Home Generator | The Boneyard

Home Generator

QDOG5

I dont have a drug problem I have a police problem
Joined
Jan 6, 2016
Messages
1,780
Reaction Score
8,139
I'm in the market for a home generator. I live in a 3,000 sq. ft. home. I'm looking for a generator that will power the entire house and an outdoor hot tub. I'm in suburban Chicago which has a climate similar to Connecticut. The generator will run on natural gas. Any advice on brand or how many kilowatts or other considerations would be appreciated. I'm hoping to do it all in for $5,000-$6,000.
 
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
231
Reaction Score
1,205
As one of the prior posters linked, go for a Generac. I have had a 24kw Generac for the past 20 years, for a house of similar size, and it powers the whole house, pool pumps, 2 air conditioner pumps, 2 furnaces, as well as a well pump which adds to the wattage for the house. Generacs are absolute beasts, I have lost power for 10 days and the thing just hums along and cranks out the watts. The only difference is that mine runs off of propane, through a buried 550 gallon tank, so I am completely off the grid. I think Kohler is also reputable, but I only have first hand experience with a Generac. Regardless of brand, you will need a 24kw size for the whole house.
 
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
17
Reaction Score
28
If you have natural gas for heating then a 20k should be more than enough. If your handy turn everything on in your house and take an amp reading in your panel. Assuming your having an electrician do it for you have them do the reading. The older generac were built good but the newer ones aren’t build that well. I believe Honeywell makes them so if you go that route save the money and just get Honeywell. Kohler is the way to go but alittle more expensive
 
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
14,300
Reaction Score
78,549
We're going through the same thing right now and I have 2 proposals in front of me. Both places install Kohler and Generac and both suggested Generac. Our house is about the size of yours but we don't have a hot tub, which I don't know if it changes the electrical load enough to get a bigger generator, and they suggested 18kW. I'm assuming you have central A/C as we do also. Price to install is about $8,500.

Unfortunately we don't have gas or propane here so I have to get a separate quote to install propane tanks but since you have gas to your house you don't have to deal with that. I don't know if we had gas whether there would be an additional cost above the $8,500 to hook up the gas to the generator. Probably minimal cost anyway.

$5,000 to $6,000 seems low but maybe Chicago is cheaper than Boston. Of course you probably know that the cost for generators has gone up the last year because so many people are getting them. Lead time to get the generator could be 6 weeks they said since they're flying off the shelves (if you could fit one on a shelf!).
 
Last edited:

Husky25

Dink & Dunk beat the Greatest Show on Turf.
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Messages
18,505
Reaction Score
19,477
Bough an emergency unit and had a hookup installed a year ago, December.

The electrician who did the hookup and interlock informed us that wattage is less important than amperage. That said, we have a 6500w/30 amp Generac with a push button start option. During the 5 day outage following Isaias, we powered everything, including the pool pump and blower for an inflatable waterside (son's birthday party).

The only things we didn't use was the stove, dryer, and oven (60 amps would probably handle them as well.).

Less than $2,000, all in.
 

huskeynut

Leader of the Band
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
6,886
Reaction Score
27,183
When we lived in Newtown, we installed a propane fired Generac. We purchased a 550 gallon tank from the propane supplier. The tank was installed, per building codes, away from the house which basically put it in the edge of the woods. Then an underground pipe was installed to connect the tank and the generator. The electrician who originally wired the house wired in the auto switch over box. Cost about $10,000.00 - everything included.

The generator self test every week. 8 days on the generator and we used about half the tank.

The A/C and the electric stove/ oven were not on the generator. We were fine with that. Ceiling fans were hooked so we were fine. Between the grill and a big 3 burner camp stove, food was never a problem - even in the winter.

Great investment for New England weather.
 
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
14,300
Reaction Score
78,549
Bough an emergency unit and had a hookup installed a year ago, December.

The electrician who did the hookup and interlock informed us that wattage is less important than amperage. That said, we have a 6500w/30 amp Generac with a push button start option. During the 5 day outage following Isaias, we powered everything, including the pool pump and blower for an inflatable waterside (son's birthday party).

The only things we didn't use was the stove, dryer, and oven (60 amps would probably handle them as well.).

