Hey all - I know there have been lots of discussions on generators, but it seems many of the really highly recommended ones are impossible to get your hands on right now....I have a few I've narrowed my list down to and wanted to see if anyone had thoughts/opinions on which way makes the most sense.

We're in the NB area, so I'm not likely to have hurricane like situations where I'm dealing with days/weeks on end. I'm mostly expecting to have a few days here and there where things go down for whatever reason for a few hours or a day.

I don't want to dive into whole home at this point, mostly due to the cost plus the backlog at the moment.

I have a 120 gallon propane tank that will mostly be used to power the generator if I end up with a dual fuel one.

An electrician is coming in a few weeks to put an interlock in for me (along with a laundry list of other things around the property), so I'll be able to power on whatever I choose.

The main impetus behind this is we have a koi pond and a septic tank with an air pump, both of which we'd like to keep running if we lose power.

Additionally, we'll want to handle either a portable a/c unit or possibly a window unit or a small heater in the event we're in the winter, along with things like phones, tablets and, if possible, networking equipment (so modem, router)....also have a fridge and a deep freezer that we'd like to keep powered.

GIven all of that, it seems like I probably need an inverter generator as everyone seems to say that a traditional generator could potentially harm electronics due to high THD...

These are 2 I'm focused on - the Westinghouse is a bit cheaper, probably better quality, but less powerful (though I think both will work for our needs, we may just have to cycle circuits between the things that don't need constant power)....the Sportsman sounds great, but I can't find much info on it to see if the reality holds up to the specs...also open to other options or approaches if you have them!

Sportsman 8,750/7,000 watt inverter ~ $1700
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sportsman-8-750-7-000-Watt-Dual-Fuel-Digital-Inverter-Generator-with-50-Amp-RV-Outlet-USB-Port-and-4-GFCI-120-Volt-Outlets-GEN85KIDF/312402800#overlay

Westinghouse iGen 4500 watt inverter ~$1200
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Westinghouse-iGen4500DFc-Portable-Inverter-Generator-with-CO-Sensor/5005495257?irclickid=xkl0DP2lTxyIT7hUQjyhxSKgUkG3Wu0S0z-z3c0&irgwc=1&cm_mmc=aff-_-c-_-prd-_-mdv-_-gdy-_-all-_-0-_-10579-_-0


I've also wondered if a few of these would let me run a traditional generator, which obviously has way more bang for your buck - seems the reviews are mixed and the downside of a really high THD seems like it could be pretty bad....

https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Conditioner-Regulation-LS606M/dp/B00006B83G/ref=sr_1_15?crid=1BZB15RIRCH4P&keywords=power+conditioner&qid=1641918846&sprefix=power+conditioner%2Caps%2C203&sr=8-15

Anyhow, would love thoughts...I almost wonder if I should buy a very small inverter to just run for the electronics and a traditional generator for the interlock....

Thanks yep. I've seen a couple of other good inverter options like champion as well. I think I just need to give up on the propane connectivity, at least for now. Odds of needing it for days on end are low anyhow.

Also, if I'm reading right I need to make sure and get one that outputs 240 for the interlock, which limits dual fuel even more.

That one you linked looks nice. Thanks again.

This might work for you. It's cheaper and still has low THD

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FBXVQZL/?tag=sawhub-20

I have a Westinghouse Pro 8500, but it doesn't look like it's available anymore. I converted mine to tri-fuel, but I'm running natural gas as my primary source.

I have that Wen. So far so good but probably only have 5 hours on it.

Could add something like this if needed

https://nashfuel.ecrater.com/p/38897332/tri-fuel-propane-natural-gas

Yeah, I think I will get the best inverter I can and just make sure there is a kit for it. Looks like the wen and the champion I'm eying both have them.

For the freeze, i used a B&S 5500 watt and it did the job running my septic, well, etc, but I could tell some of my appliances didn't like the power quality. My fridge especially made some strange sounds.

I bought one of these:

https://www.championpowerequipment.com/product/100520-8750-watt-open-frame-inverter/

It is quieter and has an inverter for quality power. It is gas only, so for propane, it will need to be converted to dual fuel. In testing, its great but the real test is when its used hard for days at a time. Hopefully, that won't be for a while.

Keeping the B&S as backup.

That's the champion I'm looking at as well

I got a Champion 3500W Dual-Fuel Generator back during Harvey just to keep a refrigerator & some lights on in-case we lost power, but never had to use it.

Ended up using it for the freeze last year to run a space heater (rotated with Fridge), TV & internet. Worked perfect, however the dual-fuel aspect sucked for the Propane option. The tank would freeze about every 45 minutes and pressure would drop too much to keep it running. Switched over to Gasoline and never had an issue again.

We did an electric panel replacement last year and added a transfer switch with whole home availability. We had a random power outage last week when the temp dropped here in Houston and it ran the whole house (2 fridges, HVAC blower, TV/Internet) for 4 hours until power came back online.

Doing a Generac Whole-Home Generator now, but if I hadn't gotten a steal of a deal on the 22kw generac we got, I would have just upgraded to a 8-9k Generator and just run with the transfer switch.

ETA: what whole house equated to

Doing some more reading and now I'm wondering if I'm going to have issues with the whole bonded neutral thing since it seems almost every generator I'm looking at is bonded....maybe I'll email the electrician and find out what it would take to do a transfer switch vs an interlock.

Actually, looks like Champion makes it easy to convert



so maybe a reason to consider the champion.