Emergency Generators? (new house, live, costs)

[reubenray]

Being I am from hurricane country I have learned to depend on emergency generators. Up in NWA is this necessary? Also if so how long will one run on a propane tank being natural gas is not available?

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by reubenray

Being I am from hurricane country I have learned to depend on emergency generators. Up in NWA is this necessary? Also if so how long will one run on a propane tank being natural gas is not available?

Have no idea about how long one will run but I do know it might be a good idea to get one. No, we do not have one and in 12 years here, only twice did we wish we had one, but we are lucky, we have good friends who can help us keep our food fresh if needed. The bad news about that is when the power goes out in the winter, which is rare a generator certainly would come in handy.

[latunafish]

we have a new generator at one of our work locations and it is fueled by a 300 gal butane tank, exclusively. we were told it should run 5-7 days, depending on load. i might know more after this week! (i would just assume a home model would run considerably longer)

[vcvs]

I’ve lived here the last 5 years and only once have I needed the generator. We had some damaging winds last year and power was out for 2 days in some parts. My generator ran for almost 48 hours, running the fridge and etc. That was a rare occurrence. If the ‘big one’ ever comes, it will prob be a massive ice storm that knocks out power for several days. We are susceptible to freezing rain here, but haven’t seen a lot of it over the past several years. Historically though, the largest power outages have been from freezing rain and sleet (so I’ve been told).
It would be wise to keep a generator on hand. At least a 3500 to run the fridge, freezer and TV.

[reubenray]

I am guessing fireplaces will keep you warm during an ice storm power outage. Being from the deep South I never had a need for a fireplace. Most of the houses I have looked at online have them. I am assuming most (if not all) of these are wood and not gas fired.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by vcvs

I’ve lived here the last 5 years and only once have I needed the generator. We had some damaging winds last year and power was out for 2 days in some parts. My generator ran for almost 48 hours, running the fridge and etc. That was a rare occurrence. If the ‘big one’ ever comes, it will prob be a massive ice storm that knocks out power for several days. We are susceptible to freezing rain here, but haven’t seen a lot of it over the past several years. Historically though, the largest power outages have been from freezing rain and sleet (so I’ve been told).
It would be wise to keep a generator on hand. At least a 3500 to run the fridge, freezer and TV.

That is one of the examples of having a generator. The same storm left us without power for almost 4 days. We were the last to get power back. Thank God we had a friend that could store some of our food from our freezer. We still lost a lot, but without the friend we would have lost everything.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by reubenray

I am guessing fireplaces will keep you warm during an ice storm power outage. Being from the deep South I never had a need for a fireplace. Most of the houses I have looked at online have them. I am assuming most (if not all) of these are wood and not gas fired.

Most are gas operated or at least that has been our experience. Yes, they would help keep you warm as long as you can turn them on without an electric switch which we can. This is why we have propane. It helps a lot during the winter. That is the only thing we use propane for and it costs us about $150 a year. We use the fireplace a lot during the winter, especially when we are watching TV.

[vcvs]

Originally Posted by reubenray

I am guessing fireplaces will keep you warm during an ice storm power outage. Being from the deep South I never had a need for a fireplace. Most of the houses I have looked at online have them. I am assuming most (if not all) of these are wood and not gas fired.

Most every new house built here will have a fireplace, but the type of fireplaces installed in newer houses are of the pre-fab type, and one should understand the limitations. A standard pre-fab wood burning fireplace will put out some heat, but most of the energy will be lost up the chimney. You can get a little better ROI if you have a fan forced option to distribute some of the heat into the room. Many folks, and even some builders, install the propane logs within the pre-fab and you can get a lot of heat, but obviously you need a propane tank.

Many older homes here (those early homes built by cooper), have real fireplaces (real chimneys from the ground all the way up through roof). Many were built with or converted to wood burning stoves and capable of heating the entire home. The home we are remodeling has a real fireplace, with a stove insert (house was built in 1979). Our current home has a pellet stove. I highly recommend a pellet stove. A pellet stove is extremely efficient and can heat pretty much the entire home. You can vent a pellet stove through the wall (like a dryer), or up through the roof. Only drawback with a pellet stove is that you need power to run it (fan and auger). A 3500 generator will run your fridge, TV and pellet stove easily. Edit: You also need to keep a good supply of pellets on hand and be able to keep them dry.

[knrstz]

I looked in to getting one and its hard to find an affordable option that doesn't have horrible reviews.

[vcvs]

Originally Posted by knrstz

I looked in to getting one and its hard to find an affordable option that doesn't have horrible reviews.

Find you a generator with a Honda engine. Champion also makes a great generator and they are affordable (Atwoods carries them). Run 100% gasoline in it (no ethanol mix), if you can find it. Also run a product called Stabil (if you haven't heard of it) in the fuel tank. Run it until the stabil gets into the carb, then shut it down and store it. Crank it up about every other month and let it run for about 15 mins. And you should be good.
Most of the issues come from people who let old gas sit in the tank for a year or longer. Stabil will keep the gasoline fresh for a couple years (or longer). Many people will cut off the fuel supply to the carb and let it run until out of fuel (draining the carb) and then store it. I do not do that, I prefer to allow the gas (treated with stabil) to sit in the carb, this way the carb seals won't dry out.

Champion also makes a duel fuel generator (propane or gasoline). It's reasonably priced and would be a great option if you happen to have a larger propane tank on your property.