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Message
Finally got power back after 5 days in Shreveport (This ain't happening again)
Posted on 6/20/23 at 10:42 am
Posted on 6/20/23 at 10:42 am
What's up baws? It's been a hot and humid holiday weekend up in Shitport and surrounding areas. Prayers for Salmon and the destruction his house got. Our house was okay and no big trees down. Just a few limbs in the yard.
Luckily I had a buddy offer me his camp on Toledo so we were able to get out of town until the power came back on yesterday. People across the street from me are still out.
With all the extra family time we've had, my wife and I have talked a lot about a whole home generac generator and other options. Here is where I am and what I plan to present this afternoon to her once we get off work.
Correctly power house with 50 amp power inlet.
An electrician friend of mine said do not backfeed through the dryer plug. While it may work, your lines will be juiced over capacity and could potentially cause a fire hazard. Instead, correctly install a 50 amp power inlet next to your breaker box with a switch that only allows the generator feed breaker to turn on when the main is turned off. This then correctly feeds power into your breaker box where you standard breakers can operate properly and flip/throw if you have a problem.
Top 10 Best Generators
This is an article I found about top generators. Our electrician recommended the #2 Westinghouse over the #1 rated duromax. It puts out more power and Westinghouse is an old company, not some fly by night cheap generator with some off brand stickers on it.
Westinghouse 12,500 watt Generator
This is the generator I am looking at. 12,500 peak watts, but more realistically about 9500 running watts. Plenty to power the house except the AC unit, but enough to plug in a 110 outlet style 6000-8000 btu window unit or two in the bedroom and living room. My mom wants to do this too, so we are planning on buying two of the exact same generators and having insurance of a parts generator in case of an apocalypse and one were to break down in the future.
One thing is for sure. Between hurricanes/tropical storms that get to us in Shreveport like Laura (down 4 days), to ice storms like 2020 (down 8 days), to the most recent 80 mph straight line wind event out of Oklahoma (down 5 days), this shite ain't happening to me again.
This seems like it would be right up the OB's alley, so lets discuss. I'm open to any criticism or ideas y'all may have.
Luckily I had a buddy offer me his camp on Toledo so we were able to get out of town until the power came back on yesterday. People across the street from me are still out.
With all the extra family time we've had, my wife and I have talked a lot about a whole home generac generator and other options. Here is where I am and what I plan to present this afternoon to her once we get off work.
Correctly power house with 50 amp power inlet.
An electrician friend of mine said do not backfeed through the dryer plug. While it may work, your lines will be juiced over capacity and could potentially cause a fire hazard. Instead, correctly install a 50 amp power inlet next to your breaker box with a switch that only allows the generator feed breaker to turn on when the main is turned off. This then correctly feeds power into your breaker box where you standard breakers can operate properly and flip/throw if you have a problem.
Top 10 Best Generators
This is an article I found about top generators. Our electrician recommended the #2 Westinghouse over the #1 rated duromax. It puts out more power and Westinghouse is an old company, not some fly by night cheap generator with some off brand stickers on it.
Westinghouse 12,500 watt Generator
This is the generator I am looking at. 12,500 peak watts, but more realistically about 9500 running watts. Plenty to power the house except the AC unit, but enough to plug in a 110 outlet style 6000-8000 btu window unit or two in the bedroom and living room. My mom wants to do this too, so we are planning on buying two of the exact same generators and having insurance of a parts generator in case of an apocalypse and one were to break down in the future.
One thing is for sure. Between hurricanes/tropical storms that get to us in Shreveport like Laura (down 4 days), to ice storms like 2020 (down 8 days), to the most recent 80 mph straight line wind event out of Oklahoma (down 5 days), this shite ain't happening to me again.
This seems like it would be right up the OB's alley, so lets discuss. I'm open to any criticism or ideas y'all may have.
19
Posted on 6/20/23 at 10:55 am to Clyde Tipton
Asking out of ignorance because the new wife wants one...do you have gas to the house, and if so, why not one that runs off it?
Posted on 6/20/23 at 10:56 am to Clyde Tipton
Depending on your AC, if you install a soft or hard start system, you can run your AC on that 12k generator. Source- I did this while out of power for Ida. My home is only 1600 sq ft living though, so results may vary.
That being said, generators are a PIA. You need to run it monthly with a load for at least 15 mins to keep them reliable. If you don't, expect problems when you really need it. If everyone is out of power, gas is difficult to source. A buddy brought me a 50 gallon drum and pump, and I still needed to fill that 50 gallon drum every 5 days.
Whole home generators are worth their weight in gold but come with drawbacks. Expensive to install and these air cooled ones aren't meant to be run at 95% load for 5 days straight in Louisiana heat. My neighbors shite the bed day 7 of Ida and he's religious with changing oil, checking spark plugs etc.
That being said, generators are a PIA. You need to run it monthly with a load for at least 15 mins to keep them reliable. If you don't, expect problems when you really need it. If everyone is out of power, gas is difficult to source. A buddy brought me a 50 gallon drum and pump, and I still needed to fill that 50 gallon drum every 5 days.
Whole home generators are worth their weight in gold but come with drawbacks. Expensive to install and these air cooled ones aren't meant to be run at 95% load for 5 days straight in Louisiana heat. My neighbors shite the bed day 7 of Ida and he's religious with changing oil, checking spark plugs etc.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 11:00 am to Clyde Tipton
DId something similar a couple of years ago and luckily haven't had to use it yet. I did get a tri-fuel generator and got a quick connect installed on my gas line, so no gasoline tanks for me hopefully.
Running on nat gas drops the output of the generator though.
Running on nat gas drops the output of the generator though.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 11:08 am to Clyde Tipton
Never lost power at my house in Shreveport, parents lost power at theirs for about 2 days and ran my generator there for their fridge and freezer. They lose power everytime a mosquito farts near their subdivision though, been telling them to get a whole house stand-by generator.
With gasoline generators it matters the oil and gas you use as well as how you store it. My little 4kW CPE hasn't been used in years, only had 6.4 hours on it until this last storm but fired up and ran like a top for 14+ hours of use over those 2 days. I filled it up with Shell 89 oct treated with Stabil360, will drain it and run a little TrueFuel 4-cycle to flush out the carb before storing it again. Mobil 1 10W30 oil that got changed out at 15.5 hours, wrote that info on the gas tank with a sharpie.
With gasoline generators it matters the oil and gas you use as well as how you store it. My little 4kW CPE hasn't been used in years, only had 6.4 hours on it until this last storm but fired up and ran like a top for 14+ hours of use over those 2 days. I filled it up with Shell 89 oct treated with Stabil360, will drain it and run a little TrueFuel 4-cycle to flush out the carb before storing it again. Mobil 1 10W30 oil that got changed out at 15.5 hours, wrote that info on the gas tank with a sharpie.
This post was edited on 6/20/23 at 11:19 am
Posted on 6/20/23 at 11:10 am to Clyde Tipton
You can get these on Amazon. Just find the correct one for your breaker box. It makes it impossible to have the generator input on while the main is still on.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 11:13 am to Clyde Tipton
I bought a Champion 11,500/9200w portable generator in June of ‘21 at the recommendation of my electrician who installed my 50amp plug directly to my panel. He told me he had one and it would in fact run my entire house including my AC and refrigerators. I put a soft start kit on my AC unit and was advised when using the generator, start by only having the AC breaker on at first and slowly add the breakers you need while watching the output meter on the generator. Then put your AC thermostat on 55° so it won’t cycle on and off while using the generator.
Now of course you want to be very selective what you turn on after the AC and fridge/freezers. No laundry or pool pumps without turning off the AC breaker. But lights and tv are easily handled with this generator.
I’ve done 3 test runs so far without a problem.
