I've gone back and forth before the current fiasco on getting a whole house generator or a couple of higher end inverter generators. The problem I have with them is that they aren't cheap and can't really be used until the day of need, if that ever comes. I have an all electric house and there isn't a nat gas line here so propane would be my only option.
From all that I've read, keeping the whole house on a backup gen running propane would be hella expensive and maybe last a week at most. The 14KW Kohler which is still rather small would burn 2.2 gal per hour. That means running 24x7 would net me about 4.5 days with a 250 gal tank. The cost of the genset and install (5Kish), 250 gallon tank ($1200ish) and fill it ($625), I'd have about $7 grand in something I may never need. That's an awfully expensive insurance policy.
So I started thinking... (that's dangerous for me and everyone around me). Why not get a wood burning stove that is uber efficient and can at least run 8 hours or so and keep my living room toasty? I can close off rooms to stay warm. Wood burning stoves can also boil water and cook. That would take care of heating which is the most concerning part.
I have a well and a 2500 gallon retention tank uphill so even without power I'd have running water.
That leaves me with my refrigerator, morning coffee, and possibly the microwave. The fridge runs about 800-900 watts (at least mine does) so a smaller inverter and a couple of 100lb tanks on wheels is a much smaller investment. It could easily run the fridge and occasional small appliance. Coupled with a butane stove and lots of butane cans, I can still survive. That said, a 100 lb tank is probably on 3ish full days of 3400watt inverter generator so two of them is still only about 6 days non-stop. I'd feel better if it was a full week but close enough. Assuming I see the failure coming, I'd buy a bit more propane and/or gasoline to extend. Worst case, I'd siphon out of one of my vehicles and could probably stretch to two weeks easy as I never let my vehicles go below 1/2 tank and we have three so I'd likely have 20ish gallons of gas or about 4 days worth of gen time.
What else am I missing?
From all that I've read, keeping the whole house on a backup gen running propane would be hella expensive and maybe last a week at most. The 14KW Kohler which is still rather small would burn 2.2 gal per hour. That means running 24x7 would net me about 4.5 days with a 250 gal tank. The cost of the genset and install (5Kish), 250 gallon tank ($1200ish) and fill it ($625), I'd have about $7 grand in something I may never need. That's an awfully expensive insurance policy.
So I started thinking... (that's dangerous for me and everyone around me). Why not get a wood burning stove that is uber efficient and can at least run 8 hours or so and keep my living room toasty? I can close off rooms to stay warm. Wood burning stoves can also boil water and cook. That would take care of heating which is the most concerning part.
I have a well and a 2500 gallon retention tank uphill so even without power I'd have running water.
That leaves me with my refrigerator, morning coffee, and possibly the microwave. The fridge runs about 800-900 watts (at least mine does) so a smaller inverter and a couple of 100lb tanks on wheels is a much smaller investment. It could easily run the fridge and occasional small appliance. Coupled with a butane stove and lots of butane cans, I can still survive. That said, a 100 lb tank is probably on 3ish full days of 3400watt inverter generator so two of them is still only about 6 days non-stop. I'd feel better if it was a full week but close enough. Assuming I see the failure coming, I'd buy a bit more propane and/or gasoline to extend. Worst case, I'd siphon out of one of my vehicles and could probably stretch to two weeks easy as I never let my vehicles go below 1/2 tank and we have three so I'd likely have 20ish gallons of gas or about 4 days worth of gen time.
What else am I missing?
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