All electric house and generators

Actually, a natural gas generator to me is preferable to a gas-powered backup generator for home use. Through twenty years of living here in Houston the home has been through multiple frequent and infrequent power outages. Never has the flow of natural gas been interrupted. I see natural gas as the better of the two alternatives to auxiliary power.

That and the safety factor and availability factor of gasoline as a fuel for generators during power outages is also a consideration. With power out, gas stations pumps don't work. Ergo, no readily available source of re-supply. And maintaining a supply of highly flammable gasoline in the home is risky at best. Plus, the noise factor. Remembering back to hurricane 'Ike", I think it was. We were without house power for twenty-one days. Yeah, well there were gasoline powered generators all around us cranking out their obnoxious noise 24x7. We were on round cell battery and light stick back up and we got through.

For me, too old now to consider either pump gas or natural gas generators are a no go. Too far gone in home ownership to justify the expense of either. The solar powered re-chargeable power package looks like a good interim solution. Candles work for me, but Sharon needs internet access through a gateway for her writing, so some manner of connectivity to the outside world remains somewhat a priority.

All that having been said, reading lately about a push to eliminate natural gas as a home energy source. Duuh. Really?

Arnold
 

debodun said:
I saw a generator ad which said that the unit runs off of propane or natural gas. What if you don't have this available? My house is all electric.
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Isn't there a store nearby where you can buy propane (aka LPG)? The tanks look like this, and are often used for barbecues:

teaserbox_2574734904.jpg

When filled, they are very heavy, so get a smallish one if you're going to be moving them yourself -- even if you only need to move them a few inches when switching tanks. The most popular tank is 20 pounds (refers to capacity). Too heavy!

So you want two 10-pound tanks instead. Or even a few 5-pound ones.
 
Our house is also total electric, and we live in a very rural area. When we moved here, 20 years ago, one of the first things I bought was a 6500 watt portable gas generator. It's strong enough to give us the basics....lights, well water pump, power for the fridge/freezer, etc., and runs about 14 hours on 5 gal's of gas. I keep it in the garage, and if needed I can fire it up, roll it outdoors, and run the power cables in just a few minutes. I keep another 10 gal's of gas in my workshop. it's not strong enough to run the central air, or the electric furnace....however, in the Wintertime, I use the outdoor wood furnace for most of our heat, and it easily handles the 1/2hp blower motor on the wood furnace.

Luckily, we've only had 1 major power outage...several years ago, a big tree fell across the power lines during a Winter snow/ice storm, and it took the power company about 18 hours to fix the lines. I just roll it out of the garage about once a month and run it for 15 minutes to make sure its ready to go, if we need it. It's just some basic "insurance" for short term emergencies.

If you live in area where power outages are a frequent problem, the best solution would be something like a Generac diesel generator, with at least 20kw capacity, and a 100+ gallon tank.....such a system can cost several thousand dollars.
 
You have two types of generators: portable and permanent.

And you need to do your homework to decid what will suit your needs as well as your pocketbook. Talk to several vendors who sell these as well as electricians. They can answer your questions as well as questions you may not have thought about.

Permanent generators are expensive & usually run off of either natural gas or a LP gas tank (no smaller than 500-gallon tank).

Portable generators usually are gasoline & the only ones I've seen for sale. I'm not sure what other fuels you may find.

First, figure out the minimum appliances you need because you can't run everything! For me, it's my well pump (220v), freezers, refrigerators, flash hot water heater, sump pump, TV & a few lights. AND NOT ALL AT THE SAME TIME. This is my minimum for a mid-size portable generators. A portable generator is only good for up to a week as long as you have enough fuel stored. A few gallons in reserve will not get you too far.

On portables, you usually run extension cords of proper weight (wire size/amp load) directly from the generator to your appliances. The number of lines depends on the number of outlets on your generator.

