home generators for back up?

[73hunter]

Yes, no doubt the generator noise will tell the whole neighbourhood that you have one, but I still feel much better running it in a fenced backyard or out the back of the garage...out of sight. Remember for a lot of people, the meter may be at the opposite end of the house, do you really want to drag a generator through the snow to run it ? And have to choose between dragging it out when you want to run it or leaving it out overnight ? Not me. If you have to pay an electrician anyway have a plug wired into the garage and run the genny in the most convenient spot

[patvetzal]

We have found that the first thing to look at is your water pump. Is it a 220v deep well pump or a 110 volt jet pump. Either one can run with a suitable 4kw genny IF they are converted to a plug in cord feed. Even my geothermal only needs 2.5 kW to run but we have wood heat with pumps and fans that take a lot less.
If you have toys like ATVs, sleds, boats, riding lawn mowers, etc then you can rotate your stockpile of gas as long as you have a place to store it. Most of our local stations have generator backup.
A few extension cords and power bars will let you plug in things like fridges, TV's and computers.

[Fox]

I do not know any furnaces that run off a 120VAC outlet, furnaces are hard wired into place, so in most cases you are SOL for your furnace unless you have things hooked up with a transfer switch.

A transfer switch will cost you about $1000 installed, maybe more, but then you can hook up your generator to your whole house if you have a 240VAC generator. I am looking into a genny like this, most likely going to have to get a 5500-7500W unit to get the 240VAC that I need.

There are other options, if I were to build a new rural home I would get a propane backup Generac generator installed on building, but then again I may also build off grid and not worry about their blackouts.

[impact]

I do not know any furnaces that run off a 120VAC outlet, furnaces are hard wired into place, so in most cases you are SOL for your furnace unless you have things hooked up with a transfer switch.
.

Let me clarify. You go to the on/off switch that all furnaces have installed. Undo the wires going to the furnace and pig tail in a 120 volt cord. Proceed and plug into the generator. Easy / peasy and sure beats freezing. A five minute job. Also, you are not introducing any current into the rest of the house distribution panel. Any handy man can do this and there is no law preventing a homeowner from doing this simple bypass.


PS: Did you know that if your furnace is red tagged by an HVAC company and the gas supply shut off you can turn it back on instead of freezing and get a second opinion. Just make sure that you have a working CO2 detector nearby to monitor the air quality.
Got this information from a licensed G1 tech. Prevents fraudulent repairs and bad purchases based on emotions.

Edit: A safety tip when running your generator. If you look closely on the unit you will find a grounding lug. Take the time to drive a stake in the ground and attach a good size wire. Otherwise you have a floating neutral and if you inadvertently get shocked by an appliance well you are now the path of least resistance. It can kill you!

[krakadawn]

Originally we had a sub panel and separate generator. It was a bit clumsy opening up certain identified circuits, We looked at a propane generac system but that was approx. 9k installed even though we are on natural gas. In the end we updated the generator with a 7800w model and a generlink at the smart meter.
Much simpler and effective for about $1800.

[patvetzal]

I do not know any furnaces that run off a 120VAC outlet, furnaces are hard wired into place, so in most cases you are SOL for your furnace unless you have things hooked up with a transfer switch.

A transfer switch will cost you about $1000 installed, maybe more, but then you can hook up your generator to your whole house if you have a 240VAC generator. I am looking into a genny like this, most likely going to have to get a 5500-7500W unit to get the 240VAC that I need.

There are other options, if I were to build a new rural home I would get a propane backup Generac generator installed on building, but then again I may also build off grid and not worry about their blackouts.

been twenty years or more but in one of my past lives as an electrician I used to disconnect the "hardwiring " from water pumps, furnaces and any other appliances and feed them from regular plug in cords. With the new style "rental" furnace scams it might be a questionable practice however.
All you had to do in a power outage was run an extension cord to the pump, furnace, etc and plug them in to the cord instead of the outlet on the wall....

