New toy

[SCOTT S.]

I have struggled with this purchase for a long time and finally bought a Honda eu2000 generator. This was tough trying to weigh out how much power we need compared to how much fuel we are will have on hand in an outage. The 2000 watts will not run our deep well pump so no water but I can keep the food from spoiling and the fan running on the wood stove. This generator will run 10 hours on a gallon last year I borrowed my bosses generator his was large enough to run the well pump but I went through 5 gallons in two hours. I just don't see that as being practical in an extended outage. I am still trying to convince myself I made the right call.

 

[johneh]

5Gal in 2 hrs. is a bit excessive . My Honda 10,000 runs the whole house including the
3/4 hp in ground well pump and uses 5 Gal. of fuel in 15 hrs. in other words 2 days
I do not run continually only 8 to 12 hrs. a day If what you bought is what you need then
be HAPPY the en 2000 is a dependable little work horse

 

[D8Chumley]

We got a brand new Generac 7550/13,500 that came with the house 9 years ago. Our gas usage is similar to johneh and we have a 1 hp well pump, which makes the Briggs go nuts when it kicks on. It powers a lot but not everything, but at least we have water. Good to be prepared!

 

[cachunko]

I have a 6700 watt generator that runs the whole house. I back feed it into the main panel. It runs everything including my electric hot water heater (as long as nothing else major is running). I personally have never used one of those smaller hondas, but I always thought for running a house, it was a lot of money for not much usefulness. I wouldn't purchase a generator that wouldn't run my whole house. I get about 12 hours out of 6 gallons of gas or so.

 

[D8Chumley]

We did that also, had an electrician put a pigtail we can run to the outside and plug into the generator. He installed a switch so it doesn't backfeed the line and hurt one of the guys from the power company, or worse

 

[SCOTT S.]

5Gal in 2 hrs. is a bit excessive . My Honda 10,000 runs the whole house including the
3/4 hp in ground well pump and uses 5 Gal. of fuel in 15 hrs. in other words 2 days
I do not run continually only 8 to 12 hrs. a day If what you bought is what you need then
be HAPPY the en 2000 is a dependable little work horse

We looked at the honda10000 watt and specifications said it used 8.1 gallons in 4.6 hours at load and 8.1 gallons in 7hrs at half load That steered me away from it. My bosses generator was a generac 12000w

 

[SCOTT S.]

I have a 6700 watt generator that runs the whole house. I back feed it into the main panel. It runs everything including my electric hot water heater (as long as nothing else major is running). I personally have never used one of those smaller hondas, but I always thought for running a house, it was a lot of money for not much usefulness. I wouldn't purchase a generator that wouldn't run my whole house. I get about 12 hours out of 6 gallons of gas or so.

I do understand your thoughts on not getting a generator that wouldn't run the house, my other thought was with the 2000 I might get more use out of it, easy to throw on the rack of the atv or in the pickup and use anywhere I know I had 3 projects I could have used on this year. A big one would stay in the Garage I guess there's always a trade off

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah. We have gone through many extended outages over the years with our 3,250 watt generators. One is only fired for kitchen use and then shut down. You did fine. Except if you have a septic system with a pump up drainfield.

My 5,000 watt generator is fired once a month for maintenance purposes but hasn't been used in a power failure in ten years. Better to have to ration water than to have to find gas in a blizzard.

 

[Sprinter]

I've had my Honda 2000 for about 5 years now. You did the right thing!

I've used it to power every single important thing in my house for as long as a few days and could go for months if necessary. I power two refrigerators, all the lights, two TV's and other electronic stuff, stereos, an outdoor pond pump, etc. Except for the well pump, we could have survived nearly forever. The way I look at it, if the situation were much worse than maybe a few weeks, then it would also be hard to buy gas to run a large generator. We are sort of soft core preppers and do store a lot of potable water in case of long-term problems. But by far, that's the only concern.

The thing sips gas, and on the "eco" mode, it actually runs the fridges and a few lights on even less. At any one time, I have 20 gallons of gas stored in containers and try to keep two cars full. I rotate the gas through the cars to keep it fresh.

