does anyone have a generator for theit home

[sandeejs]

Thanks

I've thought about it, because my neighbors were without electricity for over a week this winter. We've have blackouts for more than a few days b4. A portable generator would run a heater and some lights. My furnace was out for a a week recently, my little bird had one heater and I used the other for the rest of the house. Luckily, neighbors and me are on a different grid, because theirs is out when mine is on and vice versa. Except for when the entire effing state is out. Michigan, or more specifically, South East Michigan is awful for power outages.

Feh.

~Sandee~

 

[Bensonoid]

Get a battery tender for that rig. The charger that came with my 10000 watt generac was junk.

 

[Fatcycledaddy]

I have an old flat head four water cooled Kohler Power Plant, as it was called back then. The generator acts as the starter on it, there is no oil filter, but it is a pressurized oil system. I have it mounted in the basement of my unattached garage and exhaust ran outside. When it runs in the winter time the heat from the cooling system heats the basment ot a nice working temp, not a bad side benefit. They used to use these to run dairy farms lighting and milk machines. It is only rated at 6500 watts but the generator head is about two feet in diameter and weighs a ton, there is also no surge rating on it.
I have ran off of it for 3 days straight and it will run the well and air conditioner at the same time, along with the entire house, it just wont start them both at the same time.
Got it for $400.00, best money I ever spent!

 

[AY4B]

I saw a really nice inverter at Costco Yesterday for 660. It looked bigger than the Yamaha I got last year.

 

[cuznjohn]

i have a really nice battery tender i bought for my bike, so i am going to put that on the unit. it has a 10 gal gas tank on it so i need to get some fuel stabilizer also

 

[blacklightning]

.
Two notes about that:

There is a useful limit to the age of fuel even when the best stabilizers are used; often twice the life of un-stabilized fuel or about 2 years.

Each time you "crank it", it should run long enough to get up to normal operating temperature for 10 minutes or so.
If doing that 7 times over 24 months does not use up all the fuel, the old should be taken out and replaced.

Thanks, and you are correct. I learned that lesson the hard way. After letting it sit for too long, the gas in the tank actually started to gel, and my uncle had to do some fixin on it. He actually took the tank off and filled it 1/2 full of gas, then placed some small gravel in the tank to shake around and break up the gunk. After doing this a few times, and cleaning the carb, it is as good as new. Needless to say, I now run it for 15-20 minutes and keep fresh gas with stabilizer in it. Never too much, just enough to test run it and keep the kinks out.

 

[Fatcycledaddy]

i have a really nice battery tender i bought for my bike, so i am going to put that on the unit. it has a 10 gal gas tank on it so i need to get some fuel stabilizer also

Good idea, not a good feeling when you have no power, you hook up the generator, and then find that its battery is dead.

I do have a suggestion for those of you with garage door openers. It sucks when you are on the way home in a bad rain storm, discover you have no power so your door won't open, you walk through the rain into a dark house to manually open the door to get in.

Purchase a battery backup for a computer, (UPS) about $100.00 or less, hook it to your outlet, the garage door opener to it, and it will open and close your door about 10 times (depending on size of battery) without power. That way you can always drive in out of the storm and then deal with the power issue. Works great!

 

[Cavman]

Got a 21K Generac through Lowe's a couple of years ago. Runs on propane. Cranks up for five minutes every Wednesday. Has come in handy numerous times.

I also have a Yamaha portable but I need to have it serviced.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

It wasn't until I went through my first winter there, that I became aware of an urgent need for a generator. First I bought a garage door opener with a battery back up, good for three days. How was I to know that my first power outage would last 7 days?

Interesting. I live only about 10 miles or so from you and was about to write that when I built my house in 2008 I considered making provision to plug in a generator. Idaho Power said don't bother. We've been without power maybe a total of 24 hours in less than half dozen outages in 9 years. Our power outages here have been a whole lot less than what we experienced in the 15 years we lived in Louisiana.

 

[PrairieSpyder]

Yep, they are big and you better run it regularly and keep the battery charged. Learned this lesson the hard way!! Remember to keep the tires inflated if they are pneumatic. Hopefully, you will never need it.

:welcome: and :agree:

We found out the hard way that you need to exercise the generator at least once a year to keep it going. Ours is useless now - at least until my bro can get it fixed.

 

[PMK]

:welcome: and :agree:

We found out the hard way that you need to exercise the generator at least once a year to keep it going. Ours is useless now - at least until my bro can get it fixed.

I am the one that must fix all the generators. I explain to all, they need to be run, or drained of all the fuel.

Fuel preservative does not make the fuel last forever. This misunderstanding is one reason I get stuck fix the generator engines.

My daughter and my inlaws have very similar generators. Last year, or maybe the year before, when I repaired them from old fuel contamination, i installed a very simple fuel drain system for the fuel tanks. With no effort, the place a drain hose into the everyday fuel jug, and open a valve draining all the fuel in the tank.

Once drained, they close the valve, stow the hose, restart the generator and run the carb dry. So far this has worked well.

Regardless that they do have more watts than my two Hondas, they burn much more fuel, and if after a hurricane they enforce generator curfues due to noise, our little Hondas go quietly unnoticed.

Everything is a compromise.

 

[cuznjohn]

i watched a few videos on the generac generators and they said you should shut off the fuel supply, and let the gen set run out of fuel. that way there is nothing in the carb.

 

[billybovine]

i watched a few videos on the generac generators and they said you should shut off the fuel supply, and let the gen set run out of fuel. that way there is nothing in the carb.

That instruction is in almost every generator manual. The manual, that thing that many folks don't read. At a bare minimum if the carb is dry. It stays clean and if the fuel is allowed to get old. It still can be started by just draining the old fuel and putting in new. But if the carb gets gummed up. That's a whole lot more work to fix.

 

[cuznjohn]

That instruction is in almost every generator manual. The manual, that thing that many folks don't read. At a bare minimum if the carb is dry. It stays clean and if the fuel is allowed to get old. It still can be started by just draining the old fuel and putting in new. But if the carb gets gummed up. That's a whole lot more work to fix.

i was wrong, i went back to look again. it said to drain the tank, and believe it or not, also drain the oil. so i am the first to admit when i am wrong

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

We found out the hard way that you need to exercise the generator at least once a year to keep it going. Ours is useless now - at least until my bro can get it fixed.

That may have kept mine in running condition if I'd have done it. I was going to sell it since I never use it but when I started it up the governor is broken. Runs wide open only - not good!

 

[PMK]

Agree on drain the tank, that was a provision not incorporated by the generator manufacturer on my inlaws and daughters generators.

While accomplishing the repairs from them letting gas sit in them, I flushed the tanks and fixed the carbs. Once I knew the generators functioned, I removed the fuel tanks and designed the drain system. Very easy to do. A section of hose to drain fuel, a plastic Y or T fitting, and a lawnmower fuel shut off valve.

Cut the oem fuel line in an appropriate location, install the Y, within easy reach install the fuel valve, then the drain hose.

When done using the generator, shut it down, maybe let it cool, with good ventilation, place the drain hose into the fuel jug. Open the valve and drain all the fuel. You might tip or slosh the generator to ensure all fuel drains out. Close the valve, cap the jug. Stow the drain line then start the generator. It will run until the fuel is exhausted, normally a few minutes. Done.

Hopefully good until next use.

Draining oil, probably once per year uless used a lot.