Survival Generator FAQ

Only problems I see with that Keith, is you don't know if the generator works, and if there is an exhaust leak. Being an attached garage means that carbon monoxide could get into your home with very unpleasant results.

Be careful!

 

This, Survival Monkey's OP, is one of the most informative, best conveyed posts on the subject I have ever read. It's clear, concise, easy to read and it really explains it well - everyone should have it bookmarked and refer to it often for reminders.

 

Enjoyed the fairly through review by BTPost. Have 30+ years with a standby generator in North Carolina. For 20 years used a "gasoline-contractor 12kw model. Helped a lot with a week plus outage with hurricane Fran. Despite fuel stabilizer had to have carburetor cleaned out with last outage--gummed up. My daughter has the 12kw now and our house a much larger diesel unit. Live on a farm with diesel tractors so fuel storage and cycling is no problem. Have used diesel fuel from storage tank after 10years with no problem. Always filter all fuel on transfer. Always add fuel stabilizer yearly.PRI-D Propane, or nat gas, are fine if you have access. Propane is most expensive and would worry about supply in many situations. Need to mention the Kill-O-Watt device, I think about
$35 on line. It will measure the voltage and frequency of your current. When I first set up my diesel generator it was running at 63cps.My son a computer guru said his computers would cut off because they were sensing unreliable current or a UPS would come on. Adjusted the manual throttle on the generator to 60cps and now all is well. Also if you have PTO generator need to do the same thing as tractor rpm are not exact. Went away from PTO generator because danger of open rotating shaft around inexperienced people. Also need to set whole thing up if power goes out and check frequency. It is a much cheaper option if you already have a sizable tractor and diesel fuel. Gasoline is an unstable and dangerous fuel. Gasoline 3600rpm air cooled generators usually need to be refueled every 8-10hrs and oil about once a day. Should always be cooled before refilling. For short outages for 5KW or below are fine. A small gas generator or inverter-generator is a whole lot better than none especially if you have well water, or sump pump. Or could use a small unit for fridge and to charge electronics. Be sure to get 220 gen if you have one of the big items to power. Would highly recommend transfer switch or separate panel switch which is safe and not too expensive. Have written up simple steps so wife or kids could hook up generator to house, start, throw transfer switch and keep things going for at least 8 hrs or so. They did this one day while I was away. Was very proud of them. Understand from people in mountains you have to insulate propane lines for fuel can freeze in regulators in very cold weather.
Diesel generators start well with a warm battery, and cetane booster and glow plugs. Do not have any experience with small diesel generators but I suspect electric start is a must. Always check your battery if outage expected with any electric start unit. As outlined above should always run generator every month or two, or if gasoline completely run it out spray some wd-40 in spark plug hole and store it. Did this with a portable gasoline unit and it started after several pulls about 5 years after previous use. Storing gasoline in equipment is big no-no. While on the subject ethanol gas we have now is terrible for chain saws and other 2cycle engines.
Only use ethanol free which they are now selling in expensive pre-mixed cans. (Mix my own) but avoid ethanol.

 

Thinking about a PTO driven generator myself in the next 2 years or so

 

Gator, Find someone with a happy PTO setup. I tried a 7KW genset on a little trailer hooked up to my 21HP diesel tractor. It worked but i needed a finer fuel control as my RPMs were not steady under full load. Sold off the genset and installed a propane larger HP fixed genset. I'm guessing that at larger tractor HP unit would be a smoother setup.
GB

 

Every time I go to my Facebook account, I see ads offering to sell a Honda EU-2200 for $95. If anyone on here has bought one for that price, I would like to know what you received, if it's a real Honda generator, and if it worked OK when it arrived.

Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like someone trying a scam...if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

 

I would suspect a harbor freight generator with a Honda sticker on it.

 

A guy at work bit on that one and received nothing, thankfully his credit card company made good on the money. Total scam.

 

I subscribe to a battery bank system.
Can be charged with several means. Grid, wind , solar, turbine, AC or DC Alternator/generator
Already several domestic means provide to accommodate battery systems.( home appliances)
No machinery needed to run to continue using power, as in it is not necessary to be running 24 hours a day.
Beyond fuel, I had to weigh in wear and tear on any machinery required to make power.
If solar was not quite enough I have a small 5 HP engine/automotive alternator that provides 20 amps to the battery system.
If more power was required I fired up the 4500 watt AC generator, and was sure to be charging the battery system as well.

 

Wow; I was pouring over this thread on generators and got all exited then I looked at the dates. Six years old! I have a number of diesel generators, all water cooled that spin from 650 Rpms to 1800 rpm. As I have aged I finally ended up with our main standby being an Isuzu 3 cylinder 1800 rpm with I believe 7.5 kw. Won't come close to handling whole house but we stay up to speed on important stuff. I maintain my own stuff and there are some people here that are a lot more knowledgeable than me and I will ask questions as I can for advice. It sure is cool to have power when no lights in the distance and no screaming 3600 rpm gas screamer running.

 

@saki monkey
Load the unit in stages,, I ran two islands up here in BC , as CO
I knew the loads to be picked up,,Think of the loads and the stable run , get a kill-a-watt in your voltage and figure ,, Is EZ

Sloth