Less than $2,000, all in.
Are these the ones you have to start up on your own if the power goes out? Someone told me they are very loud. That is the cheapest way to do it if you don't want to go all in on a standby generator. I just figured money be damned if I do it I'm going all in.
 
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
14,300
Reaction Score
78,549
When we lived in Newtown, we installed a propane fired Generac. We purchased a 550 gallon tank from the propane supplier.
Is the generator the only thing you use propane for? 550 gallon tank is huge. The only propane place I called so far said I'd need 2 100 gallon tanks (I guess they don't make a 200 gallon tank) and that would last 5 days if the power went out. I figured that would be enough. Of course if you live in CT and have a crappy electrical company 5 days might not be enough (e.g. Isaia)!
 
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
17
Reaction Score
28
Are these the ones you have to start up on your own if the power goes out? Someone told me they are very loud. That is the cheapest way to do it if you don't want to go all in on a standby generator. I just figured money be damned if I do it I'm going all in.
Both the portable and standby are very loud. The standby people here are discussing are air cooled. The best way to go if money isn’t a factor is to buy a liquid cooled. There probably 3-4K more but are much quieter and burn a lot less oil and will last much longer. The air cooled you have to check daily the oil level if it’s running non stop. I’m a lineman so I see them all the time and they wont run much longer than a few days without adding oil and they shut off when it gets low. A lot of people don’t even know to check them
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
1,540
Reaction Score
9,282
Got a Generac about 2 years ago. Uses propane Very happy with it. Lost power for 5 days last year. Worked like a charm. Kicks on about 10 seconds after outage and I just went about my business. Also have a line connecting my tanks to my gas grill. Will never have to fill that little tank again or risk running out. Great investment
 
Joined
Sep 5, 2015
Messages
324
Reaction Score
1,730
I'm in the market for a home generator. I live in a 3,000 sq. ft. home. I'm looking for a generator that will power the entire house and an outdoor hot tub. I'm in suburban Chicago which has a climate similar to Connecticut. The generator will run on natural gas. Any advice on brand or how many kilowatts or other considerations would be appreciated. I'm hoping to do it all in for $5,000-$6,000.
An outdoor hot tub when working at its max capabilities will draw 35-40 amps. On the high end that 9600 watts at full load. A typical 3000 sq ft house would work fairly well on a 20-22kw generator, with load shedding modules on the ac and not using an electric oven. You would need to go minimally 30kw to comfortably power your whole house, and hot tub. If you were to do such install in CT you would be minimally $18-20,000 for generator, transfer switch, pad, electric and gas hookup. Even a 20kw generator is going to cost you $6500 just for generator and transfer switch not accounting for labor and all other materials needed for it to run.
 
Joined
Sep 2, 2011
Messages
1,337
Reaction Score
14,442
When we lived in Newtown, we installed a propane fired Generac. We purchased a 550 gallon tank from the propane supplier. The tank was installed, per building codes, away from the house which basically put it in the edge of the woods. Then an underground pipe was installed to connect the tank and the generator. The electrician who originally wired the house wired in the auto switch over box. Cost about $10,000.00 - everything included.

The generator self test every week. 8 days on the generator and we used about half the tank.

The A/C and the electric stove/ oven were not on the generator. We were fine with that. Ceiling fans were hooked so we were fine. Between the grill and a big 3 burner camp stove, food was never a problem - even in the winter.

