Let's talk generators

LJSDesigns

LJSDesigns

Sweet Shoppe Designer
After spending two solid days with no power and having to throw out a refrigerator and freezer full of food, I have decided to invest in a generator. I know next to nothing about them, so before I drop down the generator rabbit hole, I thought I would ask if any of you have one, have a recommendation for one, etc.

Me being the clueless person I am, will need one that is really easy to start, run and upkeep.
 
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BTDT We invested in a whole house generator as we didn't want to deal with one you run yourself as a house near where we used to live burned down while using a gas powered generator, killed two people.

We bought a Generac through a local company that also does the yearly service (if you're in the MA area I can give a recommendation). We have the biggest size they offer for homes, 26kW, and after everything it cost ~ $12k. You can get them to run off your natural gas line or a propane tank, we have natural gas. We did have to fork out an additional $2,200 as we needed to upgrade our natural gas line but that's not a usual charge. Several of our neighbors also got generators around the same time but didn't need new gas lines.

We've had it about 3 years and it's kicked on about 3-4 times, longest it's had to run so far is about an hour. Works great (but is loud when running!) and it's so nice to not have to worry about loosing power other than for the minute it takes to kick on. I did ask the installer how long it can run, he said his house had one and ran for two weeks back in 2015 when there was a crazy blizzard in the area.

While an expensive up front cost, I'm so happy we got it.
 
We have power outages all the time here (Ottawa, Canada) in the summer especially. A few years ago (5-ish years?) we invested in a Generac generator. It's linked to our natural gas, it kicks in on its own within a few seconds of a power outage, and it's being inspected by the company regularly. Same as Stephanie, we got the big one. The price difference between the smaller and bigger one was not huge and it allows us to run the fridges, the AC, the washer/dryer, just full on business as usual for us when there's a power outage. Same as Stephanie, pricier, but so worth it, no regrets!!
 
We have a stand alone generator, I guess they are called portable - but that was bought after 10 days of no power during Superstorm Sandy. It's gas powered, and maintenance is simple, we start it a few times a year, check spark plugs, air filters and make sure change to the oil once a year (more if it's used). I think ours is a Predator - at the time we purchased it, it was like the black market trying to get a generator. But, we have had it for almost 14 years.

As a standby one, my electrician Dad used to always use Generac as well. He retired now.
 
I wish I could tell you exactly which one we have. A couple years ago we were having a ton of power outages and the generator we were using was one my FIL had built, he's an electrician, but it was kind of wonky, and DH had a heck of a time getting it to start, so he bought one in the pouring rain.

What I will say is it has a push start and will take both gas and propane. But the push start I think would be important, although I haven't had to start it, from what I understand, it's incredibly easy compared to others.

We had like 5 or 6 days without power in the winter and summer, and this kept one kept pretty much the whole house going. I don't think we tried doing laundry, just to be safe, but like we ran the dishwasher, furnace, ac, etc. And probably paid $1500 for it, at the local hardware store, not even like Lowes or Home Depot.
 
The whole house generator sounds like what I would want, since I want it to just come on when the power goes out. That price tag is pretty hefty though...
 
LJSDesigns said:
The whole house generator sounds like what I would want, since I want it to just come on when the power goes out. That price tag is pretty hefty though...
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It is but you may not need the biggest size (it's based on your house size & what you want to run, we have a 3500 sq ft house and need to run a decent amount of stuff) and it's the safest. My husband had to drive past the house that burned down from the gasoline powered generator every day for years and he said would never get one, they can be very dangerous as most people don't take care of them properly.
 
We have lots of power outages with storms, so we have a generator that runs most of our house. We could not swing the whole house ones, they are just so pricey, so we have a gas one and my hubby, the electrician, made us a special cord that plugs my panel into the generator, panel also has a safety switch so we don't back feed PECO. I run everything except the stove, dryer and the whole house AC. (Anything with a double breaker stays turned off). We can cook using other appliances, other AC units and fans can be run. And of course all the fridges n freezers n pool are good to go.
 
Thank you all for the information. If I can swing it, I will get the whole house one. I don't know enough about mechanical issues to be messing around with it, especially in the dark. I know my limits. LOL
 
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