I'm going to purchase two generators. One for our home and one for my mom. My question is do they just plug into a socket? I assume it's not that simple so if not what do I have to do to the electric box? Is an electrician needed?

Quote from: The Boo Man... on March 02, 2014, 09:53:44 PM
I'm going to purchase two generators. One for our home and one for my mom. My question is do they just plug into a socket? I assume it's not that simple so if not what do I have to do to the electric box? Is an electrician needed?

You need to know how big of a generator you will need.   A big one that will power the house you will need an electrician.  A stand alone portable around 3000 to 5000 you will not.  You need to know what your going to do with it.   Also if it should be Gasoline, Diesel or LP Gas.   A portable you do not plug into your house, you just run a  power cord from the generator to what you need power for. 

You need to know what your going to ask it to do.  Then go from there.   


I have a 3000 wat that runs my 30' 5th wheel. 

This time a year you may find it hard to find one or two.

Something to look at....

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/power/portable-generators.html

Quote from: walkstall on March 02, 2014, 10:20:42 PM
You need to know how big of a generator you will need.   A big one that will power the house you will need an electrician.  A stand alone portable around 3000 to 5000 you will not.  You need to know what your going to do with it.   Also if it should be Gasoline, Diesel or LP Gas.   A portable you do not plug into your house, you just run a  power cord from the generator to what you need power for. 

You need to know what your going to ask it to do.  Then go from there.   


I have a 3000 wat that runs my 30' 5th wheel. 

This time a year you may find it hard to find one or two.

Something to look at....

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/power/portable-generators.html

They will power the house.. A few people on the street have them and I believe they are diesel powered.

Quote from: The Boo Man... on March 03, 2014, 12:08:07 AM
They will power the house.. A few people on the street have them and I believe they are diesel powered.

Yes, hire an electrician! Secondly, Diesel preferably mostly because they are usually enclosed and quieter.
But if you have natural gas, look at Koehlor standby genset, Ng has the advantage of never going bad and oil changes aren't as direly important if you only use it a couple of times a year.

I used to sell these, they can be a bit pricey, but most retailers will install it and warrant it.
But if you want to take the cheap route, get a crappy gas genset at Home Despot and plan on keeping 10 gallons of treated fuel on hand at all times, and change the oil every 50 hrs or yearly if under.

Quote from: Solar on March 03, 2014, 06:07:08 AM
Yes, hire an electrician! Secondly, Diesel preferably mostly because they are usually enclosed and quieter.
But if you have natural gas, look at Koehlor standby genset, Ng has the advantage of never going bad and oil changes aren't as direly important if you only use it a couple of times a year.

I used to sell these, they can be a bit pricey, but most retailers will install it and warrant it.
But if you want to take the cheap route, get a crappy gas genset at Home Despot and plan on keeping 10 gallons of treated fuel on hand at all times, and change the oil every 50 hrs or yearly if under.

We don't have natural gas so I was going to go for a quiet diesel. Something good. The people two doors down have a really crap petrol one and it sounds like they're mowing the lawn at 3:00 AM. I assume how this works is when the power goes out I get the generator from the shed and plug it in somewhere or is it more involved than that...

Quote from: The Boo Man... on March 08, 2014, 07:00:40 PM
We don't have natural gas so I was going to go for a quiet diesel. Something good. The people two doors down have a really crap petrol one and it sounds like they're mowing the lawn at 3:00 AM. I assume how this works is when the power goes out I get the generator from the shed and plug it in somewhere or is it more involved than that...

IF your getting one that will power your full house, it should be all set up for you.  Your installer should train you on all procedures that you will have to do.   

Quote from: The Boo Man... on March 08, 2014, 07:00:40 PM
We don't have natural gas so I was going to go for a quiet diesel. Something good. The people two doors down have a really crap petrol one and it sounds like they're mowing the lawn at 3:00 AM. I assume how this works is when the power goes out I get the generator from the shed and plug it in somewhere or is it more involved than that...

