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johneh

johneh

Minister of Fire
Dec 19, 2009
5,245
Eastern Ontario
It is now 3pm power has been out for 1 1/2 hrs.
Genny kicked right in Temp is -22::C with a wind chill of -34::C
Feel bad for thoughts in the cold . Est. time power returns is 5:30
Thank God foe my Genny
 
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Still no power est. time now 12pm I hate Ontario hydro
9100 people in the dark
 
I don’t have a whole house automatic generator but I do have a small 2000W Generac inverter genny that’s always by the house on a pad ready to go. For $350 it’s cheap peace of mind in this rural area where the power can go out anytime and it will run all of my 120V electrical items in my small place. the biggest bummer about is that I have to keep a 5 gallon can of non ethanol fuel on the ready for it in case I need it someday. I rotate it out every 6 months.
 
At least with 9600 customers out, and no widespread outages, it sounds like one problem on the whole circuit. Hopefully not something big. Cold temps, high usage.

Sounds like you guys like your whole house gennies? I had a full guy out to do an estimate, but he never got back to me.
 
Mine was 9k installed. Wife thought I was crazy but every time the power goes out she says glad we have the generator. 2 days is the longest it's been out since we got it
 
I meant to say fuel not full.

That's great. It's gotta be sweet when it starts automatically like that.
 
WiscWoody said:
I don’t have a whole house automatic generator but I do have a small 2000W Generac inverter genny that’s always by the house on a pad ready to go. For $350 it’s cheap peace of mind in this rural area where the power can go out anytime and it will run all of my 120V electrical items in my small place. the biggest bummer about is that I have to keep a 5 gallon can of non ethanol fuel on the ready for it in case I need it someday. I rotate it out every 6 months.
Click to expand...
Why I went and bought a dual-fuel propane generator. No worries about fuel going stale.
@johneh hope you are back on the grid by now.
 
Installed my first one after the 1998 ice storm was without power for 28 days
Wife said I was crazy . Had it for 10 years total usage 635 hrs. Sold it and
upgrades to a 25 KW propane fired unit cost just under 15K . Wife
wanted to know why next power outage 9 days everything in the house
worked washer dryer well pump elec. stove now she will not be with out it
total hours on this unit 593 and counting . Best investment I ever made
Expensive but the peace of mind Priceless
 
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WiscWoody said:
I don’t have a whole house automatic generator but I do have a small 2000W Generac inverter genny that’s always by the house on a pad ready to go. For $350 it’s cheap peace of mind in this rural area where the power can go out anytime and it will run all of my 120V electrical items in my small place. the biggest bummer about is that I have to keep a 5 gallon can of non ethanol fuel on the ready for it in case I need it someday. I rotate it out every 6 months.
Click to expand...

I opted to do something similar . . . purchased a 7500 watt Yamaha generator and hired an electrician/co-worker this summer to install a hook up on the exterior of the house and an interlock on the electrical panel.

Much cheaper than a whole house generator and honestly it runs most everything we need to . . . not that I would run every light and appliance at once though . . . just have to prioritize what I want to run and when I want to run it.

Used the new set up for the first time a month or two after doing the switch over when we lost power for a couple of days. Worked great . . . wife could take a shower (her big "want"), longer run time than with the smaller generator and it was much easier to get things up and running vs. running electrical cords through the house.
 
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begreen said:
Why I went and bought a dual-fuel propane generator. No worries about fuel going stale.
@johneh hope you are back on the grid by now.
Click to expand...
i'm curious to know what make/model you purchased? I'm looking at buying a propane generator myself.
 
johneh said:
Installed my first one after the 1998 ice storm was without power for 28 days
Wife said I was crazy . Had it for 10 years total usage 635 hrs. Sold it and
upgrades to a 25 KW propane fired unit cost just under 15K . Wife
wanted to know why next power outage 9 days everything in the house
worked washer dryer well pump elec. stove now she will not be with out it
total hours on this unit 593 and counting . Best investment I ever made
Expensive but the peace of mind Priceless
Click to expand...
what generator are you running now?
 
begreen said:
Why I went and bought a dual-fuel propane generator. No worries about fuel going stale.
@johneh hope you are back on the grid by now.
Click to expand...
But I wanted a inverter generator since they have a pure sine wave that’s easier on delicate electronics. Non ethanol gas can be good for over a year with a little Stabil in it. I haven’t seen any LP run inverter generators but there might be some available..? I had thought about getting a propane portable genny before but my reason was so that I could run a hose to a quick connect on my 1000 gallon LP tank so I could run it for long term if needed and LP is cheap that way. Around $1.10 a gallon here in the summer when I fill my tank.
 
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WiscWoody said:
But I wanted a inverter generator since they have a pure sine wave that’s easier on delicate electronics. Non ethanol gas can be good for over a year with a little Stabil in it. I haven’t seen any LP run inverter generators but there might be some available..?
Click to expand...
Yes that is possible. I think Champion has one and ours is a Yamaha factory authorized adaptation.
 
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I retired from a facilities maintenance job at a large school district in the twin cities and the high school and middle school I worked at were connected and they had a 2.5 Mw generator I watched over. It was impressive with a 16 cylinder Cummins 4800CI engine that just roared when the thing was running. It could run both schools and the Trane 900 ton chiller with a 550hp electric motor on it too. The power company there encouraged large buildings to have peak generators of their own and they had better power rates and grants for those that put them in so the district had them in their bigger schools.
 
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Dealing with power outrages sucks. Ironically...when i lived in highly populated CT I had outrages all the time. Now that I live in rural NY with property, my power almost never goes out. I think the difference is that they really do a good job trimming the trees from the power lines there. They don't ask permission. If your tree is in the way, its done for.
 
Up here it was the opposite, when I lived in the twin cities the power only went out when it was a big storm with much of the lines underground. But up here when I first came up the power was out often with all the lines on poles. Then the small power company got into some trouble for their outages happening too often and they really started to brush as they call it. And they ask no one, they have the right to clear a certain footage from their lines but I can’t recall what that is.
 
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