Generators

Blacklabgator

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The whole house is probably a bit of overkill but the peace of mind is worth something.
Last year it was easier to get LP around here than get gas.
With smartphones and everything else people were taking the backroads instead of75 and none of these small towns around here were prepared for the traffic and gas needs.
If my tank is full pre storm there’s no doubt I could get LP delivered easily within a week after the storm.
 

URGatorBait

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I've run through all the numbers so many times. The main thing for me is what happens in a REAL disaster. Irma was barely "mild" and we were without power for over 7 days. The main problem with the LP is how quickly you burn through it. With my size tank, I might be able to get away with 10 days running damn conservative. Obviously longer if we go ultra conservative. But there is no way to refill the tank without a professional company.

Also, this whole setup is less than $1250. And the generator is portable. And I can stockpile is shiit ton of gas. And it could be 10 years before it is even needed again. So just doesnt sit well with me to spend over 4-5x that amount on a whole house. If it is needed then it would be a disaster, so I'll treat it like a disaster.
Find a place you can get ethanol free gas. You're welcome
 

Concrete Helmet

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Well 10K and almost 2 month's later and it's still gonna take a couple more weeks before this thing is done. Oh and it's only going to be a half house standby 22KW generator...….I have 3 electrical service panels coming into the house. One for the cottage which I don't care about and 2 others.....one for each side of the house :headslap:.But all is not lost since I should have plenty of power I can string a few extension cords from receptacles on the power side to some items like a fridge, microwave and deep freezer on the other side. I'm also giving some thought to keeping my portable and having the electrician put a pigtail into the panel that's not powered to run the AC on the other side for some periods of time if I need to...….If anyone is looking into doing this just be aware it has taken about 2 month's due to permitting, stocking, getting electricians and gas company out to due quotes and drawings.
 

URGatorBait

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You know for most people 22kw is excess :lol:
 

Blacklabgator

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Well 10K and almost 2 month's later and it's still gonna take a couple more weeks before this thing is done. Oh and it's only going to be a half house standby 22KW generator...….I have 3 electrical service panels coming into the house. One for the cottage which I don't care about and 2 others.....one for each side of the house :headslap:.But all is not lost since I should have plenty of power I can string a few extension cords from receptacles on the power side to some items like a fridge, microwave and deep freezer on the other side. I'm also giving some thought to keeping my portable and having the electrician put a pigtail into the panel that's not powered to run the AC on the other side for some periods of time if I need to...….If anyone is looking into doing this just be aware it has taken about 2 month's due to permitting, stocking, getting electricians and gas company out to due quotes and drawings.

What’s a permit ?
 

Concrete Helmet

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What’s a permit ?
Permit_fishing_40L.jpg
 

deuce

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I have 5 portables and I'm lucky to have 3 running at any time. Lousy Gas!!!!!
My most reliable is a 40KW operated off the PTO of my John Deere. Need at least 50HP to reach rated capacity.
 

Concrete Helmet

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IMG_0878.JPG Hey mines almost done.....:headslap:Just 2 more inspections and it'll be ready for next Aug/Sept storm season....That only took 4 months...
 

Gator-Don

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Hey mines almost done.....:headslap:Just 2 more inspections and it'll be ready for next Aug/Sept storm season....That only took 4 months...

I've had a 25K Genrac since 2005. It's the quiet model and is as quiet as an outdoor AC compressor. It runs automatically for 20 Minutes every week and a I have it serviced twice a year.
500 gallons of propane gives me around nine to ten days of continuous use. Around $200.00 a day.
I've had to replace three batteries, an engine alternator, plus the spark plugs and wires twice in 13 years.

The expensive part is the installation, purchase of tanks, transfer switch(s)etc. I would say take the price of the unit times three or four to get an idea of actual cost. Still runs like new. Has a Ford tractor engine.

We live in a heavily wooded in Miami and the power goes out if a bull frog farts. We consider it, in our situation, to be indispensable.
 

Concrete Helmet

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I've had a 25K Genrac since 2005. It's the quiet model and is as quiet as an outdoor AC compressor. It runs automatically for 20 Minutes every week and a I have it serviced twice a year.
500 gallons of propane gives me around nine to ten days of continuous use. Around $200.00 a day.
I've had to replace three batteries, an engine alternator, plus the spark plugs and wires twice in 13 years.

