bang for the buck generators for longer term power outages?

[Fishnut]

I have had 3 estimates and can’t get a price under $10,000. For the smallest natural gas generator installation around here in New Jersey. Bummer, looks like that Dwarf Golden Eel I was saving for will have to wait another year or two.

 

[westmichigan]

Pulsar 10kw generator on sale on eBay for 600 bux. Mine should be here this week. Just need the breaker interlock some wire and plugs. Will run my whole house and it's propane or gas.

 

[Errattiq]

I tossed around the idea for a whole house standby generator, but after considering how often I lose power up here in Massachusetts, I honestly couldn’t justify the cost. The most I can recall being without power is less than two days. Not worth a 10k investment. What I did for my multiple reef tanks (after a TON of research) was purchase a Harbor Freight Predator 8750 (7000 running) Watt generator for $599. I scoured forums seeing what contractors and construction companies were using on job sites and these things kept popping up. They are Honda knock offs and Honda parts fit this generator if they ever need repair. I installed a sub panel and an exterior 30amp receptacle on my house’s outer wall. If needed, I wheel out the generator, plug in the 30amp cable from the generator to the receptacle, flip the switches in my sub panel and boom! Whole house power. I run all my electronics on pretty decent surge protectors and have never had any issue with my tv, computer etc... on “dirty” generator power.

 

[ScottB]

You folks quoting whole house for less than $15k are doing well. Generac has brought generator pricing down since I bought 10 years ago. (They were crap back then tho.)

Too embarrassed to say how much I sunk into my 30KW Cummins Onan with 1,000G propane. But the thing is a workhorse for sure purring away at 1500-1600 rpm loaded.

 

[jda]

Keep in mind that cheaper bang-for-buck generators are good as long as you keep the duty cycle low. They are not made to run and run for and last a long time. When we lived in the midwest (ice storms, tornados, etc.), I had a Stanby with a Ford 4 Cylinder in it and it is made to run 24x7 for days and days... the portable one that I got from Harbor Freight died after about 3 months of every-other-day use on a job site. There is risk/reward with bargain generators.

I once had a guy compare cheap generators vs good ones to Black & Decker cordless tools vs DeWalt... you kinda gotta have the DeWalt stuff if you want it to last under constant duty and not replace it all the time.

All of this said, I doubt that most people would ever use a generator enough to break it unless you were in construction or off the grid... even a cheap genny should be able to handle a week after a storm.

 

[fishybizzness]

I have a 16 k Generac propane whole house with auto trans switch and never regret the$$. Got it on sale for$3400 at HD last year. Got my electrician to hook it up a week before Irma last year. I live in the Virgin islands and we were without power for several months. It definitely burns alot more fuel than a diesel but it's extremely clean running, no fumes or smoke. The generacs are standby, not continuous use and are not designed to be run continuous for days like a diesel. I ran it a few hours in the morning and evening. The rest of the day I ran a Honda 3000 inverter to power my fridge, freezer and 2 tanks. The Honda used about 2 to 3 gallons per day. It really isn't necessary to get a whole house Gen if you don't have many power outages. Our power goes out almost weekly and we get hit with storms regularly so it's not a luxury but a necessity. If it's just to keep the tank running, a good inverter Gen is all you really need imho.

 

[T Carey]

I went with the 2000 W Honda to back up the power for my green house, for my tanks, freezer & fridge. Can't run all of that at once but don't need to. The Honda is quiet and reliable. Also as an inverter type genset it varies the RPM to match the load. That saves a lot of fuel.

 

[jschultzbass]

I just picked up the Westinghouse iGen 2500 inverter generator for emergencies. My outages don’t typically last more than 5 hours at most but better safe than sorry!

 

[SuncrestReef]

I just had a Generac 22kW whole-house generator installed fueled by natural gas. Beyond my aquarium with the >$2000 in corals & fish, I will enjoy running all my appliances, entertainment center, Internet, multiple computers, garage doors, furnace and/or AC during any power outages. The automatic transfer switch eliminates any need for manual interaction to start the generator during an outage, and its WiFi connectivity allows me to remotely monitor the generator status and historic activity. It is rated for 200 hours of operation (or 8.3 days) before scheduled oil changes, and the natural gas connection eliminates any worry about running out of fuel (except in the event of a major earthquake, but that would probably also collapse my aquarium so little need to plan for powering the tank in that event). Some will argue they are too expensive, but to me it's totally worth the investment for the peace of mind and convenience.

 

[wesman42]

Our power lines are under the ground and I live in an area where there hasn't been a power outage in nearly 2 decades....I believe the major one in 2000 was the last one. There's always a first, but in that scenario I could always get a cheapo to run the basic tank functions.

Seeing as I'm not in tornado alley, on any major coast, and shielded by the great lakes...I take the risk because the risk is horribly low.

 

[Robinson]

Got two Ryobi inverter generators 2,300 starting watts, 1,800 continues watts. These are about $1,100 on home depot with the free parallel kit to run both generators at the same time. 4 months ago we had a power outage for about 4 hrs. Conected my Reefer 425xl with 3 radions, apex controller, apex cor pump, apex dos, two mp40, heater and also the 65” tv plus cable and internet modem to only one generator. The meter on the generator was ready only 65% of the total capacity. Ran the generator for about 4 with only two gallos of gasoline. This is a very good option and will save you a lot of money on gas. Next step will be connecting a transfer switch to avoid power cords around the house.

 

[Robinson]

Got two Ryobi inverter generators 2,300 starting watts, 1,800 continues watts. These are about $1,100 on home depot with the free parallel kit to run both generators at the same time. 4 months ago we had a power outage for about 4 hrs. Conected my Reefer 425xl with 3 radions, apex controller, apex cor pump, apex dos, two mp40, heater and also the 65” tv plus cable and internet modem to only one generator. The meter on the generator was reading only 65% of the total capacity. Ran the generator for about 4 with only two gallos of gasoline. This is a very good option and will save you a lot of money on gas. Next step will be connecting a transfer switch to avoid power cords around the house.

 

[Robinson]

Got two Ryobi inverter generators 2,300 starting watts, 1,800 continues watts. These are about $1,100 on home depot with the free parallel kit to run both generators at the same time. 4 months ago we had a power outage for about 4 hrs. Conected my Reefer 425xl with 3 radions, apex controller, apex cor pump, apex dos, two mp40, heater and also the 65” tv plus cable and internet modem to only one generator. The meter on the generator was ready only 65% of the total capacity. Ran the generator for about 4 with only two gallos of gasoline. This is a very good option and will save you a lot of money on gas. Next step will be connecting a transfer switch to avoid power cords around the house.