Would run my whole 1800sf house with a soft start

I have a kit from Amazon that comes with a spark plug, a filter and quart of oil. My power is back, and I was all set to get it it ready to store, but I can't find my oil funnel. I went to Walmart to get a replacement, and they said they were sold out. So I ordered a funnel on Amazon and will do the maintenance on Sunday. I hope your fix works.

Dill-Ag13 said:

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Would run my whole 1800sf house with a soft start

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What's not clear to me is if the 10k peak applies to the gasoline number or to all fuels (not sure it would make sense to be all).

But if it's somewhere in the 8500 peak range for nat gas that's going to put some serious load on the generator.

My house is about 1850, and with a hard start on my AC I ran the it + the microwave with ease. Generator let you know it was working, but wasn't particularly strained.

10k would be gas, ng would be less. I am looking at Westinghouse 11500tfc for my house so I'm not maxing the unit out

NoahAg said:

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-Keep the battery charged when not in use. Should have known better, having had a motorcycle. I had kept the battery disconnected but not charged, so I picked up a new one before the storm came.

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Actually more critical than you might thing for some applications. The setup for my parents is using a Firman 7500 on propane. If the battery is dead, it's won't start even with a pull start on propane. The battery needs to have enough juice to open the styloid valve on the propane regulator. The genny will NOT run on propane with a dead battery at all. I've added a battery maintainer charger to their setup for that purpose.

Mine will definitely pull start without the battery. Neighbor has the same generator and had to pull start.

Count me as another that went the portable route to power whole home.

We've been running our entire house (5 ton ac, fridge, 2 freezers, beer fridge, ceiling fans & lights) since Monday. We have it hooked directly to our breaker box. Best investment I ever made.

Ours is the Duromax XP16000IH inverter generator. It has stated up beautifully every time. Just the push of a button and a couple of switches to flip. It's currently 66 degrees in my house.

We have enough extra that we can run the pool pump (we're not bc pool is so filled with debris from the storm), our dishwasher, and washing machine all at the same time. We can also run our electric dryer as long as we switch off the breaker for our old freezer (which is our biggest power suck). We actually did a load of laundry last night with no issues.

I can't recommend enough going the portable generator route over the Generac/whole home. It's a fraction of the cost and we can take it with us if we move. The convenience of auto-starting wasn't worth the extra $15-17k we would've paid for a whole home.

For those here that run a portable generator on natural gas, was there any concern about gas supply pressure? I have a trifuel generator ordered and the manual states that it requires 6 to 9 inH2O at the generator to run. My plan was to run a 3/4" hose about 50ft to supply the generator. The regulator is set at 7 inH2O and is about 75ft from where I would connect this hose. From pressure drop tables, with 50ft of 3/4" flexhose the supply pressure will be about 3 inH2O by the time it gets the generator. I'll need a 1-1/4" supply line to get 6 inH2O at the generator.

Did any of yall bother with sizing the hose or am I over thinking this?

I haven't read through the thread yet, but I am considering a full home Generac. I know it's super pricey but I at least want some options. I also know it will likely be months of waiting but if I go this route, I might as well get the ball rolling.

Any recommendations on who to use to get a system like this installed?

Take it for FWIW (which may not be much), but neighbor had his hooked up right near his gas meter (prob within 10 ft). I think he told me they were having a little trouble even that close. But using the gas tap that we all have on our back patios was not an option (too far and too small). I think he also had problems, though, because the tap on his gen is only 1/2".

BF did a DIY tap off of his gas meter yesterday, since we were running my unit off propane and didn't want to have to source it for both. He noticed his unit running rough after switching over. He didn't have any way to measure the gas pressure, but he thinks that could be the issue.

I have an extra capacitor sitting in my toolbox that's yours if you want it. Super easy to swap them out

Any recs on portable AC units? I understand window mount are more efficient but I really prefer the flexibility of the ones on casters.

I ordered this one from Amazon for delivery tomorrow but will cancel if power is somehow restored today.

