Looking forward to the first winter storm that knocks out power at the new house, I'm thinking of getting a Honda generator, or similar. My electrician added a lockout to the service panel and a generator outlet as well. I'm trying to figure out how large a generator to buy.

1,000 watt portable, probably too small.

2,000 watt portable, maybe.

3,000 watt portable but has wheels cuz this is getting bigger.

The 3 KW costs about twice what the 2 KW runs.

I don't want to power the whole house during a power outage. I'm interested in keeping power to my refrigerator, freezer, 2 or 3 lights, and the fan that blows the heat out from my fireplace.

I don't expect to run the kitchen stove, the hot water tanks, or the heat pump that are the big energy users.

How much load do you folks serve when the power goes out?

Sg

My generator is rated for 8,000 watts, 10,000 peak.

10kw is sufficient for most home applications.
This one runs on natural gas, and automatically comes online when power is lost.

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/...CFegZQgod8inCjA

The panel will allow you to contol your feeds. Light bulbs, frigerators, small fans use little power but a 5500 running watts will do the minimum you discribed. But if your after a generator just with a Honda motor go up on the net and price around. If you want a Honda brand the same but you are going to pay. In the world of generators Honda is over priced unless your going to a commercial grade.

Use this chart http://www.generatorsales.com/wattage-calculator.asp or a similar one to figure out what your power needs are first and go from there.

I have a 1000w Honda that cost twice as much as the 6000w gennie my dad uses for his house...a big Honda will be retarded expensive.

I also had a Coleman "camping" generator...3000w, cost $275...the 1000w Honda, being what it is, was more like $800, and that was six or seven years ago...

Fish on...

Todd

I have a Coleman Powermate with the 10 HP Subaru/Robin Engine. These engines are rated highly by longtime users, run every bit as strong, quiet, and efficient as the Honda's. Not nearly as expensive.
It's rated at 5000 running, 6250 watts surge, and I can light up the whole damn house (All low wattage bulbs), freezer, fridge, furnance fan, TV, etc concurrently...no problemo. I calculated all the normally used electrical items to be around 4800 Watts continuous..

If you have a gentran panel why not get a unit that will let you live comfortably not only during a storm, but if we have a big natural disaster and services are cut off for an extended period of time?

During that '06 storm here in Woodinville we did not have power for 8 days, & it totally sucked leading to my decision to purchase this unit.

Also have the Coleman Powermate, 15hp or 20 hp v-twin. Buy more wattage than just what you think you need. Also do service it regularly, especially each fall. Mine has a key start, but also has a pull cord, just in case.

If you buy a cheap generator buy a power conditioner to go between it and the house if you have sensative elctronics like Plasma/lcd tvs, computers , devices with ECB's etc .

hook up your cheap genset to a sine wave tester and wactch it jump all over the place. You get what you pay for.

+1,000 watts.

If you plan on keeping your modern appliances, computers, etc. running, consider the Honda inverter series for a clean AC sine wave....

Or suffer the consequences.

I run a 5,000w colemen powermate from costco about 12 years ago.Alway's dependable was a good price @ $500.00 back then,but louder then chit with a 10hp briggs & stranton.I'd go with the 3,000w honda or yamaha.I have used a 1,000w honda several times,handy but not what I'd want to run my cribb during a power outage.Good luck,
SZ

I have the same generator that Strike Zone has and second the loudness BUT since it is loud if someone tries to help themselves to it when its running I will know. Also, Chuck is spot on with the generator he posted. That will run the whole house just fine.

I put in the Gentran panel years ago and bought the Costco generator for about $500. It runs all the lights in the house, the furnace fan (gas furnace), the fridge, and of course the DirecTV box and tv. Can't be without football during an outage. It has been money well spent a couple of times.

The Chinese made generators are wayyy cheaper and work just fine.

The BEST option, if you have a gas line, is to have one hard wired to your house. They advertise them at Home Despot.

I picked up a Champion 35Kw job at Cabela's on sale for $400 which is a steal compared to what Honda and Yami ask for their comparable Gens.