The expensive part is the installation, purchase of tanks, transfer switch(s)etc. I would say take the price of the unit times three or four to get an idea of actual cost. Still runs like new. Has a Ford tractor engine.

We live in a heavily wooded in Miami and the power goes out if a bull frog farts. We consider it, in our situation, to be indispensable.
I had an issue with mine about 6 weeks back. The utility company is replacing all of the power poles up and down our street. One day they turned the power off to switch the transformers from the old poles to the new...Gennie never transferred. Called my dealer and they came right out a couple days later and found a loose connection...problem solved.

Mine is set up to test once a week for 5 minutes. I might up the run time to 8-10 minutes since it runs at very low RPM. I'm also going to flip the circuit breaker in the transfer panel to make it run under load maybe every 3 month's or so just to make sure it's working when and if we need it....
 

Gator-Don

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I have 5 portables and I'm lucky to have 3 running at any time. Lousy Gas!!!!!
My most reliable is a 40KW operated off the PTO of my John Deere. Need at least 50HP to reach rated capacity.
Well 10K and almost 2 month's later and it's still gonna take a couple more weeks before this thing is done. Oh and it's only going to be a half house standby 22KW generator...….I have 3 electrical service panels coming into the house. One for the cottage which I don't care about and 2 others.....one for each side of the house :headslap:.But all is not lost since I should have plenty of power I can string a few extension cords from receptacles on the power side to some items like a fridge, microwave and deep freezer on the other side. I'm also giving some thought to keeping my portable and having the electrician put a pigtail into the panel that's not powered to run the AC on the other side for some periods of time if I need to...….If anyone is looking into doing this just be aware it has taken about 2 month's due to permitting, stocking, getting electricians and gas company out to due quotes and drawings.
I had an issue with mine about 6 weeks back. The utility company is replacing all of the power poles up and down our street. One day they turned the power off to switch the transformers from the old poles to the new...Gennie never transferred. Called my dealer and they came right out a couple days later and found a loose connection...problem solved.

Mine is set up to test once a week for 5 minutes. I might up the run time to 8-10 minutes since it runs at very low RPM. I'm also going to flip the circuit breaker in the transfer panel to make it run under load maybe every 3 month's or so just to make sure it's working when and if we need it....

Good plan. Mine runs at a constant 1800 rpm and the fuel governor controls the load. Nice system.

When Irma hit down here the wife and dog and I got all comfortable, the power quit for seven or eight days. I judicially shut down superfluous items to increase fuel endurance, and proceeded to watch some movies. Five hours later I heard the scream of a fan belt, the power quit, It was the alternator and had some corrosion from 13 years on Biscayne Bay. My mechanic replaced it in two miserable, hot-ass days, and it ran like a charm for seven days.

Love this thing.:)
 

Detroitgator

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30B2C610-E5F3-4696-9156-2F6FA210F47F.jpeg I know I have different needs than most, but when I built out Squirrel Ranch, I was going to need both a large diesel and gas tank for stuff, but didn’t want the pain of refilling them with small cans, so looked for an alternative and found this. You can get it as either a single 390 gallon tank, or the split like I did (like in the pic), that has two sides of 190 gallons each, so I have gas and diesel. This way I can drive it out to refill or take home if I needed the gas there. My generator is on a 1000 gal propane tank.
 

Concrete Helmet

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I know I have different needs than most, but when I built out Squirrel Ranch, I was going to need both a large diesel and gas tank for stuff, but didn’t want the pain of refilling them with small cans, so looked for an alternative and found this. You can get it as either a single 390 gallon tank, or the split like I did (like in the pic), that has two sides of 190 gallons each, so I have gas and diesel. This way I can drive it out to refill or take home if I needed the gas there. My generator is on a 1000 gal propane tank.
That's freakin awesome DG...Are you on solar as you're primary source?
 

Detroitgator

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How bout heat and cooking?
Propane. Hot water is solar on its own two panels with the top 40 gal tank on “AC” backup to the main battery bank. If the main bank ever drops below a certain percent charge level do to usage or no sun for 3-5 days, the generator automatically kicks on to charge them back up
 

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