If you get a good stand by genset, you'll leave it connected all the time, it will sense when the power is out and kick on automatically.
That's why I suggest an electrician.
Call this guy, I bought two from him, you can't beat the price, and he uses Kubota matched with the best alternators.
Mine is enclosed and you can carry on a conversation while sitting on the gen.
http://www.allworlddieselgen.com/

Call 855-664-3599 or email [email protected]

Quote from: Solar on March 08, 2014, 08:51:44 PM
If you get a good stand by genset, you'll leave it connected all the time, it will sense when the power is out and kick on automatically.
That's why I suggest an electrician.
Call this guy, I bought two from him, you can't beat the price, and he uses Kubota matched with the best alternators.
Mine is enclosed and you can carry on a conversation while sitting on the gen.
http://www.allworlddieselgen.com/

Call 855-664-3599 or email [email protected]

That's how I want to go. At least for my mom. The power rarely goes out. Only twice during ice storms over the past ten years but she's 77 and no power in November could be dangerous. I'll do something similar for myself but we're moving back to the motherland. However a good back up system should be a nice selling point.

Quote from: The Boo Man... on March 09, 2014, 10:57:29 PM
That's how I want to go. At least for my mom. The power rarely goes out. Only twice during ice storms over the past ten years but she's 77 and no power in November could be dangerous. I'll do something similar for myself but we're moving back to the motherland. However a good back up system should be a nice selling point.

Definitely would help a sale.
I believe the cost addition for auto start runs anywhere from two hundred to as much as a grand plus, depending on brand or other options.
I just have a switch in the house with a breaker, which saved about 500 bucks, you''re looking at around 2 to 4 hours installation by an electrician, so figure $50+ an hour plus material/wire which isn't cheap anymore.

But the moment the genset senses a brown out, or outage, it disconnects the grid and starts the gen, as soon as it warms up and senses a clean sine-wave signal, the gen feeds the house, about a minute or so.
When power returns and is stable, it''ll disconnect the gen and shutdown.

Just plan on a 20+ gallon tank for diesel, and be sure and ask if the tank can be above the gen, or has to set next to it, some gensets have a pump return line, while others don't and need a tank level with the gen, but most don't come with a tank.
Look for one in the 6000 KW range, that should be sufficient, unless you plan on running a heat pump in the house, then 7KW+.

Quote from: Solar on March 10, 2014, 06:40:14 AM
Definitely would help a sale.
I believe the cost addition for auto start runs anywhere from two hundred to as much as a grand plus, depending on brand or other options.
I just have a switch in the house with a breaker, which saved about 500 bucks, you''re looking at around 2 to 4 hours installation by an electrician, so figure $50+ an hour plus material/wire which isn't cheap anymore.

But the moment the genset senses a brown out, or outage, it disconnects the grid and starts the gen, as soon as it warms up and senses a clean sine-wave signal, the gen feeds the house, about a minute or so.
When power returns and is stable, it''ll disconnect the gen and shutdown.

Just plan on a 20+ gallon tank for diesel, and be sure and ask if the tank can be above the gen, or has to set next to it, some gensets have a pump return line, while others don't and need a tank level with the gen, but most don't come with a tank.
Look for one in the 6000 KW range, that should be sufficient, unless you plan on running a heat pump in the house, then 7KW+.

Now I see how it works. My mom has a driveway that fits three cars and it buts up alongside the house. The very back of the driveway is where I would put the generator and fuel tank right up against the house because on the other side of the wall is the electrical box. So the whole thing would be literally inches from from the box, water heater and furnace. And it's right by here back door. She no longer drives but it would still leave room for 2 cars easy and a third by the Generator with a little less width.

Quote from: The Boo Man... on March 10, 2014, 09:12:08 PM
Now I see how it works. My mom has a driveway that fits three cars and it buts up alongside the house. The very back of the driveway is where I would put the generator and fuel tank right up against the house because on the other side of the wall is the electrical box. So the whole thing would be literally inches from from the box, water heater and furnace. And it's right by here back door. She no longer drives but it would still leave room for 2 cars easy and a third by the Generator with a little less width.

Cool, let me know how it works out.