The videos I posted above were made by someone else .. however, I really liked the fact that he showed day two and day five of actual use .. real life.
I have a Generac GP2200i and a Firman W2100i .. the most popular brands are probably Honda and Yamaha .. but I’ve had excellent luck with these as well as a Westinghouse WH2200ixlt .. a beautiful little machine .. that I have also used. Each of my units cost in neighborhood of $500 dollars .. they run very quiet around 59 decibels in economy setting mode and both produce “clean power” for electronics by using inverter design where the power is changed from AC to DC and then back to AC .. clean sine wave power.
.. both are very portable, weigh about fifty pounds each and can power refrig, TV, lights and computers .. modems,etc. at same time.
Since they are small .. if I want to cook I unplug refrig and use induction hotplate at 600-900 watts and then return cord to refrigerator.
I use 10 gauge cords from generators to house and refrigerator .. splitting to 12 gauge for fan, tv and computer and then using a power bar to 14 gauge to general led house lighting which consumes almost nothing. A decent seventy five foot 10 gauge cord will cost around 100 dollars. I paid about $150 for a one hundred foot 10 gauge “yellow jacket brand .. the cord many contractors use on construction sites” cord that feeds the house .. I like the generator at least fifty to even seventy five feet from building to keep exhaust fumes, sound and smell completely away from dwelling. This cord is so massive (looks almost like a yellow garden hose) that the voltage drop on such a long run is negligible. I consider the cords “10 gauge” to be one of the most important items of the entire set-up .. thus, enduring the necessary cost to get good ones.
I also have a small 6000 btu air conditioner that can be powered by the Generac in an emergency if central air-fails .. it will cool 150 sq ft or one small room.
Why do I go with small generators instead of one bigger 3000 or larger watt? I like the low fuel consumption and flexibility .. I use a wireless thermometer to read refrig and freezer without opening doors and can shut down generator until once again needed as temps slowly rise. The thermometer signals an alarm at about 39 degrees to, once again, start up generator.
I also can shut down one unit and keep second one running on economy mode .. about 9 hours on one gallon of gas to keep a fan and tv and modem etc running all night. Occasionally starting second unit for freezer or refrigerator .. I can actually go for a couple of days on just a few gallons of fuel.
I use radiant wood heat so I don’t worry about feeding a furnace with power .. and I keep plenty of drinking water on hand so I don’t need to power my submersible pump during an outage. For these reasons .. I get by fine with two small units rather than a whole house system using much more fuel. Nothing against a whole house system, for a family it might be preferable .. eliminating cords .. and using a permanent transfer switch near breaker box .. if you have the fuel .. for me, it’s all about fuel .. having enough and being able to get more .. will I be able to get more fuel? .. that’s the question. I live alone and don’t need that fancy set-up, I keep about ten gallons of stabilized non-ethanol gas on hand .. enough for a few days of relative comfort.
hmskl’d 1 year, 8 months ago.
