Home standby generator recommendations?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

bigndn

bigndn

Joined
Jan 15, 2003
Threads
303
Messages
4,065
Location
Eagle, ID
We live out in the boondocks. Just last night our power went out for 4 hours. This morning for 3 hours. The longest we've ever been without power was 4 days. I'm thinking it would be a great thing to get a home standby generator that runs on LP. We are on a well and have 200A service.

Right now Costco has Cummins Onan RS12000 w/200A ATS for $5299.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...=2&whse=BC&topnav=&prodid=11257122&lang=en-US

Anyway, does anyone have any recommendations? I don't really want to spend $5K, but I think it would benefit us in the long run and be a great selling point for the house.

Any input????
 
Last edited:
If you lose power frequently and and feel you need automatic startup thats the kind of generator you need. If you are around, or can get home, and power is not critical ALL the time I would get a Honda Tri fuel generator for half the cost.

Your generator is 5K, installation and a transfer switch will add probably another $1500 or more. But it may be worth it.

Example. We NEED electricity all the time with a working sump pump. 6 hours without and we start swimming in the basement. Someone is always around the house and I have two portable generators, but that may change to a standby as we travel more.

I would get a good electrician to look at your situation before I went to Costco. If for some reason it does not work when you need it you at least have someone you can grab by the throat to get it fixed. They DO have issues at times and it's nice to be able to call someone.
 
Weedhopper said:
If you lose power frequently and and feel you need automatic startup thats the kind of generator you need. If you are around, or can get home, and power is not critical ALL the time I would get a Honda Tri fuel generator for half the cost.

Your generator is 5K, installation and a transfer switch will add probably another $1500 or more. But it may be worth it.

Example. We NEED electricity all the time with a working sump pump. 6 hours without and we start swimming in the basement. Someone is always around the house and I have two portable generators, but that may change to a standby as we travel more.

I would get a good electrician to look at your situation before I went to Costco. If for some reason it does not work when you need it you at least have someone you can grab by the throat to get it fixed. They DO have issues at times and it's nice to be able to call someone.
Click to expand...

Excellent comment. We DON'T need power all the time, just when we're home. Auto startup would be nice for the wife, but I could teach her how to do it. I was thinking specifically of when the power is out, we are without water from our well/pressure tank. No sump pump or special water handling needs.

I'm already liking this model. That's the biggest Honda I can find. Is there any bigger?
http://www.generatorsales.com/order/H11000E5.asp?page=H11000E5

We would still need a cutoff switch installed at the main or could we just shut off the main breaker? Could a generator be hardwired into the system anywhere or does it need to go thru the main on the pole outside? :cheers:
 
Last edited:
bigndn said:
Could a generator be hardwired into the system anywhere or does it need to go thru the main on the pole outside? :cheers:
Click to expand...

I don't know much about electricity (see my breaker thread) but when I was looking at puting a generator in our home in Iowa the electrician we had out to look at things said we could wire it directly into the main breaker panel, or wire up an 'outlet' into the panel we could plug our generator into when we used it.

We were shopping for a small-ish generator that would handle running the furnace and some lights, mainly.
 
Doc said:
I don't know much about electricity (see my breaker thread) but when I was looking at puting a generator in our home in Iowa the electrician we had out to look at things said we could wire it directly into the main breaker panel, or wire up an 'outlet' into the panel we could plug our generator into when we used it.

We were shopping for a small-ish generator that would handle running the furnace and some lights, mainly.
Click to expand...

I like the idea of having an 'outlet' into the panel where I could just plug it in when we need it. Thanks, I'll check into it. :cheers:
 
The way I've typically seen it done is with a sub-panel hooked up to the specific circuits you want the generator to run, so that when the power goes out, you turn on the breakers in the sub panel and plug the generator into a plug on an exterior wall/in the garage. Then the generator only runs those circuits fed through the sub panel.

Our lake house is set up like this and some neighbors down the street in Atlanta. Not automatic, but easy enough. Requires a lot less of an investment in a generator, and you can still use the generator other places if needed.
 
I'd buy a 10K watt generator with a welder. Something like a Miller Trailblazer 302 gas or diesel.
Buy the generator and get the welder for free.
 
fj40charles said:
I'd buy a 10K watt generator with a welder. Something like a Miller Trailblazer 302 gas or diesel.
Buy the generator and get the welder for free.
Click to expand...

Now there's a thought, lot of smokin' deals on those floating around on CL lately..
 
D'Animal said:
It is way more than I need as well.


All the EU3000 I have found used are stolen.
Click to expand...

Any idea what your unit weighs? How about a EU5000?
 
D'Animal said:
It is way more than I need as well.


All the EU3000 I have found used are stolen.
Click to expand...

How about 2 EU2000 used in tandem? EU2000 are easy to find.
 
bigndn; We would still need a cutoff switch installed at the main or could we just shut off the main breaker? Could a generator be hardwired into the system anywhere or does it need to go thru the main on the pole outside? :cheers:[/QUOTE said:
I ran a separate generator circuit that has outlets at the sump pump, well, boiler, kitchen for the fridge and coffee, etc and three emergency lights that go on when power is applied.

Totally separate from the power co. We just move the plug for each item to the generator plug and off we go. There is a male outlet in the garage to accept an extension cord.

Poor mans disconnect switch, LOL. We don't lose power often, but when we do it sure is nice. Cheap too. I bet it only cost me $100 twenty years ago.

I have a second generator as a backup, or could be used for other things.
Click to expand...
 
Well, after seriously considering everything, we decided to go with a portable unit and install a Gentran manual transfer switch. The set up is something like pictured here:

Gentran Corporation: Generator Transfer switches for home & business

After careful analysis of our power needs, we decided that a dedicated backup generator isn't what we need, but a portable unit is. This generator was at Costco for $999. 7 KW continuous, 8750 peak, Honda GX390 motor w/electric start. We felt that this setup would best serve our needs. I will convert this generator to LP fuel and plumb it into our big tank.

HW7000EH Honda Powered Honeywell Home Power Generator
 
Looks good. A battery tender is a good idea for the generator. I have jump started ours and my parents too many times.

Can't wait for the first power failure, can ya ???

:clap:
 
Weedhopper said:
Looks good. A battery tender is a good idea for the generator. I have jump started ours and my parents too many times.

Can't wait for the first power failure, can ya ???

:clap:
Click to expand...

Good idea. Yup, I'm ready. Can't wait for it. I hope it waits until after I get the LP conversion done......... :D
 
You are basically just looking at the top brands such as Generac Cummins Onan and Briggs & Stratton... They have small similarities and some differences between them but as far as my experience goes they are all fairly the same for reliability ... The one thing you need to worry about is regular maintenance which will determine how long your generator will last.. Here is a great article that helped us in the beginning stages of our generator days... Hope this helps :D

http://www.norwall.com/blog/news-and-updates/time-maintenance-home-generators-running/
 
Standby generator maint is a big deal. Most will concentrate on the engine and not the generator itself. You MUST exercise the generator!!-the engine is a lesser concern. Do NOT just run the unit at no load--if you do, you will burn/glaze the generator brushes to the point that the unit will not function when needed. ALWAYS test run the unit under some kind of load-preferably both resistive and inductive at the same time(balanced, of course)--house lights(non flourescent + a motor or two). This keeps the generator brushes clean.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom