- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: Whole home generator verse portable generator...pros and cons?
Posted on 7/15/24 at 9:59 am to LSUDad
Posted on 7/15/24 at 9:59 am to LSUDad
quote:
NG isn't a problem, if it would be, you'd have a problem. Every day, a normal home has Gas Water Heater, Gas Furnace, Gas Stoves and Oven. NG, is easier during a storm than Gasoline or Propane.
This isn’t true, I’m sorry. Many generators running would require much more gas than the normal use especially in the south where NG is not being used for heat for the most part. My avg nat gas bill for my stove, furnace, and water heater is about $45/ month. That’s a single day use for many Generators, as in a generator us using as much in a day as I use the entire month. Now stack that with a large portion of the neighborhood. This has been an issue reported after storms.
There’s really no perfect solution, but a tri fuel with a large propane tank or NG line would be the best with the most options.
1
Posted on 7/15/24 at 11:09 am to baldona
How many people in the neighborhood actually have NG generators though? There's 145 houses in my neighborhood, 3 have whole-homes, maybe 5 others have portable tri-fuels. I know the fear is an abundance of NG generators putting a strain on the grid but I just don't see enough people around having them to justify the worry. Maybe 10% of homes?
Posted on 7/15/24 at 12:01 pm to AFtigerFan
quote:
For those that have a standby generator running on propane, have you had to have your propane tank filled during an outage. If so, was it even possible?
I’m thinking about getting one but I do not have NG available at the house. I have a 500 gallon propane tank that runs our indoor fireplace (rarely used) 2 tankless water heaters, gas cooktop, and outdoor grill. I think I’d be fine but just curious.
If I had one, I would just make sure to get it topped off beginning of August no matter what. If I'm using Laura as my standard of scenarios I want to be prepared for, I would think that tank would last you a week or 2 (depending on gen size/running conditions/etc.). By then, I'd assume trucks would be running. However, I would definitely call whoever fills your tank and inquire about how long it takes them to get back up and running and plan accordingly. I wouldn't rely on assumptions.
quote:
How many people in the neighborhood actually have NG generators though?
During Laura, there were a lot of standby gens that sat idle because NG was shutoff. Damage to pipes in homes destroyed and also inground lines being torn up by trees falling or being uprooted. There are a lot of ways the supply can be compromised.
This post was edited on 7/15/24 at 12:06 pm
Posted on 7/15/24 at 12:44 pm to Chicken
My house has a 40kw liquid cooled generator. I didn’t install it - the previous owner did - but living under normal conditions during an outage is fantastic. The only downside is having your wife’s entire family show up to hang out and watch 9-5 on dvd over and over.
Posted on 7/15/24 at 12:53 pm to patnuh
quote:
My house has a 40kw liquid cooled generator.
I've worked on the personal homes of a few owners of electrical contracting or supply businesses and they all had liquid-cooled diesel or gasoline standby generators. If you want reliability and durability that's the way to go. I would love to find an old FoMoCo diesel generator, I worked at a plant that had several scatted throughout the property built around the WW2 era and even after decades with minimal maintenance they would fire up. Some even had old AiResearch turbochargers that were pretty loud for the little bit of boost they were making...
Posted on 7/15/24 at 1:13 pm to ApisMellifera
at about 3gal propane per hour, 500 gal would last almost 6 days running 24/7. under normal use (say 10 hrs on/off), it would last much longer. you're not getting a propane fill in the couple days right after a big storm, but a week later...of course
Posted on 7/16/24 at 12:03 am to Chicken
Some of the folks in the Houston area were without power for 6 days. I was a lucky one, we lost it for less than 2 hours.
The number of homes close to me, I had only one standby generator fire up. It's the same one I hear start up for the run every week.
I started to get my portable ready, then the power came on. Then a friend called, they were out, I loaded everything needed in the back of my truck, was heading to their house. Their power had just came on, after I got my truck loaded.
The number of homes close to me, I had only one standby generator fire up. It's the same one I hear start up for the run every week.
I started to get my portable ready, then the power came on. Then a friend called, they were out, I loaded everything needed in the back of my truck, was heading to their house. Their power had just came on, after I got my truck loaded.
This post was edited on 7/16/24 at 8:11 am
Posted on 7/16/24 at 7:07 am to YOURADHERE
quote:
How many people in the neighborhood actually have NG generators though? There's 145 houses in my neighborhood, 3 have whole-homes, maybe 5 others have portable tri-fuels. I know the fear is an abundance of NG generators putting a strain on the grid but I just don't see enough people around having them to justify the worry. Maybe 10% of homes?
Oh I agree it completely depends on the neighborhood. If you are in a nice neighborhood and a lot of people had them like the original question was, it could absolutely be an issue. For most I agree it’s likely not an issue.
But I’m just stating that I don’t think in a major natural disaster it’s fair to say it’s a guarantee
Posted on 7/16/24 at 7:09 am to cgrand
quote:
at about 3gal propane per hour, 500 gal would last almost 6 days running 24/7. under normal use (say 10 hrs on/off), it would last much longer. you're not getting a propane fill in the couple days right after a big storm, but a week later...of course
I’d be curious to hear some real time
Stories about this after storms also. Those guys wanna work too, everyone does. If there’s a demand I’d think they’d be wanting to get out there.
I’d also be curious on the prices, but what are you going to do?
Page 2 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News