Choices, choices - which genny?

 

Seems like all the stores HD, Sam's, Publix (grocery store), etc are
stuffed to the rafters in anticipation of the "Great Generator Sale" of
2006.  Phase one starts next week when there is a "tax holiday" for
hurricane supplies.  Phase two starts as soon as the Nat'l Hurricane
Center's 5-day cone of destruction for some tropical system comes
anywhere near the Fla. landmass.

With the background out of the way... ;-)

I know there are better gennies but in my price-range/feature set there
seem to be units based on similar components and I could use help
sorting them out.
For $550-$600 there's:

Two at HD are almost identical except for the engine:
1. Powermate PM0435001 - Subaru 10HP OHC 5000/6250Watts
2. Powermate PM0545008 - Briggs/Strat 10HP OHV (no sleeve) 5000/6250W

A similar one at Lowes
3. Powermate PM0435000 - Subaru 10HP OHC 5000/6250W

-- A slight step up in price $600-$700 (I'm not sure about quality)
are:

4. Powermate Blackmax (oohhhh!) PM0535001 Vanguard (BS) 9HP 5000/6250W
5. Powermate PM0645250 (Same Subaru 10HP) but rated at 5250/6550W. Also
has an Endura frame instead of a metal rollcage and a larger 6-gal
tank.

6. Briggs/Strat model 030325 (same 10HP engine as others) but rated at
5550/8550W
7. There is also a BS similar to 6 but is a "Wheelhouse" model instead
of a rollcage.

Observations:

- HP does not = wattage ratings.
- The B&S 10HP does not have a cast iron sleeve.  How important is this
for hopefully limited back-up use?
- Coleman puts a low-oil feature on the B&S 10HP engine.  B&S does not!


- B&S & Coleman both make multitudes of similar models with mostly the
box and model# being different so each retailor can have "their own"
and not be subject to price matches.

Any input on these or others will be appreciated by me and hopefully
others faced with this glut.

Sorry for a long first post but I wanted to say more than "what's the
best...?"

 



   So you're most likely using this after a hurricane hits...  I'd
suggest getting one of the Honda/Yamaha inverter-based generators.
They're more expensive, *BUT* you'll come to appreciate it after the
storm hits.  1) They're quiet, 2) they're quality and WILL start when
you need them to, and 3) They're fuel efficient.  

 I have a Honda EU2000i and can't say enough for this little guy.
Running the fridge & a window AC, I was getting away with ~1-2
gallons/DAY.  In the meantime, my neighbors were sucking down 1-2
gallons/HOUR.  This doesn't sound like a big deal, but keep in mind
that fuel supplies after a hurricane ARE limited.  When the gas
stations were started back up, fuel was heavily rationed, so you were
only getting ~5-10 gallons depending on the station you were going
to...and waiting at least 2-3 hrs to get that fuel.  Yes, the capacity
of the EU2000 is limited (there's always the 3000), but I found it
perfectly capable of powering everything needed for civil living
except the hot water heater.  It requires doing some manual load
management, but you get used to it quickly.

Things I was running:
a bunch of CFL lights inside & a few 50 watt CFL floodlights lit up
half the neighborhood.
110v hotplate
microwave oven
coffee maker
fridge/freezer
6,000 BTU AC (12 EER), uses ~480 watts
satellite radio & DirecTV + TV
stereo system
a few fans
computer
cell chargers
cordless & corded phones
internet modem + VoIP equipment

Certainly hardly "roughing it."

A single window AC will make a substantial dent in the humidity inside
and will definitely make inside cooler than outside (throw a fan by it
to push the cold air further inside the house).  The EU2000 can run 2
smallish window ACs or 1 larger one without a problem, but you're
looking at more fuel consumption.  Higher-efficiency ACs make sense in
this application -- you've got a limited amount of fuel and a limited
capacity.  I've seen 6,000 BTU ACs use anywhere from 480 watts-680
watts, which is a huge difference.  Also helps to keep the condensate
reservoir full, as it slings this water against the condenser coil and
improves efficiency substantially.  

