whole house generator (Naples, Immokalee, Englewood: transfer, buying, maintenance)

[Corrie22]

Nap, Tri, and Mark....you guys are the best.....thank you!
..I'm going to save this post for later...it's my go to!

[Naplesfan]

I have a large above ground tank at a rental property I recently purchased. I think it's around 200 gallons. I don't know how much propane is left in it but it's yours for the hauling if anyone wants it. it's located in San Carlos Park.


Naplesfan

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Naplesfan

I have a large above ground tank at a rental property I recently purchased. I think it's around 200 gallons. I don't know how much propane is left in it but it's yours for the hauling if anyone wants it. it's located in San Carlos Park.


Naplesfan

You don’t want to use it for the generator? Would probably run it for days.

[Naplesfan]

No I want the portability to put the whole thing away when it's not in use.
It's all yours if you want it.
It's heavy.
Naplesfan

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Naplesfan

No I want the portability to put the whole thing away when it's not in use.
It's all yours if you want it.
It's heavy.
Naplesfan

Don't need it but thanks

[Tripower455]

Originally Posted by Naplesfan

No I want the portability to put the whole thing away when it's not in use.
It's all yours if you want it.
It's heavy.
Naplesfan

Will it fit in a full sized pickup? If so, I might be interested.

[Naplesfan]

Tripower


We pulled it out from along the fence and on the backside was a sticker. Property of Amerigas. I'll call them Monday and see if they want it.


On another note, you can drive that 455 over here and see how it does against my LT1.


Naplesfan

[Melchisedec]

Originally Posted by markjames68

Easiest solution is what I did

1) get an interlock kit installed for your panel. The kit itself is $100-150, installed by an electrician all in should be less than $800 including a load meter and outside outlet. I had a 50A outlet installed

An interlock switch lets you power anything in your panel - you select the load manually. A meter helps manage the load and avoid overloading the generator or tripping the breaker. You will need a couple of free spaces at the top right to put in the 50A double pole breaker.

2) get a 50A output generator if you want to power central AC. I got this one:

https://www.electricgeneratorsdirect...or/p62651.html

Has enough output, a Honda engine, MeccAlte alternator. This gives you clean power and reliability, something the cheap Generac models don’t provide. It’s also relatively quiet for its size.

Do not underestimate the importance of clean power if you are powering modern appliances and electronics. A MeccAlte alternator puts out less than 6% distortion, near utility grade.

3) have enough gas on hand for several days runtime. 20-25 gallons in 5 gallon cans should suffice if you’re not running it 24x7. Figure around 1 gallon per hour of use

4) an oil and filter change kit if you are running it more than 25 hours.

After Irma I was able to run almost my entire 3000 Sq Ft house, including 2 HVAC units and pool pump or HW heater. I could do this as I have very efficient ACs, but this should run at least one AC unit.

Total cost around $4K, which is a lot less than the cost and permitting required for a whole house automatic unit ($15K+ including buried 500 gallon propane tank).

For around $9K you can get a couple of high end Honda inverters and link them together. That would be quieter still and more fuel efficient but I don’t think the ROI is there.

No matter what generator you get, get the interlock installed with meter and 50A socket. If you use a smaller 30A generator just get a cable that converts, but you will need to watch your loads. 30A will not start most central AC units.

Lastly - get it all installed and tested well before you think you will need it. And use some kind of stabilizer in the gas so you can keep it on hand.

I'm not in Florida, but this topic caught my eye.

$15,000 for a whole house ?

Way too steep !

In In 2013 my wife was paralyzed with ALS and on hospice......electric air mattress, electric hospital bed, electric oxygen machine.

I had a company install me a GENERAC 20k.....runs on propane......whole house generator.

It does a 12 minute test run every Tuesday at 11 pm.

Kicks in automatically about 15 seconds after power goes out and kicks off when power is restored.

Total cost including delivery, installing electrical box outside my house, was..........$6,200

I doubt very much that same unit installed in Florida would be $15,000!

[Naplesfan]

Here's how to do it on an island where there is no power. You need a solar panel or 2, a battery bank or Elon Musk's new house battery an inverter and a used Prius. Hook the solar panels to the battery bank and under the floor behind the drivers seat you'll find a plug. Park the Prius and run a cable from the plug to the batteries. Bring the Prius a can of gas once a week. It will manage the whole system.



Naplesfan

[Tripower455]

Originally Posted by Naplesfan

Tripower


We pulled it out from along the fence and on the backside was a sticker. Property of Amerigas. I'll call them Monday and see if they want it.


On another note, you can drive that 455 over here and see how it does against my LT1.


Naplesfan

Thanks....

My car runs low 7.60s in the 1/8th. If yours runs quicker, then it'll beat mine.