I didn’t read all the responses, but I will add this………After Katrina hit, 17 of us down our dead end street added whole house generators. I can tell you that those that installed Generacs have had issues, with most replacing them. One of us installed a Koehler and it failed during Ida, albeit that was a good ride.
I installed a Briggs and Stratton. It is still kicking. The damn thing sat underwater for three days after the flood in 2016. I had it serviced, guy installed a new control board, new battery, new carburetors and it fired up.
I have natural gas coming into my house. I assume that if there were a weather or other related power outage, the flow of natural gas would not be affected so if I hooked a back-up generator to that, I would have fuel available. What about if there were a problem with the whole electric grid? Would the natural gas still flow through the lines? Would that be an argument to have propane on hand?
Thanks for your help!
Dean
Yes - nat gas hookup good for backup.
But, if a big electrical breakdown, the nat gas flow might be disrupted.
Yes, would work to have a propane tank for further backup.
Natural gas failed in this area and put a lot of backup generators out of action. I think that was in 2018. Generac can be set to run on either. I would keep at least a 150 gallon tank of propane and have it ready to go if NG failed. It doesn't spoil like gasoline or diesel.
Patriotism (and religion) is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
I have natural gas coming into my house. I assume that if there were a weather or other related power outage, the flow of natural gas would not be affected so if I hooked a back-up generator to that, I would have fuel available. What about if there were a problem with the whole electric grid? Would the natural gas still flow through the lines? Would that be an argument to have propane on hand?
Thanks for your help!
Dean
Yes - nat gas hookup good for backup.
But, if a big electrical breakdown, the nat gas flow might be disrupted.
Yes, would work to have a propane tank for further backup.
Natural gas failed in this area and put a lot of backup generators out of action. I think that was in 2018. Generac can be set to run on either. I would keep at least a 150 gallon tank of propane and have it ready to go if NG failed. It doesn't spoil like gasoline or diesel.
How long will decent sized generator run on 150 lb of LP? What does it cost to fill?
The last 12 yrs, we’ve relied on a large gasoline generator (it’s all that was available after big hurricanes hit NY. It’s a thirsty bugger at 17,500 watts…. Interesting thing we saw was in the really extended power outages, our friends with propane generators could not get their tanks refilled given the demand. It seems they stored enough propane to run for 4 or 5 days which was half the length of our worst outages. On the other hand, we could always find gasoline (I did have to drive an hour to find a station with both power and remaining stores).
Now that we’ve moved, I’m thinking about getting a propane system. I got really tired of trying to keep lots of fresh gasoline on hand… How long would a thousand gallon tank run a 20KW system?
Thanks everyone for all the responses and comments so far. Regarding issues with generators (Generac is mentioned a lot). Are these experiences with air cooled units being pushed hard for days on end or any with liquid cooled units with the 4 cylinder in them?
I have natural gas coming into my house. I assume that if there were a weather or other related power outage, the flow of natural gas would not be affected so if I hooked a back-up generator to that, I would have fuel available. What about if there were a problem with the whole electric grid? Would the natural gas still flow through the lines? Would that be an argument to have propane on hand?
Thanks for your help!
Dean
Yes - nat gas hookup good for backup.
But, if a big electrical breakdown, the nat gas flow might be disrupted.
Yes, would work to have a propane tank for further backup.
Natural gas failed in this area and put a lot of backup generators out of action. I think that was in 2018. Generac can be set to run on either. I would keep at least a 150 gallon tank of propane and have it ready to go if NG failed. It doesn't spoil like gasoline or diesel.
Check on whether different fittings are required for the specific generator model. Many/most require different fittings for propane to operate efficiently and safely.
Conversion kits for Generac and Kohler are low cost and can be changed out quickly. Getting it wrong can lead to fire or an explosion risk and then problems take on a new dimension.
My son just had on big one installed near AA in lower MI. He has a big house with pool, home office, etc. They live in an area knows for power failures, etc. He did lot of research with neighbors and bought the Kohler because the K. dealer had a much better reputation in his area. His Kohler unit has been perfect though several power outages in both summer and winter in the last few of years. .
20kw Kohler here. Did some research and Kohler Came out on top. They have been around way longer than Generact. Read lots of problems with the Generacts also.
Going on 18 months with 10 power outages. Longest was 3 days. Everything is good
I have natural gas coming into my house. I assume that if there were a weather or other related power outage, the flow of natural gas would not be affected so if I hooked a back-up generator to that, I would have fuel available. What about if there were a problem with the whole electric grid? Would the natural gas still flow through the lines? Would that be an argument to have propane on hand?
