Nor'easter....just got my power and internet back about an hour ago.....

imacman · Oct 31, 2011

the Generac genny worked flawlessly for 25 hours straight. My 100 gal propane tank was just about full (85% on the fuel gauge), and it now reads just about 50%.

Pellet stove ran without a hitch on the genny power. Man, am I ever glad I got the generator.....for as far as I could see last night out of my windows, there wasn't hardly a light to be seen, but I watched the NASCAR race, a couple of movies, and had a cold adult beverage (or 2) in front of the stove.

Other than all that, the snow sucked. >:-(

BrotherBart · Oct 31, 2011

Sounds like the plan worked flawlessly. Congrats on the genny, condolences for having to use it.

SmokeyTheBear · Oct 31, 2011

Only problem now is you need a top off of that LP and that is gonna hurt.

PJPellet · Oct 31, 2011

SmokeyTheBear said:
Only problem now is you need a top off of that LP and that is gonna hurt.

I thought that too. Glad you're doing well though!

DexterDay · Oct 31, 2011

Love it when a plan comes together... Looking into a new Genny now (whole house) .

Congrats. Did you have any power interrupt from your genny? Or does it come right on?

Glad all is well in the house of imacman.. Cheers!

imacman · Oct 31, 2011

SmokeyTheBear said:
Only problem now is you need a top off of that LP and that is gonna hurt.

Well, maybe......I get 1 free fill-up each year, so as long as I can make it to Jan. 1, I'll be good to go.

imacman · Oct 31, 2011

DexterDay said:
.....Did you have any power interrupt from your genny? Or does it come right on?...

Thanks Dex.

No, the Generac comes on automatically after utility power isn't sensed for 12 seconds. It starts up, and then the auto transfer switch switches to genny power after 20 seconds. Once utility power is back on, it switches back, cools down for a few minutes, and shuts off.

Don2222 · Oct 31, 2011

imacman said:
the Generac genny worked flawlessly for 25 hours straight. My 100 gal propane tank was just about full (85% on the fuel gauge), and it now reads just about 50%.

Pellet stove ran without a hitch on the genny power. Man, am I ever glad I got the generator.....for as far as I could see last night out of my windows, there wasn't hardly a light to be seen, but I watched the NASCAR race, a couple of movies, and had a cold adult beverage (or 2) in front of the stove.

Other than all that, the snow sucked. >:-(

Hi Pete

Glad it worked good for you.

We only lost power for 5 hours so I cannot get a Genny. :-(

Just saw on the news, Still 800,000 people without power in Conn, 600,00 in Mass and 250,000 people in NH !!!

After the lights went out, I tried our backup HeatNGlo. Just a small problem and then we were all set for a few hours.
See pics.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/82216/

However the snow is really messing up a little shed construction.
See my pics.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/77731/

Also had to clean up some Tree Branches
See pics
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/82212/

DexterDay · Oct 31, 2011

imacman said:
DexterDay said:

.....Did you have any power interrupt from your genny? Or does it come right on?...

Click to expand...

Thanks Dex.

No, the Generac comes on automatically after utility power isn't sensed for 12 seconds. It starts up, and then the auto transfer switch switches to genny power after 20 seconds. Once utility power is back on, it switches back, cools down for a few minutes, and shuts off.

Very nice. And I would guess your UPS makes up that little bit of time, so the stove does not know the difference. Does your unit power your whole house?

imacman · Oct 31, 2011

DexterDay said:
Very nice. And I would guess your UPS makes up that little bit of time, so the stove does not know the difference. Does your unit power your whole house?

I actually don't use the UPS for the stove anymore....the stove motors made funny noises when running off of it, so I just put it in the office for the computer....works great.

The generator comes on fast enough that the stove actually just starts burning again like nothing happened. I have a lot of vertical in my exhaust, so no problems with smoke in the house at all.

Yes, the genny is a whole house unit....12Kw. Does everything in the house (2700 sq. ft.) except the electric range and a couple of lights and outlets in the basement. Runs the heating equipment in the winter, and the 25BTU A/C unit in the summer.

imacman · Oct 31, 2011

This is my unit:

St_Earl · Oct 31, 2011

nice! glad you made it through.

we only had 3 or 4 gentle inches of snow here.

smoke show · Oct 31, 2011

imacman said:
I get 1 free fill-up each year....

