Guest Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 10Gs for a generator is a lot, unless you're elderly, and can't start the portable ones. You could go for years without using it. Meanwhile, it's sitting there deteriorating. I'm all for those stand-bys, but it's a cost-benefit situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin george Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 17 minutes ago, Skeeter21i said: Thanks for all the comments. Reason we need a standby is because we heat with electric heat pumps with woodstove to supplement. We lose power frequently in this area, it's a real bitch running out to the garage to fire up a portable genny at 3am when it -20 outside. As well, it's difficult to leave for more than a day in the winter, if we lose power, waterline will start to freeze. I'm leaning towards the Cummins. Seems like most in our area are going with them over the Generacs. We are out of power quite often as well around here. We have a boiler ( radiant floor) and two sumps staged in the hole. We don't worry about going away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin george Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 17 minutes ago, Skeeter21i said: Thanks for all the comments. Reason we need a standby is because we heat with electric heat pumps with woodstove to supplement. We lose power frequently in this area, it's a real bitch running out to the garage to fire up a portable genny at 3am when it -20 outside. As well, it's difficult to leave for more than a day in the winter, if we lose power, waterline will start to freeze. I'm leaning towards the Cummins. Seems like most in our area are going with them over the Generacs. We are out of power quite often as well around here. We have a boiler ( radiant floor) and two sumps staged in the hole. We don't worry about going away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irv Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 2 minutes ago, Polaris 550 said: 10Gs for a generator is a lot, unless you're elderly, and can't start the portable ones. You could go for years without using it. Meanwhile, it's sitting there deteriorating. I'm all for those stand-bys, but it's a cost-benefit situation. It is but like I said earlier, its the furnace, or lack of, during a power outage that I worry about the most. We've had power outages more than I like around here and I would assume if we were to sell the house most of the money would be recouped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin george Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 4 minutes ago, Polaris 550 said: 10Gs for a generator is a lot, unless you're elderly, and can't start the portable ones. You could go for years without using it. Meanwhile, it's sitting there deteriorating. I'm all for those stand-bys, but it's a cost-benefit situation. Its definately alot of money to spend but at the time nobody was home to fire up a portable genny and plug it in. We went that route with a piece of mind when we are away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin george Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 2 minutes ago, irv said: It is but like I said earlier, its the furnace, or lack of, during a power outage that I worry about the most. We've had power outages more than I like around here and I would assume if we were to sell the house most of the money would be recouped? We had that X-mas without power for seven days and it was fkn brutal in the city. We decided we're going standby when we move. It's not like a sled lol. It'll add value to a house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irv Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, smokin george said: We had that X-mas without power for seven days and it was fkn brutal in the city. We decided we're going standby when we move. It's not like a sled lol. It'll add value to a house The last big one we had was a few years ago where I borrowed a genny then wired it into my furnace. Didn't know/realize at the time it was illegal, however. I would think this day and age having one would be a selling point to a certain extent? My wife doesn't want one but she isn't the one who will have to deal with a genny in 2 feet of snow and -20 out. The genny will run the small electric heaters we have but there is no way they will keep up if it's cold outside. We have a fireplace without an insert so any remaining heat will be sucked right out of the house. Edited November 28, 2019 by irv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 6 minutes ago, irv said: It is but like I said earlier, its the furnace, or lack of, during a power outage that I worry about the most. We've had power outages more than I like around here and I would assume if we were to sell the house most of the money would be recouped? 4 minutes ago, smokin george said: Its definately alot of money to spend but at the time nobody was home to fire up a portable genny and plug it in. We went that route with a piece of mind when we are away I have THREE generators. Two of them are the 5500 watt variety, that can run the water pump, burner, etc, all at the same time. I also have a small 1200 watt unit, that I have wired directly into the oil burner. I have this so I can have heat, and sleep a bit at night, as opposed to running the big gens all night. However, I have a big garage, and am kind of knowledgeable about how to run a generator. Most people don't know how to set them up, or run them properly. My best friends have a wood-burning stove, and they run their gen full time!!!! I yelled at them, and said what the hell are you running the generator full time for!!!! I told them they will run out of gas in one day or two if they do that. You gotta' run these things INTERMITTENTLY. Fire it up, make some hot coffee, take a shower, warm the house up, then shut it down, until the house needs to be warmed-up again. That's where a small gen comes in handy, you can run that sucker full-time for your burner motor only and a extension for TV and one light...……...LIVING LARGE!!! Kind of a pain in the ass, but it works!!! This won't work for people that leave their houses for days at a time in dead winter, unless they have someone that can run the gens in their absence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XCR1250 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 There are Generators which start up by themselves when the Power goes off, fellow down the road has one of those, rather pricey though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin george Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 7 minutes ago, irv said: The last big one we had was a few years ago where I borrowed a genny then wired it into my furnace. Did know/realize at the time it was illegal, however. I would think this day and age having one would be a selling point to a certain extent? My wife doesn't want one but she isn't the one who will have to deal with a genny in 2 feet of snow and -20 out. The genny will run the small electric heaters we have but there is no way they will keep up if it's cold outside. We have a fireplace without an insert so any remaining heat will be sucked right out of the house. The bad X-mas I said to the wife let's go to the trailer where we have a genny,furnace and lights lol. We ended up going to the Mandarin for X-mas dinner lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Oh, I forgot to add that I don't have street gas in our house. We have it on our road, but we never connected to it. Even if I had street gas, I still might not have the stand-by gen, unless I get a bit older!