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    Cabin Generator

    I should have my cabin through most of the dry-in stage by this weekend. It will be off-grid for the foreseeable future, so I want to address my power needs with a propane generator.

    I am having a 500 gallon propane tank installed this week for all my other appliances (propane fridge, furnace, stove, on-demand hot water heater)

    I currently have a gas generator - a Harbor Freight predator 3500 Inverter. It has done well for my travel trailer, but I want to keep it as only a back-up.

    I am looking at ordering a 7500W Generac. Trying to keep the generator & installation budget under $5000.

    Mainly will use the generator to power the water pump, lights, and 2 mini-split units in the summers.

    I looked into solar, but don't like the idea of having to maintain batteries, and the upfront cost was substantial.

    Any reason i should not pull the trigger on this one? Most of the Generac's are back ordered 1-3 months, so i want to go ahead and get this thing ordered. It will be used no more than 1-2 days a week, as this is a quick getaway cabin (we are not living there...)
    Thanks for the feedback.
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    #2
    Looks good to me. I don't see any reason not to, and seems big enough to supply your needs.

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      #3
      Based on the current political/social environment, I'd go solar with battery's. When the battles rage and fuel is unavailable, you'll be good with solar.... Said, tongue-in-cheek.......kind of

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        #4
        You could buy a stand alone generator for a lot less. From what you said, you won't be using the transfer switch and auto start of what you are looking at.

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          #5
          Have you looked into the Kohler generators? I've heard good things about them. Your building is looking good. What are your dimensions and what is your layout going to be?
          I've been running our 14x36 cabin off a Honda Eu6500is. It works great , but it would always be nice to have more power. My biggest issue is the noise, seems any other LP "whole home" generator is quite a bit louder.

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            #6
            Propane generators use more fuel than gas or diesel units

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              #7
              Cabin Generator

              Originally posted by bowhuntertx View Post
              Have you looked into the Kohler generators? I've heard good things about them. Your building is looking good. What are your dimensions and what is your layout going to be?
              I've been running our 14x36 cabin off a Honda Eu6500is. It works great , but it would always be nice to have more power. My biggest issue is the noise, seems any other LP "whole home" generator is quite a bit louder.

              The finished out space is 24x36. 864sf.

              There will be a 12’ covered porch that is going up this week.

              Noise is important to me for sure. I thought about just buying a big Honda or Yamaha inverter generator as another option. The appeal of propane for me is the other appliances run off the same tank, but I’m not committed to a propane generator yet.


              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                #8
                Cabin Generator

                Also looking at a Honda EU7000is. This is the 7000 watt gas model. If I am adding up correctly, I should be able to run two 9000 btu mini splits at the same time with this. Probably keep it under 50% load.



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                Last edited by walker1983; 01-11-2021, 08:50 PM. Reason: Was looking at wrong model

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                  #9
                  I would also look into maintenance needs before making a decision. Most of the portable generators only hold less than a quart of oil and need to be changed very often vs the installed “standby” generators hold more oil and require maintenance much less frequently.

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                    #10
                    Don't buy the generac single cylinder engines. They are gutless.

                    If you are really going to put some hours on it diesel will do better.

                    2 days a week adds up to a lot of runtime in a hurry.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by stoic View Post
                      Don't buy the generac single cylinder engines. They are gutless.

                      If you are really going to put some hours on it diesel will do better.

                      2 days a week adds up to a lot of runtime in a hurry.
                      Thanks,
                      After the comments & more research - I have scrapped the Generac idea. Those units are not meant to be the primary source of power for a cabin.

                      I think i am going to go w/ the HondaEU7000is. It is Honda's largest gas inverter, and is supposed to be the quietest one around. I will rig it up to a 20 gallon external tank, and should be good to go for long periods of time.

                      I am also looking at rigging up an auto start button in the house.

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                        #12
                        You can add a trifuel carburetor to that Honda generator.
                        Propane/Nat gas/gasoline

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by Texas276 View Post
                          You can add a trifuel carburetor to that Honda generator.
                          Propane/Nat gas/gasoline
                          Cool - I was looking at that as well. Might just start w/ the gas for now, then when I feel especially handy, buy the conversion kit.

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                            #14
                            Im cheap... But for what you need id build a small generator shed to keep it out of the weather and reduce noise, then get the predator 9000 from harbor freight and put the propane conversion kit on it myself and call it done!

                            We have ran the hell out of those at the camp house in the marsh and have had good luck with them.
                            Last edited by Alderrg; 01-12-2021, 10:56 AM. Reason: typo

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Alderrg View Post
                              Im cheap... But for what you need id build a small generator shed to keep it out of the weather and reduce noise, then get the predator 9000 from harbor freight and put the propane conversion kit on it myself and call it done!

                              We have ran the hell out of those at the camp house in the marsh and have had good luck with them.

                              This is actually pretty good advice in my opinion.

                              I keep and run my generator in my well house so it’s all covered


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