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re: Stand-by Generator for home. Worth it?
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:08 am to hassan whiteside
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:08 am to hassan whiteside
Yes worth it when you are out of power 2-3 weeks. If you are ima neighborhood and plan to use natural gas, talk to your neighbors who also have one and see if they have had problems with low gas pressure. Most neighborhoods don’t run large enough gas lines for the whole neighborhood to lose power and run all the generators at once. I’d also recommend that if you go with natural gas, get one that runs at 1800 rpm, much quieter and much less wear and tear on the motor. I’m a lil different, I went with diesel, a Katolite 30kw with a John Deere motor and 175 gallons of fuel,,when I bought mine I lived in the country with no natural gas. I can run it about 6 days on a full load and I’m only at 60% capacity. I worked out a deal with a fuel company and they can bring me red diesel with 48 notice and they’ll come by every few days.
And lastly, try to avoid generac, I used to work in hurricane disaster areas and I’ve seen many people who had them and had failures.
And lastly, try to avoid generac, I used to work in hurricane disaster areas and I’ve seen many people who had them and had failures.
2
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:09 am to FliesByNight
quote:
We got one after the Houston derecho and a couple months later the hurricane that passed through.
I did the same thing. Bought after the derecho and had installed before Beryl. Then it got hit by lightning during Beryl so i got really good at fixing it. Now i have the battery to work with the generator and it's a killer setup.
I get VPP revenue from the battery every day and when the power goes out the lights don't even flicker because the BESS responds in millisecond, my router doesn't even need to reboot. Then it load manages and runs the generator when the battery gets low and cycles back and forth between the generator and battery as needed.
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:10 am to hassan whiteside
Depends on your unique situation.
It is not worth it for everyone. I live about 60 miles from the gulf coast. I have a portable generator that can power a few appliances and I feel like that’s all I need. It’s all I’ve ever needed in the almost 30 years living in that location.
Most of the time my electricity is only out for 1-2 hours or less. Yes, during Harvey and Ike we were out of electricity for up to 2 weeks. That’s the one situation people seek to avoid.
If a major hurricane hits and we learn it will be out for a week or more, we’re going to use the opportunity to take a spontaneous vacation. The frequency at which we take that week long vacation will cost us a lot less than the cost of getting a generac installed. I would rather be vacationing elsewhere than stuck at home praying my expensive generator doesn’t fail when I need it the most.
It is not worth it for everyone. I live about 60 miles from the gulf coast. I have a portable generator that can power a few appliances and I feel like that’s all I need. It’s all I’ve ever needed in the almost 30 years living in that location.
Most of the time my electricity is only out for 1-2 hours or less. Yes, during Harvey and Ike we were out of electricity for up to 2 weeks. That’s the one situation people seek to avoid.
If a major hurricane hits and we learn it will be out for a week or more, we’re going to use the opportunity to take a spontaneous vacation. The frequency at which we take that week long vacation will cost us a lot less than the cost of getting a generac installed. I would rather be vacationing elsewhere than stuck at home praying my expensive generator doesn’t fail when I need it the most.
This post was edited on 5/29/26 at 10:21 am
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:12 am to billjamin
quote:
I get VPP revenue from the battery every day and when the power goes out the lights don't even flicker because the BESS responds in millisecond, my router doesn't even need to reboot. Then it load manages and runs the generator when the battery gets low and cycles back and forth between the generator and battery as needed.
That’s awesome stuff.
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:19 am to hassan whiteside
I just bought a house with one.
I think our leg of the neighborhood has had an outage...twice since then?
I've never heard it kick on, but when the rest of the houses are dark, I can have everything in the house on and never miss a beat.
Hurricane season doesn't scare me a bit now
I think our leg of the neighborhood has had an outage...twice since then?
I've never heard it kick on, but when the rest of the houses are dark, I can have everything in the house on and never miss a beat.
Hurricane season doesn't scare me a bit now
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:21 am to hassan whiteside
I plug the house in to my F150. Can run everything but the central air. Don’t need natural gas hookups, and can drive to the gas station and not have to mess with fuel.
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:23 am to Cosmo
I'd say so personally because of two bad knees and in 2021 I damaged a knee again carrying gas cans. The pain, PT and cost prompted me to go with a generator. It's 22k watts in a single story house..
This post was edited on 5/29/26 at 10:24 am
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:24 am to hassan whiteside
Stand by generators are like insurance. When it's just there and not needed you wonder why you dump money into it.
But when you need it...
But when you need it...
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:24 am to hassan whiteside
How much does it cost? Including maintenance.
If you’re speaking of worth, you have to weigh the costs and benefits. Don’t forget to consider the alternative - evacuating or getting a hotel room for a few nights.
If you live in an area that receives hurricane damage every other year or so and go about a week without power, I’d say yes. I want to be home for cleanup and quick repairs to remediate additional damages if you’re gone for a week.
If you’re speaking of worth, you have to weigh the costs and benefits. Don’t forget to consider the alternative - evacuating or getting a hotel room for a few nights.