We are fortunate in having a propane range to cook on and the propane lasts over a year. Even without that, you can cook on camping stoves and bbq units. Those propane camping bottles can last an surprisingly long time.

I've also taken it in the woods to power an electric chain saw before I bought a proper one. Nearly no end to what you can use it for.

I keep fresh gas for it and start it every few weeks and it always starts with one or two pulls (well, usually two).

Needless to say, I wouldn't give this thing up for anything...

Okay, sometimes, I think about buying one large enough for the well pump, but only for that. You could run such a thing for maybe five minutes to charge up the pressure tank every day or so. Not too much gas. But that Honda is "just right".

Did I mention that it's about the quietest gen around, especially on eco mode when it whispers.

 

[Sprinter]

Better to have to ration water than to have to find gas in a blizzard.

I couln't agree more.

 

[BrotherBart]

I buy 25 gallons of gas every October and if not used in the generators I cook it off in the yard equipment and vehicles starting in May. I hold five gallons till September because we lose power in the Summer sometimes also.

 

[woodhog73]

Perhaps this is a stupid question but for those with whole house generators , can you run them off propane ? If you full time wood burners have propane furnaces for back up and large propane tanks outside in the yard, is it an option?

In the cities where there is natural gas, lots of people have whole house generators that run off natural gas and are permanently hooked up to the gas line.

Just curious.

 

[Sprinter]

can you run them off propane ?

If so equipped, yes. Some models are even tri-powered for propane gas and NG. Propane or NG is preferred sometimes over gasoline because propane never goes bad. A very nice advantage. You can get conversion kits too for many generators, large and small.

We have some friends in Eastern Wa who are more hard-core that we are, and also have a lot more $ than we. They have a really nice automatically switched whole-house system supplied by an underground propane supply of untold capacity. It's really nice; it just costs big bucks.

As Brother Bart suggested, I've been in a large regional blackout several years ago, and it was impossible to find gasoline because most stations don't have backup generators as you may like to think they would. In this world, you have to depend on yourself and be proactive.

 

[cachunko]

Better to have to ration water than to have to find gas in a blizzard.

I have a 500 gallon gasoline tank for farm use. Finding gasoline in a blizzard isn't a problem for me. Obviously, everyone's situation is different. I have four children, with the oldest being 5. The last time our power was out it was out for almost 5 days. I can definitely see the appeal to be able to take a smaller generator some place easily. I actually thought about getting one for powering my camper at some rustic camp sites. I'm definitely not trying to bash one, or say that my way is the best way. It's just the best way for me. Ideally, I'd have both - one to run the house, and a more portable one to use wherever, but that's just not in the finances.

 

[SCOTT S.]

I have a 500 gallon gasoline tank for farm use. Finding gasoline in a blizzard isn't a problem for me. Obviously, everyone's situation is different. I have four children, with the oldest being 5. The last time our power was out it was out for almost 5 days. I can definitely see the appeal to be able to take a smaller generator some place easily. I actually thought about getting one for powering my camper at some rustic camp sites. I'm definitely not trying to bash one, or say that my way is the best way. It's just the best way for me. Ideally, I'd have both - one to run the house, and a more portable one to use wherever, but that's just not in the finances.

I absolutely see both sides that is why it was a purchase I really struggled with.

 

[jetsam]

I got sick of rotating gas cans after last hurricane and retrofitted my gas generator for propane.

I have 2 large tanks at the house plus a bunch of BBQ tanks I could use in a pinch.

I don't even know how long I could run it, but I'm guesstimating about a month at 12 hours a day. (Assuming the propane tanks all started completely full, which is probably unlikely.)

 

[Roundgunner]

I just converted my 7550 to run on propane. Rotating gas is a pain in the butt. I have a inlaw house attached, it runs the well, 2 frige's, 3 air handlers, boiler fan, 4 taco 0014 pumps, 5-taco 007 pumps and my fish tank filter. I need a bigger generator. Thinking about a military surplus diesel 10k. I could run it on fuel oil out of the dino boiler.

