and many of you say, "you just realized this!"

Over a year ago I bought a tri-fuel generator for my home in case the power goes out... could not convince my wife to invest the 8-10 grand in one of the 'genirac' automatic units and so I spend around 2k on this 'portable' tr-fuel one....

when it arrived some assembly was required... wheels and such but no big deal... and I temporarily hooked it up to a natural gas line at our house to make sure it worked and since it has electric start no problem... thing cranked up and ran great but I did not hook it up properly to the house.. over the next month I did plumb a new gas line to the place I would set it in case of a power outage and also installed the proper plug in with breaker at the outside disconnect box so that all I have to do is disconnect from the line coming into the house and flip a different breaker to feed the generator.... but for the last year I've been planning to roll this baby... it ain't light out and hook it up, throw the disconnect and crack it and light up the house and make sure it works...

finally, yesterday I decided to do this and I could not for the life of me get the dern thing to run... it would fire off and then shut down...I spent probably an hour trying to figure out what was wrong....finally decided to read the manual and the trouble shooting guide.... when I finally looked at the diagram for the fuel setting dial..... I had it turned to propane not natural gas....of course this generator is made in China and they don't print words on it just labels and the dern propane icon is in Green, Natural Gas is in Blue and I'm used to Natural Gas being labeled Green...
flipped the dern dial and the thing cranked up and ran perfectly and the house even liked it!

Of course the main reason for doing all this is now the power will never go out.

Chinese directions are the worst. My neighbor has that full house Generac. It does seem like a good idea.

Testing your plan is how you learn these things out before you need your plan.

I had the power go out once and the electric company said it would only be a few hours. I figured I’d go get the generator anyway as it would be good practice. That’s when I learned the gate to the subdivision didn’t have battery backup. Then, I learned the power was out at the garage two miles away where I kept the generator and of course I didn’t bring the key for the door. By the time I got the generator going, the power came back on.

I’m right there with you.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:

8-10 grand in one of the 'genirac' automatic units

I wish I could do it for 8 to ten grand. Generac dude was at the local Costco. He asked about our house -- just under 1,500 sq ft, 3-ton air conditioner, he quoted around seventeen large. I walked away. Would certainly do it for less than ten.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:

8-10 grand in one of the 'genirac' automatic units

I wish I could do it for 8 to ten grand. Generac dude was at the local Costco. He asked about our house -- just under 1,500 sq ft, 3-ton air conditioner, he quoted around seventeen large. I walked away. Would certainly do it for less than ten.

Yep, I would do it in a heartbeat if it was 8 grand or ten. My guy, who is really nice, we have known him for six years, quoted us approx. $20k - 2600 sq ft house, two AC units, two heaters, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:

8-10 grand in one of the 'genirac' automatic units

I wish I could do it for 8 to ten grand. Generac dude was at the local Costco. He asked about our house -- just under 1,500 sq ft, 3-ton air conditioner, he quoted around seventeen large. I walked away. Would certainly do it for less than ten.

If you had told your generac dude that you didn't need to run Air Conditioning cost would be a lot lower. As you are even older than I am it's very likely you grew up in a home without air conditioning and know quite well that it is not at all essential. Don't use Air or the microwave and all you need in regards to power is 1500 t0 2000 watts. Note in Orlando you would also have to turn off any electric heat and curtail use of an electric stove because both are capable drawing too much power. It's one reason why I have a gas stove.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
Don't use Air or the microwave and all you need in regards to power is 1500 t0 2000 watts.

If that. I run my whole house (except the well pump) off a 2K Honda with a whole lot to spare. All you really NEED to run are the fridge/freezers and maybe a TV to keep abreast of the news.

I kinda split the baby with this. I have a woodstove, no electricity required. For power I have my Honda 2000w portable, previously used camping & such. If needed I’ll rotate the power around.

Power here has been fairly reliable, no need for $15k+ of instant backup. Didn’t we all live in a cave at one time??

The money saved on the smaller Generac put towards a mini-split located in the most suitble place for power outage, and you should be able to have some comfort.

Florida heat and humidity, when the likelihood of lengthy power outage, is almost unbearable.

The A.C. in our house is from mini-splits... 5 of them run off two separate compressors... and so I can not only isolate the compressors... turn off the one in the 'west wing' which is only for guest and my wife's rowing machine but we could get by with one or two running.

Heat in house could be from the minie's but mostly from gas that does not require electricity.

Now that I'm thinking about being prepared .... I've got an outside kitchen that runs off of two propane tanks that I was contemplating converting to natural gas but since I have 5 tanks, three for backup... I think I'll keep it that way... incase by the chance I don't have natural gas for the generator.

Several years ago in Northcentral Arkansas we had an ice storm and our power was out for 21 days. About 2 days into it, I was looking for a generator and couldn't find one of course. My son comes up to me and says, dad I thought your welder was a generator as well. Duh, only a 10 kw. So I'm right there with you.

Years ago now I decided to “detail strip” the Honda mower. Upon reassembly I could not for the life of me get it running, no spark. Fought it for far too long. My youngest daughter (11) comes out I explain my situation, and she asks to help.

