alinct
.30 Stingray
Posts: 100 
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Post by alinct on Nov 7, 2011 10:40:53 GMT -5
Looking to spend $1000-$1500 for a portable home generator. We had an early winter storm here that brought down power to much of the state. Don't want to be in the situation that my family was in again.
Thinking 5,000 watts- enough to run the gas furnace, hot water heater (gas), fridge and some lights. Any one here have any recommendations for a reliable generator? Right now I'm looking at models that either have Honda, Yamaha or Subaru engines since those engines seem to be deemed the most reliable from the research that I've done. I've read that diesel is a good choice, but I'm not seeing much for diesel in my price range. Any thoughts? Thank you.
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Post by AxeHandle on Nov 7, 2011 11:24:11 GMT -5
I've been looking too. If I upgrade to another gasoline generator it will be a Honda. FWIW I bought my current generator about 15 years ago. Had never even considered running it until our tornado based power outage happened this summer. When it was obvious that the power would be off for a while I gassed it up, added oil, and ran it for 5 days. I had been thinking I wanted a propane model to get away from that constant upkeep after running it the first time. What I read now days is pushing me toward diesel. The 35 gallons of fuel that usually sits in my Cummins Dodge would run one for a while..
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Shakey
.327 Meteor
Central Arkansas
Posts: 548
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Post by Shakey on Nov 7, 2011 14:18:11 GMT -5
I'll be watching this thread with interest because I'll be moving within the next year and want emergency power at my new place.
I've not gotten down to looking at specific models yet but really want to get away from the problem of fuel spoilage with either gasoline or diesel. We have never had a natural gas outage so I am thinking a natural gas setup with LP backup may be the way to go. Hope this doesn't turn out to be a budget buster.
Axe, I'm curious. What tilted you away from propane?
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dmize
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,834
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Post by dmize on Nov 7, 2011 16:33:46 GMT -5
I would like to know too Axe. As I grow in age and paranoia I have been thinking about a generator and was seriously thinking about propane.
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alinct
.30 Stingray
Posts: 100
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Post by alinct on Nov 7, 2011 16:59:38 GMT -5
I can say that for myself there were two things that made me look elsewhere than propane. First, most of the manufacturers that run on propane or "triple fuel" (gas, lp, natural gas), list fuel consumption for gas and lp in gallons. My slow mind kept thinking that a standard 20 pound propane tank was 20 gallons, when it's really just over 4. Second, I didn't want to have more than three 20 pound tanks sitting around my property. On the upside, propane stores long. Some of those slow turn diesel generators take around a quart of fuel an hour at around 4k watts. Just not in a position to afford one at this point. Here's a couple of slow turn diesels I was talking about. There's a certain draw to them. www.generatorsales.com/order/09912.asp?page=L09912www.generatordepotusa.com/generators.asp?prod=SF12 |
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Post by wickerbill on Nov 7, 2011 20:19:17 GMT -5
I'll be watching this thread with interest because I'll be moving within the next year and want emergency power at my new place. I've not gotten down to looking at specific models yet but really want to get away from the problem of fuel spoilage with either gasoline or diesel. We have never had a natural gas outage so I am thinking a natural gas setup with LP backup may be the way to go. Hope this doesn't turn out to be a budget buster. Axe, I'm curious. What tilted you away from propane? If it's available, Natural gas is the way to go. Bill |
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dmize
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,834
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Post by dmize on Nov 7, 2011 21:30:09 GMT -5
I was looking at propane thinking I could plumb it into my 500 gallon tank.
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hoss
.327 Meteor
Posts: 716
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Post by hoss on Nov 8, 2011 22:36:17 GMT -5
Anyone have a link for natural gas generators?
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alinct
.30 Stingray
Posts: 100
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Post by alinct on Nov 9, 2011 8:52:23 GMT -5
Hoss, here's a link that I've found for natural gas generators: www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/power/natural-gas-generators.htmldmize, that's a good size tank. From some of the research I've done so far I've seen a few places online that either offer converted gens to propane (still take gas) or offer the conversion parts necessary to do it. |
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Post by AxeHandle on Nov 9, 2011 11:57:46 GMT -5
You guys made this old guy remember the negative about propane.. It is the fuel consumption rate. They burn to much for me to consider for anything more than a few hours. Diesel was the bright spot for consumption and maintenance. Just have to overcome the initial cost hurdle...
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Post by oldschool on Nov 9, 2011 13:26:46 GMT -5
If you get a chance, take a look at the Honda "Inverter" series. A buddy brought a 3K Inverter to hunting camp a couple of weeks ago and it was impressive. It's so quiet, you could hear the other generators running in camp hundreds of yards away. We set it on the other side of his trailer and you couldn't hear it by our campfire 30 yds away. He claims in its low-powered setting (enough to run lights, TV, microwave, etc) he can run for 20+ hours on 3 gallons of gas. He only turns it to high to run the central air on his travel trailer. Here's some info: tinyurl.com/3el8xxnIf you go to the left side of the page and select the "Generator sound level comparison", the video will give you an idea of how quiet it is compared to their other series. |
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dmize
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,834
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Post by dmize on Nov 9, 2011 16:04:11 GMT -5
Well I live out in the middle of no where and our whole house is LP.
I was unaware of the consumption rates,I had just seen them advertised in our power co-op flyer. Thanks for the heads up on that aspect.
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edk
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,162
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Post by edk on Nov 11, 2011 8:22:26 GMT -5
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alinct
.30 Stingray
Posts: 100
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Post by alinct on Nov 11, 2011 9:16:42 GMT -5
edk- everything that I've happened to read about those lister's is that they are nothing short of awesome. If I had a bit more money, and more importantly the room to put it, I'd get one.
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cj3a
.30 Stingray
Posts: 403
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Post by cj3a on Nov 11, 2011 18:10:18 GMT -5
The some of the cheaper generators will not run home medical equipment or some computer equipment. Not sure why but I think it has to do with the 60 cycle regulation. Most home generator use the engines governor to maintain 3600 RPM/60 cycles. I have read the Honda inverter generators are computer safe. Also the 1800 rpm generators will be quieter and less likely to draw unwanted attention to them when running. I would use propane or natural gas if I did not use diesel every day. Diesel will go bad over time and should be tested. Just a few thoughts on the matter.
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