After a minor skirmish with Hurricane Sandy (lost power, sump pump of course stopped, a little water in basement, annoyance ensued but thankfully No Big Deal), we’re weighing options for preventing this kind of issue in the future.
Of course a whole-house backup generator (runs off the gas line) would be nifty but I don’t happen to have 10,000 dollars to spare.
A portable generator should produce enough “oomph” to run the sump pump and the fridge. Maybe not the blower for the gas furnace though (would have to look into that).
I actually found one that can run off of propane - as in, the same cylinders we keep around for the gas grill. Anyone have any experience with these? It seems like this would eliminate the problem of keeping gasoline around (which can go stale).
When you need to use such a thing, how do you get the power to the device(s)? Do the generators simply have regular outlets on them that you run an extension cord to? Seems like that wouldn’t work well for running a furnace - I haven’t looked at ours, but I don’t think there’s a plug to a wall outlet :).
And, safety: I know better than to run one indoors, but what about in an open garage, with the door into the house closed / maybe taped shut? Setting it fully outdoors is (I assume) not a good idea if it’s actively raining.
They key is to make sure the exhaust is not venting to the house many people have died from running generators right next to the house and the fumes come into the house with no where to vent.
As far as Connections the generator will have a couple of ways to connect, think of jump-starting a car is one way where you have two lines a ground and hot that run to your box and some have plugs like you mentioned.
You can certainly run extension cords to the fridge and freezer, but for the furnace, a transfer switch will make life easier.
A typical transfer switch installation puts a socket on the side of your house for the generator to plug into, then at your main breaker panel, there’s a box on the side that’s been wired in so pre-determined circuits like the furnace, sump pump, well pump, freezer, etc can receive generator power or utility power, depending on which way the switch is thrown.
Prices range from about $200 to $500, plus installation. It is critical that these things are installed properly or you can back-feed the power lines with your generator which will quickly overload it when it tries to power the rest of the neighborhood, and it puts utility workers in danger of being electrocuted. In addition to preventing you from killing a lineman, a transfer switch will also protect the generator when the utility power is eventually restored.
In the $500-$1000 range, you can get automatic transfer switches that make the transfer and start the generator. This is what you’d want if you have a permanently installed unit and is overkill for a portable genny.
From the little research I did on portable generators you’re better off with propane than gas in that propoan burns cleaner whereas gas generator can eventually gum up. Not sure how big of a deal that really is, though.
I have a gasoline generator.
During an ice storm I basically transferred the gas furnace electronics and fan to an extension cord. We had satellite TV and lamps on the generator, also.
My main problem is forgetting to change gas. As mentioned above, it goes bad.
It uses a lot of oil. I slept that week listening to it, and would awaken when the pitch changed indication it was getting low on oil.
a small amount of electricity for a short time. not a good solution for that price. it is something you might use when camping and wanted some electricity.
A small gasoline generator could provide enough power to power your entire house - not just the few items you mentioned, but very possibly full living with no concern about exceeding its capability - though it does help to have a gas oven, dryer and water heater. It is by far the cheapest option but potentially the most problematic and highest maintenance.
I have had a gasoline generator for perhaps 8 years and it’s still going strong, running well and provided power during the Sandy storm for maybe 6 hours. I maybe use it 2-4 times a year, and sometimes for days at a time. Gas does get stale, but I have other gas powered things like a lawnmower and snowblower, so I usually have some semi-fresh gas on hand at all times. When a storm is a’commin I will fill up extra cans of gas ahead of time, if I end up not needing that extra gasoline it will find its way into my car. I have not had any lasting problems from bad/stale gas, but did have some gas that performed poorly to the point that I needed to plug in a 1500 watt electric space heater to keep the generator idle up a bit, but with that no problem and still it powers my house. Also it starts very easy and always has.
All and all I do like that I got a gasoline generator, it has worked great, fuel is easy to obtain, I can store enough to get by a extended period.
