Generators

[StephenB]

So during that Ice storm I lost power for 5 days in my house and since I have lost power twice including last night for over 5 hrs. Got cold real fast with it being - degrees out last night not including the wind chill! So I think I have finally convinced the Wife that we need a Generator for our house. With that being said My 46' enclosed trailer only sits about 25' away from my house.... ahh as a true racer my thought is to get a generator for the trailer (That she hates) and then when we have a power failure we plug the house into the trailer (Then she will like that darn trailer!) I would want something that could go in the trailer and not neccasarily be perminent to it so that it can be used at the track. I would prefer something somewhat quite so that my neibors at the track are not annoyed with me, and that would have enough power to power my oil furnace and kitchen in the event of a power failure at home. Oh ya Cost is a BIG factor!

Any suggestions?
Stephen

[rsx858]

I certainly know very very little about generators but I have also been on the lookout for a reasonably quiet generator. The only quiet ones I have seen are those small red portable honda things that the auto x guys bring to power their timing equipment. Perhaps they make larger ones that suit your power needs and are quiet.

I found some old one lying around in my fathers garage, makes plenty of power but is the loudest thing on earth... Im wondering if i can fab up a crazy exhaust system for it and see if I can make the noise disappear... hmm maybe dual exhaust with 3" pipes???:D

[tderonne]

The Honda EU2000 is the benchmark for smallish, quiet, generators. 2000 watts won't power a house, or even a roof AC on a motorhome/trailer, but it's quiet, darn quiet.

They can be bought online/mail order for about $880 shipped, Honda won't let folks advertise prices so you have to shop a bit.

RV.net is great place to read about generators. Someone there has just about everything you can buy. Lots of folks that have tried to quiet the big loud stuff too. There are cheap Chinese knock-offs too, I'd like to think you get what pay for, there's arguments both ways.

(Scored mine while Ebay/Paypal/Live.com were doing cashback and Ebay had a 10% off coupon, my price was $630!)

[RacerBill]

Steven: If you would like, I could come up with a simple drawing of what we used in the Field Artillery to quiet our generators (when you're tactical, you don't anyone to know where you are!!!!) It went up and down really quick (we moved locations three, four times a day), and packed flat.

[BruceG]

So during that Ice storm I lost power for 5 days in my house and since I have lost power twice including last night for over 5 hrs. Got cold real fast with it being - degrees out last night not including the wind chill! So I think I have finally convinced the Wife that we need a Generator for our house. With that being said My 46' enclosed trailer only sits about 25' away from my house.... ahh as a true racer my thought is to get a generator for the trailer (That she hates) and then when we have a power failure we plug the house into the trailer (Then she will like that darn trailer!) I would want something that could go in the trailer and not neccasarily be perminent to it so that it can be used at the track. I would prefer something somewhat quite so that my neibors at the track are not annoyed with me, and that would have enough power to power my oil furnace and kitchen in the event of a power failure at home. Oh ya Cost is a BIG factor!

Any suggestions?
Stephen

I think you have 2 separate issues here. You need a 5000 watt(appr) for your house. If direct wired, it will run your furnace,well pump(if you have one), refirigerator,some lights, tv,etc. I have a 5000 watt coleman w/ a Subaru engine. It's not super quiet but runs great and was $799. You will pay that for the cheapest Honda(1000-2000 watts).

I purchased a 1200 watt 2 stroke generator for the track(small enclosed trailer with a formula vee in it, so not a lot of room).
I only paid $120 bucks for it,new! Will run a power tool or compressor.

If you buy a bigger one, make sure you get it with wheels and a handle on it!!

[dickita15]

Is your water pump 110 or 220? If you have a 110 shallow well pump then the Honda 2000 is nice little unit and you can get two and buy the kit to piggyback them. We have a Honda 3000 but it is heavy and expensive. More than two 2000s and still 110 only. I am told Honda now makes a quite 5000 with 220 but it is big money. Cheaper to buy a small Honda for the track and a cheap 5000 for the house.

[Dano77]

Whatice storm,or the 24 inches of snow a week later. Come by the house and look what we did, 5500 coleman Gen tran unit and 25 ft of # 10 wire. Call mike at auto re-nuit & talk to ian the crew guy. He owns IC Electric. hell wire it complete or in pieces if you run the cable& drill holes. Lowesin epping has quickcrete for a pedestal/stand for the gen. and build a roof over it with exhaust holes.
Dan Sheppard/you know the address

[chuck baader]

Have had a water cooled 6500 watt Honda for over 10 years. Has a 220v twist lock that converts to run my welders from my main box. Very quiet, fits the trailer generator bay, will handle an air unit with heat strip and everything else you can throw at it, including the big microwave and air compressor. Won't pull electric heat (I think the 220v breaker is 30a) but has no trouble with the whole house on gas or oil heat. They are still around 2500$ from harbor freight, etc. and occasionally you can find them on ebay. Did I mention they are quiet? Can't go wrong and the wife will be very happy. Chuck

[MMiskoe]

Ice storm? Yes, I remember, cold house, no water, kerosene lamps, flashlights, food either rotting in the house or freezing solid on the porch for 8 days. Yes I am familiar.

