Generator question....portable

I'm in the market for a portable generator and just need it to run the
fridge the furnace and just small things after that. I went on a few web
sites and they seem to be geared to running your whole house instead of just
a few things to get past the storm or what ever. I live SW of Chicago and
the longest I've been without power was 3 days when a tornado came through.
I would like to buy one that would get me by for a day or two at the most
and only run the basics. What I'm having trouble with is sizing the unit to
my needs. Sump pump, furnace, fridge and some lighting but I have all
compact fluorescents.

Thanks for any advice, especially from someone that has this basic setup,
Rich

Posted by RBM on March 29, 2008, 5:16 pm

> I'm in the market for a portable generator and just need it to run the

> fridge the furnace and just small things after that. I went on a few web

> sites and they seem to be geared to running your whole house instead of

> just a few things to get past the storm or what ever. I live SW of Chicago

> and the longest I've been without power was 3 days when a tornado came

> through. I would like to buy one that would get me by for a day or two at

> the most and only run the basics. What I'm having trouble with is sizing

> the unit to my needs. Sump pump, furnace, fridge and some lighting but I

> have all compact fluorescents.

> Thanks for any advice, especially from someone that has this basic setup,

> Rich

There are online sizing calculators to determine this, but you need to know
the total wattage of the things you want to power. Most of these devices
will have their amperage written on the nameplate. The single largest item
you've listed is the furnace, which has a pretty large motor. My guess,
assuming some of these motors could start and run simultaneously, is that
you'd need around 5KW. I use a portable 6KW unit to power: 2 refrigerators,
sewage ejection pump, 240 volt 1/2 HP well pump, hydronic oil fired boiler,
and a handfull of lights, TV's and PC's

Posted by =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Blattus_Slafaly on March 29, 2008, 5:36 pm

Rich wrote:

> I'm in the market for a portable generator and just need it to run the

> fridge the furnace and just small things after that. I went on a few web

> sites and they seem to be geared to running your whole house instead of just

> a few things to get past the storm or what ever. I live SW of Chicago and

> the longest I've been without power was 3 days when a tornado came through.

> I would like to buy one that would get me by for a day or two at the most

> and only run the basics. What I'm having trouble with is sizing the unit to

> my needs. Sump pump, furnace, fridge and some lighting but I have all

> compact fluorescents.

> Thanks for any advice, especially from someone that has this basic setup,

> Rich

How do you expect to connect into the circuits of these few things?
The easiest way is to plug into your dryer outlet and back feed to your
electrical box (with the mains off of course). That way everything will
run normally as always. A 5000 watt generator should do you. None of
them will run for 2 or 3 days without refueling. You'll have to gas it
up every day if you don't run it all night. Now you can get a small
diesel generator and hook it up to your oil tank and it would run until
the tank is empty. That will cost you much more. 5kw will give you
about 30 amps, the rating of your dryer cable and breaker. In the US anyway.

--
Blattus Slafaly ? 3 :) 7/8

Posted by on March 29, 2008, 5:59 pm

On Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:36:25 -0400, Blattus Slafaly 0/00 ? ? ?

>Rich wrote:

>> I'm in the market for a portable generator and just need it to run the

>> fridge the furnace and just small things after that. I went on a few web

>> sites and they seem to be geared to running your whole house instead of just

>> a few things to get past the storm or what ever. I live SW of Chicago and

>> the longest I've been without power was 3 days when a tornado came through.

>> I would like to buy one that would get me by for a day or two at the most

>> and only run the basics. What I'm having trouble with is sizing the unit to

>> my needs. Sump pump, furnace, fridge and some lighting but I have all

>> compact fluorescents.

>> Thanks for any advice, especially from someone that has this basic setup,

>> Rich

>How do you expect to connect into the circuits of these few things?

>The easiest way is to plug into your dryer outlet and back feed to your

>electrical box (with the mains off of course). That way everything will

>run normally as always. A 5000 watt generator should do you. None of

>them will run for 2 or 3 days without refueling. You'll have to gas it

>up every day if you don't run it all night. Now you can get a small

>diesel generator and hook it up to your oil tank and it would run until

>the tank is empty. That will cost you much more. 5kw will give you

>about 30 amps, the rating of your dryer cable and breaker. In the US anyway.

I have a basic setup in my home. I put in a 6 circuit switch box that
isolates the 6 circuits from the power grid. This is the safest way
to do it.
You can pick and choose the circuits you want to power, sump, well
pump, furnace, freezer, fridge, bathroom, and maybe the TV with
various outlets.
To size the generator, you must take into account the start-up draw of
what you will be powering. There are charts that can give you the
startup draw of various appliances, just add them up and then add
whatever else you will be powering and that will tell you what size
generator you need.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Posted by RBM on March 29, 2008, 6:01 pm

> Rich wrote:

>> I'm in the market for a portable generator and just need it to run the

>> fridge the furnace and just small things after that. I went on a few web

>> sites and they seem to be geared to running your whole house instead of

>> just a few things to get past the storm or what ever. I live SW of

>> Chicago and the longest I've been without power was 3 days when a tornado

>> came through. I would like to buy one that would get me by for a day or

>> two at the most and only run the basics. What I'm having trouble with is

>> sizing the unit to my needs. Sump pump, furnace, fridge and some lighting

>> but I have all compact fluorescents.

>> Thanks for any advice, especially from someone that has this basic setup,

>> Rich

> How do you expect to connect into the circuits of these few things?

> The easiest way is to plug into your dryer outlet and back feed to your

> electrical box (with the mains off of course). That way everything will

> run normally as always. A 5000 watt generator should do you. None of them

> will run for 2 or 3 days without refueling. You'll have to gas it up every

> day if you don't run it all night. Now you can get a small diesel

> generator and hook it up to your oil tank and it would run until the tank

> is empty. That will cost you much more. 5kw will give you about 30 amps,

> the rating of your dryer cable and breaker. In the US anyway.

> --

> Blattus Slafaly ? 3 :) 7/8

What you suggest, is not only illegal in every jurisdiction, but a potential
electrocution hazard to both the operator and any lineman working to restore
power. Simple, safe, and legal generator transfer panels can be bought for a
few hundred dollars

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