Theres no such thing as a free lunch.

dmaclaren · Oct 31, 2011

imacman said:
the Generac genny worked flawlessly for 25 hours straight. My 100 gal propane tank was just about full (85% on the fuel gauge), and it now reads just about 50%.

Pellet stove ran without a hitch on the genny power. Man, am I ever glad I got the generator.....for as far as I could see last night out of my windows, there wasn't hardly a light to be seen, but I watched the NASCAR race, a couple of movies, and had a cold adult beverage (or 2) in front of the stove.

Other than all that, the snow sucked. >:-(

WOW, so 35 gallons at about $90. Better than having a generator that only runs for 8 hours on 5 gallons.

So, it must have throttled a bit.

jumpink · Oct 31, 2011

That generator is awesome!

jtakeman · Oct 31, 2011

Pete,

Run me a cord will ya buddy, No power since Saturday night 6:00 PM. We have been using the genny for Lights TV fish tank and fridge. I have to unplug fridge to plug in the chast freezer. Too much hassle to just run the stove for a few hours here and there, So I opted for the smoke dragon instead!

I think I have the wifey talked in to the full auto back up. Going to check into the NG feed so no worries on fill ups.

Hope everyone is safe and warm. Looks like a war zone out there!

P.S.

Cheating! Logged on during break at work. Hopefully power comes back soon at the house or its just some quick check ins while the boss isn't looking! Shhhhhh!

St_Earl · Oct 31, 2011

i definitely don't know the answer to this. but i had assumed that if we had an outage here i would just plug my dsl modem in (by way of genny power) and be good to go for internet service.

is that an incorrect assumption?
and if not, what is different if your case?

hmm i also just assumed that the modem wouldn't be much of a draw.
i'll have to look up my pc's wattage. i had just planned on switching from the 32' tv i use for a monitor back down to the small spare i have.

save$ · Oct 31, 2011

Power flickered several times. Our biggest nuisance was the Direct TV rebooting. Most everything on surge protectors. Last time we lost power for anything longer than 10 hrs was back in the ice storm of '98 when we lost power for a week. There is one home in our neighborhood that has a Generac. We hear it kick on, about 400 feet up the road.
I have struggled with "do or do not get a generator" but so far, we have been OK for 36 years living here. Major power line boarders one side of our property.
One of my major concerns is safety with a generator. If you plug it into the house, you have to have a special set up to avoid any feed back into the grid. I been told that means an electrician and $$$. otherwise you can do the heavy extension cord thing to plug directly from appliance to the generator. One sales person told me to pull the switch at the circuit board and back feed the generator through the dryer outlet. That just gave me that sick cold feeling of "what if"

Xena · Oct 31, 2011

Glad u were comfy during the outage.

If I lived in an outage prone
area I'd def invest in a whole house genny too.

SmokeyTheBear · Oct 31, 2011

save$ said:
Power flickered several times. Our biggest nuisance was the Direct TV rebooting. Most everything on surge protectors. Last time we lost power for anything longer than 10 hrs was back in the ice storm of '98 when we lost power for a week. There is one home in our neighborhood that has a Generac. We hear it kick on, about 400 feet up the road.
I have struggled with "do or do not get a generator" but so far, we have been OK for 36 years living here. Major power line boarders one side of our property.
One of my major concerns is safety with a generator. If you plug it into the house, you have to have a special set up to avoid any feed back into the grid. I been told that means an electrician and $$$. otherwise you can do the heavy extension cord thing to plug directly from appliance to the generator. One sales person told me to pull the switch at the circuit board and back feed the generator through the dryer outlet. That just gave me that sick cold feeling of "what if"

You can buy and install a transfer switch or if you have circuit breakers and the space on your panel install an interlock, a new breaker, and an outside receptacle. The interlock set up is essentially a safe back feed system.

A number of newer in the sticks houses have them.

bonesy · Oct 31, 2011

DSL modem doesn't draw much at all. That would probably even stay working on a battery UPS for a while.