Propane I would worry about running out and where to resupply unless I had a very large tank. A standard BBQ cylinder I estimate may last you 5-10 hours perhaps less.
Nat Gas I think would be ideal except under the worse circumstances.
Also I believe most propane generators can be easily converted to Nat Gas and you should be able to get a flexible ‘rubber’ type quick connect hose, I had a natural gas grill (BBQ) that had this setup so you may be able to get a portable natural gas generator.
I’m seriously considering an emergency generator, but natural gas is not an option (I’m too rural). My solution – medium priced – is to install a manual transfer switch to disconnect my house from the main lines and connect it to a generator.
If the power goes out, I will turn off non-essential electrical equipment in the house, flip the transfer switch, and fire up the generator (gas-powered, probably). I would like to avoid the extra expense of separate lines to fridge, freezer, etc. and as long as I can manually control what is running and not exceed the generator’s rating, I should be OK. A fireplace can handle some of the heating requirements and my fuel oil furnace only needs electricity for thermostat and blower. I’ll stay away from my electric stove or coffee pot.
The only problem I can forsee is that the power might go on in the neighborhood and I wouldn’t know it. If this is at night, I can look out and see if my neighbors are lit up; if in the day, I guess I won’t know as soon. Nevertheless, I’d like to try this scheme for a while to see if it works. It seems like a good compromise.
you can place a transfer switch to choose to supply your house with the grid or your generator. you could also install a transfer switch which only feeds a subpanel with your essential loads.
My husband is looking into one that runs off the gas line, and he got a quote for about 6k, installed, for one that can run the fridge, some lights, an appliance or two, and fans or a space heater. I can ask him for the info when he gets home and get back to you. You would definitely need an electrician to hook it up for you.
Outdoors. Always. Don’t take the risk! It can handle the rain.
a small generator can be placed in a dog house (similar size sturdy cover structure). store the generator in the garage and put the dog house somewhere. when needed place the generator near the input location for the house (away from doors, windows and house vents) and put the dog house over it.
Seems like making a convertible would not be too difficult. You can just about run a gas motor on propane leaked into the carb throat if you can get the balance right (easier for a constant speed thing like a generator). Not that your average joe could just do it.
Whether a full-house permanent generator is 6,000 or 10,000, it’s still overkill for our situation (I think); we’ve had significant power outages (more than 5-10 minutes) maybe 4 times since we moved here 10 years ago. 2 were on the order of 6-8 hours, one was 28ish hours (and as far as we could tell, unprovoked - there was no bad weather), and this last was about 14 hours.
The critical need would be for the sump pump (if it’s raining), secondarily would be food storage and/or climate control. A few lamps would be useful as well but flashlights would do; cooking appliances not so essential.
I don’t know if it’s worth the trouble of installing a transfer switch to let us run the furnace - we could in theory just do without that and get a space heater, and all hang out in one room with the heater.
For those with a gasoline generator: what’s your burn rate on those? i.e. how many gallons per hour, with moderate use of appliances?
One thing to think about - security for it. On another board I’m on, there have been second/third-hand stories of people in NJ waking up to find their generator (left running overnight) was stolen. Generators make a good amount of noise and definitely announce their presence to all. Might want to consider a good way to chain it down, or at least make sure you keep watch over it all the time.
Yeah, I guess even at the garage-door end of the garage, it’s just risky enough. I guess I had some image of putting it catty-corner to the house door (so, 25ish feet) and taping the house door edge so that only the cord was getting through.
So placement would require some thought. Possibly the patio, in a spot that was a few feet from any door, and the cords could run down the basement stairs and in through that doorway. That plus a fresh CO detector just inside that door might be sufficient. That assumes we go with a portable unit and don’t want to bother with a transfer switch.
Of course with a portable, we’re talking massively long extension cords = 60-70 feet probably.
Do not run it in the garage. Even with the access door to the house shut an sealed, there can be other ways there fumes can find their way into your home.