Now of course you want to be very selective what you turn on after the AC and fridge/freezers. No laundry or pool pumps without turning off the AC breaker. But lights and tv are easily handled with this generator.
I’ve done 3 test runs so far without a problem.
This post was edited on 6/20/23 at 1:16 pm
Posted on 6/20/23 at 11:15 am to Clyde Tipton
I have a 50 amp plug that i used for my travel trailer. I would have had to use a suicide cord which i had but was never comfortable backfeeding house with the main situation etc.
I don't own travel trailer now. I guess i could convert to a 30 amp inlet. I have a 30 amp inverter generator that i could do same, use for lights and fridges in house, i now own a window unit i can take down from attic.
I don't like the idea of a big generator powering house etc cause they drink too much gas. I like to be conservative with essentials.
I don't own travel trailer now. I guess i could convert to a 30 amp inlet. I have a 30 amp inverter generator that i could do same, use for lights and fridges in house, i now own a window unit i can take down from attic.
I don't like the idea of a big generator powering house etc cause they drink too much gas. I like to be conservative with essentials.
This post was edited on 6/20/23 at 11:22 am
Posted on 6/20/23 at 11:52 am to Clyde Tipton
quote:
Instead, correctly install a 50 amp power inlet next to your breaker box with a switch that only allows the generator feed breaker to turn on when the main is turned off. This then correctly feeds power into your breaker box where you standard breakers can operate properly and flip/throw if you have a problem.
This is what I'm about to do.
I'm in Bossier and this outage sent me over the edge. Too little of an expensive to fix a huge need for the area. A strong fart could put the power out in our neighborhood for some reason.
quote:
generators.
%1,000 will be going with a Honda. All of our work generators are Honda's and we put them through the ringer and we've never had one break down. They are expensive, but I've had too much success with them to get something else.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 12:12 pm to Clyde Tipton
I have the exact same generator for my house. Have not put a full load on it yet, but I crank it monthly. I had a similar plug placed in my shed that is detached approximately 100ft from my house just so it wouldnt be out in the weather when I needed it. I have a 250gal propane tank that I plan to use as a back up if I run out of gasoline. Like you said, should be enough to run everything but central AC. I have 3 10k btu window units just in case.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 12:37 pm to Clyde Tipton
The system shown will work BUT it can be dangerous and has been outlawed in some jurisdictions because it does not break the neutral conductor which means than any unbalanced load MAY travel to the center tap of the utility companies transformer and can be dangerous to workers at that or any transformer in the system. It has been done probably hundreds of thousands of times but it there are also claims where someone is injured or killed due to there being an unbalanced load at a transformer which was not energized and had been verified as de-energized. There is also the very distinct possibility that a ground fault would not clear in a timely manner with that set-up...this is pretty common and has caused numerous verifiable accidents. The correct installation is a 4 pole transfer switch which disconnects ALL of the incoming service conductors AND grounds the generator to the facility grounding system instead of possibly the utilities system at the transformer. Both phase conductors, the neutral and the grounding electrode conductor.
A far more cost effective and less problematic way to negotiate the issue is to simply stretch drop cords to the devices you want to use from the generator. Outside of the cost of the generator it is essentially the same thing as the system in the video without the exposure to liability of feeding an unbalanced load into the distribution network or having a ground fault that does not clear in a timely manner. I did this several years ago for over a week due to an ice storm and it was no more trouble than turning breakers on and off. Unless you are going to have a permanent generator capable of carrying the entire load of the house a portable and some drop cords strung around the place will do exactly what the system in the video does and does not pose any added risks to anyone.