Great investment for New England weather.
Our experience is totally in line with @huskeynut. We have a 24kw Generac, also propane, also standby so it comes on automatically within a couple seconds of an outage, also professionally installed, also just under $10000 all in. It is an 'all house' generator so it does do A/C, stove/oven, hot water, heat, etc. It is set up to automatically 'shed' certain loads if the draw exceeds what the unit can handle. We got to pick the order of what is shed. It automatically shuts down when power is restored and also tests runs itself automatically for 5 minutes every 7 days. Importantly, it is set up so it can't send power back into the system from the house and electrocute a workman working on the lines thinking power is shut down. I have a service contract with a certified Generac electrician which runs me $400 yr for a basic spring and fall inspection which in most years is about $300 too much. On the other hand, it keeps everything square with warrantees, and over the 10 years so far, there has been a couple of times where I paid nothing extra and had significant parts and labor handled.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
334
Reaction Score
450
I'm in the market for a home generator. I live in a 3,000 sq. ft. home. I'm looking for a generator that will power the entire house and an outdoor hot tub. I'm in suburban Chicago which has a climate similar to Connecticut. The generator will run on natural gas. Any advice on brand or how many kilowatts or other considerations would be appreciated. I'm hoping to do it all in for $5,000-$6,000.
Down here in South Florida where we live in the cone of death from June through early October, we have a Generac 17500e. It's gas powered and I had an electrician install a plug on the outside of the house beneath the electric meter where you run a line from the generator to the wall. It runs the entire house----AC, hot water heater, stove, pool filter etc------ on about 10 gallons of gas a day. We've had to use it twice and have been really happy with it. Drawbacks are it's really loud and you have to remember to top off the tank before you go to sleep or you wake up in the morning without power. It was $4,500 which includes the work done by the electrician.
 

Chin Diesel

Power of Love
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
32,410
Reaction Score
97,257
We're going through the same thing right now and I have 2 proposals in front of me. Both places install Kohler and Generac and both suggested Generac. Our house is about the size of yours but we don't have a hot tub, which I don't know if it changes the electrical load enough to get a bigger generator, and they suggested 18kW. I'm assuming you have central A/C as we do also. Price to install is about $8,500.

Unfortunately we don't have gas or propane here so I have to get a separate quote to install propane tanks but since you have gas to your house you don't have to deal with that. I don't know if we had gas whether there would be an additional cost above the $8,500 to hook up the gas to the generator. Probably minimal cost anyway.

$5,000 to $6,000 seems low but maybe Chicago is cheaper than Boston. Of course you probably know that the cost for generators has gone up the last year because so many people are getting them. Lead time to get the generator could be 6 weeks they said since they're flying off the shelves (if you could fit one on a shelf!).

You have a huge advantage with a self-contained propane system.

If there is a big enough weather emergency or if a natural gas pipeline which feeds the neighborhood goes down, you are screwed.

I saw this happen last September when a hurricane did some major damage with rain and flooding and knocked out the natural gas lines feeding thousands of homes. Those who had a local propane or natural gas tank at their house were able to power up their generators.
 

formerlurker

www.stjude.org
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Messages
5,625
Reaction Score
27,359
I'm not sure
I'm in the market for a home generator. I live in a 3,000 sq. ft. home. I'm looking for a generator that will power the entire house and an outdoor hot tub. I'm in suburban Chicago which has a climate similar to Connecticut. The generator will run on natural gas. Any advice on brand or how many kilowatts or other considerations would be appreciated. I'm hoping to do it all in for $5,000-$6,000.

I may be the only person without a natural gas or oil hookup to my house but this beast ran for 2 weeks straight after Hurricane Sandy and powered every single electricity dependent device in my home. From fridges and laundry to landscape lighting and hot water heater. It got to the point where I let neighbors plug in their phones and laptops in my driveway. Yes, keeping up with fuel and oil was a bitch but I lived like a King.

Bottom line, if you own a home, invest in a full home generator of some sort

1614921361341.png
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Messages
7,255
Reaction Score
8,311
I'm in the market for a home generator. I live in a 3,000 sq. ft. home. I'm looking for a generator that will power the entire house and an outdoor hot tub. I'm in suburban Chicago which has a climate similar to Connecticut. The generator will run on natural gas. Any advice on brand or how many kilowatts or other considerations would be appreciated. I'm hoping to do it all in for $5,000-$6,000.
In the process of having a Generac installed - house is about 2300 and a 16W will power the whole house. Mine cost $6900 with an extra $600 to run the gas line to it. My neighbors house is about 4000 square ft - 20W with run most with a switch to use turn on the few things it won't cover on an as needed basis. Cost them just north of $10,000.
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Messages
7,255
Reaction Score
8,311
We're going through the same thing right now and I have 2 proposals in front of me. Both places install Kohler and Generac and both suggested Generac. Our house is about the size of yours but we don't have a hot tub, which I don't know if it changes the electrical load enough to get a bigger generator, and they suggested 18kW. I'm assuming you have central A/C as we do also. Price to install is about $8,500.

