Generator for backup power??? Good or bad idea?

[joker3092]

Hey guys figued you could me out here, im considering buying a small generator for my pellet stove. Just something small in the 2000 or 3000 running watt range. I have been doing some reading and have read that a generator may give off surges and could fry the control board??? Is this even possible??? Wouldn't a good surge protector protect the stove from the power surges??? Also what is the typical running watts of a pellet stove?? I would also like to be able to have a few lights on in addition to the stove.

 

[vvvv]

dunno but i'd take fridge consumption into account?

 

[joker3092]

dunno but i'd take fridge consumption into account?

Up here in the pocono mountains if the power goes out in the winter it's well below 20 degrees. I'll just stcik the food in the garage where its cold. Been living up here for two years and haven't had a power outage that lasted more than a few hours YET!! But with a good freeze power is known to go out up here for a couple days at a time sometime. All i need is heat and light. and I'm Good

 

[tsmith]

I have already ran my Quad AE off of my generator and it worked fine, I do have a surge protector on my stove though. Just this year i purchased the cord and marine battery for back-up in case the power goes out while we are not home, it just won't relight itself if it auto cleans. It does however relight on the generator power.

 

[Scoop]

I bought a made in China 1200 watt generator at Walmart and it doesn't power my USSC stove. Make sure you get a pure sine wave generator ( I think that's the name)-- doesn't have big fluctuations in power output.

 

[charly]

Hey guys figued you could me out here, im considering buying a small generator for my pellet stove. Just something small in the 2000 or 3000 running watt range. I have been doing some reading and have read that a generator may give off surges and could fry the control board??? Is this even possible??? Wouldn't a good surge protector protect the stove from the power surges??? Also what is the typical running watts of a pellet stove?? I would also like to be able to have a few lights on in addition to the stove.

Honda makes some nice small generators, quiet and great on fuel. And they have a very good constant sinewave, so you keep the surges at bay.

 

[krooser]

I think Chinese watts are smaller than US watts... like their 1/2 hp bench grinders (those are probably 1/8 hp in reality!)....

Honda makes good generators as does Generac and others. I know fellas that bought those $99.00 el-cheapo units to power lights and a simple radio at their swap/camping sites at auto parts swap meets... the usually sell 'em soon after because they burn up any electrical devices plugged into them.

I fried two Milwaukee tool battery chargers by using a cheap ac/dc inverter in my Peterbilt... luckily my local rental center was able to fix both of them at a low cost... they burned up a diode due to the uncontrolled voltage.

 

[DMZX]

I budgeted for a generator when I bought my stove. Did a good deal of research and settled on a Honda EU2000i. Got it for $959. I went with the Honda for these reasons:

- Reputation
- Parts and service availability
- Build quality/reliability
- Inverter technology
- Gas usage/hour
- Ease of maintenance
- Portability

It is also a very good idea to have your stove plugged to a good surge protector.

Where I live the electricity goes out a couple of times each winter, usually due to winds or freezing rain, downing powerlines, so outages can be longer than 24-36 hours.

 

[charly]

I budgeted for a generator when I bought my stove. Did a good deal of research and settled on a Honda EU2000i. Got it for $959. I went with the Honda for these reasons:+1

- Reputation
- Parts and service availability
- Build quality/reliability
- Inverter technology
- Gas usage/hour
- Ease of maintenance
- Portability

It is also a very good idea to have your stove plugged to a good surge protector.

Where I live the electricity goes out a couple of times each winter, usually due to winds or freezing rain, downing powerlines, so outages can be longer than 24-36 hours.

 

[mark d fellows]

Listen, this topic goes back and forth and back and forth. Hondas are so expensive not because they provide better power than a good rotating generator type, but because they are lighter, quieter and more fuel efficient.

Don't get a cheap inverter type generator, but if you want that type, get a honda or yamaha.


You can EASILY run a pellet stove, several lights, a tv, a refridgerator on 3000 watts. The thing about running a fridge along with everything else is that you can in fact get surges, because refrigerators have high drain staring watts.

Meaning that if the refrigerator states it takes 500 watts to run, it might take 800 to 1000 to start the compressor. Your generator will easily handle that, but after the fridge is running, you get a surplus of power for a split second.

It depends on how good and fast the voltage regulator is in your generator. A decent generator has a good regulator in it. You can buy a chinese made, American designed and quality tested champion 3500 watt, 3000 continuous generator for 329.99 and it will work fine.

Listen, people were using generators for a loooong time before the Honda true sine wave inverter generators came out.

If you feel better getting the honda 2000, than do so. However, if you aren't going to use it, spend less, and get a champion, or briggs and straton or something.

Your stove will list the watts used. Take the max draw, and make sure you get a generator of twice that capacity, as any electric motor has a starting power requirement.

