rick81721
Lothar
This is our plan if we ever lose power again.
We had one in our old house. Change oil every few years, very easy. Biggest expense is changing the battery, which seems to last about 3 years. Again, an easy DIYer
Hurricane thread(aka kitchen appliances I can't afford thread)
- Thread starter A Potted Plant
- Start date
This is our plan if we ever lose power again.
We had one in our old house. Change oil every few years, very easy. Biggest expense is changing the battery, which seems to last about 3 years. Again, an easy DIYer
n
My 5500 watt (Sandy Era) generator hooked up to the transfer switch powers my well pump, sump pump, heat, fridge, living room TV, and cable/WiFi.
just no central Air.
My 5500 watt (Sandy Era) generator hooked up to the transfer switch powers my well pump, sump pump, heat, fridge, living room TV, and cable/WiFi.
just no central Air.
jackx
Well-Known Member
Good to know its possible to power that much stuff with 5,500 watts.Thanks. My septic is downhill so it's powered by gravity.
GSTim
Formerly M3Tim
No, I have a well and run everything at the same time as the well pump is filling the tank, no issues. You can hear the load on the generator when the well pump is on, but that's all.
As I said my generator is an older Harbor Freight and is 6500W running/7000 max. The newer ones are 8750W/9000W.
If you hard wire it into your box you only need a 220 breaker and a safety switch like this:
Manual Transfer Switch | Extension Cord | Generator Interlock Kit
Our Interlock Kits act like manual transfer switches for electrical panels; they provide safe, easy connections between homes and portable generators.
www.interlockkit.com
I just made my own.
P.S. for that safety plate to work you need to make sure the breaker is in the slot right below the main.
68nova200
Well-Known Member
An easy way to estimate how big of a generator you need is to take your monthly power usage in kwh and divide by the waking hours in a month. in my case last month I used 730 kwh of energy. I could easily run my house on a 3500w generator. Most likely the breaker would trip if everything kicked on at once though.
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
Same here (I mean there,I'm in Secaucus right now). Later on I am heading to West Milford to pickup a bigger generator, apparently power has been restored over there. Any confirmation? Anyway, the small one I borrowed from a kind soul (a very good friend) is not cutting it, probably due to some dirt in the fuel jet (I had to run it with 1 click choke or it would surge). Wife said she saw a lot of activity on Cupsaw Ave today so I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed for a small miracle.
Internet just came back!
Electric is still out - so i ran an extension cord to my computer!
it only looks bad because i was in a hurry to get it wired up.
once i jam the cover on, the homeowner won't know the difference 😉
It isn't a large enough transfer switch for what i need. so it has a limited life - probably go with a sub panel with the important stuff,
and a transfer switch in between - might even go for the big, whole house job.
if using a small generator, i could manage the load.
i'm running 5500/8500, problem is the well/pool/hot tub/two ac units -
- pool - it is going to turn green and cost me $100 to recover (at least)
- hot tub - more important in winter, if it freezes, it's toast
I should cut the mains and feed the panel, and manage the load with the breakers.
dare ya!
it isn't that hard.
that is what i have hooked up - and doubled the leads for the well to power a freezer, and another small under-counter (beer) fridge.
then two extension cords (garage fridge, and one hanging in the kitchen for "stuff") - oh, and the whole house fan.
Could def get a bigger transfer switch and run the lights/ceiling fans.
Electric is still out - so i ran an extension cord to my computer!
it only looks bad because i was in a hurry to get it wired up.
once i jam the cover on, the homeowner won't know the difference 😉
It isn't a large enough transfer switch for what i need. so it has a limited life - probably go with a sub panel with the important stuff,
and a transfer switch in between - might even go for the big, whole house job.
if using a small generator, i could manage the load.
i'm running 5500/8500, problem is the well/pool/hot tub/two ac units -
- pool - it is going to turn green and cost me $100 to recover (at least)
- hot tub - more important in winter, if it freezes, it's toast
I should cut the mains and feed the panel, and manage the load with the breakers.
dare ya!
it isn't that hard.
that is what i have hooked up - and doubled the leads for the well to power a freezer, and another small under-counter (beer) fridge.
then two extension cords (garage fridge, and one hanging in the kitchen for "stuff") - oh, and the whole house fan.
Could def get a bigger transfer switch and run the lights/ceiling fans.
A Potted Plant
Honorary Sod
A Potted Plant
Honorary Sod
Welp
Mr.Moto
Well-Known Member
iman29
Well-Known Member
That’s funny I bought mine (also 5500W) right before sandy and didn’t end up using it then but I have used it several times since then.
just spoke to my electrician friend and this is the direction I am heading. but will just back feed the whole panel and not plan to run the central air. His advice was to just get a portable AC unit for a few hundred bucks if we really need AC that bad but that everything else including the central furnace sump pump etc can easily Run off the generator with much less hassle and a LOT less costs.
jklett
Well-Known Member
So you're saying when life gives you lemons, mix them with maple syrup and hot sauce?
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
Ironically, their outage map only shows 2 outages in the Cupsaw area of Ringwood. Service restore date/time updated. Tree is still across the street and over the power/cable lines up the road after 1 full day of 3 crews activity. Not holding my breath.
Upgrading to a bigger generator later today, planning to hook it up to the panel through the A/C hookup after disconnecting the main. Should power the whole house. Garage is cut off anyway.
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