Generator Reviews and Suggestions - what do you have and what do you want?

97TJGUZZY

97TJGUZZY

SUPPORTER
#1
#1
So after this storm it got me thinking a little more about generators. I currently have a Honda 2000 that was able to easily run our fridge and chest freezer and a fan and some lights while sipping gas. What it couldn't do is power my well pump. I'm going to pick up a 240v generator to address this concern. There are few on the market that seem to meet my needs and could possibly even run my AC/Heat pump with a soft start kit. The 3 I've considered are:

Honda 7000 Inverter - Gas only
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Predator 9500 - Gas only

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DuroMax 9000/9500 - Dual Fuel
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I'm looking at the Duromax because of the option to run on propane and its built on the same motor and guts as the predator. The Predator and Duromax are right around the $2300 mark, while the Honda will set me back around $4500.

All of these are significantly larger than my little gas sipping honda 2000 so I'll need to consider having fuel on hand for times when I may need the generator.
The 2000 would run on 2 gallons for 24 hours, where as the 9k generators are looking like around 10 gallons for a similar time frame. Thats assuming you aren't running it at the max. I think with many of these I would need to conserve fuel by only running it for certain times of the day and maybe at night.

So what generator do you have, what do you like about it and what would you change if you could?
 
LBarr2002

LBarr2002

LIFETIME
SUPPORTER
#7
#7
matth_85 said:
We will have a Generac 16 kw installed before Christmas. Rest assured... 8 days with no power and a 2 YO is enough to age you two years I believe.
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Is that a whole home, automatic transfer?

My parents just came back on last night. If I was on their circuit I would have had a whole home long ago but I couldn't warrant it for as little as we're down.
 
97TJGUZZY

97TJGUZZY

SUPPORTER
#8
#8
why the 16kw instead of the 24 if you are going to do whole house, i don't think the price is much different. Are you on NG? those things burn fuel at an alarming rate when under load.

Thats one of the things i'm trying to understand is the amount of fuel these generators can burn is astonishing really on the larger units.
 
jimbo92

jimbo92

SUPPORTER
#9
#9
What's the natural gas situation? I think the ticket would be a dual fuel set up set to run on that if possible. Propane is nice because you can store it pretty much indefinitely if you go that route.
 
LBarr2002

LBarr2002

LIFETIME
SUPPORTER
#10
#10
jimbo92 said:
What's the natural gas situation? I think the ticket would be a dual fuel set up set to run on that if possible. Propane is nice because you can store it pretty much indefinitely if you go that route.
Click to expand...
I have a 300 or 350 gal propane tank. No NG available.
 
G

GPWMike

SUPPORTER
#11
#11
When I built our house, I wired one of my 200 A sub panels with the well, refrigerator, microwave, downstairs lights and outlets. I did not include any HVAC. Years later I wired in a 30A generator plug and manual switch to that panel.
I bought a Powerhorse 9000ES from Northern. I carried all of those loads while our power was out. I ran it intermittently to have water and keep the refrigerator cold. I was pleased with how it worked.
 
matth_85

matth_85

SUPPORTER
#13
#13
97TJGUZZY said:
why the 16kw instead of the 24 if you are going to do whole house, i don't think the price is much different. Are you on NG? those things burn fuel at an alarming rate when under load.

Thats one of the things i'm trying to understand is the amount of fuel these generators can burn is astonishing really on the larger units.
Click to expand...
My house is tiny. All appliances are gas except the dryer which I am not concerned with having. I may do a larger one though, just kicking the tires at the moment. Since I am on the Old Duke Rate, I can't do auto transfer...
 
matth_85

matth_85

SUPPORTER
#14
#14
jimbo92 said:
What's the natural gas situation? I think the ticket would be a dual fuel set up set to run on that if possible. Propane is nice because you can store it pretty much indefinitely if you go that route.
Click to expand...
If you do propane you still have to deal with filling it. I can tie right into the gas to the house. Our NG rates are pretty cheap around here also.
 
Twilliamson

Twilliamson

SUPPORTER
#16
#16
So, Im leaning towards 22kw Briggs on NG. But.... Im worried about the permitting and inspections... two things i dont like in life. It seems im going to have to have my NG meter upgraded for more flow, and i really dont want to pay an electrician for stuff i can do. So im in limbo, but with my job pulling me away from home, specifically during storms, this isn't really an option for us anymore.10 days without power in city limits isnt going to happen again.

At this point, my "in my lifetime bingo card" im betting we have a ice storm to take us out for a couple days too...
 
matth_85

matth_85

SUPPORTER
#17
#17
Twilliamson said:
So, Im leaning towards 22kw Briggs on NG. But.... Im worried about the permitting and inspections... two things i dont like in life. It seems im going to have to have my NG meter upgraded for more flow, and i really dont want to pay an electrician for stuff i can do. So im in limbo, but with my job pulling me away from home, specifically during storms, this isn't really an option for us anymore.10 days without power in city limits isnt going to happen again.

At this point, my "in my lifetime bingo card" im betting we have a ice storm to take us out for a couple days too...
Click to expand...
I'm with you Tripp on the Bingo card and also having to upsize my meter.

I have not looked at my meter yet but getting it changed is NBD. I'm also not going to tie into the main so I don't see any reason to permit the work. Unless CPW requires it to change the meter.
 
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