Generator Sizing/ Fuel Storage (Long)

 

I am sooo out of my element here - any help would be appreciated! Last
hurricane season, the only thing I could snap up was a 3500 watt generator -
not enough to run any A/C in the South Florida heat!
This year I purchased a B&S (industrial  - Generac motor) 8000 W/ 13,500
starting Watt which I planned to run on a 200 AMP manual transfer switch -
recommended by my electrician, so that I can chose any circuit, upgrade
generator with same switch, etc. I planned to purchae a portable AC unit and
fans.
Here's where I ran into trouble.  My electrician says that I will be very
unhappy with the 8KW, and as I have not opened the box, should return it and
buy the 15 KW, so I can run central AC.
Cost is about the same, if I go with the 15 KW I will not need to purchase
the portable AC (my windows are not sized properly for window units, I need
the type on wheels) , fans, etc, so cost will even out.
My big concern is fuel.  Wouldn't a 15 KW be a tremendous gas hog?? My
neighbor has one, and swears he gets by on 16 gallons a day, but doesn't run
AC. My electrician says that this is true, but I should buy the larger unit
because when gas stations power back up, and I am still without AC, I will
want it. AC is 5 ton, Trane, which has a low wattage on startup - is a new
energy efficient unit which ramps up slowly.  Another guy in my electricians
office thought the 8KW might even run it.
After that long winded intro, I have two questions for you more experienced
folks - which way would you go?? I need to decide fairly quickly - HD will
only accept returns in 30 days, and I would not return one unit until I have
possession of the other - they are too hard to come by!
Secondly, where in the world will I store all the gas?? I was worried about
it with the 8KW, and the 15 KW will be worse - or will fuel usage depend on
what I power up, so I could run the 15 on the same amount of gas as I would
run the 8 until the stations come back up?
At any rate, I figure no matter how I go I need at least 60 gallons of fuel
on hand - after the last storm, gas took 3 days to come back online, but
they were limiting us to 5 gallons - about 5 days till you could buy all you
wanted. House power was out for 12 days.
If you live in a subdivision, where sheds are not allowed, where do you put
all that gas??
My neighbor, a fireman, says garage is okay. No city /county ordinance on
storage before a storm - talked to fire chief, he said garage okay.  Talked
to another fire chief (my sons friends dad - I am not calling every fireman
in town), he said absolutely no garage - he puts his in cans in his cars and
parks them in the driveway.
Seems like there is no safe answer! I don't have any ignition source in the
garage (hot water heater, but it is electric) but it does got hot in there,
and having no basement there is a lot of flammable storage.
I was thinking of putting it in the doghouse, in the shade. Hopefully the
weight of 60 gallons of gas would keep it from blowing away!!
Any advice is most welcome - I am going crazy deciding what to do!!
Blessings, Georgie

 

Georgie wrote:

I would strongly advise against storing liquid gasoline in your attached
garage or any were else in the house.  If any gasoline spills it's
heavier than air vapors will flow like water across the floor of your
home until it finds an ignition source and flashes back to the liquid
spill.  If you must store gasoline indoors then obtain a flammable
liquids cabinet and have it vented out through the wall of your garage.
  The gasoline is then stored in five gallon safety cans in the
flammable liquids cabinet.

Have you considered a propane powered model?  Do you have natural gas
service to your home?  If you have any use for stove gas other than the
generator you should consider it as your generator fuel.  Even if you
only install a gas stove, dryer, or water heater you could then use that
fuel to run your generator.  The propane tank can be buried at a much
lower cost then an underground gas tank.  If you use the gas for
multiple appliances then you can get a larger tank without the supplier
wanting a premium price to supply the tank.  A 250 gallon revet would
hold enough gas at half full to supply several days fuel.  All that is
required to run a gasoline generator on natural gas or propane is an
additional attachment for the carburetor.  Most gasoline generators can
be converted to tri-fuel; gasoline, natural gas, and propane; quite
readily.

Have you obtained the lumber and tools to reinforce your garage door?
If your exterior doors or windows fail your house will suffer much
greater damage once the wind can get inside the structure.  Information
on reinforcing your garage door is available at the
<www.stormready.noaa.gov> website.
--
Tom Horne

"This alternating current stuff is just a fad.  It is much too dangerous
for general use."  Thomas Alva Edison

 



Thanks! I am going to look around and price these cabinets.  If you have any
suggestions as to where to purchase them, I'd be greatful.  I do have a
friend who is a chemist and keeps a lot of stuff around, she may know too.
My idea (hubby laughed at it, but I think it would work) is to use the
doghouse. My subdivision won't allow sheds, but isn't a doghouse about the
same?? Wooden construction, fully closing door - dutch style, closed on
bottom, open window on top, two side windows - designed so that you can
confine the dog outside if the need arises.(If you want to take a look, its
the "stable" model at petco.com.) The house only weighs 57 pounds, so I
usually bring it in the garage during a storm. I'm thinking that if I move
it into the shade, and put the 5 gallon gas cans (probably 10-15 full) the
weight of the gas and the fact that the doghouse is low to the ground will
keep it from blowing away.
Another option is to simply put the cans in the shade in the garden, covered
by a low handmade bench, with plants in heavy pots on top. A friend tried
this, but the storm moved a little so her idea was not really wind tested.
My father-in-law's suggestion was to go with a deck storage box with a lot
oh holes drilled in it for ventilation.
A last resort coul always be the swingset - it has a sheltered little hut
under the slide. In 4 storms it has not blown down, but if I modify it to
protect the cans it might give the wind something to push against and know
it over.

The model I have does have a propane conversion kit available, but I do not
have either propane lines or NG available in my area.  If I am going to the
expense of burying a tank, I would go with a standby model, like many of the
neighbors have. If I can find a cheap way to store propane, I will certainly
consider converting.>

I do have reinforcements on the inside of the doors - they meet Miami Dade
wind code - and also have steel shutters that go on the outside, but only
put these up for a CAT 3 or higher - they are nearly impossible to install
and weigh a lot - this is an area that needs work, as the holes drilled into
the stucco for the shutter screws have become somewhat worn, and the
shutters may be more of a danger than help if one were to come loose.
Thanks so much for your advice !
BTW - do you think the 200 AMP manual transfer switch is the way to go??
That seems the safest to me, and the easiest way to get all my circuits
instead of choosing 10 in advance, I can choose what I want when I need it.
The electrician says I can also install a breaker for the generator, take
myself off grid, and backfeed thru the new breaker. Doesn't seem safe to
me - I'd rather pay extra for the switch.
Thanks,
Georgie

 




     All you have to do is get some screw anchors at Home Depot (the kind that
are sold for anchoring sheds) and put them in the ground two on each side of the
doghouse.  Screw them down into the ground just far enough so that you do not
hit them with the lawnmower, but not so far that you can't find them when you
want them.  Just before the storm, tie the doghouse down with two of those
ratchet tie-down straps that you can also get at Home Depot.

Vaughn

 



Depends on the energy required to run the central AC unit.  I suggest
checking the unit and seeing.  If nothing else, ask your electrician to
put an amp clamp on it and check the current.

It also depends on how much other stuff you plan to run at the same time.
The 8kW unit will probably run the AC unit OK but certainly not both it
and the electric clothes drier or the electric stove or electric hot water
heater.

I would do everything I could to run off the smaller unit.  These things
don't tend to be particularly efficient when only partly loaded, and most
of the time the generator will be powering a few lights and from time to
time the refrigerator.  Only at occasional periods would you need even all
8kw, let alone all 15 kw.

--
-Glennl
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