[Redsoilreaper]

Lots of great info in this thread! Been thinking of getting a generator.

[delmer]

There is lots you can do with a 3,000 watt generator to survive for a few days. If you simply hook up a 120 volt cord to your furnace if on natural gas or propane you will have plenty of heat. It only takes a few amps of electricity. It will also run your sump pump and a few lights. All you need is a couple of 100 feet extension cords and power bars.
Cooking? You can do just about anything on a bar-b-q.

Likewise, I have discovered that my cheap Champion 3500 watt generator will suffice. My first priority in an outage, is to make sure my sump pump has power. Secondly, in the winter, I need heat to keep things from freezing, and in the summer, need to keep things from thawing. My BBQ is only a couple steps outside my patio door, and is used year round. I keep extra tanks on hand.

If you have toys like ATVs, sleds, boats, riding lawn mowers, etc then you can rotate your stockpile of gas as long as you have a place to store it. Most of our local stations have generator backup.

I fill all my gas containers every fall, and add fuel stabilizer. If not needed for my generator, through the course of snowblowing, ATVing, and grass cutting, I use them up and refill.

Let me clarify. You go to the on/off switch that all furnaces have installed. Undo the wires going to the furnace and pig tail in a 120 volt cord. Proceed and plug into the generator. Easy / peasy and sure beats freezing. A five minute job. Also, you are not introducing any current into the rest of the house distribution panel. Any handy man can do this and there is no law preventing a homeowner from doing this simple bypass.

I have expanded upon this and installed an outlet and made an electrical adapter specifically for my furnace. As well, we have a gas fireplace on our main floor for heat.
furnace.jpg

Years of camping, deer and moose camps have thought me that you can survive quite comfortably with very little electricity.

I think a problem is that many people want to live their life with no interruption if the power fails. If you have no power, forget about the computer, the satellite tv, etc. and focus on what is needed.

[impact]

I think a problem is that many people want to live their life with no interruption if the power fails. If you have no power, forget about the computer, the satellite tv, etc. and focus on what is needed.

Exactly......

[JBen]

In this day and age I would include our "smart phones" as critical. Have fun making a call for help (say for fire if your CO2 alarm goes off)........or a heart attack or slip and fall....
I believe in having options and not putting all eggs in one basket.

I have had the yeti years, and more than once have considered a bigger unit. I bring it with me anytime I'm in the bush for "this or that". I bring it to hunt camps, so i don't have to fire up the Genny at 4am for lights and wake other people up, etc, etc, etc. At 150 watts I have power to run 3 watt led lights for days from a full charge. I can charge multiple phones, or run something a little larger. Just depends on how many watts the something draws. if its trickle charging I can go days.............................................. ..........The largest unit (1,250watts, they claim can power a fridge).....
http://www.goalzero.com

Re "furnace".
Being the son of a firefighter, I learned many years ago not to muck around more than I have to with wiring.
How much would it cost to have that set up to switch over. Well at the very least I'd need a large generator.
$3,000 gets us a Propane fireplace that doesn't need power with more than enough BTU to the house comfortable, and $4,000 a wood or pellet stove ( problem for us is clearance and venting)....Then another $1,000-$2,000 in finishing work be it a mantel or other.....

So at least for me/us.
Water pump is the critical. Our sumps (we have 2 for redundancy) are important but less so for us given a couple things.

Definitely worth picking up a generator, just a question of how large and what do you want (need) it to run. I keep around 30L of gas that I use in various things. In winter my snowblower is a pig, so no worries about it going stale. But if its been a while since Ive had to replenish my gas, I just pour whatever is in storage into my vehicle, then go get more........

If we think back to the blackout of 2004. How long did gas stations last......hours.
So besides not being reliable during an extended outage, if it comes to that. I'd prefer to keep my 30L for my vehicles, incase of emergency and not using it to power a few lights or something thats not critical.