I'm doing the same research.

The Honda UE series are quiet in part because they only run the motor at what ever speed is necessary to provide enough amps. Others run at a constant speed, and therefore noise level. Some enduro partners have them. Very nice, very quiet, comparatively expensive.

When you are looking, keep in mind the difference between peak and continuous loads. For your house, 5k is about the minium.

You can backfeed the house (shut off the main breaker) through an outlet. Make up a double male extension cord (AKA a "homo-cord"). GFIs get unhappy about this as do the local safety guys. You do have to pick an outlet that's on the same branch as the other 120V stuff you want to feed, or run 220 through a 220 outlet (clothes dryer, electric kitchen stove). Give me a call, I can describe it better in person and how to tally up the loads to know what you need for generator size.

Matt

[StephenB]

I guess I will have to check what I truelly need. I am actually not sure how deep my well is so I am not sure if it is a 110 or 220 pump. I will check tomorrow in the dalight... just got home from work!

Yup -8 on the thermometer as we speak with no wind chill!

Stephen

[chuck baader]

I agree that 5k is about minimum. That is why I bought a 6500. Figure this...at 6000watt continuous, you have 30 amps available. A one horse motor pulls approx 750 watts pulls about 10amps, a 100 watt light bulb pulls about an amp. A coffee maker pulls about 10-12 amps(!!) and a television usually less that one. Refrigerator very low amp draw, less that 5. One horse power well pump 750/12, etc. Add what you need to run the house. Heat, water, refrigeration are the only necessities. Buy accordingly. There is no such thing as too large. I have welders so I have a cable to power the welders on a 40a breaker in my main box. That has the 30a twistlock (4 wire) from the gen to the breaker, wired 220. That way, when I pull my main breaker and hook up the gen, I power both legs so the incoming power reaches the whole house and I can choose what to power. Good luck, Chuck

[Streetwise guy]

The guys upstream from you fixing the downed power lines will be very very unhappy with you if you don't disconnect yourself from the main. Transformers will work both ways, so its probably worth the investment in having a proper disconnect box to hook the generator output to.

[StephenB]

The guys upstream from you fixing the downed power lines will be very very unhappy with you if you don't disconnect yourself from the main. Transformers will work both ways, so its probably worth the investment in having a proper disconnect box to hook the generator output to.

Yup my Best Friend is one of those guys, so trust me I can't do anything to piss him off!! Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions, I plan on doing something in the next 4-8 weeks or as soon as that tax return comes! IF anyone has any other suggestions feel free to share them.

Thanks again,
Stephen

[67ITB]

Stephen,


Don’t use the “male male” plug, you will kill someone.

I have a Craftsman 6k (8k surge) its on wheels, it is louder than I would have liked, so the next one will be an encased ONAN diesel, or a Honda.

My set up for the house goes like this
I have an outlet in my attached garage,(generator gets set up outside the garage and I run a short 4 wire, 8ga wire to the plug) and hard its wired to a switch box in the basement next to the main panel, and then took the “shore” power from the main panel and feed it into the switch box. Then there is only 1 feed into the main panel.
It’s impossible to back feed the power company, or my neighbors and I think, IIRC that I only paid 300 bucks for parts and labor to a licensed electrician. Appx 4 years ago

The generator is not large enough to run the entire house, so you have to use some common sense and not let the wife use the oven, dryer, and coffee pot and blender at the same time, but it gives me the option of having lights and power in any room as needed.

Many switch boxes only have like 5-9 15 amp breakers, so my way is a good alternative, while remaining cost effective.

I can get you the make and model of my parts if you would like.

Matt

[dickita15]

I have used the illegal (at least in Mass) male male cord setup in a pinch and it works but as said if you make a mistake you can hurt someone also if you live in the boonies like I do where there are no streetlights or anything you do not know when the power comes back on.

[Gibson]

Steven: If you would like, I could come up with a simple drawing of what we used in the Field Artillery to quiet our generators (when you're tactical, you don't anyone to know where you are!!!!) It went up and down really quick (we moved locations three, four times a day), and packed flat.

Can't speak for Steven but I would be very interested in something like that, thank you.