What is the minimalist generator setup to get by with a home power outage that lasts for a couple of days?
Thinking very cold winter time outage, so would need to run: -refrigerator -furnace (forced air oil-burner) -freezer (5 cu ft, in winter can be kept cold without much running)
Is it easiest/best to simply run with extension cords for a minimal setup?
"All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth." – Robert E. Lee
easiest would just be to go to harbor freight and buy one of their predators in about 4k or so and run it off extension cords. you would have to modify your furnace to be a plug but that would be no big deal. i have one of those predators and it is really nice. cost me about 800 bucks. starts every time and runs so quiet you hardly hear it. its a chinese knockoff of the honda at 1/2 of the price. it wil run forever on a tank of gas too. very efficient
What is the minimalist generator setup to get by with a home power outage that lasts for a couple of days?
Thinking very cold winter time outage, so would need to run: -refrigerator -furnace (forced air oil-burner) -freezer (5 cu ft, in winter can be kept cold without much running)
Is it easiest/best to simply run with extension cords for a minimal setup?
If you don’t use the forced air furnace, you can get by with a minimal generator. You could probably get by with a 2K easily, if you rotate the loads.
Our forced air furnace went out in early January , 2 years ago. Waiting on parts, I robbed a 30K BTU ventless propane heater from our garage, hooked it up to propane bottles from our camper. It kept our entire house ( 3 levels, including basement....3800 sq. ft) at the same temps as the forced air. A 40 pound bottle would last 2 1/2 days, with a few night time lows hitting a minus 15 - 20 F....much longer than in our camper during cold weather. We were so impressed, we bought a decorative, ventless, 30 K propane heater. We’ve “not” operated our forced air since it went out (repaired).
We added 3 CO detectors in the home, and “crack” an upstairs window open. No electricity used, no blower noise, no filters to change, a pretty flame to look at.....life is good! memtb
Last edited by memtb; 09/21/19.
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
My minimalist set up is an EU 2000, runs my refrigerator oil fired boiler for hot water use only, use wood stoves for heat, Minimum lighting which is LED. That set up works fantastic for me I burn a gallon of fuel in approximately 10/11hours. I run an EU 3000 for more lighting and a couple of BS extra things When needed . I have an onan 6500 that I run when I need to run my well pump, once a day, once every two days. my big thing is fuel burn, I burn just over 2 gallons in a 24 hour period, providing I’m running my EU 2000. I mainly use aviation fuel, easier for me to get or when I feel like driving a fairly long distance I pick up non-ethanol fuel. Change my oil every 50 hours with 1030 mobile1 full synthetic.
I'd probably get that suit case size Honda EU 2200 because you wouldn't need to run everything all at the same time. I'd probably spring for the one that you can run in series with another one to get double the power if you ever thought that you needed more. I ran a 1500 Watt ceramic heater with my Honda 1600 and it worked great for heating the camper.
My other auto is a .45
The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory
On a minimalists level my suggestion would be a portable generator with the lowest fuel consumption that would still power critical necessities.
The reasoning for that is during widespread power outages, especially those lasting days or even longer, additional fuel can be difficult to impossible to find if your on-hand supply runs low since area sellers probably won't have power either nor will they be able to accept payment via plastic or check.
What is the minimalist generator setup to get by with a home power outage that lasts for a couple of days?
Thinking very cold winter time outage, so would need to run: -refrigerator -furnace (forced air oil-burner) -freezer (5 cu ft, in winter can be kept cold without much running)
Is it easiest/best to simply run with extension cords for a minimal setup?
I use a Honda 2000i that would probably do what you want. I run a refrigerator/freezer, a large upright freezer, TV, desk top computer and some lights and get 11-12 hours run time per gallon. It's so quiet the TV at normal volume covers the sound when sitting 10 feet away on the porch.
If you buy new, that model has been replaced with the 2200i.
What is the minimalist generator setup to get by with a home power outage that lasts for a couple of days?
Thinking very cold winter time outage, so would need to run: -refrigerator -furnace (forced air oil-burner) -freezer (5 cu ft, in winter can be kept cold without much running)
Is it easiest/best to simply run with extension cords for a minimal setup?
I use a Honda 2000i that would probably do what you want. I run a refrigerator/freezer, a large upright freezer, TV, desk top computer and some lights and get 11-12 hours run time per gallon. It's so quiet the TV at normal volume covers the sound when sitting 10 feet away on the porch.
If you buy new, that model has been replaced with the 2200i.
With a few fittings and some hose you can rig it to run off a larger fuel tank.
Neighbor ran one that same size and watt output but different and less expensive brand back during an extended widespread outage caused by a big ice storm several years back. They ran their refrigerator, small freezer, and a smaller TV (w/air antenna), microwave (as needed), a couple of table lamps, plus the blower on their furnace with it until the outage was over.
Got a deal on a 20 year old Kubota 12 KW diesel unit with 2 hours on it. It was built as a unit for a RV. Paid $3,000 for it and installed it with a whole house transfer switch. Power will go out here in the winter months sometimes for a week. The diesel inside my shop and is tied into my heating fuel tank. Runs the entire house, just can't run the electric sauna and the electric close dryer at the same time. 50 AMPs will run far more them we needed, but for $3,000, electric start, sucking off the 500 gallon shop tank, all I have to do is stop and check fluids every 24 hours.
have lived for 25 years off grid. short answer is 4kw. this is sufficient to start most motors and not cause the damage of lower powered units . 6.5kw will run a house pretty well. if you have a well a 12kw is optimum. jm2cents
the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded. Robert E Lee ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
8000 starting watts, 6500 running watts, electric start with whole house plug in. We ran 15 days last year in Hurricane Florence. The whole house plug in makes it so much easier plus you can run your water heater. Cost is only around $600-700 for the generator and another $200 for the whole house plug in. 6500 WILL NOT run most central A/C units, but you can cook, wash clothes, take baths, showers by turning on and off breakers and sleep relatively cool with 2-3 box fans pulling cool air in and pushing hot air out the windows. Your best bet is to download an online chart for how much typical home appliances run wattage wise and then you can determine what is critical. Hair dryer is 1000 watts, toaster is 1000 watts for example. You need to know what you can run and what you cannot. You can run your hot water heater for 2 hours at low use period and have hot water for 24 hrs, same for refrig and freezers, cycle off and on.
Yamaha 2400 inverter, we ran 2 refrigerators, 1 small freezer and 1 5k window unit for 5 days last year. I've since updated the beer fridge to a more efficient one so I think I can run them all at the same time now. Good cords are important.
