Emergency generators

[Ed62]

With everything going on with our crazy weather, I wonder how many of us have emergency generators. We installed a natural gas generator about 5 years ago. One of our sons is an electrician, so he hooked everything up for us. Ours is a Generac, and it will run most things in the house if we lose power. We have all lights, TV and computer, water pump (well water), most outlets, heating and air conditioning. Cost of the generator was around $3,000.00, but well worth it. If we lose power, it automatically comes on within 30 seconds. When power is restored, it shuts down. It's something to consider if you're in jeopardy of losing power because of weather.

Ed

[eddy merckx]

We have the same thing, installed 3 years ago. I had serious doubts about it at first. It really paid for itself last winter when we were out for 4 days. The family was cozy, therefore I was happy. Easily worth the cost. Now most of the neighborhood has them.

Eddy

[dlminehart]

At $3000, one would have to risk losing more than the comfort of a house with power to justify the expense. Eddy's 4 days could cost under $400 in a hotel, for instance. Now, if one had a lot of tropical fish, a freezer full of steaks, a parent on life-support, etc., the money would make more sense!

Another consideration is the opportunity cost of the investment. With interest at 6%, saving the money for 10 years would double it. So, having the generator instead of the money sitting for 10 years would actually cost more like $6000. Subtract the savings for your fish, steaks, frozen pipes, etc. Divide that final number by the number of days you're likely to need its power during the 10 years to get cost per likely day of use. For a lot of us, a hotel is a better deal.

[Kristofor]

4 days without power, also means no heat or hot water (even if though those are gas), perhaps no phone if you're using IP phones or only have cordless. If you're in town to drain the pipes you wouldn't burst them, but if you're traveling... Pets are an issue in a hotel, small children can also be an issue.

Location also plays a big part. Extreme climates make it more useful. So if you are impacted by a hurricane every few years, or if you're up north or in the mountains where lack of power can kill you there's a lot more reason for it.

Now, all that said, I don't have a generator because the pain from the above items combined with the chance of needing it doesn't work out for me (and the budget) at this time. But if I had 4 little kids, 2 dogs, a fish, etc. and had the cash I'd certainly look at buying one.

[michael.scheller]

Fema?

Anyone know if there is truth to the rumor that FEMA will pay for half of a Generator if you're in an Emergency Area and lose power?

[L. D. Jeffries]

Emergency Generators

Back in 98' during the great ice-storm of the NE we were without commerical power for 22 days! Now thats a long while. After three days I managed to find a 5K generator at "The Tractor Store". Ran on gasoline and did what we needed; power for the wood furnace blower (most imporstant), lights and etc. Fortunately all else in house is propane, water heating and cooking. Anyway, installed it in the shop with an outside exhust and back wired into the house panel. Tank holds 7 gals. of fuel and was becoming concerned about the "case of gun powder" sitting there. There is an outfit in WVA. that sells propane conversion kits for small engines; best investment ever made (under $200) for the carb. parts and a high pressure regulator. Now, if it ever happens again won't have to worry about trying to find a gas station that has power. Other reason for converting was the plastic tank developed a leak at the seam line that I just could not find; otherwise a good generator with a B-S 10hp engine.

[cabinetman]

I had a 4400 watt generator that I used on jobs that had no on site power that got us through Katrina. When Wilma came around, generators were hard to find and all we could find was a 5550 watt.

Used it as a portable after the storm (lost power for 15 days), gas averaged about $1.00/hr. I'm going to hook it up to a transfer switch, unless I can talk wife into a larger one.



YOU HAVEN'T FAILED, YOU JUST HAVEN'T FINISHED

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Anyone know if there is truth to the rumor that FEMA will pay for half of a Generator if you're in an Emergency Area and lose power?

During recent Hurricanes they were paying 100%. I do not know what the rules were on that matter as far as qualification. I do know that a lot of folks if FL got free generators from FEMA and then filed for reimbursement under their homeowners policy resulting in fraud.

When we built our home we had the electrician install a 100 Amp sub panel for back up power. We built our home when my FIL had a stroke and built in law quarters for them on our property. As a thank you they bought a Kubota generator from the local friendly lawn and garden dealer. I think they ripped them for about twice the cost of an automatic start Guardian system. The Kubota is a great generator, but I would much, much rather have a automatic back up propane system. LP or NG systems are so much lower maintenance than regular gas systems.

[cwsmith]

Having a back-up for heat and/or electricity is certainly a wise decision, in my opinion. If the power outage is widespread, as is usually the case in most disasters, a hotel won't do you much good, as they may have the same problem or at best, will have people standing in line before you can get there.

There's really nothing like knowing your home and family will be secure in their own environment should the power go out for a few days. My area often gets hit with power outages. They're usually only a few hours, but in the middle of winter that means no heat. I have auxilliary heat and lighting and communications here; but am considering a larger, more permanent system with the next home.

CWS

[leehljp]

I agree that there are plenty of situations that justify that kind of cost. I wish it were as easy as David said to just pull up and go to a hotel. He hasn't been in a long outage over a wide area where traveling is severly limited. During Katrina, it took three days for my relatives to get out of south MS to stay with us.

