The other Sandy& generators

[siderman 1,140]

Seems like a long time ago and the BS dealing with that storm, and my sympothies for those hit hard & still dealing with the fallout. Remember THE hot topic was generators, all and everything about them? Was wondering who actually followed thru with doing something. I myself finally just finished my project. I got a good sized portable Rigid (for the yamaha engine), ran a 30 amp backfeed to my breaker panel with a Interlock switch kit from a exterior inlet and- to be really sure- ran a natural gas line adjacent to that inlet. Installed a tri-fuel conversion kit on the gen so I am ready to rumble! Was a fair amount of work with splicing into the black pipe and running it thru the basement and crawlspace to the exterior and re-routing some of the circuits in the sevice panel. I got lernd real good on all sorts of usefull/not usefull info in the process. Wasnt cheap but many thousands of $$$ less expensive than a stand-by stationary unit. Also helps when you do it yourself. I am all in at $2K even. That is all inclusive from permits to the first few gals of gas to break-in the genny. Heres a list of mat'ls I used get it done, maybe forgetting something but:

-generator

-25' 30amp ext. power cord

-15' 3/4 ng hose & quick-disconnects(pia to find)

-ext. 30 amp inlet

-asst'd black pipe/fittings/valve

-50' 30 amp wire to sevice panel

-Interlock kit w 30 amp breaker

- tri-fuel conversion kit

And since it'll spend most if not all its running time using ng I can place it in my detached garage. close the door & window leaving open a bit for ventilation and we barely hear it. So chances are its just a insurence policy and wont need it for 10 fkng days next time but after dealing with my wife, daughter and handicapped mom-never again! Any question ask, maybe i'll know the answer.

[fishnut 2,358]

I don't have the coin for a whole house generator but I did get a portable propane generator as soon as they came back in stock from sandy. I really just need it to run the well pump just when I need it and the fridge and deep freezer.

[Bob2222 317]

I basically need the phones to work, a refrigerator ... and the sump pump. (We're far enough inland that we didn't flood but the area is pretty wet. Ever try hand-bailing a sump in the dark?) I have a couple of small Hondas that can be ganged together to run the essentials, and are light enough to be carried around.

 

It's axiomatic that once you buy a generator, you will never need one. If I never need one again, it will be well worth the cost.

[Geek 4]

I bought a generator after Irene. I was surprised during Sandy that more people had not done the same.

[tony357 386]

I had a gen, i live in a coastal area, funnt thing was our electric was back on in one day the upland areas where their are trees were the ones without power..

 

some coastal area's you were not allowed back in so what was done was done nothing you could do about it..

 

But i like having the large portable gen because i can take it with me.. i had it in the truck through the whole storm..

[M1152 713]

Any question ask, maybe i'll know the answer.

OK, I have one for you. Does yours run at a higher RPM on NG vs gasoline? Do you have a Tach/HR meter? Most portable gens should run @ 3600 rpm. I converted my portable to Tri-Fuel (NG) and installed the Reliance Transfer switch just before the Sandy and it worked nicely. Now I just put it on test every other month and noticed it running at a higher RPM on NG. I believe this is causing the Hz to fluctuate when I meter it.. Have you metered your Hz? It is not a big deal for most stuff but if off could blow-out computers, TV’s and other sensitive electronics.

[reduck 0]

I bought a generator after Irene. I was surprised during Sandy that more people had not done the same.

 

Same here. From what I heard, so did a lot of folks. Problem was they returned them after it didn't pan out.

 

The investment in time and money paid off for us in Sandy. We had our well, fridges and freezers running along with Internet and TV and a few lights.

I went with a wheeled portable that I can run and lock behind our fence. Takes two minutes to roll out, hook up and throw the switches and we are live again.

Hopefully we don't need to use it again! I still run it once a month....just in case..

[bhunted 887]

We are getting a whole house. Got a couple estimates for a 10KW with switch.

 

Here is a little secret especially if you don't have the dough. Home Depot sells GE, Generac, etc. You can apply for their home improvement financing, (takes 1 min to be approved), which stretches out the payments. You can get all the stuff and do it yourself OR have one of their contractors install it. It's the only way you can cover the install and product in the same loan. Only out of pocket expenses would be permits and such...

[bhunted 887]

If you look at the spec sheet, it shows the different outputs and such for the different fuels.

 

OK, I have one for you. Does yours run at a higher RPM on NG vs gasoline? Do you have a Tach/HR meter? Most portable gens should run @ 3600 rpm. I converted my portable to Tri-Fuel (NG) and installed the Reliance Transfer switch just before the Sandy and it worked nicely. Now I just put it on test every other month and noticed it running at a higher RPM on NG. I believe this is causing the Hz to fluctuate when I meter it.. Have you metered your Hz? It is not a big deal for most stuff but if off could blow-out computers, TV’s and other sensitive electronics.

