What level of generator do I need?

[SupremePossum]

Its not a generation problem, but I would say its a "grid" problem for sure

If you live in a place that can get hit with hurricanes, and is full of old mature trees, you better have a plan!

 

[Mechanician]

I'm on the "Texas" grid & haven't lost power in 3 years, Bought 2 Generators after the last extended outage....Still in their boxes.

Don't believe what's happening in south Texas is a grid problem?

Everyone else is on a regional system, and can be supplemented by neighboring states.
That was the problem in 2021 & 2023 during the mass power outages- no back up plan, and no assistance from neighbors.
The weather is getting weirder - plans are important.

 

[eljefino]

Confused, why would you not just use a quick connect?

Some gas companies don't like homeowners making connections.

 

[SupremePossum]

Some gas companies don't like homeowners making connections.

The gas company has nothing to do with what happens on your side of the meter, the gas company couldn't care less

 

[4WD]

The gas company has nothing to do with what happens on your side of the meter, the gas company couldn't care less

One of their rockstars knocked on my door and accused me of hooking up my patio grill on the free side. (Not).
I showed him where the shutoff valve was, and the unions to change the meter. He still argues with me. Told him to take a picture and show his boss (his boss needed to hear this ) …
Well, he took a picture - this was long ago …
Crickets have since bred offspring

 

[vavavroom]

The only advice I have is to think twice before telling your neighbors that you have a generator.

 

[SupremePossum]

I live in a really rough neighborhood, and so far that myth of needing to keep your generator a secret seems to be just that. In any case, good luck hiding a running engine and lights on in the house

 

[sloinker]

This is a bargain and has very few hours. Used to be test run for 30 minutes every Saturday at the power plant where I worked. Used only for emergency lighting. Not too often the station went into the black and it was required due to three other units and power crossties. Maybe three times for a few hours in its lifetime? Anyhoo, not mine. https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:a06d8d40-52cf-4e13-a555-8d70f860e0b4

 

[clinebarger]

Everyone else is on a regional system, and can be supplemented by neighboring states.
That was the problem in 2021 & 2023 during the mass power outages- no back up plan, and no assistance from neighbors.
The weather is getting weirder - plans are important.
View attachment 230041

Grid interconnectivity doesn't mean squat when the power pole that serves your neighborhood, street, house is on the ground.

 

[Mechanician]

Grid interconnectivity doesn't mean squat when the power pole that serves your neighborhood, street, house is on the ground.

True. Every home in the country faces the same risk/chances of dealing with that.
And that has little to do with the grid.
The point is, Texas has the additional risk of being the "Lone" state on their grid.

 

[oil pan 4]

Been in a power crisis in Texas with both my fishing home and my Houston home out of power. Finally got it back at the bay home. But even a few days here in 100 deg heat trying to sleep was horrible. I’d like to get a portable generator to have for these situations that can either power the central AC and house or at a minimum power the largest window unit I can get my hands on to keep things livable. Also be able to run a fridge and charge a few devices.

What power do you need for for a 3,5ton central unit or a 20000 BTU window unit?

A 3.5ton AC is going to use up to 20amps of 240v power. A generator will need to put out around 40 amps so maybe forget about that. Why not use a small window unit or a split for the room you want cooled?
Air conditioning a whole house when you only need 1 or 2 rooms cooled is just insane.

 

[The_Eric]

My Firman 9400/7600 Tri-Fuel runs my Internet/servers/tv/fridge/freezer/smaller fridge/4 ton AC on gasoline, and I assume propane. I've not tested in natural gas yet, but I will soon. Newer ACs are easier to start according to a local A/C and heating company. My power tried real hard to shut off, but every time it did it came right back on.

I think it helps us that we're within a few blocks of a big hospital.

I have a similar Firman tri-fuel unit that I run on LP (I think that it's 7250w) that will run my well, internet, basic electrical services and in a pinch, my central air... But the AC seems unhappy which seems odd as the voltage stayed up, but I don't remember checking the frequency.

I think eventually I'll go to a larger non portable unit eventually though.

 

[21_6.7f450]

We have a Lincoln diesel welder about 16k, a Honda EU2200i, and a EFI Generac 8500 running watt generator. They all run at various stages.

 

[FlyingTexan]

A 3.5ton AC is going to use up to 20amps of 240v power. A generator will need to put out around 40 amps so maybe forget about that. Why not use a small window unit or a split for the room you want cooled?
Air conditioning a whole house when you only need 1 or 2 rooms cooled is just insane.

for me simplicity. I'm putting a soft start on it. Should be able to run everything. But I did buy a window unit to use with my mother just in case. Redundancy.

 

[riff1006]

I was finally able to connect my Firman 9400/7600 to natural gas last night. I left all breakers on, although not everything was running. It was able to start my 4 ton AC unit. Other than that I had some lights, a few computers running including small servers on my home network, TV and internet. I suspect there may already be a hard start kit on my condensing unit. It looks a lot like a capacitor. With those items running I was pulling 18-19 amps with my clamp on amp meter.

 

[dlundblad]

A 3.5 ton unit vs a 20,000 btu window unit is quite a difference amp wise. The latter needs would certainly be cheaper to accommodate. The 3.5 or 5 kw inverter units from HF would work nicely IMO.

With the 3.5 ton unit, I’d look into a whole house unit. 16kw at the minimum.

 

[riff1006]

A 3.5 ton unit vs a 20,000 btu window unit is quite a difference amp wise. The latter needs would certainly be cheaper to accommodate. The 3.5 or 5 kw inverter units from HF would work nicely IMO.

With the 3.5 ton unit, I’d look into a whole house unit. 16kw at the minimum.

Something else to consider, water heater, furnace, stove/range. Are they gas or electric? Obviously there is electric in all to some degree, but since all 3 are gas in my home, we don't run a big amp draw. I seem to have plenty of headroom even on a portable.

 

[blkwtr]

My house is 3200+ sqft. with two 3 ton heat pumps and two 50 gallon water heaters. We've been using this 5,550 watt generator for 20 years. It can supply enough power to keep us comfortable for several days. The longest continuous run was 5 days after hurricane Dennis. It won't run the heat pumps but I have three 6000 btu window a/c's which it runs just fine. They are light weight and can be placed where we need them. Also, to run a water heater, clothes dryer, or oven we have to shut off everything else for a while. It runs everything else pretty well which includes window a/c's, refrigerator, freezer, icemaker, lights, tv, etc. all at once. It doesn't like the toaster and microwave to be ran at the same time. It burns 10 gallons of gasoline each day, it's pretty light and easy to set up so we are happy with it.

Having said all this, I wish we had a 10,000 - 12,000 watt inverter with a 50 amp outlet then we could run everything except the heat pumps. I don't believe these were available 20 years ago.

 

[dlundblad]

Something else to consider, water heater, furnace, stove/range. Are they gas or electric? Obviously there is electric in all to some degree, but since all 3 are gas in my home, we don't run a big amp draw. I seem to have plenty of headroom even on a portable.

Yes definitely consider all appliances, but don’t be baking a turkey and cooking a huge meal on the stove top while drying clothes with your electric dryer either.