Looking to purchase natural gas/LP Generator

 Im looking for  a natural gas/LP Generator for a 1200 squarefoot house
heated by a Bryant I90 gas
furnace. Stove, dryer and HW are gas. Any suggestions? Also... what's
involved in having gas and electric connection points on the outside
of the house installed so that the generator can be kept in a
convenient storage location and moved into place/hooked up when
required?

The price for a Home Depot 7kW generator seems to be in the 2800
range.. ideally if I can get away with less I'd like to do so.

Thankyou in advance for any assistance you can provide.

 

There are several generator sizing sites on the net.
Here is Honda's:
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/generators/content.aspx?asset=gg_wattage
You have no airconditioning? no water pump? No huge freezer?  If so, your
standby power needs are pretty modest.

My standby power needs are similar, I have gas hot water, and I drop all of
my 220 loads when I switch to my generator, leaving plenty of power for
refrigeration, lights, TV, computer and other luxuries.  Even with some 120V
air conditioning, we get by on 4 KW.  (That is with a generator that will
give us an honest 4 KW all day, not the kind of generator you buy at Home
Depot.)



Easy (but not always cheap) for the electrical side, but I don't know about
connecting portable equipment to natural gas.  Check with your local gas
folks.


If you are handy, check into higher quality, but used, generators.  Another
poster already suggested a great model.  You could end up paying a lot less
money for a much better machine.  My generator is an old Onan.  It is the
type that you often find salvaged from motor homes, but mine actually
started life as backup power for traffic signals.

Vaughn

 

I would assume that generators would require a higher pressure gas supply than
the standard house supply. You may have to get a new meter from the gas company
for a generator.

Is that true, anyone?

 Bob F wrote:


company

Don't see why it should, in principle.  Both are doing basically the
same thing, injecting gas into an air stream to make a combustible
mixture.  A typical gas boiler incorporates a pressure regulator to
*reduce* the pressure of the domestic supply.

Why should you need a new meter? Does the company care what you use the
gas for?  But under UK law you would legally have to get a certified gas
fitter to make the connection and certify the installation safe.

I knew  a guy who ran out of petrol in his camper van and hooked the
propane hose from his cooker into the mouth of his carburettor to get
him home.  That *was* illegal, but it's not rocket science.


Tim Jackson

 

Is that  anyone?

No.  A generator typically uses the same pressure as your other gas
appliances.  If you have a large generator, you may need a larger meter
and/or larger pipes.  My generator connects straight to a spare port on my
gas pipe that once supplied a natural gas BBQ.

Vaughn