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irv Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 11 minutes ago, Polaris 550 said: I have THREE generators. Two of them are the 5500 watt variety, that can run the water pump, burner, etc, all at the same time. I also have a small 1200 watt unit, that I have wired directly into the oil burner. I have this so I can have heat, and sleep a bit at night, as opposed to running the big gens all night. However, I have a big garage, and am kind of knowledgeable about how to run a generator. Most people don't know how to set them up, or run them properly. My best friends have a wood-burning stove, and they run their gen full time!!!! I yelled at them, and said what the hell are you running the generator full time for!!!! I told them they will run out of gas in one day or two if they do that. You gotta' run these things INTERMITTENTLY. Fire it up, make some hot coffee, take a shower, warm the house up, then shut it down, until the house needs to be warmed-up again. That's where a small gen comes in handy, you can run that sucker full-time for your burner motor only and a extension for TV and one light...……...LIVING LARGE!!! Kind of a pain in the ass, but it works!!! This won't work for people that leave their houses for days at a time in dead winter, unless they have someone that can run the gens in their absence. We have a gas furnace only and a fireplace and we live in the city. Country living would definitely be different as I'd most likely have one for sure if I didn't have a gas furnace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XCR1250 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Owner of the Bar down the road has a large military diesel Army surplus generator that he converted to civilian voltage and phase, it's runs the whole bar including 3 coolers, he paid $3,000 for it many years ago, conversion was a couple $100 in parts. Our power goes out here usually a couple times a month..I have Generator which will run my Furnace, water pump, fridge, light bulbs and TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 4 minutes ago, irv said: We have a gas furnace only and a fireplace and we live in the city. Country living would definitely be different as I'd most likely have one for sure if I didn't have a gas furnace. So, do you have a gas-fired, hot air system in your house? Don't you need a gen for the burner/fan???? A small gen would handle that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irv Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Polaris 550 said: So, do you have a gas-fired, hot air system in your house? Don't you need a gen for the burner/fan???? A small gen would handle that. I'm not sure of your lingo? It's a dual stage gas furnace that spreads heat throughout the house via a fan. It's illegal to hook up a genny to it in case the power comes back on as it can electrocute a linesman. I can only use my current genny to run my appliances/ electric heaters and gas water heater. Edited November 28, 2019 by irv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XCR1250 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 5 minutes ago, irv said: I'm not sure of your lingo? It's a dual stage gas furnace that spreads heat through out the house via a fan. It's illegal to hook up a genny to it in case the power comes back on as it can electrocute a linesman. I can only use my current genny to run my appliances/ electric heaters and gas water heater. Just turn off the main breaker before you start the Gen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry ginger Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 6 minutes ago, irv said: I'm not sure of your lingo? It's a dual stage gas furnace that spreads heat throughout the house via a fan. It's illegal to hook up a genny to it in case the power comes back on as it can electrocute a linesman. I can only use my current genny to run my appliances/ electric heaters and gas water heater. turn off the main breaker and it's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Yes, same here. My big gens are wired by an electrician, all legal, through a transfer switch. The small gen is direct into the burner, BUT I WOULD HAVE TO SHUT THE CIRCUIT BREAKERS COMING INTO THE HOUSE TO USE IT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XCR1250 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Just now, Polaris 550 said: Yes, same here. My big gens are wired by an electrician, all legal, through a transfer switch. The small gen is direct into the burner, BUT I WOULD HAVE TO SHUT THE CIRCUIT BREAKERS COMING INTO THE HOUSE TO USE IT. Just the main breaker(s) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Just now, XCR1250 said: Just the main breaker(s) Yes, so NOTHING goes back out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry ginger Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 i've got a 240 box that i need to wire in on my patio for an easy hookup. using the circuit that used to feed my hot tub. in 20 years I have had 1 stretch we were without power 4 days, i drove up to my camp at that point, wife and kids stayed home and were cold while i was a toasty 70. Foolish wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 1 minute ago, XCR1250 said: Just the main breaker(s) Actually, I could just shut it off at the transfer switch, because the oil burner is on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 1 minute ago, Angry ginger said: i've got a 240 box that i need to wire in on my patio for an easy hookup. using the circuit that used to feed my hot tub. in 20 years I have had 1 stretch we were without power 4 days, i drove up to my camp at that point, wife and kids stayed home and were cold while i was a toasty 70. Foolish wife. You left your wife and kids with no power!!! LMAO!! You gotta' be kiddin'!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irv Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 6 minutes ago, XCR1250 said: Just turn off the main breaker before you start the Gen. 4 minutes ago, Angry ginger said: turn off the main breaker and it's fine. Could, but I honestly don't have any idea how to hook it up to our newish furnace. My luck I'd screw something up and void the warranty on it. 3 minutes ago, Polaris 550 said: Yes, same here. My big gens are wired by an electrician, all legal, through a transfer switch. The small gen is direct into the burner, BUT I WOULD HAVE TO SHUT THE CIRCUIT BREAKERS COMING INTO THE HOUSE TO USE IT. I looked into that a bit and could also have that done but I was told somewhere around $1500-$2000 to do it properly. Still an option I suppose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XCR1250 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Just now, irv said: Could, but I honestly don't have any idea how to hook it up to our newish furnace. My luck I'd screw something up and void the warranty on it. I looked into that a bit and could also have that done but I was told somewhere around $1500-$2000 to do it properly. Still an option I suppose? You have a 220 volt Dryer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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