emergency generator

[tinman22]

so, as I end day 4 of no power and sporadic phone and internet.... i'm thinking I could use a bigger generator to run things around this house. I currently have a troybilt 5500 or 6500 watt generator which is doing a fine job of running the important things. but to take a hot shower i'm swapping wires between the well pump and the hot water heater and just heating the water enough to get 2 showers in per evening.

any reccomendations for brand? preferably portable and gas
i havent looked into diesel if they even make them in a portable.

 

[minisub]

Portable, gas powered and bigger than 6500 watts?

Why not just get another 5 - 6KW unit (cheap) and work your wiring to use both? Might be a lot cheaper overall. Also if you are going to stick with gas, might want to look at a dual fuel unit that can run on propane. When power is out not always possible to get gasoline.

 

[TeaBagger2006]

i agree. get another generator of equal size and split the load. plus if one goes out you will have a back up

 

[tinman22]

if I go for another 5 -6 K generator. re wire things so run both and split the load i'd be in a similar price range of selling the one I have to my neighbor who has nothing at all. and buying a larger one and just having to move 2 breakers around to get where i'd like to be.

maybe what I should do is just go get a miller bobcat. then atleast I can run the house and weld till my hearts content lol.

 

[WTF]

I like the miller trailblazer alot better then the bobcat and there 11kw now wail only alil over 500lbs:thumb:

 

[jlawles2]

If you have natural gas at your house, go for something like a generac 20kw for just under $5k (uninstalled). Parents have one and love it. Any time the lights go out, it comes on and runs. Only maintenance required is oil changes no fuel ups in the middle of the night, and no worry about looking for fuel when everyone is without power.

 

[blk smoke lb7]

I have a generac 10,000 and i back feed the whole house thru my welder outlet in my shop it runs the furnace in the winter lites in the shop and house aircompressor when it kicks in well pumptv and all the little power nibblers in the house just fine. and i have a 250 ft voltage drop from the shop to the house

 

[blk smoke lb7]

if you have an electric hot water heater that is 220 that may effect things a bit but im betting it will still hold

 

[08 Black Max]

Well at least u have a generator, phone and internet.
As I do not have one, lost internet during the earthquake which was centered a few miles from my house, and lost power, phone, internet during Irene and all my food in the freezer and refrig. Due to paying for my two daughters in college no free money.

I too would recommend one of those generac units my parents have one that runs on their propane and works like a champ and like previously stated very low maintenance and do not have to worry to get fuel when no electric to run fuel pumps.:happy2:

 

[tinman22]

yes I currently have an electric hot water heater. it pulls about 15 amps on its own. I dont have natural gas up here in the hills of jersey. I have oil heat ( boiler) maybe i'll get a small indirect fired water tank. like a 20 gallon for emergencies.... just flip some valves and away we go. I need to look at my boiler and see if theres a hot water coil in it. I dont believe theres one there though. i'm trying to stay away from propane if I can. my luck the tank would leak down from sitting and when I need it I wont have it.

 

[jlawles2]

You could have the boiler converted from oil to propane.

 

[tinman22]

i'd rather not. boiler and tank were all brand new when I bought the place. no need to add a big ass propane tank to the mix and waste a perfectly good roth tank lol. perhaps a PTO powered generator to run off the tractor.

 

[minisub]

If you are heating with oil, I'd be looking at a diesel generator; you can run it on the home heating oil and not have to worry about getting gasoline during a prolonged outage.

I grew up on LI and everything was oil as well. We had an oil-fired boiler that fed the radiators as well as an indirect tank for domestic hot water. Pretty efficient setup.