Regarding generator install, we had our new home finished in 1/2010. It is in an area that gets frequent power outages. We had a generator panel built into our electrical system. The sub-panel has all the circuits in it that we want generator powered. There is a plug on the outside of the house where we can plug in a portable generator. The panel has two breakers that are connected via a blockoff. When the generator feed is turned on, the feed from the subpanel to the main panel must be turned off at the same time as well as the main house feed should also be cut for safety. This is to stop feedback into the grid. If the house is new(er) and was wired by a professional electrician, there should be no feedback no matter what, but depending on how some are wired, even with the main off, there could be feedback through the neutral since that connection is not broken out to the grid. Last year when they were forecasting the big ice storm we went to HD and bought a 10kw peak/8kw running Rigid electric start portable generator. Never had to use it yet.

This process is still a PITA if I need to use it as if there is 2 feet of snow, I need to get the generator within 25' of the outlet b/c that's how long my cord is. We are looking into a whole house unit next year. However that will be pricey as we need at least a 20kw if we want to run our geothermal heat and a/c. With our portable setup now, we cannot run our geothermal heat or a/c and would need to rely on those oil filled electric powered radiators for heat, or now that I will have the Big E installed, in an emergency I could leave the door open from the garage and blow some heat in that way with a small fan.

My Mom just had a 10kw whole house installed about a month ago. I think total cost was about $5k with install.

Eatonpcat · Oct 31, 2011

I have the same generator, good to know it fired the stove back up in time!!

Glad you made it through the storm!!

St_Earl · Oct 31, 2011

jmbones said:
DSL modem doesn't draw much at all. That would probably even stay working on a battery UPS for a while.

Regarding generator install, we had our new home finished in 1/2010. It is in an area that gets frequent power outages. We had a generator panel built into our electrical system. The sub-panel has all the circuits in it that we want generator powered. There is a plug on the outside of the house where we can plug in a portable generator. The panel has two breakers that are connected via a blockoff. When the generator feed is turned on, the feed from the subpanel to the main panel must be turned off at the same time as well as the main house feed should also be cut for safety. This is to stop feedback into the grid. If the house is new(er) and was wired by a professional electrician, there should be no feedback no matter what, but depending on how some are wired, even with the main off, there could be feedback through the neutral since that connection is not broken out to the grid. Last year when they were forecasting the big ice storm we went to HD and bought a 10kw peak/8kw running Rigid electric start portable generator. Never had to use it yet.

This process is still a PITA if I need to use it as if there is 2 feet of snow, I need to get the generator within 25' of the outlet b/c that's how long my cord is. We are looking into a whole house unit next year. However that will be pricey as we need at least a 20kw if we want to run our geothermal heat and a/c. With our portable setup now, we cannot run our geothermal heat or a/c and would need to rely on those oil filled electric powered radiators for heat, or now that I will have the Big E installed, in an emergency I could leave the door open from the garage and blow some heat in that way with a small fan.

My Mom just had a 10kw whole house installed about a month ago. I think total cost was about $5k with install.

i figured i'd quote your whole post so as not to bury it by just quoting the first line.

that said. i'm guessing imacman has some set up where the internet is dependent on a bigger system (direct tv?) either that or the provider is also affected by the outage.

lol. well thank god my internet is safe!! guess i should be more concerned about the basics. but addiction does strange things to a man.

St_Earl · Oct 31, 2011

we're new here ( millinocket me. ) but the locals have said they don't usually have many or long outages.
i was looking at the generac ix series. thinking that they were american made like a lot of generac's other models.
but nope. chinese. and they have a really bad rep. with reviews that refer to similar problems over many different owners.

i can't afford a honda with all the money we're putting into the new house.

but i do feel a lot better about the powerhorse series from northern tool.
still made in china. but the motor is supposed to be quality and parts, service and warranty (2 year) as well as a nice 4 gallon tank make me a lot more comfortable buying the 2200w (surge) 1800w (running model.

less money then the 1600w generac and 2 hundred more running watts.
it does have clean inverter power too.
as long as i mind the oil and run it periodically, i think i will do well for the money.
i think (have to double check) it even has a gas shut off valve. making it easier to run dry for storage.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200419022_200419022

bonesy · Oct 31, 2011

St_Earl said:
i'm guessing imacman has some set up where the internet is dependent on a bigger system (direct tv?) either that or the provider is also affected by the outage.

lol. well thank god my internet is safe!! guess i should be more concerned about the basics. but addiction does strange things to a man.

This is true. If your phone lines or cable are also out, and you have DSL or cable internet, having power to the modem will do no good anyway.

Nor'easter....just got my power and internet back about an hour ago.....

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