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 Originally Posted by Dwanton
I do have an electrician friend that will do all the wiring for me .
When I buy the unit I am going to make sure I get all the parts necessary for safe hook up .
The 17500 watt Generac portable unit will take care of my whole house and that will be at half the cost of a stand alone propane unit . I use a 5500 generac portable unit now and it powers everything except my 3 ton a/c heat pump system and hot water heater .
After this last storm and no power for 5 - 7 days for some , a lot of friends are all now looking into a more perminent system -- and these days we have to look for the most affordable way and can't just throw money and get the best system available . ( I wish I could )
a couple friends drove from 2 to 3 hours away to buy portable generators because they never thought they would ever need one and all local stores were sold out . Luckily I have had one hooked up for a few years now .
I am doing the research not only for me but probably more than a few friends . as for most , money is an issue , not everyone has access to $6000 . and a $2000 unit that will do all that a stand alone will do and hooked up the same way , except turn on by itself when the power goes out .
Just about every storm is predicted and we know it is coming , so we can get ready , fuel up get things in place when needed . Yes it would be nice not to worry about anything , but me personally , I am not financially in that position right now . So I am leaning towards the generac 17500 portable generator . But I am going to hold out til I fully learn what I my needs are and what I can afford .
your plan is probably 100 percent right in your case, not everybody has the same set of requirements for sure. 99 percent of the time I would be ok with just the set up you describe, but, having gone through the situation and seen what could happen I had to try to eliminate the chance that it could happen again. I did mine in stages, I installed my emergency panel and transfer switch several years ago when I upgraded the electrical service. That sufficed until we had the waterproofing system installled and had a power outage after record rainfall. Will it ever happen again, Who knows, probably not. That all said, safety is the most important aspect, I can repair anything that is damaged but once someone is gone, well ,you can't fix that.
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That big black thingie with all of the ominous music going on... 
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Very Active Member
Take it from someone who years ago had just a 'manual' switchover setup... which required shutting off main breaker.. then turning on breaker that generator was plugged into to power the house....... don't do it that way.. go with the proper switch!!!!
Once..... years ago... I attempted to convert electricity back into gasoline (flipped main breaker back on without disconnecting generator)..... it didn't work out so well.... only thing I was able to generate was smoke coming from the generator........
Spyder #1 - 2008 GS SM5 Premier Edition #1977. RIP after 80,000 miles.
Spyder #2 - 2012 RT SM5. Traded in after 24,000 miles.
Spyder #3 - 2015 F3 SM6. Put 13,000 miles on and sold it.
Spyder #4 - 2017 F3 SM6. Too good of a deal to pass up!
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From an economy point I would go for a diesel powered unit for the following reasons. Gasoline has a shorter storage life than diesel. Diesel units use about half the fuel per hour of gasoline units. Propane has less energy per gallon than either gas or diesel, so you will need more gallons of it to run the same amount of time. Also you can transport diesel yourself if need be. Unused fuel can be run in the home oil furnace if needed.
12.5K watt diesel unit usage
(.48 Gal/h @ 1/2 Load)
12K watt Propane unit usage
| LP Consumption (50% Load) |
1.42 gallons/hr |
12.5K watt gas powered unit usage
6 hr run time @ 50% with 8Gal. tank = 1.33 gal per /hr
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Originally Posted by cearley
From an economy point I would go for a diesel powered unit for the following reasons. Gasoline has a shorter storage life than diesel. Diesel units use about half the fuel per hour of gasoline units. Propane has less energy per gallon than either gas or diesel, so you will need more gallons of it to run the same amount of time. Also you can transport diesel yourself if need be. Unused fuel can be run in the home oil furnace if needed.
12.5K watt diesel unit usage
(.48 Gal/h @ 1/2 Load)
12K watt Propane unit usage
| LP Consumption (50% Load) |
1.42 gallons/hr |
12.5K watt gas powered unit usage
6 hr run time @ 50% with 8Gal. tank = 1.33 gal per /hr
Thats great info -- but wow , you see how much those diesel generators are ! And not much wattage for a homeowner to afford one .
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HONDA
I bought a Honda tri power gas 10,000 watt 13,000 surge last year 2012 . on Craig list 1400.00 with 74 hr on it....
20 hp Honda . Have not had to use it at this time .
This is a back up from my 1973 E 1500 Honda (slight used ) not really .......
The owner also gave me gas hose with fitting and also a 50 amp long power cord Heavy Heavy i forget the the wire size it over kill for the length. Should run my hole house . I guess i need to clarify hole house , I would only need to run 1 ac window unit 1 ref , 1 freezer, 1 tv lights . Live in Houston so no real winter , no well , no washer dryer . This would be for Hurricane prep to have just bare minimum , but more then the 1972 E 1500 watt can do...
Jim
Last edited by jhutch713; 03-26-2013 at 09:35 PM.
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Originally Posted by jhutch713
I bought a Honda tri power gas 10,000 watt 13,000 surge last year 2012 . on Craig list 1400.00 with 74 hr on it....
20 hp Honda . Have not had to use it at this time .
This is a back up from my 1973 E 1500 Honda (slight used ) not really .......
The owner also gave me gas hose with fitting and also a 50 amp long power cord Heavy Heavy i forget the the wire size it over kill for the length. Should run my whole house .
Jim
Not by a long shot! Do not exceed the rating of the cable, or the lowest amp rating of any supply component. A fire could be the end result. The average house these days has a 160-200 amp electrical service. 50 amps absolutely will not do the job for the entire house. Also remember that a motor load (refrigerator, freezer, furnace blower, water well) will take 3-7 times the running current to start. Your generator and supply cable have to be capable of handling the starting load. Get an electrician to advise you.
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Originally Posted by Bob Denman
And I thought putting batteries in the TV remote was tough...
Transfer switches, killing folks, fires... This is so far over my head now that I feel like the cavemen at the beginning of "2001; A Space Odyssey" when the obelisk showed up onscreen...
I hear a waltz playing somewhere.
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Originally Posted by Bob Denman
And I thought putting batteries in the TV remote was tough...
Transfer switches, killing folks, fires... This is so far over my head now that I feel like the cavemen at the beginning of "2001; A Space Odyssey" when the obelisk showed up onscreen...
 Sorry,but being an electrician and also having some personal experience with shocks and arc flash scars couldn't let it go without commenting.
Didn't mean any harm, just want folks to do it right. Now I'll go back to being the quiet member I usually am.
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The Obe.....what? 