Throws the lever to rabbit gives it a tug and it’s running. Seems I’d spent the better part of an hour without putting it into the start position. Imagine how many times she’s asked if something is in “rabbit” when she sees me struggling.

quote:

If you had told your generac dude that you didn't need to run Air Conditioning cost would be a lot lower. As you are even older than I am it's very likely you grew up in a home without air conditioning and know quite well that it is not at all essential

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Igrew up without A/C in the Midwest. The primary reason for a generator in the Deep South is having A/C. Imagine living in a house that is a consistent 95 degrees for two weeks after a hurricane. It is a matter of survival not comfort. Remember no electricity means no fans unless you have a battery operated one. Essential is relative.

About 20 years ago, my wife bought a Generac 15KW (portable) for our house. It sits outside in the driveway because it is not really "portable". It's got wheels, but weighs quite a bit. The generator is gas powered and we have most of the house wired up in case of an emergency. She paid about $5K and it cost us $2K to have it hooked up to the house.

Since that time, we have not needed to use the generator. I start the generator every month and let it run for an hour or so. Every now and then, I hook up the generator to the house power and go through the process of shutting off the main (electric) power and using the generated power. It keeps me updated on what needs to be done!

It was a lot of money back then, but I'm glad we have it. I sleep better!!!

Still remembering 1999 and the impending disaster known as "Y2K". All the experts seemed to be predicting utter chaos when the year 2000 started and none of the automated systems being programmed beyond 20th Century date terminology.

People were totally freaking out, buying generators, stockpiling fuel, laying in non-perishable foods.

Then the calendar rolled over and NOTHING HAPPENED. Total non-event.

Shortly thereafter I went to Home Depot for some project or another. Stacks and stacks of brand new generators, still in the boxes, all returned for refund after Y2K. Picked out a very nice 4500W portable for under $300.

Won't run my central air unit, but perfectly capable of powering the gas furnace blower, some lights, refrigerator, TV, necessary stuff for basics.

24 years later, that generator is still in perfect condition. Fire it up once a year and run it for a half-hour or so, keep fresh oil in the crankcase, make sure there is fresh gasoline (with stabilizer) in the fuel cans. Other than that, it has just been cheap insurance.

yep, I'm pretty sure the more I play and 'prep' with this one the more likely I am to never need it. Now that I think about it, I feel the same way with my guns.

quote:

Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:
Still remembering 1999 and the impending disaster known as "Y2K". All the experts seemed to be predicting utter chaos when the year 2000 started and none of the automated systems being programmed beyond 20th Century date terminology.

People were totally freaking out, buying generators, stockpiling fuel, laying in non-perishable foods.

Then the calendar rolled over and NOTHING HAPPENED. Total non-event.

Shortly thereafter I went to Home Depot for some project or another. Stacks and stacks of brand new generators, still in the boxes, all returned for refund after Y2K. Picked out a very nice 4500W portable for under $300.

Won't run my central air unit, but perfectly capable of powering the gas furnace blower, some lights, refrigerator, TV, necessary stuff for basics.

24 years later, that generator is still in perfect condition. Fire it up once a year and run it for a half-hour or so, keep fresh oil in the crankcase, make sure there is fresh gasoline (with stabilizer) in the fuel cans. Other than that, it has just been cheap insurance.

There is a product called Soft Start that smooths out the starting amperage of an AC and allows a smaller generator to be used. Usually it’s the lock Rotor Amps (LRA) that make it hard for a generator to be used to power an AC. Depending on your specific circumstances it might be worth looking into..


Here’s one from MicroAir

https://www.microair.net/produ...BAY3uvhoCCycQAvD_BwE

Glad you got it sorted out! Crappy Chinese instructions doesn't make you an idiot.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
It does seem like a good idea.

Our house in Washington had one, and there were a number of times over the five years we lived there where the neighborhood had lost power for some period of time and we didn't even know it. It was a fairly quiet unit on the far end of the house on a lower level from the main living space.

I have been thinking about getting one for our new home. AC during a brownout or potential rolling blackouts in the summer time would be potentially a life-saving thing.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:

8-10 grand in one of the 'genirac' automatic units

I wish I could do it for 8 to ten grand. Generac dude was at the local Costco. He asked about our house -- just under 1,500 sq ft, 3-ton air conditioner, he quoted around seventeen large. I walked away. Would certainly do it for less than ten.

If you had told your generac dude that you didn't need to run Air Conditioning cost would be a lot lower. As you are even older than I am it's very likely you grew up in a home without air conditioning and know quite well that it is not at all essential. Don't use Air or the microwave and all you need in regards to power is 1500 t0 2000 watts. Note in Orlando you would also have to turn off any electric heat and curtail use of an electric stove because both are capable drawing too much power. It's one reason why I have a gas stove.

AC is the main reason for having a generator in the south. In Orlando, the most likely reason for an extended power outage is a hurricane and that happens most often late-August and September while temps are still well into the 90s.

Blume, can you point me to which tri-fuel generator you went with? Sounds like an attractive option for me.

Yellowjacket,

Here's the link on Amazon who I bought it from:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...n_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

10K watts with gasoline but only 7K with natural gas.

the one odd thing is in the instructions, and I need to go back and look there was something about changing out how the wiring in the thing was if connecting to a whole house... I think it was isolating the neutral from the ground.... I think the two are supposed to be connected together at the factory and you are supposed to separate them if connecting to a grounded house.. the odd thing is I took the cover off of the 'alternator' part to do this and they were already separated....at least that's what I remember from over a year ago.