Need back up generator

Cosmo254

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Our local power company has just cut power to 800,000 customers in Northern California for 2 days or longer I need a good reasonably priced generator for a 32 gallon BioCube any suggestions on what kind I should get? Please answer fast by tank temp is 75.7F
 

Billldg

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Our local power company has just cut power to 800,000 customers in Northern California for 2 days or longer I need a good reasonably priced generator for a 32 gallon BioCube any suggestions on what kind I should get? Please answer fast by tank temp is 75.7F
I have a 120 gal tank and mine doesn’t use any more than 4 to 5 amps with the t5’s running, may go up to 7 with 500 watts of heater running, Any generator with at least a 1000 watt capacity will run the tank no problem, you will have to go bigger if you want to run household items.
 

sfin52

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I feel for you in N. Cali. This is a horrible policy. That makes no sense
 

lapin

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I would get the Honda small model like you would take camping. Home depot has them usually but now maybe everyone is looking for them
Honda EU2200i 2200-Watt Super Quiet Gas Power Portable Inverter Generator
I know they work well and are easy to start. The easy to start is most important in my book.
 
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lapin

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I moved to Texas from SF. Im not fond of PG&E. My elect bill is now 1/4 of what it would have been 5 years ago. Who knows what it would be today.
 

sfin52

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It's not just the tanks but what are people going to do for food, cooking and all the other life stuff.
I didn't know n. Cali was a third world country
 

hotdrop

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You might consider a Nat gas one you can run it for 60hrs off a propane tank vs 5-8 for gasoline. They are a bit more expensive but the cheap ones are 300-400. Also check if your car has a plug you might be able to pull 200-300 watts off your cabin inverter for a short bit to bring temp back up to 80. Oh btw size your generator for your fridge you can save some money by not having to throw away all your food in 3 days
 
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Bob Weigant

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well i'll say that maybe ecotech , home depot , and costco may want to send thank you letters to PG&E. Ecotech back up battery packs flying off the shelfs along with generators from said companys. Im sure Lowe's too for that matter
 

hotdrop

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well i'll say that maybe ecotech , home depot , and costco may want to send thank you letters to PG&E. Ecotech back up battery packs flying off the shelfs along with generators from said companys. Im sure Lowe's too for that matter
I don’t think the echo tech backup is going to save you for a 2+ day outage. Generators and second heaters are really the only option
 

AdamB

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I think you could rent one at local Equipment rental establishment before you rush and spend a ton of dough. From
My experience they have several sizes ..

Good luck
 

jsvand5

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I picked up one of these recently. Basically a copy of the Honda for a fraction of the price. It had good reviews and I couldn’t justify paying the price for a Honda. Especially since I already have a large generator. The Honda’s are nice but way overpriced IMO. If you need something immediately though I’d head to your nearest Harbor Freight and pick up their model of inverter. It’s around $500 if I remember right.

 

Bob Weigant

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I don’t think the echo tech backup is going to save you for a 2+ day outage. Generators and second heaters are really the only option
So far I’m in the clear and you are correct. But at the moment it’s gonna have to work just in case
 

Robinson

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Also you can check on Homedepot the Ryobi 2200 watts generator. Is around $599 and will power your tank, tv, refrigerator, and other items at the same time. I know because I power all of that during a power outage and still the generator was showing only 60% utilization of capacity. My tank is a reefer 425 XL with three radions, two MP40, heater and apex controller and everything was running fine. You should be good with any inverted generator from 1000 watts to 2000 watts, also this kind of generator will run a couple of hours with just only two gallons of gasoline.
 

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