Only trouble Ive had was the cheap schitty plastic ON switch snapped off but that meant only a 50 cent part and some solder.

Disagree Irie, while that performs well in windstorms, ....if, no when... we have a big quake up here in the PNW, your'e gonna be up a creek depending on NG as your sole fuel supply for power.

my .02

If we get the big one, 9+ on the richter scale, all forms of energy will be in short supply

I have the switchover box outside and the gas generator in a shed between the box and the house. 5500 watts get me all I need and even runs the 220v well pump. I don't worry about the electronics and have never had a problem (I do have very good surge protectors in line, however). Enough juice for the fridge, freezer, coffee maker, microwave, lights, well, and even a small space heater if necessary. No to furnace, range, hot water. Generator, cart, battery, power cord.....about $1000. Love it!!

Agreed. To mitigate that issue I keep about 18 gallons in hand and can use the 30 gallons in the arima if needed. At my burn rate that would get me through 4-5 straight days of run time.

If your running a freezer and refrigerator you will need a bigger generator, when the compressors kick on they cause a amperage spike, which will trip the breaker on smaller units.

Perhaps good for a travel trailer, but for powering a house you need something in the 10-12kw range, your underestimating the amperage spike.

Ahh, the libs on here are very free with someone elses money. If you want to spend a lot of money buy two Honda generators.

Obviously there are some things that haven't been disclosed like the size of the house and exactly what needs to be powered. However, if you got lots of dough buy a Honda. If you want to run the essentials for up to a few days buy the $500 LOUD generator and put in a Gentran panel along with a surge protector on the TV. You don't need the computer anyway because all the same bitching and moaning will still be here when the power comes on and it won't take that long to catch up. We power a 1400 square foot home which includes all the lights, the tv, the refer, and runs the fan on the gas furnace with a generac brand generator. The tv is 9 years old and it hasn't blown yet but it is surge protected. I don't run the computers, etc because when the power goes out, I don't want to work anyway because I have to make sure the snow doesn't cave in the Costco tarp carport over the boat. We don't have a well, public water, but there is 50 gallons sitting in the hot water tank that should last a while if the big one hits. The range is gas and if that isn't an option, the Webber is always 1/2 full of propane so I can cook whatever I want, even pizza as long as Papa Murphy's is running.

Sorry DP, but I don't like doing anything halfassed.
Must be my military training.

i'd recommend staying away from any of the "unknown" brands -- they're all made in china, pop up every fall, and by the next windy season(when the owners have left them out in the weather and the stator corrodes) surprise, parts are no longer available!

honda and yamaha are the only brands i'd consider. generac might have a big name but their portable household generators are farmed out to china and are really cheaply made.

Lots of good feedback. Thanks guys.

I'm not gonna' go the 8 KW, let alone 10 or 12 KW route, because this is only for emergency use application, and I have no need or interest in fully powering my house for up to a week if the power is out that long (only once in recent years). I also don't want to have to find storage space for a huge generator. Something that tucks away in the corner of the garage would be nice.

I installed a Fireplace extraordinaire that has a blower fan, and it heats the living area really well. So I don't need to power the heat pump that is the main heating system of my house. I think my emergency electric load is pretty small, with the main driver being the momentary surge from the refrigerator and freezer. And my freezer is just a dinky under counter thing, and I'm considering replacing it with a new energy efficient one, but still quite small. During an emergency we can cook with the Coleman stove out on the deck and not use the electric kitchen stove.

It sure is an interesting contrast between the Honda type generators that are expensive per KW and other brands that are all under $1,000 for up to 5.5 KW. Some of those have Briggs & Stratton while others have Chinese gas motors. Generac gets good reviews for performance, but is really noisy, along with Powermate and others. My wife and I really appreciate quiet, so we might spend the extra bucks on a Honda, but haven't decided yet.

Thanks again folks!

Sg

My Yamaha 3000ISEB & the wood stove gets us along just fine. I like the 20/15 amp outlets on it, one to the Refrig and the other to power lights, TV, Internet, etc.

The reason my little Honda cost $800 eight years ago is that I can fire it up and standing right next to it you can barely hear it...purrs. My Powermate can knock the paint off a wall at 40 feet with all the noise it makes.