Thanks for your help!
Dean
Yes - nat gas hookup good for backup.
But, if a big electrical breakdown, the nat gas flow might be disrupted.
Yes, would work to have a propane tank for further backup.
Natural gas failed in this area and put a lot of backup generators out of action. I think that was in 2018. Generac can be set to run on either. I would keep at least a 150 gallon tank of propane and have it ready to go if NG failed. It doesn't spoil like gasoline or diesel.
How long will decent sized generator run on 150 lb of LP? What does it cost to fill?
I can't remember the gallon/hour usage rate or the price of the propane at the time of our worst power outage but I do remember it cost us about $70+ a day to run our 22KW Generac during the longest outage we had. The propane company refilled us twice. The propane trucks never quit running but NG was down in places.
I started shutting down my generator when we weren't home to save gas. At almost $3 an hour an 8 to 10 hour a day shutdown is quite a saving over 2 weeks not to mention the wear and tear of constant hard running of the generator. The freezers and refrigerator and hot water tank can stand being off for several hours a day. You can put blankets on the lid of a chest freezer to slow down loss of cold.
Last edited by Hastings; 07/05/23. Reason: added 2 words
Patriotism (and religion) is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
I appreciate all the comments/info/feedback. I have chosen the 32kw Generac Protector QS series, it is a liquid cooled 2.4 liter Mitsubishi engine with full power rating on natural gas (not derated like the air cooled Guardian series when running NG vs. LP). Made (at least assembled) in the USA - Wisconsin. 7 year warranty. Now I just have to wait until they can install it.
The equivalent Kohler was going to be at least $10k more by my estimation, and there was a 3 month wait JUST to get a quote, who knows how long for installation.
Update - contractor showed up on Tuesday to deliver the 32 kw unit. He was delivering two 32kw’s, a 48kw, and a 60kw. I helped the hispanic kid mixing the 28 80lb pounds bags of concrete in a home depot bucket. Hard work.
They slung this generator into place in less than 10 minutes with the skid steer machine. It had no trouble picking up 1,235lbs. Gas and electric should get done next week
I run a 20k Generac with a transfer switch and had a 500 gal propane tank buried to feed it. It powers my house of about 2200 sf ft without issue. I do get it serviced twice yearly so it works when I need it.
Have you calculated how long your 500 gallon propane tank will keep your generator running?
Tad over $10K, installed, a month ago - Generac 20 or 22 (I'd have to check) on natural gas. I wanted to have it hooked up for a backup propane feed for the NG - but NG provider says no for some reason. F'krs - what if an earthquake cuts the NG line? F'krs.
Once equipped so, all I'd have to do is turn a lever - maybe 2, if NG went out. F'kers!
Yeah, NG still flows if power goes out. Fans, forced air, pumps, pizzos , and such on furnaces (mine is also NG) won't work without electric tho - hence the generator.
Originally Posted by BuckHaggard
Originally Posted by Snowwolfe
I often thought about adding a home generator. Do they actually add anything to the value of the home?
Generally speaking, no.
I don't know about that, but they sure can avoid some other expensive repairs or decreases in value. We , at about 5* temps., danged near froze up the $20K hot tub ( including the added deck outside) last winter on a 5 hour outage. Not going there again, plus it powers the house utilities, avoids potential frozen/broken pipes, no well water use, etc.
Well, it did freeze up about 16 inches of water filled plastic tubing, but using an electric heater, a make-shift hood/tent and the Honda 2000i, I got it thawed without damage,except for a small hole in the insulating blanket - $25 replacement I think.
Update - contractor showed up on Tuesday to deliver the 32 kw unit. He was delivering two 32kw’s, a 48kw, and a 60kw. I helped the hispanic kid mixing the 28 80lb pounds bags of concrete in a home depot bucket. Hard work.
They slung this generator into place in less than 10 minutes with the skid steer machine. It had no trouble picking up 1,235lbs. Gas and electric should get done next week
Hah!!! My 32K Generac install would have been an OSHA's inspectors wet dream. Was in '20 the pad was well off camber so the heaviest electrician @260ish hung onto the generator on the radiator side but the ass end of my 40hp Kubota was lifting off the ground. Very easily could have mounted my box scraper but the other two electricians stood on the three point and grabbed the ROPS and we were in business. Was on the tractor a day ago and pointed out the electricians hand prints on the roll bar. Good times.