[Pizza Bob 1,488]

Funny that this thread should come up today - the installation of our whole-house, "no hardship" generator was completed today. We did, indeed, start this project after Irene, but got jerked around by an electrician for a number of months, until we fired him. Then found Ken Marshall on this board (NJKen - Ken Marshall Electricians) who really got the ball rolling. Then the propane company flaked out and we fired them, too - all of this resulted in further delays - now have propane service from Suburban Propane. We get the final inspection on Tuesday (5/7) and we're good to go. Ken and his father were fantastic - always here when they said they'd be. Things the prior electrician pissed & moaned about were a non-issue for these guys.

 

While I realize that many people down at the shore and elsewhere were hit much harder than we were and are still recovering, 12 days without electricity and with the temperature in the house dropping to 44 degrees was the final straw. We were without for three days during the October snow storm and then 2.5 days after Irene and then the 12 days from Sandy we decided - never again. The infrastructure isn't getting any better and we just had the feeling that Sandy certainly won't be the last outage.

 

We got a 17kW Generac to do the whole house. I hope that we, and all of you, never have need of auxiliary power, but if we do - I won't be sitting in the dark reading a book by flashlight. Thanks Ken.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

[M1152 713]

If you look at the spec sheet, it shows the different outputs and such for the different fuels.

I converted so there is no spec sheet, my system was sold as fueled by gasoline only

[Plinkster5000 0]

The whole house gen did not fit in my bug out vehicle so it is little Honda for me.

[10X 3,321]

Generac 5500 here; great reviews, best price via Amazon (no tax and free delivery). Still deciding between an interlock switch (easier and cheaper, but I don't have two free breaker slots in the panel) or a transfer panel, but eventually I'll have an outside plug and can quickly get furnace, fridge, septic lift pump, and a few lights running.

[olderguy 0]

I ran on a big portable during Sandy for seven days, feeding my house and some of my next door neighbor's stuff. I decided that scrounging for gas and being the only one in the house to tend it might be too much as I get older, so I went for a whole house natural gas unit.

 

Now we will never loose power again :icon_mrgreen:

[NJKen 23]

Funny that this thread should come up today - the installation of our whole-house, "no hardship" generator was completed today. We did, indeed, start this project after Irene, but got jerked around by an electrician for a number of months, until we fired him. Then found Ken Marshall on this board (NJKen - Ken Marshall Electricians) who really got the ball rolling. Then the propane company flaked out and we fired them, too - all of this resulted in further delays - now have propane service from Suburban Propane. We get the final inspection on Tuesday (5/7) and we're good to go. Ken and his father were fantastic - always here when they said they'd be. Things the prior electrician pissed & moaned about were a non-issue for these guys.

 

While I realize that many people down at the shore and elsewhere were hit much harder than we were and are still recovering, 12 days without electricity and with the temperature in the house dropping to 44 degrees was the final straw. We were without for three days during the October snow storm and then 2.5 days after Irene and then the 12 days from Sandy we decided - never again. The infrastructure isn't getting any better and we just had the feeling that Sandy certainly won't be the last outage.

 

We got a 17kW Generac to do the whole house. I hope that we, and all of you, never have need of auxiliary power, but if we do - I won't be sitting in the dark reading a book by flashlight. Thanks Ken.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

Thanks for the good word Bob! I just wish it went faster than it did. I would never have imagined that I would have so many of these things to install so fast.

NJPilot, you are still on my list!

Ken

[EX Carnival man 223]

Seems like a long time ago and the BS dealing with that storm, and my sympothies for those hit hard & still dealing with the fallout. Remember THE hot topic was generators, all and everything about them? Was wondering who actually followed thru with doing something. I myself finally just finished my project. I got a good sized portable Rigid (for the yamaha engine), ran a 30 amp backfeed to my breaker panel with a Interlock switch kit from a exterior inlet and- to be really sure- ran a natural gas line adjacent to that inlet. Installed a tri-fuel conversion kit on the gen so I am ready to rumble! Was a fair amount of work with splicing into the black pipe and running it thru the basement and crawlspace to the exterior and re-routing some of the circuits in the sevice panel. I got lernd real good on all sorts of usefull/not usefull info in the process. Wasnt cheap but many thousands of $$$ less expensive than a stand-by stationary unit. Also helps when you do it yourself. I am all in at $2K even. That is all inclusive from permits to the first few gals of gas to break-in the genny. Heres a list of mat'ls I used get it done, maybe forgetting something but:

-generator

-25' 30amp ext. power cord

-15' 3/4 ng hose & quick-disconnects(pia to find)

-ext. 30 amp inlet

-asst'd black pipe/fittings/valve

-50' 30 amp wire to sevice panel

-Interlock kit w 30 amp breaker

- tri-fuel conversion kit

And since it'll spend most if not all its running time using ng I can place it in my detached garage. close the door & window leaving open a bit for ventilation and we barely hear it. So chances are its just a insurence policy and wont need it for 10 fkng days next time but after dealing with my wife, daughter and handicapped mom-never again! Any question ask, maybe i'll know the answer.

