out the power lines that feed my area. The thought of going without air conditioning during the summer here is just not a pleasant thought.

My Inlaws have one. They live in NE-PA, so they have frequent outages. I think it's a great investment if you can afford it. There's runs off of propane. It is loud though, and you will hear it kick on when it is I guess 'recharging'.

We have a small one too that runs off of gas. It's just enough for the important stuff. Ours was around $1800 and DH got it from Sears I think. It does run very LOUD though.

Ditto on keeping spray around it for the little buggers. Also check to see what could be living in there. My DH just recently found a mouse giving birth in his quad. She was mid-birthing one of the babies . The nest was right on top of the battery. She had tons of grass clippings and pieces of paper towels to make up her nest. Good thing he checked inside before he started it up.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Been loving my generator here in Pearland too! Ours is 5000 watts and will actually run a small window unit ac in addition to the fridg. It is insanely loud though.

One warning--once you hook up the generator, your whole world becomes finding gas to keep it running!

 

[legalsea]

I have one.

I can't stress enough how important it is to have the generator outside in a well-ventilated place. I was appalled to read the other day that a good number of the deaths attributable to hurricane Ike was carbon monoxide poisoning due to having a generator inside or close to an open window.

 

[brerrabbit]

Been loving my generator here in Pearland too! Ours is 5000 watts and will actually run a small window unit ac in addition to the fridg. It is insanely loud though.

One warning--once you hook up the generator, your whole world becomes finding gas to keep it running!

Howdy neighbor! I totally agree with the gas part. That has consumed several hours each day. But since I have been coming to work in Houston every day since Monday it has made it easier to find. The good news is we don't need it anymore because we got power back at 6:00 last night!

 

[GeorgeG]

Generators can run anywhere from about $600 to $12,000 depending on what you need or want to have, not to mention what you can afford.

As mentioned, the smaller (portable) generators are good for running a few necessities and the size, price, and bells and whistles go up from there. The smallers ones require some set-up every time you need them while a full-house standby generator can be set by computer to come on automatically when the power goes off as well as automatically self-test as often as you set it to do so.

The portables require the same maintenance as a lawn mower or snowblower and usually run on gasoline. The larger ones still need maintenance, but can run on gasoline, deisel, propane, or natural gas. Natural gas, where available, is the best way to go since it is the most uninterruptable and you don;t have to store it.

To help decide what is best for you, list the things you need to run and figure out the total wattage needed to run them. If you get your water from a well, don't forget the pump. Once you have your list, give yourself a little extra, maybe 15-20% just in case.

Installation of any permanent generator should always be done by a licensed electrician and the connection and disconnect switch for using a portable should also be installed by a licensed electrician. If you use a portable generator with extention cords directly to the appliances you are running, you can do that yourself, but never, ever, backfeed a generator into the house wiring without a disconnect switch to isloate it from the service coming in. It may be dead, but 120 volts feeding back to the street will be stepped up to the 2400-20,000 volts (depending on the primary voltage normally feeding it) at the transformer and beyond. That creates a very dangerous situation. If you know what you're doing, you can rig a small generator to feed through your breaker panel, but you must turn off the main breaker so it won't feed back out to the service and transformer. It's best to also turn off the circuit breakers to the non-essential circuits to avoid overloading the generator. Be advised, though, this is probably not legal and a proper disconnect switch is the best way to go.

Many electric utility companies like to know if you have a permanent generator so they can inspect for the disconnect and note your account as having one. The only reason is so they know where to look if they detect voltage on a line that is supposed to be dead. Otherwise they have to check every house in the area before they can begin repairs.

Stores like Home Depot or Lowes usually have a good selection of generators and can provide installation and advice on what you need.

 

[nataliela]

We have a small portable one that runs on reg. gas. I have no idea how much it costs or how powerful it is.
We can run a window unit, fridge and a lamp on it with an extension cord.

Its on wheels so that after hurricane season, we will store it away- but we are still needing it for when a breeze knocks down the poles again.

When we move we want to install a larger one that runs on natural gas

 

[KirstenB]

We bought one after a tornado did a near miss of my town last year and they estimated that power would be out for a couple of days. We paid $400 for it, it's enough to power our fridge, freezer, tv, some lights, and my home office (i work from home so I need power for my phone and computer, otherwise I have to go in to the office! ). I think it can also run one of our window a/c units so if it's hot, we can run the a/c at night so we can sleep. We've only had it a year so I don't know how long it will last (i imagine it also will have to do with how much it gets used). DH hasn't mentioned anything about up keep, I'd have to ask him.

Same here. We've had ours about 5 yrs. I think it's a 5000 kw one. It is loud, but dh moved it further from the house, and built a little open-ended shed for it, so that helped with the noise. In the winter, we run the gas fireplace, fridge, lights and microwave with it. In the summer, we can run window a/c, fridge, lights and microwave. DH is an electrical engineer so he installed it himself, and has it somehow permanently wired to the circuit breaker. I can never remember all the steps with turning off the circuit breaker, etc, so he made me a little cheat sheet because we only seem to lose power when he's out of town for work!

 

[NotUrsula]

There was a nice little article in the Times-Picayune a couple of weeks ago from someone who installed a Guardian, she has a lot of "things that are important to know" tips:

http://blog.nola.com/stephaniestokes/2008/09/wholehouse_generator_brings_po.html