Generators

[BigFatMeanie]

Power is out. For those who have a generator, how long do you wait before you decide to fire it up? One hour? Two hours? I feel like there is some threshold where if I fire it up too soon it’s embarrassing, unmanly, and a waste of time.

Also, do you use an interlock device, transfer switch, or just hang an extension cord off the generator?

[Uncle Ted]

Power is out. For those who have a generator, how long do you wait before you decide to fire it up? One hour? Two hours? I feel like there is some threshold where if I fire it up too soon it’s embarrassing, unmanly, and a waste of time.

Also, do you use an interlock device, transfer switch, or just hang an extension cord off the generator?

I just made a 50 amp cable that has two male ends. I turn off the main breaker and all the unimportant breakers, and plug the generator into a 50 amp outlet I have in the garage (that I put in for charging our plugin hybrid). The cable is about 20-30' long so I can roll the generator outside. The power company would crap a brick if they knew I was using this illegal cable but the price is right.

I hook and start it up ASAP to annoy the neighbors by letting them see that I am watching the game through my window. If you don't have your generator now then get it soon!...

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[old_gregg]

an hour max (why pay for a generator if you’re not going to use it). 7k watt inverter into an interlocked 50a.

[BigFatMeanie]

Fortunately I’ve got a 10kW dual fuel bad boy already.

I fire it up quarterly then drain the gas out of the tank and carburetor and wait for another three months to fire it up again.

Power came back on after 45 minutes tonight. Fortunately, Rocky Mountain Power sends out a helpful email nothing how long they estimate the outage will be. I’m thinking 2 hours is my threshold for firing it up.

[Moliere]

Power is out. For those who have a generator, how long do you wait before you decide to fire it up? One hour? Two hours? I feel like there is some threshold where if I fire it up too soon it’s embarrassing, unmanly, and a waste of time.

Also, do you use an interlock device, transfer switch, or just hang an extension cord off the generator?

The time I go without power depends on what caused the power to go out. If it's a hurricane or tropical storm, I usually grab the generator right away or when the storm passes. If it's a freak storm I'll wait and see if hte power comes back on quickly. If I'm waiting, I'll usually give it at most 4 hours since it's at that point that the effort to get out the generator is becoming worth the hassle over adn above the discomfort of not having power. Also, most fridges/freezers can easily go 4 hours wihtout power and some even longer.

I have an interlock switch. It cost $500 to install and has been worth every penny. I only have a 30amp switch but I'm looking to upgrade to a 50 amp since I want to be able to run my A/C units or at least one of them. But the convenience of just plugging the generator into the interlock switch and then being able to use lights and fans and not having to run extension cords to the fridge/freezers is worth the cost.

I have a gas generator that only does about 6,500 watts and it powers everything without issue except for the A/C, over, microwave and pool pump. I'm looking at getting a 10,000 watt tri-fuel generator, which should handle everything at the same time except the oven and pool pump. I have a natural gas line to my outdoor grill that I'd like to put a quick connect tap onto so I can easily plug in the generator since gasoline is a pain. I've done the legl work on all of this and just need to call my electrician neighbor to have him do most of the work.

A lot of people around here have whole-house generators and we came very close to installing one but they take up a sizeable chunk of real estate and we really only use our generator once every 2-3 years, if that. So the $15k cost to install one of those vs the $500 interlock switch was a no brainer.