I did the interlock kit 3 years ago with the outside inlet box. Oct 29 my wife was glad I did. I run a Honda EU6500 at my house, its very quiet and very good on gas. On 4 1/2 gal it will run around 13 hours. I also bought a long chain and dug down around 4ft and mixed up two 80 lb bags of ready mix and filled the hole. I run two other generators at my store, but from now on I won't buy anything else but Honda. They are that good.

[jrfly3006 42]

I did the interlock kit 3 years ago with the outside inlet box. Oct 29 my wife was glad I did. I run a Honda EU6500 at my house, its very quiet and very good on gas. On 4 1/2 gal it will run around 13 hours. I also bought a long chain and dug down around 4ft and mixed up two 80 lb bags of ready mix and filled the hole. I run two other generators at my store, but from now on I won't buy anything else but Honda. They are that good.

thats the exact unit I've been looking at Alex.. Glad youve had a good experience.. Making my decision much easier.. Is it enough for say a fridge, tv , furnace heat and a few lights?

[ryan_j 0]

OK, I have one for you. Does yours run at a higher RPM on NG vs gasoline? Do you have a Tach/HR meter? Most portable gens should run @ 3600 rpm. I converted my portable to Tri-Fuel (NG) and installed the Reliance Transfer switch just before the Sandy and it worked nicely. Now I just put it on test every other month and noticed it running at a higher RPM on NG. I believe this is causing the Hz to fluctuate when I meter it.. Have you metered your Hz? It is not a big deal for most stuff but if off could blow-out computers, TV’s and other sensitive electronics.

 

They don't run at different RPMs however the output in amps is less for NG vs LP.

 

The RPMs have to stay constant to maintain close to 60Hz frequency. Some generators have a crystal governor to keep it in sync.

[Howard 538]

Got a Genrac 7500 after Irene, have used it three times since and it has been a champ. During Sandy my house was light up like a lighthouse

[ryan_j 0]

thats the exact unit I've been looking at Alex.. Glad youve had a good experience.. Making my decision much easier.. Is it enough for say a fridge, tv , furnace heat and a few lights?

 

I have the 6500 and a GenerLink meter base transfer switch.

 

The 6500 can run practically my whole house except the central air. Well pump, fridge, freezer, lights, boiler/furnace tv and computers no problem. VERY miserly on fuel. For halloween snowpocalypse in 2011 it ran for 24 hours on less than 10 gallons.

 

ONly drawback is that it's expensive, about $3700.

[ryan_j 0]

Generac 5500 here; great reviews, best price via Amazon (no tax and free delivery). Still deciding between an interlock switch (easier and cheaper, but I don't have two free breaker slots in the panel) or a transfer panel, but eventually I'll have an outside plug and can quickly get furnace, fridge, septic lift pump, and a few lights running.

 

Better just do the interlock kit. Not only is it cheaper but you can power as many circuits as you want.

[jrfly3006 42]

 

 

I have the 6500 and a GenerLink meter base transfer switch.

 

The 6500 can run practically my whole house except the central air. Well pump, fridge, freezer, lights, boiler/furnace tv and computers no problem. VERY miserly on fuel. For halloween snowpocalypse in 2011 it ran for 24 hours on less than 10 gallons.

 

ONly drawback is that it's expensive, about $3700.

thanks Ryan

[ryan_j 0]

btw it can do 6500w for 30 mins but really it is underrated. Only reason Honda rated it at 5500 continuous was to satisfy OSHA requirements.

[JustJoe 0]

Any thoughts on diesel powered generators? Anybody uses them? I heat with heating oil which is (if I understand correctly) very similar to diesel #2. So in a pinch I could use the heating oil in the generator.

[ryan_j 0]

If you are getting a diesel, I would get a slow turning diesel that runs at 1800 RPM.

 

Don't get a china special that runs at 3600 RPM.

 

Some of the 1800rpm chinese generators such as laidong aren't bad but there are others that have isuzu and perkins engine.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that you want to load down a diesel as much as possible. If you load it too light it can result in wet stacking which is bad.

