Thinking of getting a generator for my house. I'm only in the planning stages. I ahven't bought anything yet.

Looked at the typical stores (Lowes, Home Depot, etc) and I am leaning towards the 5500-8000 running watt range.

Don't know yet if I want the generator to be hard wired to the house. Any ideas, suggestions would be appreciated.

If you have natural gas in the street at your house get a natural gas name brand generator. Otherwise get a back up battery pack like a Tesla Powerwall - no maintenance.

Interesting ideas. Never would have considered these options. Thanks!

If you do get a generator, and i'm assuming its for bad weather, have an electrician put a plug outlet to your main electrical panel. Mine is wired so that i can plug my 8550 watt gas generator directly into the house. Of course, i cannot run the whole house but i can keep the fridge cold, watch a little TV or cook something if needed.

App91,

That's the route I'm leaning towards. With the size of my house <1,200 square feet, the 8550 watt would be ample power to run everything in my house, minus the A/C or heat

In my money doesn't matter opinion, have it hard-wired and automatic...... In any and all other opinions, go with your budget and research online.

HighPointApp wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:05 pm

Interesting ideas. Never would have considered these options. Thanks!

The Tesla powerwall is expensive but there are other battery options. A small natural gas generator hardwired in is pretty affordable. If you get a gasoline only buy a Honda and buy carbon monoxide detectors and a bunch of batteries for them.

I have discovered Echo Bear Cat. It is basically like Honda inverters that are cheaper. But the big one is just one the low end of your range.

Portable and less expensive

https://www.goalzero.com/?gclid=CjwKCAj ... -oQAvD_BwE

I have been studying these. Sorry if I have overloaded the thread.

https://www.goalzero.com/blog/batteries ... er-basics/

biggie wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 12, 2018 9:20 pm

I have discovered Echo Bear Cat. It is basically like Honda inverters that are cheaper. But the big one is just one the low end of your range.

That looks interesting. How long have you been using it ?

I actually just picked it up before Hurricane Florence. So I’ve only ran it a couple quick times. I have the 3500 so just enough to run my aquarium and fridge and garage freezer. But it’s light enough to take tent camping if we want it.

Local place sold plenty of them with no complaints. I (and my dad) have always loved Echo trimmers/etc.

The more options the merrier. Thanks!

I got a Champion, duel fuel. Runs on gas or propane. What I like is with a couple of tanks of propane, I do not have to store gas. Propane last forever. No need to change it out every 6 months or so. If you do have it hard wired into your home, just make sure the box kills all power that could run out of the house. A friend of mine lost a brother after Hugo. Worked for a power company and picked up a line that was supposed to be dead. Person runnng a generator near by did not take any precautions and electricity ran down the line and killed him.

The Champion brand, duel fuel, is the one I keep going back to. Thanks everyone for the advice. Keep it coming!

ASU85Grad wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:26 pm

I got a Champion, duel fuel. Runs on gas or propane. What I like is with a couple of tanks of propane, I do not have to store gas. Propane last forever. No need to change it out every 6 months or so. If you do have it hard wired into your home, just make sure the box kills all power that could run out of the house. A friend of mine lost a brother after Hugo. Worked for a power company and picked up a line that was supposed to be dead. Person runnng a generator near by did not take any precautions and electricity ran down the line and killed him.

What wattage do you have?

Is it wired into your home?

What do you have on in your house while on generator power?

Thanks!!

I have a Troy Built portable 6000 watt gas powered generator. I live at the coast and had to use it for Matthew and Florence.

It is wired into the house by transfer switch. Uses a 30 amp plug. I can power my lights, receptacles, fridge, freezer, microwave and rinnai hot water heater.

I only use ethanol free gas and use an additive to keep it from breaking down. After an event I pump out the fuel to leave a minimal amount and I crank the generator monthly and let it run for about five minutes.

During Florence I used approximately 12 gallons of fuel over 50 hours. Turned it off several times while I was out (but not more than two hours at a time because of fridge and freezer).

I can store about 20 gallons of fuel.

Another vote for Champion generators. We have one in an outdoor club that powers our cabin. About 3000 watts. It easily powers a 5,000 btu a/c, small color tv, lights, and even our small microwave, all at the same time. We don't use microwave when we're using the coffee maker and no problems.

We haven't serviced it except for oil changes since we bought it 5 years ago. Have no idea what type of gas it gets fed, members just add gas from their own gas cans when they use it. Sits idle for months at a time. Still starts with one or two pulls everytime.

I have a Honda 5500 hardwired into the house, courtesy of a licensed electrician friend. I have run my fridge, my living room where my modern/TV is and master bedroom. My electrician said I could probably run the heat (gas), but I haven't had the need to test it. But I have run a space heater.

If you get it hardwired, be sure you switch the breakers in the proper order. You definitely do not want your main breaker on at the same time your generator is running your house. Especially if the power comes on unexpectedly.

I have read generators from Harbor Freight are comparable to many name brands generators.