Posted: 12/6/2020 1:13:22 AM EDT
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So we are in north Maine , not remote or anything, awesome property (though small at 2 acres) and we lost power at 630, not an issue except it is 25 outside, windy , and snowing cats and dogs. We are a solid inch per hour and have been since 3pm. Easy 8in outside. So with no power the wood stove got a workout. 2 year aged maple(yeah we burn maple here for firewood, crazy I know). Anyway I need a solid backup generator that isn’t a permenant install, I can cut power to the main supply line and back feed my dryer no problem, just don’t really know what size I’m looking for. I wanna be able to run my well pump(40 amp), fridge/freezer (10!amps?), a couple lights (leds mostly). Any suggestions? |
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Quoted: So we are in north Maine , not remote or anything, awesome property (though small at 2 acres) and we lost power at 630, not an issue except it is 25 outside, windy , and snowing cats and dogs. We are a solid inch per hour and have been since 3pm. Easy 8in outside. So with no power the wood stove got a workout. 2 year aged maple(yeah we burn maple here for firewood, crazy I know). Anyway I need a solid backup generator that isn’t a permenant install, I can cut power to the main supply line and back feed my dryer no problem, just don’t really know what size I’m looking for. I wanna be able to run my well pump(40 amp), fridge/freezer (10!amps?), a couple lights (leds mostly). Any suggestions? Went through that same song and dance last year here in Wisconsin. My advice: get bigger than you think you need. I got a 6500watt and am glad I did. BTW, it was pretty cheap to get a transfer switch installed, which you should do to avoid zapping a utility worker. |
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I have a troy bilt 8,000 running watt, 10,000 start up. We moved into our house during an ice storm and were without power for about 50 hours. I back fed through the oven/range circut because it was the only 50 amp 220 circut and that was the plug I had available. I intend to install an interlock circut but that worked in a pinch. I also have a well. The 220v outlet on my generator is the only outlet I used, it has a 30 amp breaker on it. I powered the well, fridge, chest freezer, lights, tvs and furnace blowers without any problems. I also have a predator 3500 watt inverter. I primarily use it for my camper. It's 110v only, I can't pump the water out of the ground with it but I could keep all the food in the freezer from spoiling during a summer outage. |
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I recently purchased a WEN inverted generator as my area experiences a few long outages each year. We lost everything in the fridge and freezer a few years ago but even the small outages make me nervous now. With a 6250/5000 watt inverter and transfer switch, I should be able to power most of the house as long as I manage usage a little. I do have gas heat, water heater and stove and city water, so my needs are a little different than OPs. All in $1100 (inverter, switch, wire). |
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We are in the same boat. Power went out last night at about 6:30. We have two wood stoves in the house but only use one unless it’s really cold. We are able to run most of our appliances with a 5500 generator. We have a well, standard fridge/ freezer and two chest freezers going. We also have a heat pump and oil fired hot water. The only thing that the generator doesn’t like is the electric dryer. It’s weird because I have a back up older generator (5000 watt) and it runs the dryer just fine. |
| The last portable we ran before going to the 22kw standby was a 7K dual fuel champion (from costco). It could handle the whole house, including well pump, except for the 5 ton heat pump. Note that we never ran the electric dryer with it or full range+oven & our water heater is a heat pump style that only draws 500 watts. Being the costco version, THD (total harmonic distortion) was <5% so a clean wave form. None of our UPS units or other electronics had any issues with it. Another benefit was being able to use propane as an alternative to gas. That is all we use with it now that it has been retired to the tractor shed. |
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Quoted: Or you can store some water and just run the rest, a 2000 watt inverter will run all the rest and sip gas. This looks like my actual path. I priced out a 50 amp 240 volt generator... yeah storing water and a mini inverter generator seems like a better option. |
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Quoted: This looks like my actual path. I priced out a 50 amp 240 volt generator... yeah storing water and a mini inverter generator seems like a better option. Get both if you can. We use the big one for things like running the well and hot water if necessary. Otherwise it’s a Honda eu2000 for running the fridge/ freezers, etc. |
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I've got a Generac XD5000E which is loud, somewhat "portable" at 250lbs, and DIESEL. I picked it up from a rental yard with 60hrs on it for $1400 not the $3500 retail. I have a deep well on a 20A@240V breaker and it will "just" start it with no other major loads rated for 5500W starting 5000W running. It has a Yanmar 10HP Single that is well respected elsewhere in the world. I went with diesel since I already have a tractor/truck/car that run on it. So I'm already storing that fuel. Gasoline is a bit more dangerous to store in quantity. My rural electric COOP had a program where they would install a transfer switch disconnect at the meter base. So I installed a generator 50A@240V (future growth) inlet near the panel in the pole barn and near the door. Bought some SOO Cable and plugs at Lowes and made a 25ft cord. If power drops I open a garage door, wheel the generator out, fire things up. Then throw the disconnect on the pole and kill the big loads in the house panel while the generator warms up. Then plug in the generator and turn on the power. 20A@240V is a bit light for powering up your home. But my goals are keeping the freezer/fridge/lights/well going. We have a wood stove for heat and I keep a window AC unit in the loft. Worse case we all sleep in the master bedroom if a summer storm kills power. I'm more concerned with winter storms as our snows are not that deep, but we have had THICK ice storms. Eventually I will pickup a used light tower or a larger PTO Generator for the tractor. |
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Quoted: I wanna be able to run my well pump(40 amp) 40 amps sounds kind of high for a residential well pump. At 240 volts, that's almost 10KW continuous - and probably 25KW to start it. If you're going by the size of your pump's circuit breakers...don't. ETA: Here's a Generator Sizing Guide For Water Pumps by Franklin Electric. |
| My well is 425 ft deep and I run it easily on my 5800 watt diesel generator without a problem. Barely grunts when the pump kicks on. Plenty of power to spare to run other normal household stuff too. It’s on a 30 amp breaker but doesn’t draw remotely close to that when running. |
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Quoted: Run a couple of gennys in tandem. If you need the output of both you have it. Or you can run one as a single. That way you can manage your fuel consumption better. Pluss it's easier for a single person to move two small gennys as compared to a big one.. YMMV. uh no, sized properly you use ONE generator. |
oh teh noes
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Question but is the wood stove not sized to heat the home? Should have no problem unless poorly insulated home or to small of stove? Unless the home is segmented in a way that doesn’t allow it to work. I’d want that to work as a back up if nothing else in case of breakage or fuel issues. ETA: disregard I see now not heat issue rather water and freezer problem. If looking for portable a small Honda like for camping will run a freezer not sure about both at once. |
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with an 8kw (30 amp) I can run a well pump washer dryer all the usual at the same time, but NOT the A/C. it may have worked on start up but i chickened out. it drug it down hard so i got scared and stopped that load. OP, you dont need a 10kw OR a bunch of them daisy chained. a 30 amp generator will work good |
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We have this one, with a 50 amp plug wired to the main breaker box in the pasture. Loud as hell but I put it in a shelter and it cuts the noise a lot. Just run a large automotive 12 volt fan over the engine in the summer so it doesn't over heat. It will run all the TVs and the AC in the summer and heat pump in the winter. https://www.championpowerequipment.com/product/100110-9200-watt-generator/ |
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Quoted: 40 amps sounds kind of high for a residential well pump. At 240 volts, that's almost 10KW continuous - and probably 25KW to start it. If you're going by the size of your pump's circuit breakers...don't. ETA: Here's a Generator Sizing Guide For Water Pumps by Franklin Electric. @Skibane don't know if you have put that in the generator oracle thread or not. If not, that's a good addition. 
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