 

[jetsam]

I just converted my 7550 to run on propane. Rotating gas is a pain in the butt. I have a inlaw house attached, it runs the well, 2 frige's, 3 air handlers, boiler fan, 4 taco 0014 pumps, 5-taco 007 pumps and my fish tank filter. I need a bigger generator. Thinking about a military surplus diesel 10k. I could run it on fuel oil out of the dino boiler.

Every generator I ever used in the military was 3-phase. You can't just use 2 legs of it, either- you have to put load on all three phases.

That was some years ago, though.

 

[Sprinter]

I got sick of rotating gas cans after last hurricane and retrofitted my gas generator for propane.

I'm guessing Sandy made preppers out of a lot of people over there, eh?

Propane does de-rate a gen by about 10%, but I love the fact that it lasts nearly forever. I only have a 50 gal propane tank for the gas range, but I may have the company install a larger one and convert the Honda 2000i. I agree that keeping gasoline rotated can be a pain.

Another thing to keep in mind if you are prepping for a long term problem is generator maintenance. Be sure to have enough oil on hand for oil changes. Some small generators may need an oil change every few days of continuous operation (100 hrs for the Honda), so I have a few gallons of oil on hand, and a couple of plugs, etc. A good synthetic oil may help in this regard.

 

[jetsam]

I'm guessing Sandy made preppers out of a lot of people over there, eh?

"Yes".

Envision, if you will, a million peppers who earnestly believe that they can and should run their generators indoors to avoid getting their very expensive shoes dirty from starting it; that believe that generators transmit power to the whole house either wirelessly or via the 2 prong 20 gauge Christmas tree light extension cord they found in the attic; and who define 'end of the world' as 'My favorite restaurant is closed for the day AND my gigantic SUV got a leaf and possibly some squirrel poop on it'.

It's different out here. :/

 

[woodhog73]

If so equipped, yes. Some models are even tri-powered for propane gas and NG. Propane or NG is preferred sometimes over gasoline because propane never goes bad. A very nice advantage. You can get conversion kits too for many generators, large and small.

We have some friends in Eastern Wa who are more hard-core that we are, and also have a lot more $ than we. They have a really nice automatically switched whole-house system supplied by an underground propane supply of untold capacity. It's really nice; it just costs big bucks.

As Brother Bart suggested, I've been in a large regional blackout several years ago, and it was impossible to find gasoline because most stations don't have backup generators as you may like to think they would. In this world, you have to depend on yourself and be proactive.

I don't have a generator but have been thinking more about buying one.

I'd probably just get a portable one big enough to run the fridge and freezer, a few lights, and the television.

Although I live in the woods in a rural area, recently we had natural gas expand to our area because we are less than 10 miles to town. I guess the gas company determined there was enough demand and money to be made. So I've got natural gas and use it for heat. Although I still burn wood for extra warmth anyways, despite the fact it's fairly inexpensive to run the furnace.

So for giggles what do those whole house systems cost that can run on natural gas ? The idea of never having to worry about having enough gas to run the generator is nice. I guess it just kicks on when the power goes out ? Are they quiet running being it's natural gas?

Probably not something I would invest in but I do plan on living here for potentially the rest of my life so it sounds nice to have a system like that . It's probably out of my price range though.

 

[jetsam]

I don't have a generator but have been thinking more about buying one.

I'd probably just get a portable one big enough to run the fridge and freezer, a few lights, and the television.

Although I live in the woods in a rural area, recently we had natural gas expand to our area because we are less than 10 miles to town. I guess the gas company determined there was enough demand and money to be made. So I've got natural gas and use it for heat. Although I still burn wood for extra warmth anyways, despite the fact it's fairly inexpensive to run the furnace.

So for giggles what do those whole house systems cost that can run on natural gas ? The idea of never having to worry about having enough gas to run the generator is nice. I guess it just kicks on when the power goes out ? Are they quiet running being it's natural gas?

