When the power goes out....

[CatatonicBug]

What do you plug into the generator?

We had a good thunderstorm tonight, and AFTER it stopped raining, the whole neighborhood's electricity went out. So far, it's been out for about 2 hours. I have a small generator in the back yard for just this kind of situation, and I spent the first hour of the outage collecting extension cords and plugging in the "vital" equipment. To me, that means, of course, the dsl router, and my domain controller for my home network, the 2 fish tanks (air, heat, and filtration), the fridge, and a couple of lamps so I can see what I'm doing.

My generator isn't wired into my house power, so it doesn't run my A/C, so I also have a couple of fans plugged in (it was 85f outside when the power went out, and I was in the middle of baking a loaf of bread ).

So, for those of you with generators who have been through similar situations, what are the "vital" pieces of equipment that you plug into it?

[crazy steve]

Well, first thing, what size generator do you have?

My current unit is a 8KW. For me, it all depends on when it happens. Winter? Usually... that means portable heaters, lights, TV, the 'puter, 'icebox' , microwave, and that's pretty much it. No stove, no furnace, no hot water, no dryer. I'm all-electric, with no wood heat for backup; I hate wood heat, and all the mess it involves. Besides the fact that when I did have it, it didn't heat the house well at all; too hot to stand by the stove, the rest of the house still cold (The ex is the one that wanted the damn thing; one of the divorce conditions was that she took it with her....)

For those of you with AC or heat pumps, remember that these have motors and the inrush current when they start means you need about 40% more current than the supplying breaker size, if only for an instant. Your generator may not be able to supply it if it's already loaded.

I tie mine directly to my panel, so I only need one cord. And no, I don't use a store-bought transfer switch; I shut off the main (to isolate us from the grid), then backfeed into the panel though a dedicated breaker. This allows me to switch loads around without re-stringing cords if needed. I also have a 12KW unit, but it died a few outages ago and I haven't fixed it yet ($$$).

My local for-profit utility is the largest/worst in the state; while they were real good at responding 30 years ago, they have gotten terrible over the years. Figure a 8-hour minimum for any outage these days, and I've suffered at various times extended outages of 11 days, 9 days, a couple of 6 days, and a couple of 3 days. While most were caused by storms, they were compounded by lack of maintainence and in one case by rank stupidity.

'78E original owner

[b.walker5]

I cant remember a power cut here for more than a few minutes in years. We have a good reliable network, with lots of backup for fault situations. That being said, i do have have a genny, but it's only a 2.5kw unit that sometimes gets used for camping, or the occasional powertool use over in the horse paddocks.

I can hook it to the house supply if ever required but I would only run a few lights and the freezer off it. Our heating is a central ducted heatpump, with an inverter controlled compressor, meaning soft start and no inrush current, but its full load exceeds the capacity of the genny. Our old heating was a free standing diesel fire in the lounge, and it's still there so we wouldnt go cold.

[XJ Rob]

Everything!

The first 2 years we lived here, the power went out 7 times. Sometimes for many hours. While the power was out for the 7th time, I went to the local Home depot and purchased a generator, Along with an "Emer Gen Switch" panel.
I can run my entire house for about 10 hours on a tank of gas. I would probably never had made the purchase but we have a Well for water, and a sump pump in a finished basement. The replacement for carpet and drywall alone just once, would cost more than the generator and panel. I can't run the C/A but the basement is about 60 degrees in the summer. I also have a battery back-up sump but it can't keep up with all the amount of water coming in.

Since the purchase, the power has only gone out 2 times in the past 3 years. Go figure.. But at least I never have to worry about it anymore. Even if I'm gone, My neighbors are cool about getting it hooked up and running.

[jwhughes3]

Back in the day...

When I lived in Guam we had rolling power outages twice a day in summer when electricity load was highest - I had a 4kW backup that I could get hooked up and running in about 4 minutes.

Key is to shut off Main breaker first as has been suggested to isolate from the grid - you do not want to back power the grid and possibly injure someone working on the lines - most Emergency cutoff panels do this in some sort of automatic fashion (which I think is the only legal way in most city situations) - but shutting off the mains is the way I did it.

Next I hooked up a 240 cord from generator to the dryer outlet to feed the house since the 240 feeds both hot 120 leads in the house. Next I just turned on only what I needed in the house - not the AC or stove for sure.

I had a UPS on all computer equipment so I never had routers reboot or anything like that if you work fast.

I had a 120v double male plug for quick and dirty backfeeding but same rules of isolation apply. Very useful for feeding power to a cabin or trailer when camping.

There are many sites to learn the do's and don'ts of emergency backup power - please read carefully since electricity is not forgiving and we don't want to lose anyone!

John in San Antonio
(now without a generator and hoping to avoid power outages except when I dig wrong - DAMHIK)

[HobbyMan]

Its not only to prevent backfeeding the gird, but if the power should come back on with your generator runnning, somethings gonna blow up. Closing the breaker on two power sources not in phase is going to do some damage. Maby not catastrophic on a small rig like that but its not going to be good for it.

[mro]

Generator???

In the late 80"s I had bought a 40KW, 6 cylinder diesel army surplus generator, 50 gallon internal fuel tank and fitted it to a custom trailer/breaker box I made. This was done for a customer which was nice enough to not pay me for it ... although I did keep her deposit.
Had it for 10 years set up in the back yard with two ten gage cables to power the house.
Every 6 months I’d fire it up, change out the fuel each year when I serviced it(burned in my diesel van) to make sure it still worked. Never needed it. Then a guy made me an offer I couldn't refuse and it was gone in minuets. He said he was going to use it for a back up at his ranch.

