Generator Questions

[Shiggknight]

I live in a rural area in Tennessee I have a 90g, 32G and a 50G frank tank. I’m thinking of just getting a generator, because if the power goes out for a week due to a bad snow storm I want to power my tanks. Generator seems more economical than batter backups for every tank. How big of a generator “Watts” wise? Anyone else have generators?
Thank you everyone for your inputs!

 

[WVNed]

To be sure you have to add up how many watts your load is. I purchased a 3500 watt unit. It is a common size that can be found cheaply. It can run my heaters, pumps and the freezer.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Same, I have a 3200 running watts generator. Used it only once and it paid for itself.

 

[Erick Armanii]

I bought a dewalt whole home generator for $1000 bucks at Home Depot and had an electrican come and install a connector to the fuse box of my house só it doesn’t send power back to the power lines. I used the generator once last year and It worked as it should. You could never have guessed we lost power. The wife and family were completely fine.

 

[CK00020]

Is that all you are going to run, i would suggest a little Honda or Yamaha 2000 watt, by the way how many inches of snow constitutes a bad snowstorm in Tennessee?

 

[Erick Armanii]

Is that all you are going to run, i would suggest a little Honda or Yamaha 2000 watt, by the way how many inches of snow constitutes a bad snowstorm in Tennessee?

Yea seriously lol.. up in Connecticut we’ve gotten 30” of snow in one storm

 

[dmh41532]

Living in hurricane central (south Florida). I have a 6,300 watt generator. It’ll power my tanks, fridge, lights, tv, and a small a/c. No heaters to factor in. You’ll need to figure out of many watts the tanks draw plus for anything else you want to power. A fridge will probably draw the most, especially with starting watts.

 

[ca1ore]

Lots of folks have generators, from $$$ automated standby units to $ portables. If you are home most of the time (describes most of us these days), portables are fine. Power out for a week means having a bunch of fuel on hand.

 

[Erick Armanii]

I would suggest that regardless of which generator you get, do something that would be able to accommodate your basic necessities. If your out of power for a week, ABSOLUTELY no family member would be ok with only the tanks powered up! lol!

 

[radsdad]

If you can afford it, a standby system with natural gas fuel is best. Otherwise look into Champion generators.

 

[andrewkw]

I have a 7500 watt generator. It can power most of my house including all my tanks. If you're getting a generator for your tanks you might as well get one for your house. You're still going to want to eat, use the computer or watch tv, have other stuff on while your tanks are surviving the power outage.

Once you settle on the size get to know the generator. I bought mine almost 4 years ago and did nothing but run it a few times. I have survived as long as 33hrs without power. However you really should run the generator every few months or more frequently just to make sure it's running. Keep some extra gas on hand but not too much unless you are going to cycle through it since it does not last forever. The first time I used my generator I was shocked that a full tank only runs it for 11hrs. I keep enough for 24hrs on hand most of the time and if a storm is coming or just a random power failure I will go get more gas then.

Last winter, actually on new years eve my generator wouldn't start. Despite having no idea what I was doing I was able to change the spark plug, clean the oil filter ect. Better to learn how to do this stuff sooner rather then later. The generator was 3+ years old with maybe 50-75 hours of use on it before it required moderate service. Having an extra spark plug, oil and other essentials can be just as important as having enough gas. A new one should run flawlessly for a while, but not forever. They require maintenance which to some may seem obvious, but to others like me you think "I'm not worried about power failures I have a new (that is no longer new) generator in my shed, I'll be fine".

 

[mfinn]

You should consider going bigger. Something in the range of 6000 watts or bigger ( mine is a 8750 watt) and also buying a separate box ( gen tran) and having it wired into your house to power parts of it.
Nothing beats having at least part of the house powered up during a power outage.

 

[GlassMunky]

Just make sure you either get an inverted type generator or get an inverter to run after the generator and handle your sensitive electronics

 

[BZOFIQ]

Just make sure you either get an inverted type generator or get an inverter to run after the generator and handle your sensitive electronics

What he said, probably the most important post here besides the load ratings.

I'm partial to Honda because they are much quieter than anything else.

 

[GlassMunky]

What he said, probably the most important post here besides the load ratings.

I'm partial to Honda because they are much quieter than anything else.

I have a Honda inverted generator myself. Super quiet for what it is. Had it running on my back porch for 3 days not too long ago and didn’t even bother us while we slept.

 

[CindyKz]

We have a whole house Generac powered by the natural gas lines and wired in. It runs all but a couple of things in the house. We got it because the likelihood of us being gone (and unable to get home due to work) during an outage is high, Wisconsin winters are cold, and we don't want the dogs to turn into popsicles while the tanks stay cozy.

We also considered it a home improvement.

 

[infinite0180]

Ive been considering the WEN generator brand. Found it on amazon and after some research it appears to be a decent brand. Im looking into a smaller 2350 watt inverter unit to power my tank and a few things around the house. If i had extra money to spend though id have an electrician install a 50amp plug and switch at my panel and get a bigger unit so i could just plug it in and flip some breakers to power my house...

 

[BZOFIQ]

I have a Honda inverted generator myself. Super quiet for what it is. Had it running on my back porch for 3 days not too long ago and didn’t even bother us while we slept.

It's probably the only generator that will not annoy the whole neighborhood at night in a city (suburb) environments. RPMs and noise levels are shockingly low at low loads with Eco on. I have the EU3000 myself - which one did you get?

 

[DylanE]

I have a 16kw generac, and love it. We live where it’s not unusual to lose power for a few days at a time every year. It kicks on as soon as the power cuts and you’d never know.

 

[Biglew11]

i have a champion 7500 running watt generator.