Generator and hook up

[irishhunter]

Afternoon guys,

Wondering if any of you can recommend a good company to install a Generator and line box , possibly a battery bank for Emergency power use?

I have been prepping for a bit now and am ready to make this investment but the local electricians I call dont really have a clue

 

[jedi]

R u looking for a portable generator or something that will be permante installed to the house?

What r u looking to run from the generator? Your entire house? abc, xyz appliances, etc?

BTW 2

---
NWI INGO MEMBERS
Get the latest news by joining the NWI INGO group here:
INGunOwners - Northwest Indiana

UPCOMING EVENTS

The next MEET & SHOOT is for OCT (go & vote on the date!)
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...10047-nwi_ingo_meet_and_shoot_-_oct_date.html

Appleseed is coming to NWI on 23 OCT 2010
2010 North Porter County, IN Appleseed Information

NEED YOUR HELP
List of ranges in NWI; Is your range here?:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/106004-nwi_ingo_general_post-3.html#post1252132

On finding a location for more Appleseeds:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...d_for_nwi_lake_porter_county.html#post1216426

Interested in the NWI MSG
PM Jediagh, GhostOfWinter, or Clif45 your email address to gain access to the Private Google Group

 

[The Keymaster]

Knowing where you are located might also be helpful.

 

[irishhunter]

I live in Mooresville ,
I would like semi permanat unit that I could run utilites at different times, I would like to be able to run heat when ever I wanted to and alternate refrig and stove depending on use ...

My dream system would use generator during the day to run heat and essentials .. charge battery pack that I could use in evenings and night to run small appliances

I consider essentials Heat- Refrig- hot water heater

Thinking out loud so any recomendations or ideas are welcome

Thank you I found this site thru a friend and like what I have seen so far , I was a member at the club in speedway for several years. I move into the country and can shoot when ever I want now on my propery ... A dream come tru

 

[jedi]

This may or may not help
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ness/12040-shtf_tornando_lessons_learned.html

But PM melensdad since he lives in an area similar to yours (rural like) and has experience with the type of gen you may be looking for.

 

[_OZ_]

You can ask you local elec utility and they also have rules about how and how not to hook them up! Just make sure the electricans are know what they are doing eheheh

 

[DHolder]

Try the Generac dealer on country club road in Indy, Indy power supply?

 

[Dr Falken]

I would analyize the cost benefits of running a generator to run your heat. Propane heaters or wood maybe more economical. Short term, like a day or two might justify it, but if you had to run a generator for a week to heat your home? Additionaly, a Coleman stove or outside grill would be cheaper then running a generator to run an electric stove. Just something to think about.

 

[djl02]

Are you talking about hooking up a transfer switch box? In the event of a power loss you can hook up and use your generator to power your outlets.

 

[melensdad]

I would analyize the cost benefits of running a generator to run your heat. Propane heaters or wood maybe more economical. Short term, like a day or two might justify it, but if you had to run a generator for a week to heat your home? Additionaly, a Coleman stove or outside grill would be cheaper then running a generator to run an electric stove. Just something to think about.

JMHO but screw the cost analysis.

I lost power for 8 days during a storm. Temps were -20 on 3 of those days. Not one day during that storm was the temp above 10 degrees! This was right here in Indiana.

Even with 3 fireplaces and sunny skies for solar gain the house temperatures would not climb above 35 degrees inside. We had a baby in the house at the time. I didn't have a real generator but did manage to get a large Miller Welder wired into the house late on the second day with the help of neighbors. I didn't lose any pipes to freezing, but others around me did have burst pipes. I tried to get by with a propane heater but it would only heat up a room, and it stank to high heaven, plus it filled the area with dangerous carbon monoxide. That was NOT worth the risk.

I'm now using a Tri-Fuel generator for outages. As they say . . . PRICELESS. I'm actually thinking up upgrading to an auto-start generator in the reasonably near future, that way I wouldn't have to worry when there is an outage and I'm not at the house.

 

[irishhunter]

Thats what I am looking for , A tri fuel genny with a transfer swith and battery bank , Thanks for all the replies

Melendad did you install yourself or did someone do for you

 

[pinshooter45]

What I did

It may not be code but my Gen is used for backup and not permantly installed. the previous owner of my home had a 230vac outlet in instaled in the garage. I merely converted it to the same female plug that is on the Gen. I then got a 20ft 10ga 4wire line and put two male plugs on each end. When my power goes out. I simply turn of my main breaker off, plug the Gen into the plug of my garage and fire it up. I now have power every where in my house. I have a 5600w gen now, and will soon move up to 7000w. The 5600w seemed enough until one day until my wife turned on her 1200w hair dryer and I saw the light dim. and realized that the hair dryer was consuming nearly 25% of my power.

 

[Eddie]

JMHO but screw the cost analysis.

I lost power for 8 days during a storm. Temps were -20 on 3 of those days. Not one day during that storm was the temp above 10 degrees! This was right here in Indiana.

Even with 3 fireplaces and sunny skies for solar gain the house temperatures would not climb above 35 degrees inside. We had a baby in the house at the time. I didn't have a real generator but did manage to get a large Miller Welder wired into the house late on the second day with the help of neighbors. I didn't lose any pipes to freezing, but others around me did have burst pipes. I tried to get by with a propane heater but it would only heat up a room, and it stank to high heaven, plus it filled the area with dangerous carbon monoxide. That was NOT worth the risk.

I'm now using a Tri-Fuel generator for outages. As they say . . . PRICELESS. I'm actually thinking up upgrading to an auto-start generator in the reasonably near future, that way I wouldn't have to worry when there is an outage and I'm not at the house.