It is a good idea to have a generator. You can also power your stove off of, a battery and true sinewave inverter for a long time. For 300.00 you can buy 60 watts of solar panels, store the energy in big batteries use them in an emergency, and recharge them for free over time.

http://www.markdfellows.com/untitled1.html

 

[mark d fellows]

one more thing, After hurricane Ike hit Texas, a lot of people relied on generators for power for a week or two, or three. What percentage of those people do you really think had the Hondas?

Mark

 

[oldspark]

I ran my whole acreage for 3 days on a Steele 7000 watt gen (cheapie 800$) which included a well pump, ref., freezer, lights and 2 computers with not one problem what so ever so mark d fellows hit the nail on the head.

 

[charly]

I ran my whole house, etc. for 5 days straight, on a Guardian generator, in an ice storm we had here 2 years ago.

 

[mark d fellows]

My biggest issue with the generators is making sure I have enough fuel on hand for emergencies, and rotating the gas, which only lasts two years without getting gummy. I burn it in the lawn mower in the summer, but I can't burn it fast enough to keep 10 gallons of fresh on hand, and I don't want to burn it in the car risking the o2 sensor, as I put Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer in it.

That and making sure I start and run the generator at last 2 times a year.

Mark

 

[charly]

My biggest issue with the generators is making sure I have enough fuel on hand for emergencies, and rotating the gas, which only lasts two years without getting gummy. I burn it in the lawn mower in the summer, but I can't burn it fast enough to keep 10 gallons of fresh on hand, and I don't want to burn it in the car risking the o2 sensor, as I put Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer in it.

That and making sure I start and run the generator at last 2 times a year.

Mark

My guardian generator was hooked up to a 500 gallon propane tank, which also supplied my cooking gas.Having a wood gasifiaction boiler the propane was 70% full most of the time which I figured would give me over 2 weeks straight run time. Generator cycled itself once a week, and started on it's own. I was plowing the state roads at the time , so I couldn't be worried about the wife being without power and my wood boiler shutting down. Was a peace of mind. No gasoline to worry about. I saw my friends runnign around with gas cans in an ice storm , trying to find gas station open. No thanks, propane worked great for the generator. Now on the farm...gravity fed water from a spring fed pond, and a wood stove in the house. No power needed for a well pump, or to run circulators for a wood gasification boiler. I'll still have heat and water with no power, I could survive the whole winter with no power if I had to,,,,life is good

 

[mark d fellows]

My biggest issue with the generators is making sure I have enough fuel on hand for emergencies, and rotating the gas, which only lasts two years without getting gummy. I burn it in the lawn mower in the summer, but I can't burn it fast enough to keep 10 gallons of fresh on hand, and I don't want to burn it in the car risking the o2 sensor, as I put Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer in it.

That and making sure I start and run the generator at last 2 times a year.

Mark

My guardian generator was hooked up to a 500 gallon propane tank, which also supplied my cooking gas.Having a wood gasifiaction boiler the propane was 70% full most of the time which I figured would give me over 2 weeks straight run time. Generator cycled itself once a week, and started on it's own. I was plowing the state roads at the time , so I couldn't be worried about the wife being without power and my wood boiler shutting down. Was a peace of mind. No gasoline to worry about. I saw my friends runnign around with gas cans in an ice storm , trying to find gas station open. No thanks, propane worked great for the generator. Now on the farm...gravity fed water from a spring fed pond, and a wood stove in the house. No power needed for a well pump, or to run circulators for a wood gasification boiler. I'll still have heat and water with no power, I could survive the whole winter with no power if I had to,,,,life is good

Sweet setup! I wish I could afford the propane, and had the room for a huge tank. To my knowledge, propane never goes bad like gas does!

 

[Vinelife]

I have ye old wood stove on hand if the power goes out and 1 cord of wood....

 

[jtakeman]

I have ye old wood stove on hand if the power goes out and 1 cord of wood....

X2 But I wouldn't mind one of them whole house gennies with the auto feature to handle my every need! I went to the bigE yesterday and they had them as soon as you walked in gate 9. There was drool on a couple of them. :cheese: But the wifey said NO! "pout"

 

[woodsman23]

I bought a gas 4000 watt from homey sine generator and changed it over to propane, cheap and easy....

 

[vgrund]

I ran my whole house for 3, 5 and 6 and 8 days straight on separate occasions, on my Kohler 12-RES generator. We sometimes experience ice storms and wind storms that cause long outages. I've made other posts here about it. It was a very good investment. I have a small UPS on my pellet stove that is more than sufficient to handle the 10 seconds required for the generator to start, even if the ignitor is running.

 

[MCPO]

If my power goes out I`ll use the central oil furnace off the generator set and not the pellet stove. It makes little sense to run the generator 24/7 for a pellet stove (space heater)when the furnace and refrigerator only needs to run one hour or less every 3-8 hrs depending on outside temps.
This also eliminates any worries over toasting a sensitive control board .,

 

[Snowy Rivers]

We have two generators here at the ranch.