There's two other things I'd recommend getting as well:  1) Good LED
battery-operated lanterns/lights/flashlights.  The longer the battery
life, the better.  This will cut down on the time you'll need to run
the generator.  Sure, you can run the generator 24/7, but that's
precious fuel you'll need later.   2) A fuel siphon kit/pump and an
external gas can.  This will let you siphon fuel from your own
personal tanker truck a.k.a. your car.  The average car holds ~15-20
gallons, so in this case, you're looking at a 7-10 day supply of fuel
parked in your garage/driveway/etc.  double this if you have two cars.
:)  You'll most likely be able to find more fuel after the first 7
days and by this point many of the long lines that form during the
first 3 days will have gone down somewhat.  3) A big cable & lock.
Generators tend to get legs after storms.  Their noise advertises the
fact that they are there (another reason for a quiet one) and one of
your neighbors sweating their cajones off with the windows open might
"borrow" your generator, or more likely, intruders will grab it & run.
I have a few friends in Pt. Charlotte who found this out the hard way
after Hurricane Charley.  

 The thing to keep in mind is that you're building a life raft here,
not a cruise ship.  Depending on what part of Florida you're in,
you're looking at being without power for 1-10 days (usually) and
having any plans whatsoever puts you in a far better position than
most Floridians.  As you can see in my list above, I certainly wasn't
"roughing it" when the hurricanes hit.  Sure, it might not be the
chilly 72F inside, and I can't run the microwave, coffee maker, and
air con at the same time, but it doesn't kill me to shut off the AC
for a couple of minutes while doing the other things.  When I'm the
only one on the island who still has their original roof intact
(including condos), the little annoyances of living on a limited power
system no longer seemed like a problem.

Andrew '92
Charley '04
Wilma    '05
Bring it on '06

 

Your raft is pretty much drifting in the direction I'm headed.  From
the storms you named, and didn't, sounds like you might be in SW
Florida.  I'm on the right side of the State.

Much of the little stuff you've mentioned has been taken care of.  Now
it's time to tackle the big projects.

Phase 1: I'm looking at a bigger genny whch will run pretty much
anything (not EVERYthing) but the central ac.  Water heater and clothes
dryer will be iffy but that's what the sun is for.
Phase 2: Get a window shaker or 2.
Phase 3: Set up a battery back-up/inverter system to run most things
quietly through the night and run the genny to charge them and do the
bigger stuff.
Phase 4: Build a small, efficient, dedicated tri-fuel or diesel DC
generator for charging up the battery bank.
Phase 5: Install a solar hot-water heater.
Phase 6: Go hog wild whenever Florida gets off it's keester and enacts
the Governor's solar initiative and expand phase 3 into a grid-tie
photovaltaic system.
Phase 7: Move.

Phases 1,2,3 will be done soon.  (Unfortunately, I don't have the funds
to do them all right away.)  I agree that the Honda EU's are wonderful
and had considered them but after phase 4 it would be redundant and I'd
rather put the money torward my plan.

By the way, what model of AC do you have that's 12 SEER?  Most of what
I've been seeing is in the 9.8 to 10.9 range.

Your advice will be good for a lot of people.  Thanks.

 

swattsup wrote:

with a dual compressor heat pump, you can run the stage-1 side with just
2000w generator
that's a 1.5 ton separate compressor, enough to take out humidity in
s.florida and enough to make you comfortable

 



Unless the system is "wired" to keep humidity down (by "tricks" like slowing
down the fan of the air handler to keep the temperature of the coil below
the dew point) a TOO SMALL air conditioner will end up with cooling the air
a few degrees but, if anything, raising the relative humidity.

When the FEDS forced "high efficiency" air conditioners, the first thing to
go away was humidity control.

To respond to the OP, the moderate/low cost generators weren't really
designed to run indefinitely.   I would suggest that during an extended
power emergency that the family "camp" in the living room.   During waking
hours you run the generator a few hours at a time for the freezer, ice box,
laundry, water pump,  and run the room air conditioner when the other loads
permit.

Before bed time you cool and de-humidify the living room (and the rest of
the house as capacity permits) and the freezer/ice box and then shut down.

Entertain yourselves by reading using LED lights with re-chargable
batteries.

When we had our multi-day power outage we didn't have a generator.   The
lack of running water and the lack of refrigeration did get to us after a
few days but in many respects it was kind of FUN.   Among other things we
set up a "screen tent" outside and at night we ran our coleman lamp and in
the morning I made coffee and cooked eggs and sausage on the gas coleman
burner.   We had some frozen pizza that was melting so we looked it on the
propane grill.   My daughter still remembes it after two years and still
asks me to cook pizza in the grill.   Had we had a generator, we would have
run it, perhaps, 4 hours a day.   Most of the time we would have enjoyed the
SILENCE!

Use the generator for necessities and turn around the loss of TV and central
air into a family adventure.