Have we really made it this far without anyone mentioning the onboard generator in an F-150???

In all seriousness, there's so many options and it all depends on convenience and costs.

The cheapest option and best option is a Honda EU2200. Nothing offers the bang for the buck that offers. Going from zero to ~1800 kilowatts to run a fridge, lamps, fans, and charge electronics while sipping a gallon of gas every 12 hours is an insane boost for about a grand.

I honestly think every home in this area should have one.

Like some others, we put in a whole house generator a couple of years ago and for 2 years I wondered if it was worth it. We were on vacation when the storm hit but family members were able to enjoy it.

Another option that rarely gets discussed is buying a portable AC unit. Back when we just had our transfer switch and two EU2000s, I bought a 12,000 BTU unit to cool one room in case something happened.

For about $2,500 I had a cool room and enough electricity for the fridge, lamps, and electronics charging.

Never got to do that but that AC unit is in the garage attic if something ever happens to the nat gas line to the whole house generator.

Ha! Crazy timing!

Got mine installed 2 years ago. No regrets. Its definitely a luxury. Luckily we haven't had to use it for more than a few minutes outside of the weekly 5 minute maintenance runs.

drumboy said:

---

CDUB98 said:

---

Thing is, I also expect more and more power outages to happen thanks to the green energy push. At least until they outlaw nat gas completely.

---

We seem to be getting more 1 in 1,000 year (1 in 500,000 in some areas) anomalies like Harvey and the great freeze.

I thought the buzz kill on natural gas was for health, not a green aspect. Is it 'dirtier' to run your dryer, furnace and stove off of gas then electricity?

---

"Dirtier" only comes from nitpicking burner efficiency between a home appliance and the burner at the power plant.

Though, one could also claim dirtier due to the amount of Btus that actually transfer from the heat source to the pot/pan. Supposedly, electric heat source is much better than nat gas, and induction is somewhere around 90%.

So, it is possible to argue nat gas home use is "dirtier."

But, when it comes to progressives, it not about dirty/clean, it's about ending fossil fuel use, period. Except for the elites of course.

Go through Costco for the Whole House Generator. You get like 10% back and then if you get their Costco Visa you get an additional amount off. Even the Generator SuperCenter in Tomball said its cheaper to go through Costco. Then when Costco does the hand off your good.

I have just a gas generator with extension cords running into the house. I have had a gas generator tied into a small stand alone breakerbox to power very specific items in the house. I have had a gas generator with an interlock installed that I then could select what to power up to 30A.

I now have a 20kw air cooled home generator that kicks one within a few seconds of power going off. Is pretty quiet even though it is close to the house. Just a light rumble inside. It does a self test once a week. I can run 2 4ton AC all my lights, tv, internet without issues. I can also run the dryer. At night I can run my dishwasher. And I can use the microwave when I need to as well.

Every 24 hr I check the oil. Had to add 0.5qt so far.

Installed my 18kw with my dad 2 years ago. Just basic plumbing. Followed all code requirements but didn't bother with permits. The generators come with all the instructions in the box. Just order online and do it yourself.

Yeah I was going to ask about permits for doing an interñock etc..

TX04Aggie said:

---

Yeah I was going to ask about permits for doing an interñock etc..

---

I don't think you need a permit for that. I had an electrician do this and he had to move a couple breakers around with no permit.

So for your AC units, any idea what current starting watts required is vs if soft start kids are installed? What's running watts?

htxag09 said:

---

So for your AC units, any idea what current starting watts required is vs if soft start kids are installed? What's running watts?

---

That depends on models, in general you will need anywhere from 6000watts to 8000watts at a minimum for starting a 3 ton unit, some will require more (the bigger the tonnage) also the higher outside temperature will have influence. A soft start is supposed to lower it by 50% to 75%, of course it varies but many people are able to run their central AC with some appliances/electronics/lights with a 1000/8000watts(starting/running) generator.

You just have to prioritize what is really needed during the outage, even a 20k watt whole house generator isn't enough if you were to run 2 5-ton AC without soft start along with electric dryer, full size electric oven, dishwasher, some hairdryers, coffee machines, irons simultaneously...

How hard are the soft starts to install? I have a Hisense portal AC (on sale now at CostCo) that a friend is now using w/ my Honda 3,500 but I'm thinking about upgrading to a bigger inverter that can run on natural gas so the AC will work all night.

Bassmaster said:

---

Ag_07 said:

---

Waste of money

Way more cost efficient to just get a portable generator (gas, propane, or hard plumbed from the nat gas line) big enough to power the essentials and get a electrician to set up with breakers.

Easy and way cheaper

---

I used to agree with you, but then my wife insisted we install one back in 2020. It is worth its weight in gold and I don't regret it at all. Its pretty comforting that the biggest problem we have when a storm comes is the wifi shutting off before the generator cuts on.

---

You can solve this problem by putting your modem on a battery backup surge protector. Bridges the power gap.

Same here.

I installed some storage arms on my generator's frame for the electrical cord and the natural gas hose. With the natural gas quick connect we installed, I can get it up and running in minutes. Not as fancy as an ATS unit, but much more cost effective.

Power went out on the 14th for about an hour. I was able to run the whole house (with the exception of the AC's) at 47%-48% generator load. If it had gone longer, I would have moved our portable AC inside and turned it on.

Medium term plan is to install a soft start on the bottom floor AC unit.

drumboy said:

---

How hard are the soft starts to install? I have a Hisense portal AC (on sale now at CostCo) that a friend is now using w/ my Honda 3,500 but I'm thinking about upgrading to a bigger inverter that can run on natural gas so the AC will work all night.

---

I don't think it's hard but I haven't done it yet, there are youtube videos around. A rep from Micro-Air offered to install one for about $460 total ($360 soft start kit and $100 to install) last summer, price might have gone up by now.

