The official weather thread

[Uncle Ted]

Man, I need to do that. Nice setup.

Just do it yourself, Dude... It's not that hard if you don't go to the trouble to split out the loads and just use a manual transfer switch. You can get one of those cheap Chinese 12KVA generators like I did (I got mine for like $600 off eBay when some seller was dumping them) and you too can be a prepper!

[Moliere]

How big of a generator did you go with? And how often do you need to refuel?

Bought it at Lowe’s during the tax day floods 4-5 years ago. It was the biggest they sold at the time. I don’t think it’ll power my house AC units but I’m going to try some day just to see. If not, it will power my mini split in the garage so I’ll be sleeping in the garage during the next hurricane.

I think it holds 8 gallons. Run time depends on load. Yesterday I ran it for maybe five hours. It powered two furnaces, two fridges, a deep freezer, the smoke detectors, the wifi and tv plus some lights during that time. I went through maybe just less than half a tank. So I bet I could get ten hours easy under that load with a full tank.

[Bo Diddley]

Bought it at Lowe’s during the tax day floods 4-5 years ago. It was the biggest they sold at the time. I don’t think it’ll power my house AC units but I’m going to try some day just to see. If not, it will power my mini split in the garage so I’ll be sleeping in the garage during the next hurricane.

I think it holds 8 gallons. Run time depends on load. Yesterday I ran it for maybe five hours. It powered two furnaces, two fridges, a deep freezer, the smoke detectors, the wifi and tv plus some lights during that time. I went through maybe just less than half a tank. So I bet I could get ten hours easy under that load with a full tank.

Nice. 8 gallons seems like a lot to me. I'd just hate to have to get up in the middle of the night to refuel.

[Pelado]

Nice. 8 gallons seems like a lot to me. I'd just hate to have to get up in the middle of the night to refuel.

It's much better to stay in bed, shivering to death.

[Bo Diddley]

It's much better to stay in bed, shivering to death.

[Uncle Ted]

Bought it at Lowe’s during the tax day floods 4-5 years ago. It was the biggest they sold at the time. I don’t think it’ll power my house AC units but I’m going to try some day just to see. If not, it will power my mini split in the garage so I’ll be sleeping in the garage during the next hurricane.

I think it holds 8 gallons. Run time depends on load. Yesterday I ran it for maybe five hours. It powered two furnaces, two fridges, a deep freezer, the smoke detectors, the wifi and tv plus some lights during that time. I went through maybe just less than half a tank. So I bet I could get ten hours easy under that load with a full tank.

I got one like this... I got a slightly used one off eBay from a local guy that was dumping his for $600. He got it for a construction job and then didn't need it. I think they normally sell for twice that.



Nice thing is that it is dual fuel: gas and propane. I need to change the jetting, etc. and make it run off NG then I won't have to run to the gas station or HomeDepot to pick up a propane bottle. I keep thinking about doing that but it is only when I need to use it.

Running the AC off a generator is hard to do. The problem is the startup current is like 3x-8x the steady state current and generators are not good for "bursty" demand like that. I have been thinking about getting some wall batteries (LG Chem or Telsa Powerwall) that can solve that problem.

[Pelado]

I got one like this... I got a slightly used one off eBay from a local guy that was dumping his for $600. He got it for a construction job and then didn't need it. I think they normally sell for twice that.



Nice thing is that it is dual fuel: gas and propane. I need to change the jetting, etc. and make it run off NG then I won't have to run to the gas station or HomeDepot to pick up a propane bottle. I keep thinking about doing that but it is only when I need to use it.

Running the AC off a generator is hard to do. The problem is the startup current is like 3x-8x the steady state current and generators are not good for "bursty" demand like that. I have been thinking about getting some wall batteries (LG Chem or Telsa Powerwall) that can solve that problem.

I saw a multi-fuel generator at Costco leading up to the holidays that I considered purchasing but didn't. I think it claimed to be able to run on gasoline, propane, or natural gas.

[BigFatMeanie]

I saw a multi-fuel generator at Costco leading up to the holidays that I considered purchasing but didn't. I think it claimed to be able to run on gasoline, propane, or natural gas.

I'll bet it was a Firman - Chinese brand (i.e. Chinese company manufactured in China, not a US company outsourcing manufacture to China). The Firmans they sell at Costco are made exclusively for Costco.

[Pelado]

I'll bet it was a Firman - Chinese brand (i.e. Chinese company manufactured in China, not a US company outsourcing manufacture to China). The Firmans they sell at Costco are made exclusively for Costco.

You're probably right. I think it was this one:

https://www.costco.com/firman-7500w-...100648883.html

Part of the reason I didn't buy it was because I had no idea if it was a good deal or not.

[BigFatMeanie]

You're probably right. I think it was this one:

https://www.costco.com/firman-7500w-...100648883.html

Part of the reason I didn't buy it was because I had no idea if it was a good deal or not.

They're a good deal. The biggest knock on them is that they're noisy as crap.

[Bo Diddley]

They're a good deal. The biggest knock on them is that they're noisy as crap.

We sometimes stack up sand bags around generators to quiet them in the field, or dig a hole in the ground to put them in.

I think at one point in Iraq, we put up some Texas T barriers in front of the 900kw generators running our camp.

[Pelado]

They're a good deal. The biggest knock on them is that they're noisy as crap.

I think they were even cheaper in December.

[Moliere]

They're a good deal. The biggest knock on them is that they're noisy as crap.

I'd like to find a quiet generator that is powerful enough for what we need. I don't hink they exist. Our backyard neighbor's next door neighbor has a whole house generator. We know the power is out to the subdivision when his generator kicks on because we can hear it fairly loudly all the way to our house.

[Uncle Ted]

We sometimes stack up sand bags around generators to quiet them in the field, or dig a hole in the ground to put them in.

I think at one point in Iraq, we put up some Texas T barriers in front of the 900kw generators running our camp.

What's a Texas T barrier? I like the name.

[Bo Diddley]

What's a Texas T barrier? I like the name.

This was down in Kuwait when we first got overseas. Memories!

By the phones.jpg