Looks like loosing power is becoming more and more of a possibility these days....we'd love to get a whole house generator, but the thought of spending approx 10,000 for one is keeping us from doing so. I've also read some poor reviews on some of the Generac's. we do have propane, so would love to hook one up with that. whole house seems to make the most sense, expecially since my husband isn't so handy, nor am i and it sounds like the portable ones have to be run periodically to keep them running properly.

I'd love to get some feedback about generator suggestions, types, brands, etc.


Oh and Happy New Year! So happy we have this forum available to us! Thanks Jill!

I'm in the same boat as you, summer outages aren't as bad but a winter outage during freezing temperatures scares me. I would like to run my propane furnace, well pump and a few outlets. This hookup is probably not a job for the average homeowner, but I don't know. Hoping others have suggestions.

About a month ago, we were without out power for a couple of days after a wind storm. I have a 5500 watt generator(Generac.) Two days isn't too big of a problem. I heat with wood, so I am warm, and I can cook on the wood stove. My Dad, did not have one. I have been after him for years to get one. Well, he finally decided after that to get one. I called him on the second day and asked him how he was doing. He said, " well, I'm just sitting here in the basement(where the propane fireplace is)with a flashlight taped to my head, reading a book." I laughed so hard a couldn't stand it. I think the fact that I had lights and was watching TV got too him.

Right about that time, a guy showed me that Consumer reports rated generators. For a portable generator, they rated Harbor Freight's Predator as a best buy. I did a bunch of comparing and decided to get him one.

Got him a 7000 watt (8750 surge watts)for $529. They sell them, ala cart. If you want the wheel and handle kit, you pay another $25. It has electric start, but doesn't include the battery. It has a 90 day warranty; if you want a one year warranty, you can pay for it; I think $129.

Well, we live in the part of Michigan that just had the ice storm. We were luckier than others, and were only out for 3 days. Some people, my neighbor 1/10th of a mile to my north, is on day 6. 3 days, this time of year, without electricity can be rough. Temperature the second night where down to 8 degrees. You need heat, if you don't burn wood, and you need water; especially, if you have animals.

To make it a little more stress, my bother and is wife and two kids where visiting from Florida, and staying with them.

I was incredibly impressed with the Predator generator. It started on the first easy pull, and is about half as loud as mine. They are basically a Honda knock off; made in China.

You can wire a transfer switch box into your home, so you can run the pretty much everything you need, even running a portable generator. You may have to switch some things off while running others; it just depends on how much you need to run and how big of a generator you have.


Mike

Please try and read through all of the mis-spellings and incorrect gramer in my post. I was in a big hurry and didn't proof read.

Mike

We have had a Honda 6500 for about 3 yrs now. Love it. Had a Briggs & Stratton
Previously -Unreliable. Both were hard wired.
Even our small dog show honda generator is still a workhorse.
We have had ice storms, hurricanes etc where we have lost power for more than 5-7 days
At a time. Highly recommend Honda

I got mine at Costco. Consumer Reports reviewed generators and one of the ones sold at Costco rated pretty high. THIS is the one I have. I have it so I can plug in a cord, flip a breaker switch and everything in the house except the stove and clothes dryer works.

Just a word of caution to anyone not familiar with portable generators. Please, please, please educate yourselves about proper use after purchasing and before starting it up. While they make life much easier during power outages generators can also be very dangerous if not used correctly. I watched my neighbor's home burn to the ground last year due to operator error with a portable generator on day 2 of a power outage. Fortunately no one was hurt, but they lost everything. Please read the manual, ask questions and read the manual again.

We are on our second generator, the first one we got from Home Depot lasted about 15 years. Where we live it's not uncommon to lose power for 2-3 days and at all times of the year,the big winter storm a couple years back we were without power for almost 3 weeks,we ran it almost 24/7 , gave it a few breaks . Our 5000 watt Homelite generator,has a Subaru engine.This one was about $650 and worth every penny. When we moved here we had our electrician friend hard wire it into the house, he put in the boxes on the outside that we plug it into so all we have to do is pull over the lever on the fuse panel and start it up.
It powers the whole house,water heater,furnace ,fridge, freezer, the stove and the all important Coffee Pot! Oh and the pumps/filters, de-icers and aerators for 2 fish ponds as well. We can use even the dryer if we turn off most of the lights or if my husband gets a different chord/plug than we wouldn't have to, it's next on the To Do list.
It's a lifesaver to be able to not worry about keeping the house and dogs warm, and have running well water,and hot water at that!! We were without power and a generator for a day when the last one kicked out during a storm, having to go get large quantities of water was not easy, we are fortunate that we heat the house with a wood stove.
We are careful about where we placed it so as not to have it too close to the house when running, the chord is long enough to get it enough of a distance away.
If it cost even $ 1000 with the electrician instillation it's still a bargain!