BLACK+DECKER Air Conditioner, 12,000 BTU Air Conditioner Portable for Room and Heater up to 550 Sq. https://a.co/d/04PyoLAX

AJ02 said:

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Count me as another that went the portable route to power whole home.

We've been running our entire house (5 ton ac, fridge, 2 freezers, beer fridge, ceiling fans & lights) since Monday. We have it hooked directly to our breaker box. Best investment I ever made.

Ours is the Duromax XP16000IH inverter generator. It has stated up beautifully every time. Just the push of a button and a couple of switches to flip. It's currently 66 degrees in my house.

We have enough extra that we can run the pool pump (we're not bc pool is so filled with debris from the storm), our dishwasher, and washing machine all at the same time. We can also run our electric dryer as long as we switch off the breaker for our old freezer (which is our biggest power suck). We actually did a load of laundry last night with no issues.

I can't recommend enough going the portable generator route over the Generac/whole home. It's a fraction of the cost and we can take it with us if we move. The convenience of auto-starting wasn't worth the extra $15-17k we would've paid for a whole home.

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Assuming it is their dual fuel unit, how are you staying supplied with propane? It has got to suck a lot of fuel running everything.

ChemAg15 said:

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For those here that run a portable generator on natural gas, was there any concern about gas supply pressure? I have a trifuel generator ordered and the manual states that it requires 6 to 9 inH2O at the generator to run. My plan was to run a 3/4" hose about 50ft to supply the generator. The regulator is set at 7 inH2O and is about 75ft from where I would connect this hose. From pressure drop tables, with 50ft of 3/4" flexhose the supply pressure will be about 3 inH2O by the time it gets the generator. I'll need a 1-1/4" supply line to get 6 inH2O at the generator.

Did any of yall bother with sizing the hose or am I over thinking this?

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I've got the Westinghouse 12,500 tri fuel. I had the same concern but the storm got here before I was able to get a 3/4" hose. The generator came with a 1/2" hose that's 20' and it's been running without issue since Monday.

wessimo said:

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Any recs on portable AC units? I understand window mount are more efficient but I really prefer the flexibility of the ones on casters.

I ordered this one from Amazon for delivery tomorrow but will cancel if power is somehow restored today.

BLACK+DECKER Air Conditioner, 12,000 BTU Air Conditioner Portable for Room and Heater up to 550 Sq. https://a.co/d/04PyoLAX

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I bought this one last year and it has worked great through this. I put it in the smallest bedroom, turn it on around 5pm and it's an icebox by 8pm.

https://www.amazon.com/Whynter-ARC-14S-Conditioner-Dehumidifier-Activated/dp/B0028AYQDC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3_pp?crid=BEAFPKI8P7SP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.21n4Gv921BVP0vLOLNPU6dOAqJ2zFKnNSklkXHMKErA_L1F1qNxCWqj39lBcu--gY6oGmIcL2NzzufAsH37SJUEhPLDqnU_TybG1rB35rUc6G5DYnq_72z2dIUHS6SKuKRX7huT5Uko7owKrfk-PQYVMnHfCKocnCGV34F6VN740eZ5DyTYkH74bJ5NJNfmfQfLh9UE__QZu-B7Wc0bfIg.x5szC4rkJ6PHgBinr_av3r4SoYOhRODADrMpeOF8z64&dib_tag=se&keywords=portable+air+conditioners&qid=1720786449&sprefix=porta%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-3

oklaunion said:

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AJ02 said:

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Count me as another that went the portable route to power whole home.

We've been running our entire house (5 ton ac, fridge, 2 freezers, beer fridge, ceiling fans & lights) since Monday. We have it hooked directly to our breaker box. Best investment I ever made.

Ours is the Duromax XP16000IH inverter generator. It has stated up beautifully every time. Just the push of a button and a couple of switches to flip. It's currently 66 degrees in my house.

We have enough extra that we can run the pool pump (we're not bc pool is so filled with debris from the storm), our dishwasher, and washing machine all at the same time. We can also run our electric dryer as long as we switch off the breaker for our old freezer (which is our biggest power suck). We actually did a load of laundry last night with no issues.