Unfortunately we don't have gas or propane here so I have to get a separate quote to install propane tanks but since you have gas to your house you don't have to deal with that. I don't know if we had gas whether there would be an additional cost above the $8,500 to hook up the gas to the generator. Probably minimal cost anyway.

$5,000 to $6,000 seems low but maybe Chicago is cheaper than Boston. Of course you probably know that the cost for generators has gone up the last year because so many people are getting them. Lead time to get the generator could be 6 weeks they said since they're flying off the shelves (if you could fit one on a shelf!).
Mine was ordered in early November, just came in 2 weeks ago. Electrician said lead time is even longer now.
 

Husky25

Dink & Dunk beat the Greatest Show on Turf.
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Messages
18,505
Reaction Score
19,477
Are these the ones you have to start up on your own if the power goes out? Someone told me they are very loud. That is the cheapest way to do it if you don't want to go all in on a standby generator. I just figured money be damned if I do it I'm going all in.
Yes. They a really no louder than a lawnmower or snowblower. Not to mention that you don't have to be as close to it while in use and every other house has one in the neighborhood. It beats twiddling your thumbs and waiting for the food to spoil.
 

huskeynut

Leader of the Band
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
6,886
Reaction Score
27,183
Is the generator the only thing you use propane for? 550 gallon tank is huge. The only propane place I called so far said I'd need 2 100 gallon tanks (I guess they don't make a 200 gallon tank) and that would last 5 days if the power went out. I figured that would be enough. Of course if you live in CT and have a crappy electrical company 5 days might not be enough (e.g. Isaia)!

The company that installed the Generac and the electrician that wired it in both said go for the 550 tank. We lived on a narrow road ( a dead end one) 4 miles in. When Sandy hit they didn't even clear the trees blocking the road for 6 days!!! Also understand we had a large house. Not going say the square footage, but with the furnace running for heat, the pump for the well and the hot water heater in addition to all the lights and the like, seemed reasonable. Didn't want to run out of propane.

I don't worry now. Living in the sunshine and warmth of Florida!!!!
 
Joined
Mar 5, 2015
Messages
1,751
Reaction Score
7,241
Is the generator the only thing you use propane for? 550 gallon tank is huge. The only propane place I called so far said I'd need 2 100 gallon tanks (I guess they don't make a 200 gallon tank) and that would last 5 days if the power went out. I figured that would be enough. Of course if you live in CT and have a crappy electrical company 5 days might not be enough (e.g. Isaia)!
Are the two 100 gallon tanks set above ground, or are these buried too? We have a propane stove, no pool or hottub yet but in the works, and we are putting in electric air-to-water heat pumps for heating in house remodel.
 
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
2,376
Reaction Score
9,551
I never thought I'd own a generator but I got on board last year since all of a sudden the CT shoreline is power outage central. We spent 14 or 15 days without power in 2020. I had enough and bought a Generac. I bought a portable one for a 2,300 sq ft home and installed a transfer switch into the meter. It's enough for heat, hot water, and to power enough lights and appliances as needed. It's worth every penny.
 

Hankster

What do I know.
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
1,912
Reaction Score
3,292
Are these the ones you have to start up on your own if the power goes out? Someone told me they are very loud. That is the cheapest way to do it if you don't want to go all in on a standby generator. I just figured money be damned if I do it I'm going all in.
Mine starts automatically. It is hooked up into the fuse panel. Transfer switch located outside of the house. Once power goes off, it senses it and throws the transfer switch. Generator goes on approx. 10 seconds after electrical shut down. Electricity comes back, it shuts off. My wife b****** about getting one. "Do we need that?" Well one time is all it took. I am buying property in Savannah Georgia. She said make sure you put a generator in.

Also, my opinion. Service it YOURSELF!!.I had people doing it. One company $200. Changed companies and they did it for $150. I looked into it and did it myself for $45-$60. And that includes changing everything to include spark plugs. Honest guys it is a no brainer.
 

Online statistics

Members online
273
Guests online
3,132
Total visitors
3,405

Forum statistics

Threads
155,802
Messages
4,032,093
Members
9,865
Latest member
Sad Tiger


Top Bottom