School me on generators

[ctom87]

After last February's freeze and having to burn fence pickets to keep me and Nolan warm, I decided I'd get a generator and run the house off of it just in case this ever happened again. Our power usually goes out a few times a year due to storms, so this will be used regardless.

That said, I know nothing about generators. My dad doesn't do much anymore, but he's a retired electrician. He came over and we turned everything on, and it measured at about 10,800 watts (90 amps). I'm also going to be buying an additional freezer, so that would need to be added in.

I doubt I'll be doing the dishes, the laundry (both washing and drying), running 2 heating elements on my stove top and the oven all at the same time, so I'm thinking a 10,000 watt would do the trick?

First question... There's "starting watts" and a smaller "running watts" number. Given my situation, would I need the running watts to be around 10,000 and not the starting watts?

Second - What are the bells and whistles these things come with? I've seen the one where if your oil level drops too low it shuts off. Is that necessary? Anything else that you recommend?

Third - My dad doesn't do much anymore so his former apprentice will be installing everything and setting it all up. He said that he highly recommended a tri fuel. What do you guys think on that?

Fourth question - I would really appreciate the Green Screen's advice on a reliable brand. I don't need "top of the line" expensive, but I do not want some cheap harbor freight bs. I want reliable and low maintenance...has to come on when I need it.

And lastly...what kind of maintenance is required? Does it need to run every so often? What is the life expectancy? I'd prefer one that I can take with me to my new home one day when I move.

I really appreciate y'alls help on this. Thanks in advance.

[Sackett]

A lot of options like soft-start kits, etc, but I'm betting you'll need at least a 15Kw genny. It will have to have a 50Amp on it as well.

[RWB]

Are you looking at a portable generator that you will plug in when the power goes out or a stand alone that is hardwired permanently into to house?

[lbbf]

Generators are kind of like gun safes. Get more that you think you need. Starting amps are what it takes to start something like the AC. It takes more energy to start it than is needed to run it.
Trifuel or duel fuel are great if you run out of one type of fuel but have others laying around or if everyone panics and runs out to buy gas and all the stations are closed or out. I've never had a problem not getting or having gasoline.
Use a fuel stabilizer if you aren't running it very often and replacing the gas. Gas starts to deteriorate fairly quickly and then your generator will need a good cleaning inside to get it to run. Not fun in the middle of the night when it's freezing or middle of the day when it's a 100+.
Keep the generator empty of fuel if not running it helps.
Change the oil at the proper intervals, and remember they are LOUD>

[ctom87]

Are you looking at a portable generator that you will plug in when the power goes out or a stand alone that is hardwired permanently into to house?

Good question. Looking at a portable one as we aren't tied to this house forever. Plus one day we may have an rv. Or something and I would want to take it with me.

[ctom87]

Change the oil at the proper intervals, and remember they are LOUD>

My neighbor actually brought up a good point on this. If february were to happen again and I am without power for an extended time, the generator may be giving out my location to people that don't have one and may be an invitation to try and take one.

[WItoTX]

1. Honestly, I would go a smaller unit. Our house usually runs around your level (10,000 watts). However, we bought a Westinghouse duel fuel with 7500 running watts (on gas). We were able to run the AC, fridge and freezers, and open the garage door. Beyond that, we decided since the power only goes out for at most a few days at a time, we would refrain from watching TV, laundry, etc...just something to consider.

2. Our's has the auto shut off, remote start, electric start, but beyond that, it's pretty basic. It doesn't have an idle speed vs a full load speed, which looking back, I wish we would have gotten.

3. Tri fuel generators were much more expensive, and hard to find, when I was looking. Also, I didn't want to pay someone to plumb up a natural gas line somewhere outside.

4. Our Westinghouse is awesome, and at a great price point. We also have a Honda 3000 watt inverter generator, and that thing is crazy quiet. It also won't power much. Pretty much every portable generator is made in China, which kind of sucks. I searched and searched for American made in the size I wanted, and no luck.

5. I run ours for 15 minutes once a month. Check oil just before I start it up. Our Westinghouse is plugged into the charger at all times to keep the battery full. I think if you keep them covered/protected from the elements, and do the basic oil checks, no ethanol fuel, and stabil, you should be fine. Probably keep the fuel tank full too, or on the other hand, only run it on propane and not have to stress about fuel degradation.

Three other things to consider. Really figure out what you need for power usage. We really just planned on the bare necessities in August and February for a family of 4. Those months are the extremes of Houston weather. Second, if you are running at 10,000 plus watts on the generator, you will burn through a TON of fuel. We ran our house for a half day on ours just to test, and it burned through nearly a tank. Third, you can always build a generator box that is ventilated, which will drastically cut down on noise.

Hope this helps.

[lbbf]

Good question. Looking at a portable one as we aren't tied to this house forever. Plus one day we may have an rv. Or something and I would want to take it with me.

I got an inverter generator for our rv simply because they are quiet. I don't think they make an inverter much bigger than 4500 starting amps and 3500 running. That takes care of everything in our rv but probably wouldn't do a whole lot for the house.

[TKC]

Had a transfer switch installed and purchased a 12kw starting and 9500kw running Westinghouse. Haven’t had to use it on power outage yet but did kill power to house and gave it a test run. We ran everything on the test and was good to go that includes pool pump and AC.

I would watch with just getting bigger than you think you would need because the bigger the machine the more fuel it takes to run.

[ctom87]

I really appreciate all the advice.

[Truckman]

I have a Duromax 13kw, it’s a dual fuel, gas and propane. Bought a transfer switch, two 50 gallon propane tanks. It’s great. They are loud, many videos on you tube showing how to build a small enclosure