I would take this advice and go one step further. Have a generator, and a fireplace, and as many other ways to heat your home as you can reasonably prepare for. You never know how a SHTF event will play out but Murphy's Law will almost always play a role so have more than one plan just in case.

 

[jedi]

It may not be code but my Gen is used for backup and not permantly installed. the previous owner of my home had a 230vac outlet in instaled in the garage. I merely converted it to the same female plug that is on the Gen. I then got a 20ft 10ga 4wire line and put two male plugs on each end. When my power goes out. I simply turn of my main breaker off, plug the Gen into the plug of my garage and fire it up. I now have power every where in my house. I have a 5600w gen now, and will soon move up to 7000w. The 5600w seemed enough until one day until my wife turned on her 1200w hair dryer and I saw the light dim. and realized that the hair dryer was consuming nearly 25% of my power.

Did it dim and then go back to "normal" brightness? Or stayed dim until she was done with her hair dryer?

 

[pinshooter45]

Stayed dim, but recovered slightly. Electric clothes dryer dimmed quite abit, hence the move to 7000w. Ran mine for about a week. Two years ago when those tornados ripped the NE side of indy. The one that took out those apartments passed right over my house! Keeping it in the garage may sound dangerous, CO poisining, but I always leave a small window open for ventalation, plus I know how long mine runs on 1 tank. So I open the over head door before it quits to refuel!

 

[bigus_D]

It may not be code but my Gen is used for backup and not permantly installed. the previous owner of my home had a 230vac outlet in instaled in the garage. I merely converted it to the same female plug that is on the Gen. I then got a 20ft 10ga 4wire line and put two male plugs on each end. When my power goes out. I simply turn of my main breaker off, plug the Gen into the plug of my garage and fire it up. I now have power every where in my house. I have a 5600w gen now, and will soon move up to 7000w. The 5600w seemed enough until one day until my wife turned on her 1200w hair dryer and I saw the light dim. and realized that the hair dryer was consuming nearly 25% of my power.

I'm not familiar with the electrical code on this, but I've read about people doing exactly what you are doing.

This is a fine solution with one major weak point. When too much power is drawn, you stand a pretty good chance at A) damaging appliances in your home or B) buring out the underpowered generator. You must be careful what you are running under the circumstances. Imagine if the lowered available power had damaged your furnace instead of just dimming the lights!


To the OP. I was walking into Lowe's yesterday and noticed a quoted price of $1,500 for whole home generator installation. That is a GREAT price, IMHO. Now, I didn't look at the deal in detail and/or the price of a generator from Lowe's.

I have just had this installed on my house: Generac Guardian 5872 Standby Generator - Series™ 5872 - 14kW Essential Circuit Standby Generator System

I bought directly from the installer, but would have saved if I used the website above and the Lowe's installation deal I quoted. I felt pretty good about the company that did the installation, so I'm not second guessing my decision. The company I used works northern central indiana if you are interested.

 

[Sailor]

I am not an electrician but if you forget to shut off the main or if it is not wired correctly you could kill a lineman. Another danger with the proposed method is having 30 amps at 240V on the end of a male plug. There's a reason why the powered side of an outlet or cord is female.

I would either get a transfer switch or isolate the appliances and run them directly from the generator.

It may not be code but my Gen is used for backup and not permantly installed. the previous owner of my home had a 230vac outlet in instaled in the garage. I merely converted it to the same female plug that is on the Gen. I then got a 20ft 10ga 4wire line and put two male plugs on each end. When my power goes out. I simply turn of my main breaker off, plug the Gen into the plug of my garage and fire it up. I now have power every where in my house. I have a 5600w gen now, and will soon move up to 7000w. The 5600w seemed enough until one day until my wife turned on her 1200w hair dryer and I saw the light dim. and realized that the hair dryer was consuming nearly 25% of my power.

 

[pinshooter45]

Always test

First thing I did was test to see waht it would run. I have gas heat, and stove, so furnace would run, just have to power a motor. Don't run the dryer draws too much. And just towel the hair in an emergency. But 5600w seems plenty for a freezer, fridge, 1 TV at a time, and nessary lighting, we tend to go conservative during the two emergencies that have caused us to runon gen power. But still going to get 7000w, for more reserve. That seems to be Minimum for whole house backup, from what I've read.

 

[4sarge]

I would take this advice and go one step further. Have a generator, and a fireplace, and as many other ways to heat your home as you can reasonably prepare for. You never know how a SHTF event will play out but Murphy's Law will almost always play a role so have more than one plan just in case.

I'm using wood to heat as primary and then have an LP Gas furnace/heat pump as back up. During a power outage, I have 2 vent less LP fireplaces that do not require electricity. I like the creature comforts that electricity provides (lights, TV, well pump, refrigerator, DSl etc) but do not want to spend 8 thousand dollars unnecessarily for a whole house back up generator that consumes expensive LP Gas. As a stop gap I have ordered a Portable Generator from Costo for 699 Delivered (+ In Sales Tax) A house hook up is available for an additional 299.


Costco - $200 OFF Honeywell 7000 Watt Running / 8750 Watt Peak Portable Generator With Electric Start

Costco - Gen Tran Manual Transfer Switch Kit

 

[bigus_D]

I am not an electrician but if you forget to shut off the main or if it is not wired correctly you could kill a lineman. Another danger with the proposed method is having 30 amps at 240V on the end of a male plug. There's a reason why the powered side of an outlet or cord is female.

I would either get a transfer switch or isolate the appliances and run them directly from the generator.

Also, if you didn't shut off the main breaker and the power came back on you could cause major damage to the generator... I'm not sure, but I think this may be an explosion hazard.

It would also be difficult to know when the main power did come back on.