 

I don't think I'd run #2 heating oil in it. It will work but I think it will be dirtier. Better to get off road diesel which doesn't have the road tax but has red dye to prevent people from using it in on-road vehicles. You can also run biodiesel, but I don't think it will work with straight veggie oil.

[10X 3,321]

I have the 6500 and a GenerLink meter base transfer switch.

 

The 6500 can run practically my whole house except the central air. Well pump, fridge, freezer, lights, boiler/furnace tv and computers no problem. VERY miserly on fuel. For halloween snowpocalypse in 2011 it ran for 24 hours on less than 10 gallons.

 

ONly drawback is that it's expensive, about $3700.

 

I could see where installation of the transfer switch and associated wiring would run up the cost...but the Generac GP 6500 itself is only $800 on Amazon. The higher end XG6500 is a little over $1000. You can buy a transfer switch for $300-$400 and install it yourself (I do recommend pulling a permit, since you're working on the panel, but a look at the Reliance Controls website will take you to videos showing how to install).

[JustJoe 0]

If you are getting a diesel, I would get a slow turning diesel that runs at 1800 RPM.

 

Don't get a china special that runs at 3600 RPM.

 

Some of the 1800rpm chinese generators such as laidong aren't bad but there are others that have isuzu and perkins engine.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that you want to load down a diesel as much as possible. If you load it too light it can result in wet stacking which is bad.

 

I don't think I'd run #2 heating oil in it. It will work but I think it will be dirtier. Better to get off road diesel which doesn't have the road tax but has red dye to prevent people from using it in on-road vehicles. You can also run biodiesel, but I don't think it will work with straight veggie oil.

 

Thanks

[EX Carnival man 223]

thats the exact unit I've been looking at Alex.. Glad youve had a good experience.. Making my decision much easier.. Is it enough for say a fridge, tv , furnace heat and a few lights?

My house has all CF lights, that makes a huge difference. My heat is NG forced air, hot water is NG, stove is NG, dryer is NG. We have city water so no well pump. With the Interlock, we can run everything but the central air. I like the interlock because the whole breaker box is live. The smoke, and the CO detectors draw almost nothing, as well as the CF lights. The refrigerator and the chest freezer draw the most. At night my wife would run the washer and dryer, and during the day the dishwasher. Even the microwave at 1500 watts is no problem. The EU6500 is very quiet and it sips fuel. I put it on the side of my house and from the street you can't even hear it. When its on ECO mode you can carry on a conversation standing next to it. I have a Troy built 7,500 for my store. Its very strong up to 13,000 starting watts, but it uses almost a Gallon and hour. It has to run at 3600 RPM's. The Honda EU6500 is an inverter. On ECO it runs around 2300- 2400 RPM's. I seen it go up to 2800 RPM's when my wife had some appliances and the heat running. The Honda and the Yamaha are the two best when it comes to inverter generators. Yamaha also makes a very good inverter generator. I went with the Honda because it also has a pull start if the Battery is dead, where Yamaha's 6300 is only battery start.

[Mike48 0]

we ran two houses on a 6250 coleman gen that my neighbor's boss provided....she was just lucky she was first in line to get it....we both decided that I would hunt for another gen exactly like it when the prices came down and we have it.....an identical coleman for $300 and a spare set of brushes..I maintain it....run it every month....keep stabilized fuel in it....also keep bulk stabilised fuel on hand......never forget those gas lines....

[jrfly3006 42]

My house has all CF lights, that makes a huge difference. My heat is NG forced air, hot water is NG, stove is NG, dryer is NG. We have city water so no well pump. With the Interlock, we can run everything but the central air. I like the interlock because the whole breaker box is live. The smoke, and the CO detectors draw almost nothing, as well as the CF lights. The refrigerator and the chest freezer draw the most. At night my wife would run the washer and dryer, and during the day the dishwasher. Even the microwave at 1500 watts is no problem. The EU6500 is very quiet and it sips fuel. I put it on the side of my house and from the street you can't even hear it. When its on ECO mode you can carry on a conversation standing next to it. I have a Troy built 7,500 for my store. Its very strong up to 13,000 starting watts, but it uses almost a Gallon and hour. It has to run at 3600 RPM's. The Honda EU6500 is an inverter. On ECO it runs around 2300- 2400 RPM's. I seen it go up to 2800 RPM's when my wife had some appliances and the heat running. The Honda and the Yamaha are the two best when it comes to inverter generators. Yamaha also makes a very good inverter generator. I went with the Honda because it also has a pull start if the Battery is dead, where Yamaha's 6300 is only battery start.

hondas my front runner.. Also looked at the Subarus...for me the reduced noise and gas savings.. Along with the quality of the Honda engine is the reason I would spend the extra $$$...thanks for the info