Probably not something I would invest in but I do plan on living here for potentially the rest of my life so it sounds nice to have a system like that . It's probably out of my price range though.

Get a little trifuel portable. They're cheap and you can run it off NG at home, or take it with you and run it off a bbq propane tank.

As far as hooking it up to the house goes, I think I paid $30 for my interlock kit (get the model number off your main panel and google it, or call the company for the correct part number). I paid maybe $40 in new double breakers because I had no space in the box, $30ish for the inlet box, $20ish in wire (a few feet of 8/3 romex), $5 for caulk. You also need the generator, an appropriate power cord to hit the inlet box (probably nema 14-30 or 14-20 depending on generator size, may come with the generator), gas regulators for propane and NG (probably comes with a trifuel generator), and a shutoff and quicklock gas connectors for thr natural gas. I'd guess around $200 in parts if you don't have to buy any regulators. If you aren't doing the work yourself though, that might be a job that costs more than the generator.

 

[Sprinter]

I'd probably just get a portable one big enough to run the fridge and freezer, a few lights, and the television.

That's probably the easiest and cheapest way to go, and so far i haven't felt the need for more than the Honda 2000i size except for the well pump. You'll need to decide if you need to run an electric range and such and size appropriately. But the really big thing about these small gensets is that they are so easy on fuel, which to me is the most important factor in preparing for a long-term outage. It's a little more inconvenient to run cords to the various appliances, but once you have a system it just takes a few minutes. The Honda 2000i is the one we have talked about here, but Yamaha also makes a very similar one for about the same cost.

Whatever you get, though, be sure to get the newer style with a built-in inverter. They provide a very clean and well regulated power which is essential especially for electronic devices.

I like to keep things simple and we could be just fine for months this way. Actually, if you want maximum security and flexibility, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a larger one like a 7 KW model plus a smaller one as a backup. If you are a serious prepper, you wouldn't want to totally rely on just one when "the big one hits". FWIW, the Honda has a cable kit that allows two of them to hooked up together to provide twice the power and also 230 VAC if you need that for something.

 

[blacktail]

The Honda 2000i is the one we have talked about here, but Yamaha also makes a very similar one for about the same cost.

I've borrowed my dad's Honda 2000 a few times during power outages. I REALLY like how quiet it is. I only use it to run my aquarium and fridge. When I lost power in august I alternated running the fridge and chest freezer.
Less than 2 weeks before Xmas, Cabela's had a big pallet of Yamaha 2000's on sale. I think they were something like $799 plus another $200 back in store credit. I came very close to buying one. I would have, but just as I noticed they were made in China, a store employee mentioned that the $200 store credit had to be used by the end of the year.
I've been looking at cheap gas/propane units. I like the idea of using propane, but I'm not sure how loud it would be.

 

[jetsam]

I've borrowed my dad's Honda 2000 a few times during power outages. I REALLY like how quiet it is. I only use it to run my aquarium and fridge. When I lost power in august I alternated running the fridge and chest freezer.
Less than 2 weeks before Xmas, Cabela's had a big pallet of Yamaha 2000's on sale. I think they were something like $799 plus another $200 back in store credit. I came very close to buying one. I would have, but just as I noticed they were made in China, a store employee mentioned that the $200 store credit had to be used by the end of the year.
I've been looking at cheap gas/propane units. I like the idea of using propane, but I'm not sure how loud it would be.

I can't tell a difference in engine noise running my Generac on gas or propane, so expect a noise level appropriate to whatever engine size you go with.

Converting a gas unit to propane is not very hard, but it costs even if you do all the work yourself (you have to buy a regulator and some plumbing). My neighbor who installs generators for a living says that you also need a propane mix unit, something like an external carb? (I don't have one of those and my generator works fine. The propane line goes straight into the bowl of the gas carb, though you do regulate the mixture via an external load block on the regulator. Maybe that's what he was talking about and we were calling it by different names.)

If you don't have a generator yet, just buy a trifuel and you're all set.