Where do you start with the process?

Know any good contractors in the B-CS area?

I'm in N. Grimes County.

Generator Supercenter advertises on Michael Berry. I think they are in Tomball and could probably help. Don't know of anyone in BCS.

Actually while googling them, looks like they just opened a place in College Station in Tower Pointe.

allMondjoy said:

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Kohler 16kW set up used 2.3 gal per hour of propane at full load. 250 gallon tank is very adequate.

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This is what I have. I only have a 180 tank, but I dont run much off it when using it.

Thanks.

Bet they are swamped just now.

Generac 27 (I think, could be the 24, had issues sourcing when home was built, it was the biggest we could get before the jump up to the high dollar liquid cooled line) installed when house was built in 2015.

Never used until now, worth every penny, been without power except for about one hour since 2:50 am on Monday morning.

Runs everything in house including three heat pumps. We excluded outside, landscape, and soffit lighting thinking we didnt want world to know we had power when everything went dark. Have gas heater, gas tankless, water heater and gas stove top.

Buried a 1000gallon propane tank, shielded generator from public view. 550 feet from county road and can barely hear it from road.

Fill propane tank once a year in august with an average of 600 gallons used each year. Not sure how much generator is currently using but hopeful the 400-500 gallons "reserve" will be enough until power is restored.

Note spend about $250/yr on annual service call to check everything out.

In hindsight we could have everything we "need" with a 22kw unit if we had to.

https://assurancepower.com/aps-blog/entry/generac-home-generator-fuel-consumption

Muzzleblast said:

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Thanks.

Bet they are swamped just now.

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As I said earlier, the Generac factory was 20 weeks behind on filling orders, when we ordered a month ago. I suspect that has doubled.

Thanks! Would be interested in a photo/ details of your installation sometime. I don't picture getting on a ladder in a snow/ice storm but with a reliable backup don't think it necessary

MarylandAG said:

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If Right started with a full tank and has used 10% in 8 hrs and my math is right that is a little over 3 gal/ hr, with a 250 gal tank he could run that generator for a month, damn is that right?

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Except a full 250 gallon tank starts at 200 gallons. So he's used 20 gallons in 8 hours.

About 80 hours, but the use rate seems to increase on tanks once you go below 20% so I'd venture to guess it's closer to maybe 65-70 hours after its all said and done.

And that doesnt' account for anything else using the gas either, such as a heater, stove, water heater, etc.

Propane is convenient if you have a tank large enough, but if you are like me and didn't check and ran out in all of this - it sucks because it may be 2-3 more days before I can get my tank refilled. At least with a diesel I could drive down to the gas station that is up and running and get diesel to fill the tanks if necessary.

El_duderino said:

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How much does one of these generally go for installed?

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wondering the same thing

I would say anywhere from 9ish to 20ish

My 38kw liquid cooled generac was 19k installed.

case04 said:

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El_duderino said:

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How much does one of these generally go for installed?

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wondering the same thing

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22KW Generac, about $9,000, total. Already had concrete base poured, right next to meter, and 6 feet from the gas meter.

Larger capacity, needing a pad, further from gas meter or needing a propane tank will add to $$$. We went whole house with a transfer switch. If you get a generator that can't handle the whole house, add the cost of wiring to essential circuits only.

Tom Tynan recs KISS. They install Kohler standby Gens.

schmellba99 said:

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MarylandAG said:

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If Right started with a full tank and has used 10% in 8 hrs and my math is right that is a little over 3 gal/ hr, with a 250 gal tank he could run that generator for a month, damn is that right?

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Except a full 250 gallon tank starts at 200 gallons. So he's used 20 gallons in 8 hours.

About 80 hours, but the use rate seems to increase on tanks once you go below 20% so I'd venture to guess it's closer to maybe 65-70 hours after its all said and done.

And that doesnt' account for anything else using the gas either, such as a heater, stove, water heater, etc.

Propane is convenient if you have a tank large enough, but if you are like me and didn't check and ran out in all of this - it sucks because it may be 2-3 more days before I can get my tank refilled. At least with a diesel I could drive down to the gas station that is up and running and get diesel to fill the tanks if necessary.

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Not trying to be a smartass but if you are out of power, it could be the gas station doesn't have power to pump diesel.

nactownag said:

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I would say anywhere from 9ish to 20ish

My 38kw liquid cooled generac was 19k installed.

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Holy crap. What are you running?

I wanted to be safe for future growth. Plus I wanted liquid cooler for less sound.

Probably overkill for what I have now. But to me it was worth a little extra since I am going to be here for the rest of my life.

Aggieangler93 said:

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Which battery backup do you use?