WARNING GENERATOR BACK-FEED: For a whole house generator, or if you have had an electrician wire your house for a portable generator, you MUST have a Transfer Switch to keep power from back-feeding to the power lines along the street & killing a Lineman who is trying to restore power for you. This is not negotiable at all!

Each has its pros and cons. Like I said, you need to do your homework on your needs and on who you buy/hire to install.
 
debodun said:
I saw a generator ad which said that the unit runs off of propane or natural gas. What if you don't have this available? My house is all electric.
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It doesn't matter if your house is all electric. The generator will provide the electric power by using propane or natural gas to run the generator. The electric power to houses is my area come from natural gas powered turbines.
 
Lilac said:
A portable generator is only good for up to a week as long as you have enough fuel stored. A few gallons in reserve will not get you too far.
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Hi, @Lilac — thanks for the information.

If I could ask, what do you mean by "a portable generator is only good for up to a week as long as you have enough fuel stored"? The fuel issue aside, what happens to the generator itself after a week? Or am I reading that wrong?
 
Portable generators are for short term use. You should keep enought fuel on hand for at least a week. Power outages any longer than that I am betting you are in an area that has a very large natural disaster. If you are in such a situation, you may not be able to go anywhere to get more gas right away.

We were out of power for 1 week & we ran ours in the AM before we went to work for a couple of hours & in the PM for longer hours to keep fridges & freezers cold so we wouldn't loose our food. We could watch TV to keep up on news & used oil lamps for light. Our well pump was hooked up long enough for showers & to refill water buckets for flushing toilets. We were careful with our gas & had enough for that week with some left over.

It took the power company in for our neighborhood 5 days to bring in a new transformer. In other areas of our county, people were out for a full 2 weeks or more waiting on equipment. It's not unusual I've been told for power companies only keep a few transformers on hand, so ours ran out immediately.

Just FYI, if your power goes off, call immediately. The areas that call first is much more likely to get service back first. Also, other neighbors need to do the same thing...you know the squeeky wheel thing.

Any generator will last as long as you keep the maintenance on it. Ours has been very easy to maintain. Start it up once a month for 15 minutes or so to make sure it runs well. We have a local repair shop check it for us every so often like we do any power equipment to help prevent any problems.

Didn't mean to confuse anyone and hope this clears it up. If not, please ask.
 
Devi said:
Thanks. So, if I understand correctly, a portable generator will last longer than a week (presuming you have enough fuel for it)?
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Yes. Keep up with the machines maintenance and with enough fuel, it should last you many years as a back up to power loss when you need it. Portable generators are meant to keep you going until power is restored by the companies.
 
Lilac said:
Yes. Keep up with the machines maintenance and with enough fuel, it should last you many years as a back up to power loss when you need it. Portable generators are meant to keep you going until power is restored by the companies.
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Yeah, our genny lasted over six years up at our off grid cabin
It's still there
We're not
Yes, maintenance is thee key
Gas
I built a hazmat shed (open air) for the 8-10 5gal cans
Always rotated that
Never less than 20gal on hand
Got snowed in several times

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Oh, and of course wood

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Please check with your local Senior Services in your area as some have programs that will give you a free cell phone for emergencies in your situation. A lot of seniors on limited income would qualify for these.

I'm not that familiar with a landline over wi-fi, but had to get this set up for sister-in-law who either loses her cell in the house or locks herself out of it. Hubby & I needed a backup way to get ahold of her. So, I just learned something about them.

I still have original our old-style hard landline that I won't get rid of. If cell towers go down, we still have a way to contact the outside. If those go out, everyone will most likely be in the same boat most likely.
 
A word about gas (petrol) generators

If you are seriously shopping for one;

I have a few
Relied on them for all power (off grid)

After years of using them, my brand choices;
#1 Honda
#2 Honda
#3 You shoulda got a Honda

Others may cost much less
But, Hondas, as pricey as they are, are worth so much more.....in the long run
 

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