I can't recommend enough going the portable generator route over the Generac/whole home. It's a fraction of the cost and we can take it with us if we move. The convenience of auto-starting wasn't worth the extra $15-17k we would've paid for a whole home.

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Assuming it is their dual fuel unit, how are you staying supplied with propane? It has got to suck a lot of fuel running everything.

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We actually didn't even get everything connected and ready until the evening before the storm hit, so we were under a bit of a time crunch. We've only used gasoline so far. We plan on getting three of the 100 lb propane tanks for future usage. Because yes, it does use a lot of gasoline. But still worth it to be comfortable in my own home, and cheaper than paying for a hotel. It uses a little less than a gallon per hour, but we are also not necessarily trying to conserve energy. We're running the house like we normally would if we had power. 70-72 during the day, 66-68 at night, lights on, ceiling fans on, TV on, etc.

How long is your 3/4" hose?

I don't have a 3/4" yet. I'll probably buy one if I step up to a longer hose but I'm running on a 1/2" currently

BQ04 said:

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Whatever you do, I do NOT recommend Generator Supercenter. It has been an awful experience ever since we put down our deposit. They lost our deposit, doubled the quoted install time, and installed a machine with a serial number the manufacturer did not recognize.

The Generac went down 10 minutes into the storm with less than 100hrs on it.

We reach out the Generator Super Center for service and the phones have a "busy signal" for the past week… Haven't heard that since the analog days.

They are great at marketing and sales…and that's about it.

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Frankly, I've heard the same about Generac in general.

If I ever go the Standby route, I'd want a Kohler or Briggs and Stratton. My inlaws have a B&S in New Orleans and have gone through at least 1-2 hurricanes without any major issues.

ChemAg15 said:

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For those here that run a portable generator on natural gas, was there any concern about gas supply pressure? I have a trifuel generator ordered and the manual states that it requires 6 to 9 inH2O at the generator to run. My plan was to run a 3/4" hose about 50ft to supply the generator. The regulator is set at 7 inH2O and is about 75ft from where I would connect this hose. From pressure drop tables, with 50ft of 3/4" flexhose the supply pressure will be about 3 inH2O by the time it gets the generator. I'll need a 1-1/4" supply line to get 6 inH2O at the generator.

Did any of yall bother with sizing the hose or am I over thinking this?

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I'm running a 3/4 inch 50 foot hose from my meter to where my generator is located. The conventional reasoning is above 100 feet move to 1 inch to account for the pressure drop over the distance.

Oddly enough, my neighbor is using this generator (he overloaded his Duromax and is borrowing this):
https://westinghouseoutdoorpower.com/collections/generators/products/wgen11500tfc-tri-fuel-with-co-sensor

which while bigger than my 13kw Duromax, has an for nat gas that is 3/8 inch vs the 3/4 inch for the Duromax....and the engine is slightly bigger at 550cc vs 500cc.

My neighbors been pretty happy with it though. Said he thought it might run a little smoother than the DuroMax.

This is the hose I have:

https://ab3power.com/natural-gas-hose-with-quick-disconnect-kit/

They are local and typically just drop it off at your house.

Hoses are high quality and come with quick connects.

The claim is that these guys supply similar hoses to Exxon for their refineries.

Expensive, but very good.

ccaggie05 said:

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I haven't read through the thread yet, but I am considering a full home Generac. I know it's super pricey but I at least want some options. I also know it will likely be months of waiting but if I go this route, I might as well get the ball rolling.


Any recommendations on who to use to get a system like this installed?

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It's all about service. Whomever you work with ensure that their service side is 1) going to answer the phone and 2) willing to come out in the rain.

We pay $40/mo to Generator Surpercenter for a monitoring/maintenance contract. Even with that, they won't answer the phone. My wife went in person to their store -kids in tow- and they gave her lip service just to get her to go away.


It's a scam. Find a good, local electrician and go from there.

