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| Stupid Allergy  |
Thoughts on Westinghouse? I don’t know squat about these brands except for the big ones...Generac, Honda, etc. "Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen... | |||
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| Member |
I have a Honda EU 2200i, a few 12 ga extensions cords etc., etc. to provide some basic power. It's very quiet. About $1k new up here in the Northwest. I also have a tow chain with and a pad lock to secure it while running it. | |||
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| Cruising the Highway to Hell  |
I have the same generator and breaker box configuration. It runs my well pump, water heater and some lights and the TV. Won't run the HVAC, or stove at least if anything else is turned on. I run it on propane. I have two 100Lb tanks and two 40Lb tanks in the trailer if I run out on the 100 Lb tanks. Propane is way easier to store than gasoline. “Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” ― Ronald Reagan Retired old fart | |||
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| Member |
Solid... MrGunsNGear did a review of a smaller unit. Said his neighbors relied on it for weeks if I remember correctly. The "Boz" | |||
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| If you see me running try to keep up  |
For that price you can get a Cummins dual fuel, propane or gas with the flick of a switch. Cummins/Onan has a great rep. It also has battery start with remote control and you can buy a Cummins panel to wire up that will auto start the generator. Cummins | |||
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Ammoholic |
Six space Ten space. Jesse Sic Semper Tyrannis | |||
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Drill Here, Drill Now |
I installed the 10 space the first time I lived in Houston. Needed a second set of hands for about 30 minutes, but after that it was all DIY. Solid unit and safe. Prior to purchasing, I had the electrical engineers on our hurricane restart team review it. They're actually the ones that talked me into DIY. Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer. | |||
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| As Extraordinary as Everyone Else |
I figured Jesse would chime in... These are the ones we installed in our new home construction when the owners didn’t want a whole house automatic generator. To the OP we have a 5500 watt generator for our 4200 SF house and am able to selectively use most of the major circuits. Just something to consider... ------------------ Eddie Our Founding Fathers were men who understood that the right thing is not necessarily the written thing. -kkina | |||
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Member |
I have the older version of the Firman from Costco in the link on page one. Bought it on sale for $550. Had an electrician wire the house (think that was about $400 for labor and materials) and now I can selectively power what I want. Granted, I have had the generator for 2.5 years and only plugged it in one time to test it, but it's there if I need it. But using it means we got hit by a hurricane, so I'll be happy if I never use it again. | |||
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Spiritually Imperfect |
I just came off a 24 hour period using a Craftsman brand 6000-watt gas generator that I borrowed from work. It ran small things well. Coffee pot (important),phone chargers, toaster, etc. Enough small electric heaters to keep us from freezing to death, but no more. We have a 4,000 sq ft house. Noise is an issue, yes. But when you really need it ... the noise is not even a factor. Burned about 8 gallons during the 24 hours, by the way. 5 gallon tank meant you could leave it running overnight. I am shopping and considering a whole house permanent setup, as well. | |||
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| Ammoholic |
I never, ever recommend doing something DIY electrical, but these are stupidity easy to install. The hardest part is renting/owning a hammer drill for brick and/or cinder block construction. If you have to fish the line for the inlet then I'd recommend and electrician because we know how to run wiring with limited drywall damage (good electricians at least do). Also if the run is over 100', I'd suggest upping wire gauge from #10 to #8. Jesse Sic Semper Tyrannis | |||
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| Drill Here, Drill Now |
That home had an exterior power panel and hardy plank siding. All I had to do was mount the outdoor 10 slot transfer switch next to the power panel, and run a short conduit between. Here was the end result:  At work there is a friendly rivalry between the sparkies (ie. electrical engineers) and the plumbers (i.e. mechanical engineers which includes me). To paraphrase what the sparkies said to me, even a dumb ass plumber could do this... Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer. | |||
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Member |
To those who rely on NG generators, keep in mind that most of the Texas problems this week resulted from failures of the natural gas supply. If you don’t have a way to power your generator with an on-site fuel source, then you don’t really have a backup. Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. -Epictetus | |||
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Member |
I have a couple portable generators but my company (before we got a Generac 85kw roof mounted system) had a generator we bought from Central Maine Diesel that we used to keep our deep freezers running. Quality stuff. They manufacture a lot of their own gennys using Honda motors. Some run on both propane or natural gas. http://www.centralmainediesel.com/ --------------------------------------- It's like my brain's a tree and you're those little cookie elves. | |||
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| Member |
I had a Generac but it was a piece of junk. 10kw model and the fuel tank rusted out and it never ran right. I bought a dual fuel Pulsar 8kw and it works great. Got a couple 40lb propane bottles and it has run for 3 days straight. | |||
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| Drill Here, Drill Now |
No natural gas supply issue with anyone I know with residential NG generators. My Kohler hummed along 33 hours straight. Also, I suspect when they have serious people do real analysis (i.e. the opposite of what the political hacks and the paparazzi have been spewing this week) of the issue they're going to find that failure to winterize NG plants, nuke plants, and wind farms was the root cause. With the current derugulated system there isn't incentive (i.e. make more money) or teeth (lose money and or get fined) for percent up time (aka reliability). Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer. | |||
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| Member |
HVAC in Texas, what do you have specifically? Big load difference between a gas furnace and a heat pump with electric backup. | |||
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Member |
We live in northern Minnesota where the temps were down to -42 F recently. I have a Honda EU2000i thats is gassed up and kept in the basement for emergencies. I installed a simple outlet on the outside of the house on our deck. Through the wall of that outlet is another outlet. Simple, but works. We cannot run whole house, but can have coffee, sump pump, water pump, and woodstove fan going without issue. Also, my two deep cycle batteries are stored in the basement also, where I have an 800w inverter and small solar chargers. Sigs P-220, P-226 9mm, & P-230SL (CCW) | |||
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| Banned |
The Honda EU series are the best out there. BUT very pricey but also incredibly QUIET!! | |||
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| If you see me running try to keep up |
I have lived through using them in two hurricanes and I do to particularly want one that is quiet. First, most the neighborhood will be using them so quiet is no longer an issue when you can hear everyone elses. Second, thieves were going around stealing running generators, I want to hear mine run. | |||
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