Then there are the two nieces that are nurses and the hospital ordered them and others to stay. The hospital had generators but my nieces did not have electricity at their home. One nephew was a policeman and was not allowed to leave. (Actually, nieces and nephew did not want to leave; they knew how important it was to help do what they were trained to do.) Nephew had a generator but had to travel 200 miles to get three 55 gallon drums of gas for his generator. All gas stations were without electricity.

My home is in north MS about 30 miles from Memphis. It is not uncommon to go the whole winter without any snow. Then there is the winter when we will have one to two weeks of not getting above 20° F in the day time. When that happens to be preceeded by an ice storm, electricity can be down for a week to 10 days. This area is far enough south that it does not justify buying sand or salt trucks to cover roads. When the highway is covered with ice for a week (ice, not frozen snow) there is no way the majority of people can get out.

Yes this does happen and it happened the day my father passed away 10 years ago. Burst pipes all over town; people could not go anywhere, many without electricity; we were fortunate to not have our electricity fail.

It would be nice to have the option to go to a hotel and pay $400 for 4 days, or rather $700-$1000 for 7 to 10 days. But that just isn't always possible in most circumstances; but only under ideal conditions.

Well worth the cost of $3000/4000 when there are no alternatives, even if some sacrifices have to be made to do this.

[eddy merckx]

Here in our corner of the northwest it is pretty much a given that the power will be out two or three times every winter. There are so many trees that even a modest windstorm is going to knock over a few which will land on powerlines. Normally we're up within a day but we did have a storm a few years back that put some of the region out for ten days during temperatures in the teens.

We did a remodel a few years back. The contractor suggested a generator as long as we were replacing the electrical panel and doing a bunch of wiring. My wife insisted so I reluctantly went along with it. I have to say that I've never regretted it. I'm at the age where I really hate to have my routine disrupted. I lived in a house with only wood heat for 10 years and pretty much got my fill of roughing it.

Eddy

[maxparot]

Here in the Phoenix area of Arizona we are more prone to electrical disturbances in the summer when it is over 110*. A couple of years ago 1 of the main transformer stations feeding the valley power burnt up and we had warnings of the posibilities of rolling blackouts. I purchased a 8500 watt Generac portable from HD but it never made it out of the box and was returned when the emergency was over. I've since given thought about a backup generator a number of times but we generally don't have regional problems of that sort here. Electrical problems here tend to be more localized. As when a monsoon comes in and a nieghborhood is without power. Going to a hotel, friends or relatives are all viable alternatives for us.
What I am more interested in is having my homes power partially off the grid to reduce my power bills. I looked at solar systems last year and added a solar domestic hot water heater to my home. This was only a first step as it was the best bang for the buck. I'd like to add a PV solar electric system to my home. With over 300 day of sunshine each year it can really cut the monthly utility bill. Problem is the investment is very large and the point of return on investment is 15-20 years based on present utility rates. Arizona has just passed the most progessive renewable energy law in the country. It mandates the utilities percentage of renew capacity in the coming years. Since privately owned systems that are tied to the grd count towards their goals I'm hoping to see increased subsidies for the purchase of systems decrease my POR before I invest.

[JimD]

If we ever build again, one of the items on my list is to arrange loads so that a smaller generator could get us through a long power outage. My theory is that with gas heat and hot water, if we had only a few circuits - maybe 50 amps total, we could be pretty comfortable. Have to have the blower for the furnace, circuit to the fridge (at least one of them), the stove (wife insists on electricity), some lights and a circuit for the hairdryer in the bathroom (at least one bathroom). This is all spread out on many circuits in our house, like most I suspect, but with some rearrangement, I think a smaller generator would work. Biggest load would be the range and in an emergency, we could get by on the microwave and gas grill. A working furnace and some lights would make a huge difference, however.

Jim

[Stick]

I heat the house and shops with wood. In the winter my concern is the well pump, sewer pipe and all the heat trace cable. horses and cattle will eat snow if they have to, but chickens won't. In summer it's the deep freezes (6 or them). I have a diesel driven welder that is also a 10kW generator and another pto generator that i can run off a tractor. Have gravity feed tanks so fuel isn't a problem for at least a week or a couple.

[Russianwolf]

one thing to keep in mind with generators. If you aren't using them on a regular basis, don't leave gas or deisel in them for long periods. Propane and NG are fine, but Gas and Deisel will go bad if left in the tank too long (they separate and absorb moisture).

Best bet for a "no worry" system, if you have the option, is a NG unit. never have to worry about fuel since it's always available in the line.

2nd best is LP as long as you keep your tanks refilled. Only problem is if you run out in a blizzard, they won't come refill them.

Deisel is nice in that it will run on several types of fuel. Regular Deisel, Bio-Deisel, and in a pinch Vetable Oil.

Gas is cheap and easy, but can have the most problems.

The NG and LP units can add value to your house for resale too, since they aren't typically portable.