Appreciate the offer. Had a local guy come out yesterday morning (guess he wasn't too busy) and he swapped it out. The one it takes is apparently not a common one (theme with my house) and he had to go get one since he doesn't carry it. I looked online and typical ones are like $15, but the only place I could find this one was on Amazon and it was $50.

I've ordered the same 13kw Duromax you're running. I'm leaning toward just trying to run the 3/4" hose and see how it goes.

Standby Generators (that I know of, there may be others out there)

Generac
Home Products (generac.com)

Cummins
Whole House Generators for Standby Power | Sizing, Costs and Installation (cummins.com)

Champion
Home Standby Generators - Champion Power Equipment

Kohler
KOHLER Home Generators

Honeywell
Honeywell Standby Generators (honeywellstore.com)

Briggs and Straton
Home Generators | Briggs & Stratton (briggsandstratton.com)


Sizing Calculator:
Home Standby Generator Calculator - Easily Size Your Home Standby Generator (electricgeneratorsdirect.com)

Considerations:
1. Wattage
2. Starting Amps
3. Fuel Useage (Gas, Propane, Natgas, Diesel)
4. Noise (dB rating)
5. Parts / Customer Service / Responsiveness
6. Warranty
7. Long-term Service Agreement / Maintenance Contract
8. HOA Rules (concealability) - I am pretty sure they can't prevent you from getting one, but they can say how loud or where it can be located
9. Location - fuel supply vs breaker box location

Posted on the hurricane thread, but probably relevant here as well:

Quote:

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deweylittle said:

Just a heads up as some of us approach 100 hours on our portable generators, it's probably time for an oil change if you haven't already done one. Also, don't neglect your spark arrestor. On a whim, I inspected mine yesterday and found it about 90% clogged. A few minutes with some solvent and a toothbrush then a soapy water rinse and compressed air restored it.

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aTm2004 said:

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Posted on the hurricane thread, but probably relevant here as well:

Quote:

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deweylittle said:

Just a heads up as some of us approach 100 hours on our portable generators, it's probably time for an oil change if you haven't already done one. Also, don't neglect your spark arrestor. On a whim, I inspected mine yesterday and found it about 90% clogged. A few minutes with some solvent and a toothbrush then a soapy water rinse and compressed air restored it.

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How did the tooth brush work in terms of cleaning? I changed my oil, and cleaned my filter, but need to do the spark arrestor. I don't think I have a wire brush, but the tooth brush is a good idea.

Gas supply sizing:
https://motorsnorkel.com/installation-information-and-pipe-sizing/

Dewey posted what I quoted, so you'll need to ask him.

Thanks again. I'm going to get the 1" and I think it'll be fine.

Quote:

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everyone should have a Honda 2000/2200 in their garage.

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I've been looking at the Honda inverter generators as well as cheaper units from Craftsman, Generac, and other off-brands.

I am definitely not interested in spending the money for a whole home Generac. I don't think we get enough events such as this to warrant that expenditure. Dad had one at his last house and never once utilized it, even with Ike and Rita coming through when he lived in that place.

So for a 2000 or 2200 or comparable wattage inverter, is that sufficient to power 2 refrigerator with freezer units, a stand-alone freezer, and a window unit? Or would I need to get two to link together to double the output?

That may be too much for a single unit. Getting 2, you're now getting into the price where you could get a 4500 inverter from someone like Westinghouse, Champion, etc and only have 1 to keep fueled. But I still recommend having at last 1.

Has anyone with a standard generator (non-inverter) had any issues with electronics, fridges, ACs, etc? Seems like most aren't running an inverter and I haven't heard of problems from dirty power.

I think it's probably overblown. Most who run screamers don't have any issues. The biggest advantage an inverter has is being able to idle down when it doesn't need to run at a higher RPM to keep up with the load, which helps with fuel consumption. The screamers do not. They will run at the same RPM if you're running 3 freezers, a coffee pot, and a window unit, or if you're just running a desk lamp and small fan.