Interesting. I didn't know micro-air had reps that did installation.

Is that NG setup stock or did you add that on?

Add on. I'm really happy with the outcome. No need to worry about his stabilizing gasoline or draining the fuel tank.

http://www.nashfuel.com/

Easy install. The owner of the company answered all my questions before I bought.

I have the cheap man's portable setup
- 12KW pulsar generator (Black Friday Walmart special)
- quick connect to natural gas meter
- 50amp rv cable

So here's the deal - I love this setup personally, but I'm ok doing things myself (handyman type person). If you're someone that enjoys the convenience of immediate and want to hire folks for most things, then this may not be your deal.

I have almost 160 hours on the generator over 1.5 yrs. Lessons learned:
- you need to pull out and test your generator every few months. Keep it fresh and run an electric load on it.
- be comfortable with routine maintenance: change oil, spark plug, clean air filters, change battery, etc. - I HIGHLY encourage having a backup of all items in the event of a longer runtime need (like now)
- there are still sacrifices: I can't run my AC and my microwave, or a toaster oven or even sometimes a coffee pot depending on draw. You have to learn your house and your generators capability depending on your fuel source.
- add a soft start (about $250-300) to your AC. That will lighten the initial electrical draw
- buy the largest generator you can. Gives you the most flexibility - space is the only challenge, but it's earned its keep
- if you're someone always out of town or on the run, a manual setup may not be for you

Would I do it again, no questions asked - absolutely. It's well worth the money (about $2k all in) and I love having it. Has saved me over and over just by the grocery bill saved for not losing a freezer or fridge.

AgLiving06 said:

---

After the freeze, I got serious about my setup. It powers my whole house (4 ton ac with hard start). My brother has 2 ac's and his 12000 version just powered both on nat gas.

If I had to guess, this all in for me was $3500. The more handy you are the cheaper it could be done. I wanted to make sure everything was done right and I have no desire to mess with electrical.

Setup
Duromax 13000EH (with conversion to tri-fuel). They now offer a tri-fuel 13,000kw.
50A interlock
3/4 inch nat gas line
Quick connect on the natural gas meter for the house to connect to.
50A RV connection from my generator to the interlock
Whole home surge protector
I also have ~120 lbs of propane and 3- 5 gallon gas cans.

The primary upside of the tri-fuel over a whole home generator is the fuel flexibility and cost. If for some reason natural gas hit a pinch point, you have other alternatives.

The primary downside is you have to set it up yourself which during a big storm could mean waiting a bit.

There was concern expressed about THD. This is from Duromax website:

Quote:

---

DuroMax portable generators will output an industry standard total harmonic distortion (THD) rating of about 12%-20% depending on load applied. They will produce a sine wave, not a modified or square wave. This is perfectly acceptable for running common commodities found in your home such as TVs, computers, your appliances, etc.

THD is a measure of the deviation of a sine wave from a "perfect" sine wave. All electricity, including power company electricity, has measurable THD.

If you have a specific item that requires less than 5% THD such as a UPS style battery backup, a pellet stove, or high efficiency furnace control board, we recommend purchasing a DuroMax Inverter Generator that provides a less than 5% THD.

---

An inverter currently doesn't have tri-fuel options (not sure if it can be added), and it's quite a bit more expensive, but if you have a real sensitive equipment that you must use during an outage, that's the best option. You can just plan to spend an extra thousand or 2.

---

How long does the 120 lbs of propane last?

I mean most of this is true even if you do the whole home Generac route. It's not like 20kw whole home generators don't require maintenance….it's just people generally do a maintenance plan and have someone else do it.

And really no reason you can't do the same with a portable generator. You can have a small engine shop change the oil, etc. for you.

Ag_07 said:

---

I haven't had mine hard wired into my breaker box yet but my gas powered Harbor Freight brand generator can run the indoor fridge/freezer, garage fridge/freezer, garage deep freezer, window A/C unit, TV/internet, and a small power strip for random chargers. It's plenty

I waited until emergency preparedness tax free weekend and I think it costs $500 or somewhere in that ballpark.

---

What size/power generator did you get?

Booma94 said:

---

Ag_07 said:

---

I haven't had mine hard wired into my breaker box yet but my gas powered Harbor Freight brand generator can run the indoor fridge/freezer, garage fridge/freezer, garage deep freezer, window A/C unit, TV/internet, and a small power strip for random chargers. It's plenty

I waited until emergency preparedness tax free weekend and I think it costs $500 or somewhere in that ballpark.

---

What size/power generator did you get?

---

My understanding is that the maximum wattage that a 50amp breaker can take is around 12000watt so anything more than that isn't really necessary.

Anyone have experience with the Predator inverter generators from HarborFreight?

My Honda EG3500 has been great but I'd like something bigger, quieter, and burns less fuel. Thinking of getting two of these to daisy chain.
https://www.harborfreight.com/generators-engines/generators/5000-watt-dual-fuel-super-quiet-inverter-generator-with-remote-start-and-co-secure-technology-70143.html

Can you share your redneck engineering? I bought a similar truck to yours this year but haven't gotten around to problem solving how to hook it up to the house without a fault.

Cole

AggieMPH2005 said:

---

Can you share your redneck engineering? I bought a similar truck to yours this year but haven't gotten around to problem solving how to hook it up to the house without a fault.

Cole

---

Let me preface this by saying I'm not an electrician and don't take responsibility for anyone copying my dumb decisions.....

But, i just removed the ground from the cord.

I bet one of these would do the trick, I've had to use them for some extension cords that I bought in a pinch during the great freeze of '21.
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Polarized-Grounding-Adapter/dp/B01M0FXMFK/ref=sr_1_3_sspa

Do they have those for 30a or 50a plugs?