Sorta whish I still had it now. PG&E has been installing "Smart Meters" which means they plan to charge higher rates during peak electrical use times. I could have powered 5 or 6 of my neighbors houses with it and maybe made a few bucks

mro

[Geezer]

I've thought about getting a small generator just big enough to power the fridge and freezer. For the rest we can live without power.

Back in the early 60s we had a typhoon blow through the Portland area. I don't know how the folk in hurricane territory pick up the pieces so often but anyway we were without power for a week. Our area hasn't had a disaster for a long time, call me pessimistic but I think we're due...

Geezer

[mrsixtysix]

I get to do this a few times a year, and we have had ice storms that knock out power for a week or more. I change out the fuel once a year, I change the oil too but it takes different oil for summer and winter, so sometimes I have to change it before use. And I run it for an hour or so just to get sometime on it, check voltages etc. Change plugs and air filter about every other year just so I know they are good. When in 24 hour use I change the oil every day, takes 5 minutes, and less than a quart of oil, I do it when I shut down to fuel (once every 12 hours).

I have a plug that back feeds through a breaker to feed the main box, so you shut off the main breaker, then turn on the one that feeds the plug. I think it is illegal to not have a generator feed that automatically isolates you from the grid.

Mines only 5KW....I have to run things in short bursts, the problem is starting things at the same time, so I run the fridge for a while then shut it off, then water pump/hot water heater for a while (shower/dishes) then shut it down. Can't really run AC in summer but in winter, heat is the main thing for sure. I have a UPS on the computer and a power conditioner for the entertainment system, to prevent spikes so we can start up this stuff a couple times a day to check news, email, etc., Can run washer or other things by them selves if needed...never tried the dryer.....

Next one I buy will be a 10K or larger so I can run the whole house without worry....as long as you don't try to start everything at once.

[rpgoerlich]

Typically our power outages were during the cold snap as most homes around here have electric heat(mine is gas). I have a 2800watt I plugged into a circuit for a fridge, ceiling fan, heater blower & TV.

During Ike I added a 3500watt to handle the garage fridge, freezer and a window unit. Power was on in 3 days for my side of the street... It was 2 weeks before the other side of the street had power .

[crazy steve]

...I think it is illegal to not have a generator feed that automatically isolates you from the grid...Next one I buy will be a 10K or larger so I can run the whole house without worry....as long as you don't try to start everything at once.

Yes, you are supposed to have a 'transfer switch' arrangement if connecting direct to your panel. So for the safety of the linemen, if you do this without a transfer switch, be sure you're isolated!. I had them come to my house to check one year, but after I showed them my electricians license and IBEW card, they had no problems with me.

Generator size? If you want to run your whole house (all electric), figure a 15KW at a minimum. At this size, you'll still have to pay attention about what's running when as you only have 60 amps available; many forced-air furnaces will draw close to that by themselves. Add up your connected loads that you plan to use, then add 20% for a no-worries size. If I ever get the money together, I'm getting a 20KW+ unit as that will allow me to run everything 'normally'.

'78E original owner

[FANNING507]

I got an 8KW yamaha powered unit. We lost power for a week in ice storm. Used it about 6 times since the damage was fixed. I can run the furnace along with lights and refrigerators/freezers. Generators are most comfortable at 50% of capacity.
During the week out, I just ran intermittently; enough to heat the house up and cycle the coolers; then shut it down for a couple of hours. Candles and oil lamp provided enough light and heat to extend the time between running time. Although after a week of being without electricity it got old. Used the outdoor grill for cooking. Burning $3-$4/gal fuel gets old too. Lucky to have natural gas water heater. I could heat up the house by turning on the shower for a while also.
During the ice storm, temperatures were moderate until the last couple of days. Woke up and it was down to 38 degrees inside.

[cywelchjr]

I got an 8KW yamaha powered unit. We lost power for a week in ice storm. Used it about 6 times since the damage was fixed. I can run the furnace along with lights and refrigerators/freezers. Generators are most comfortable at 50% of capacity.
During the week out, I just ran intermittently; enough to heat the house up and cycle the coolers; then shut it down for a couple of hours. Candles and oil lamp provided enough light and heat to extend the time between running time. Although after a week of being without electricity it got old. Used the outdoor grill for cooking. Burning $3-$4/gal fuel gets old too. Lucky to have natural gas water heater. I could heat up the house by turning on the shower for a while also.
During the ice storm, temperatures were moderate until the last couple of days. Woke up and it was down to 38 degrees inside.

I don't know about gasoline units, but I learned when I was in the Army that diesel generators need to be run at 60% minimum to keep the engine from carboning up, and 75-80% was better. We used to get engineers who would take them out in the field and run them at less than 50% for a considerable time and when we would load test them on return they would almost die, and we had to made sure we had a fire hose available to put out the burning pieces of carbon that would come out of the exhaust when we ran them up to 90% with the load device (sort of a giant space heater, only outside) Those big detroit diesels didn't like to be run without a good load on them, and some of them would have to be slowly loaded up after that kind of use/abuse. In my experience though, most engines will carbon up if never run under enough load to get them working hard.

[b.walker5]

I might be wrong here, but doesnt a genny operate best at its peak effiency, which I was always taught, was around 80% of full load. Least thats what I remember from my trade theory exams many years ago.

[crazy steve]

I might be wrong here, but doesnt a genny operate best at its peak effiency, which I was always taught, was around 80% of full load. Least thats what I remember from my trade theory exams many years ago.

For the best electrical efficiency, 90-95% is the best range, assuming the design will achive that. But in the real world, you need some 'cheat room' to allow for load variations. Also, too low a load will cause the frequency to 'hunt' a bit, which didn't used to be important, but can be now with electronics...

'78E original owner