One is a 20KW diesel and the other is a small suitcase unit by Coleman.

The Coleman is a 1750 watt unit and it runs the pellet stove just fine.

The Quadrafire 1000 runs ok but the room air fan makes a slight pulsing noise due to the slight variations in the RPM of the generator speed.

Never had any issues.

Now I would read your stoves manual over well and see if they mention any cautions about using generators.

The surge protectors that you buy at the grocery store or local electronics outlets are near worthless.

Over voltage is usually not an issue with the little generators, its more likley that you will see variations in the cyclic rate and or voltage that varies up and down as opposed to spikes.

Low voltage can cause issues too, as this causes amperage to rise and with this comes heat.

Delicate electronics do not like any of this stuff.

To really protect sensative electronics take a very spendy unit.

We have one stove here that is very tolerant of the generator and we use that exclusively in an outage.


The big deal Of course is, when using a generator, to always be sure that you either power only the particular appliance you are using or to have transfer switch in place in your incoming wiring.

Some folks will make up a rig that allows them to feed 240V back through a drier plug or other 240V plug and feed their home off a generator.

This can be extremely dangerous if the power is backfeeding the public system and not disconnected though a transfer switch.

Most of the top name generators sold in the hardware stores are fine.

I would stay away from the cheapo off brand stuff thats coming in from overseas.

The Hondas, Coleman and other names that have been around for years are pretty good.


Be safe

Snowy

 

[imacman]

Cheapest prices I've seen on the very good Honda genny's:

www.boomersbackyard.com/honda-generators.html

 

[Kenny1]

Hey guys figued you could me out here, im considering buying a small generator for my pellet stove. Just something small in the 2000 or 3000 running watt range. I have been doing some reading and have read that a generator may give off surges and could fry the control board??? Is this even possible??? Wouldn't a good surge protector protect the stove from the power surges??? Also what is the typical running watts of a pellet stove?? I would also like to be able to have a few lights on in addition to the stove.

Others have pointed out some good info.

A few years ago, I measured my P61A, and on start up it drew about 375W (ignitor on), and about 150W when running. YMMV.

Surge protectors are always a good idea. Buying a decent generator will also help.

For some general thoughts on generators, this thread https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/45926/P44/

had this posted in it

Before buying a generator. perhaps you should do some thinking about what you are going to use it for and how you are going to connect it.

If you just wish to power a pellet stove, a small generator will suffice. If you wish to ride out a 2 or 3 day power outage, and run the stove, fridge, well pump, freezer, etc., you may need a larger unit (and a large amount of stored fuel!).

Gas is handy for most of us, but does not store well. Diesel keeps longer. but the generators cost more. NG may also be an option for you, or propane.

How often does the power go out for long periods where you live? Are you planning for the “storm of the century” or just looking to ride out “typical” conditions? To handle a week requires a much larger budget than to cover a 1 - 2 day outage.

What is the load size? Do you want to run everything (including the big screen TV), or would a fridge and a couple of CF light bulbs be enough? Keep in mind the start up current draw of motors (e.g. well pump).

How will you connect the generator to the load? This is very critical for your safety (and the safety of others). A proper transfer switch is required for powering hard wired appliances, and is very safe and convient. Extensions cords are fine for smaller loads, but more work to hook up.

Will you have fuel for your generator? How much? How long can you store it for? Where will you store it?

Where will you run the generator? It has to be outside (do not run in an attached garage!). Do you have a bit of shelter for it (keep it out of the rain/snow)? Some generators do not like to be run in cold weather (mine states under 40F, carb icing can occur unless you provide a cold weather shelter). Also, they can be very noisy.

Whatever you do get, be sure to order some extra filters for it (you may need to change them during a power outage).

If you do go gas, then the smallest generator will require the least amount of fuel (a good thing if gas is scarce!).




Cheers!

 

[westom]

I have been doing some reading and have read that a generator may give off surges and could fry the control board??? Is this even possible??? Wouldn't a good surge protector protect the stove from the power surges???

Any add-on device (a power strip protector) costs many times more money than a solution at the source - inside the generator. If a generator is creating surges that destructive, then it can also damage the protector circuit. And the stove remains connected to that surge.

This 'surge' problem is discussed in generalities as if all surges are same. If a cheap 120 volt generator suddenly loses its load, this its voltage can peak at well over 180 volts. But since that voltage is well below 330 volts, then that surge is ignored even by all surge protectors. View that 330 volt number on every surge protector box.

Solution to those surges is inside the generator. Add-in solutions are not effective. Therefore many spend a little more for the Honda rather than massively for protectors – that do not claim to protect from many types of surges created by a generator. Solution is easiest and least expensive when solved inside the generator with smarter designs.