Fish on...

Todd

So what kind of stove did you buy Salmo?

I picked up an Avalon Ranier 90 through Addicted last year and I'm in love with it right now...actually since the day I put it in.

True dat...just noting why the Honda cost so much more than the Powermate.

Fish on...

Todd

I'm wondering why y'all are so scared of the dark?

Sky-guy,

I have a Fireplace Extraordinaire. It looks like a regular fireplace with glass doors that are "almost" airtight. It pulls in outside air for combustion, and it has an adjustable speed blower fan that turns on automatically when the firebox heats up to 600*. So it puts out more than enough to heat my 1275 sq. ft. main floor, and I don't really want to heat the master bedroom anyway. The rest of the main floor is one big open area for entry, kitchen, living, dining, home office. The basement really isn't an issue; the hot water floor heat I have down there never turned on once last winter except when I turned the thermostat high enough to test it out. I'm gonna' unplug that water heater and stop paying to heat water that just sits on standby all year. We just use the basement for storage and laundry room and could turn the heat on for the guest bedrooms if a guest wanted more heat.

Chuck,

Thanks for that info! Interesting range of prices; I may have to bypass the local dealer if I get a Honda.

Stlhead,

Not skeered of the dark. Just don't want the food in the fridge and freezer to spoil if the power is out for more than a couple days.

Sg

Speedway sales is the bonb. I bought a Toro mower from them a couple years ago. They were almost $200 cheaper than anyone in Pierce County, had it in stock, and there was no shipping or tax. It was here within a week.

As long as we're spending Salmo's money, this looks like the perfect survival tool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNBCzfxiOMQ

http://www.emerson2-71gm.com/Gensets.html

One of these should get the job done.

Thanks Chuck, and DBA for vouching for Speedway. Can't beat their deals. Now just gotta' decide which one to get. Elec. start or manual recoil. Super quiet or industrial. Decisions. Looks like the cost difference between Speedway and another supplier will cover the cost of the new tires I needed to buy for my car.

Sg

Electric start is great BUT remember there is a battery involved that has to be maintained. I don't know how much you plan to use this Salmo but a float charger should also be on your mind if you go with electric start.

saw this one on CL

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/tls/2708239114.html

OK Chuck....you just come on over in the dead of Winter and fire my generator up by pulling on the cord. (Just messin with you, kinda) Things don't fire up so good when the air is freezing cold. Electric start is the only way to go.

Can of starting fluid or WD40 makes them start pretty easy.

Size matters as well. Oil in the crankcase isn't very fluid when cold. I start mine regularly (yesterday was a power outage, for example) and I'm sure I wouldn't have any trouble firing it up in the Summer by using the cord.....but Winter....ugh....much easier to push a button.

Ok wait, you're talking about a SHTF scenario--

A real SHTF scenario, FUGGITABOUTIT! Your run outta gas in a few days anyway.

If you really wanna prep for an extended --like forever--outage, you need self-sufficiency provided by either solar, wind or private hydro, which is damn near impossible without major investment in private infrastructure and ownership of huge tracts of...land. It's be swell if we were all plantation owners with self-operating farms with slaves, stills and mills, but really, even SHTF, the Cap'n himself Dogfish would be fuct after a month or four off the grid. Once the gas goes, Gens are just big anchors.

Sg,

What ever you choose, make sure you calculate your load and add 25% safety margin. For every generator out there, you need to derate them about 20% for constant load rating. So, if you bought a 1000 watt generator, you really want to run about 800 Watts continuously to keep the generator happy for a extended periods of time.

If you're powering a couple freezers and refrigerators, I would recommend something in the range of 3,000-5,000 watts. If you get a lot of power outages up there, definitely error on bigger, you'll be happy you did.

Just reading the mail and I see Cabelas is running a sale Dec 8th thru
the 14th. They have a 3.5 kw generator that is normally $499 on
sale for $399. Probably a PRC product but one doesn't know 'til
you look.
You have probably solved the generator question by now but in case
you haven't, a bit of input.