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Medistrom 24

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/medistrom-pilot-24-lite-battery

Does anyone here have an Onan generator? They are currently owned by Cummins.

coastalaggie said:

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Does anyone here have an Onan generator? They are currently owned by Cummings.

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Cummings? Never heard of that company.

A lot of fifth wheel and toy haulers come with the Onan Cummins generators. That's about the only thing I know

Previous owners installed 48 kw Nat gas Generac. It's been humming for 14 hours. Ok, not humming but howling. Super loud.

Plenty of electricity to share but neighbors are all leaving.

Ahh. Makes sense. We have a 20kw whole home and it powers our 3200 sq/ft house just fine.

Also, for those of us that do have them, if you haven't already, you may want to go start it and let it run for 10 minutes or so to make sure the cold didn't hurt the battery.

Tx-Ag2010 said:

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MarylandAG said:

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I'm in Cypress, TX in Villages of Cypress Lakes and have been lucky, we have not lost power very often, in fact only once in nearly 4 years of having been in this neighborhood that I can recall. Luck eventually runs out, and this cold weather is serving as another reminder of something I have been considering for years. So my question is are those with whole home generators having any issues in the cold? Any other things you wish you would have done different?

I use a CPAP machine that I cant sleep without and my wife is a cancer survivor and to this day gets severe hot flashes, so a day without out AC on a Texas summer day would be brutal and need electricity for the CPAP.

I know the whole home setups come in natural gas or diesel. Considering the cold and concerns for diesel gelling, Is natural gas the way to go? I'm sure even the gas ones have limitations, what are they? I started this thread since we usually think of generators during hurricane and I wondered if the extreme cold brought about things you would have done different.

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I also use a CPAP and purchased a battery backup that goes in line with the power source and keeps it working in the event of a power failure. I also use it with my portable CPAP and can get 2 nights sleep on a full charge. Definitely worth it.

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Do you have a link to the battery back up for the Capp. I could use one.

hillcountryag86 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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MarylandAG said:

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If Right started with a full tank and has used 10% in 8 hrs and my math is right that is a little over 3 gal/ hr, with a 250 gal tank he could run that generator for a month, damn is that right?

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Except a full 250 gallon tank starts at 200 gallons. So he's used 20 gallons in 8 hours.

About 80 hours, but the use rate seems to increase on tanks once you go below 20% so I'd venture to guess it's closer to maybe 65-70 hours after its all said and done.

And that doesnt' account for anything else using the gas either, such as a heater, stove, water heater, etc.

Propane is convenient if you have a tank large enough, but if you are like me and didn't check and ran out in all of this - it sucks because it may be 2-3 more days before I can get my tank refilled. At least with a diesel I could drive down to the gas station that is up and running and get diesel to fill the tanks if necessary.

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Not trying to be a smartass but if you are out of power, it could be the gas station doesn't have power to pump diesel.

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True, and several were out of power. But one wasn't and it had gas and diesel. Plus with diesel, you can at least drive to where there is pumping and get some. Can't do that with propane.

Pitman the link for the backup battery is just a few posts up from yours. A few things, when I started this thread I said I had been lucky but luck runs out. Well luck ran out at 9 am yesterday and power just came back on now so about 26 hrs or so with no power, who knows for how long. So......

1. I'm all in on the whole home generator, going to the superstore next week to let the rush die down a bit. I am patient, I know there is a back up, I will wait my turn in line but I'm getting one
2. I'm ordering the CPAP battery link above, because last night with no CPAP sucked!!! I think it is $350 or so, money well spent and I will make sure to always have it charged up.
3. 26 hrs without power, I consider myself lucky compared to other folks, so prayers to all you all having it rough.

dripped every faucet in the house both hot and cold, flushed the toilets every now and then throughout the night, and I have a portable Mr Heater propane heater, the smaller 9000 btu unit, powered it with a 20 lb propane tank, that damn things is the hero of the day, for those that slept, it was toasty, almost too hot.

Now Houston folks have to deal with a boil water notice, what a mess!!!

coastalaggie said:

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Does anyone here have an Onan generator? They are currently owned by Cummins.

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They are pretty reliable but need to be rebuilt about every 10,000 hours. Most people will never get to this stage unless they run their house off of a generator 24/7

Generac was at 40 weeks before all this happened, I imagine its well over a year now

P.U.T.U said:

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Generac was at 40 weeks before all this happened, I imagine its well over a year now

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When was that? We ordered one for mom in January, they told us 20 weeks.

They told a friend 22 weeks and it took them 40, installed in December.

Thanks, we'll see how long it takes for mom's to get here.

Have a 22 kW natural gas That we bought from Lowe's with a 10 year warranty and the Generator Supercenter installed. Got it for hurricanes and never thought our first use would be cause my freezing weather. Working fine for our 3000 sq ft home. Figured good selling feature sometime.