A far more cost effective and less problematic way to negotiate the issue is to simply stretch drop cords to the devices you want to use from the generator. Outside of the cost of the generator it is essentially the same thing as the system in the video without the exposure to liability of feeding an unbalanced load into the distribution network or having a ground fault that does not clear in a timely manner. I did this several years ago for over a week due to an ice storm and it was no more trouble than turning breakers on and off. Unless you are going to have a permanent generator capable of carrying the entire load of the house a portable and some drop cords strung around the place will do exactly what the system in the video does and does not pose any added risks to anyone.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 1:44 pm to Clyde Tipton
quote:Pussy
An electrician friend of mine said do not backfeed through the dryer plug.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 2:01 pm to Clyde Tipton
This generator is what I just bough,
50 amp cord and desperate inlet, I have a 5 ton 60.000 btu ac.
This will run my whole house minus a small window unit in my shop, I have 2 refrigerators and one freezer,you won’t be disappointed I would add a soft start to your ac And it’s pretty quiet. Good luck
50 amp cord and desperate inlet, I have a 5 ton 60.000 btu ac.
This will run my whole house minus a small window unit in my shop, I have 2 refrigerators and one freezer,you won’t be disappointed I would add a soft start to your ac And it’s pretty quiet. Good luck
Posted on 6/20/23 at 2:08 pm to Clyde Tipton
So, I have been contemplating on putting solar panels on my house as a primary means of power. Would solar panels have survived the storm that hit your area?
Posted on 6/20/23 at 2:14 pm to Clyde Tipton
I run 2 window units, 2 refrigerators, 2 freezers all the lights and ceiling fans in my house off a 5500 watt generator. If I were you I'd go a lil bigger and get one that can your central unit. My electrician neighbor said mine could be run with a 12k generator.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 3:19 pm to Clyde Tipton
My BIL has that same generator and it works great. But get the dual fuel version and get a 100 gallon propane tank. It’s to hard looking for gas during a hurricane.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 3:24 pm to Clyde Tipton
I went the same route you did, and priced everything out.
After that, I called a contractor friend of mine and priced out a whole home 20kw Kohler standby generator. Just got off the phone with him ordering the unit. I live just across the river from you too. I'd be happy to share the prices. It will be more expensive than your route, but I think not having to go get fuel for the generator is worth it.
You can run that generator and a few others on natural gas, but you better check the loads from your house. NG lowers to operating power of portable generators significantly. It will effect the things you will be able to run in your house. Just my 2 cents.
After that, I called a contractor friend of mine and priced out a whole home 20kw Kohler standby generator. Just got off the phone with him ordering the unit. I live just across the river from you too. I'd be happy to share the prices. It will be more expensive than your route, but I think not having to go get fuel for the generator is worth it.
You can run that generator and a few others on natural gas, but you better check the loads from your house. NG lowers to operating power of portable generators significantly. It will effect the things you will be able to run in your house. Just my 2 cents.
Posted on 6/21/23 at 5:39 am to Clyde Tipton
Definitely get an EasyStart soft starter for your central ac. I have the cord/inlet setup you posted, with an interlock kit on my panel. My 10kw Champion will start my 5 ton unit now.
Posted on 6/21/23 at 10:22 am to Clyde Tipton
There is a Facebook page:
“Generators: portable generators to power entire house“
It gives information on portable generators powering a house. They help with the setup, what’s needed and where to find. Very informative.
I have a tri fuel generator. It runs off Gas, Propane and NG.
“Generators: portable generators to power entire house“
It gives information on portable generators powering a house. They help with the setup, what’s needed and where to find. Very informative.
I have a tri fuel generator. It runs off Gas, Propane and NG.
Posted on 6/21/23 at 12:54 pm to Clyde Tipton
I have this same 12,500 in the first gen from 2 years ago. I have a 2300sqft home with a 5 ton AC. This Generator ran everything like any other day except hot water heater and dryer breaker I had off. Zero issues for 14 days. AC never missed a lick. Would turn ac off and turn on breaker for hot water heater for about an hour to have hot water for showers and washing dishes. Then back off and ac on. Ran my entire house like normal. Dryer was used in the same fashion for drying clothes. Best decision ever. Used a fraction of the total gas these propane whole home models do. Avg 8-10 gallons a day
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