If you live in an area that receives hurricane damage every other year or so and go about a week without power, I’d say yes. I want to be home for cleanup and quick repairs to remediate additional damages if you’re gone for a week.
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:26 am to fr33manator
I have a smaller house, 1300sf, I have a Westinghouse 17k unit. Had an interlock kit installed. Power went out a couple weeks ago for about 6 hours. Stepped outside to breaker box, flipped the interlock switch and used the key fob to remote start the generator. I keep it plugged in to the outlet I had installed. Within 60 seconds after power went out everything in my house was working. AC kicked back on all appliances, starlink, all electronics. Only thing we do is we don't run the AC and the stove or dryer at the same time. Just kick the AC up if we need to use either of the other.
All told got the entire thing done for less than 2 grand. I'm very happy with it
All told got the entire thing done for less than 2 grand. I'm very happy with it
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:33 am to hassan whiteside
every penny
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:33 am to Boston911
quote:
And lastly, try to avoid generac, I used to work in hurricane disaster areas and I’ve seen many people who had them and had failures.
I have one but I treat it as an entry level generator in a box. So far I have only had to change the battery out besides general maintenance. The problems I saw during Ida were people trying to run them for a week or two non-stop
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:40 am to hassan whiteside
i mean i like mine but depends on how often you lose power and honestly if you are looking at real ROI...prolly not worth it. but we own a business that we would have to be in town for if a hurricane hit and I dont want to deal with no power.
you can also go smaller depending on what you consider as must. after laura i was without power for almost 6 weeks so it was worth it then but i had to baby it as it was smaller air cooled. this time i went with a 60kw liquid cooled bad arse of a generator
just a tad overboard
you can also go smaller depending on what you consider as must. after laura i was without power for almost 6 weeks so it was worth it then but i had to baby it as it was smaller air cooled. this time i went with a 60kw liquid cooled bad arse of a generator
just a tad overboardThis post was edited on 5/29/26 at 10:42 am
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:43 am to BitBuster
quote:
I plug the house in to my F150. Can run everything but the central air.
would your truck be able to run a window unit or 2?
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:44 am to s14suspense
quote:
That’s awesome stuff.
It's a killer setup. I would have just gone with a big solar system with a bunch of storage like i run at the ranch but i don't have great solar access at home and this is pretty ideal.
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:50 am to hassan whiteside
Kohler
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:53 am to jmarto1
Basically true with any gasoline / natural gas / etc piece of equipment,,,,,,,, it you take care of the item, it will most likely take care of you.
For a generator, let it rest daily, check oil level, add oil if necessary.
For long term use in a disaster, also do self maintenance, refer to the manual or a YouTube Video and complete the following:
Whenever your mtce. schedule dictates, change oil & oil filter
Change air filter
Change spark plugs.
Etc.
I also learned to turn off the auto-start during a hurricane or expected outage due to the gas pressure.
When the power goes out, all stand-by generators compete for natural gas which is supplied by gas lines that are too small to handle that load.
I wait an hour or so, shut off the breaker panel switches and then start my generator manually.
This allows the generator to run at low RPM’s thus not needing as much natural gas pressure.
Once that is stable, I start turning on breakers starting with lights and fans, followed by fridge & freezers, then the AC, etc
I only run the water heater as needed.
This served me well after Ida and I had only minor issues here and there caused by low gas pressure.
Now, others around me used the Ron Popeil (IYKYK) method and put their generator on the “set it and forget it mode”.
Those are the ones that had problems around me.
Several with older models had engine problems but that was a known issue with those models.
For a generator, let it rest daily, check oil level, add oil if necessary.
For long term use in a disaster, also do self maintenance, refer to the manual or a YouTube Video and complete the following:
Whenever your mtce. schedule dictates, change oil & oil filter
Change air filter
Change spark plugs.
Etc.
I also learned to turn off the auto-start during a hurricane or expected outage due to the gas pressure.
When the power goes out, all stand-by generators compete for natural gas which is supplied by gas lines that are too small to handle that load.
I wait an hour or so, shut off the breaker panel switches and then start my generator manually.
This allows the generator to run at low RPM’s thus not needing as much natural gas pressure.
Once that is stable, I start turning on breakers starting with lights and fans, followed by fridge & freezers, then the AC, etc
I only run the water heater as needed.
This served me well after Ida and I had only minor issues here and there caused by low gas pressure.
Now, others around me used the Ron Popeil (IYKYK) method and put their generator on the “set it and forget it mode”.
Those are the ones that had problems around me.
Several with older models had engine problems but that was a known issue with those models.
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:54 am to hassan whiteside
Bought one after Ida in 2021.
Have not had Hurricane since.
Have not had Hurricane since.
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:55 am to hassan whiteside
I was in my dying broke hometown a few months ago driving around some old neighborhoods. As poor as those people are, they still manage to scrounge enough money together to buy a standby genny. I can see why people that install them can make a killing. Everyone wants one.
Posted on 5/29/26 at 10:57 am to billjamin
Can you give me pros and cons of powerwalls vs generator?
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