Generator Suggestions

[boehm742]

Looking to get a generator this winter in case of outages. Im looking to power a 250w heater and a korilla 4 powerhead minimum. Would also like to have a couple additional outlets for other equipment and or household appliances/a small portable room heater. Does anyone have any suggestions on some good units?

[power boat jim]

I have a craftsman generator that puts out 3500w that powers a reeflow pump a couple heaters metal halide lights and a freezer with power to spare. It has been a very dependable unit

[jeff@zina.com]

You'll want a 5,000 KW generator if you're serious about providing power for a period of time that includes heating/air conditioning (small units, not whole house) and refrigeration. Most generators are very similar, but look for a Honda engine if possible, easy to repair and get parts for and probably the most reliable small engines. Have gasoline on hand, run the generator outdoors, chain it down to prevent theft and test it before you need it.

Jeff

[lordofthereef]

5k KW? That seems a little overkill depending on the system you have running. Everything running at the same time for me doesn't even total 1K!

EDIT: I guess you weren't referring to a tank specific unit per se.

[Porcupinepuffer]

5k KW? That seems a little overkill depending on the system you have running. Everything running at the same time for me doesn't even total 1K!

EDIT: I guess you weren't referring to a tank specific unit per se.

The system also includes some items around the house. When electric motors and compressors "call" to run. They can sometimes require a good amount of juice to get them going. Also, running a generator near its almost max power is very hard on the stator and other components. You'll have a lot less life out of it. It's good to be over sized on the generator by a k-watt or so. 5000 watts is about an average sized/medium 240watt generator.

[TampaReefer79]

So the 5,500 watt generator I just bought is big enough? LOL I know NOTHING about them, but it was the biggest one the store had. I had a choice between 3,500 watt and 5,500 watt and I chose the bigger. I figured bigger is better. I'm just not sure HOW big 5,500 watts is in generator terms. There's a notation on the box about 'start up watts' vs 'running watts'. No clue what this means.

[Deep Thief]

Most things require more juice to start up than to just run. With this in mind, most generators will produce more power than what it is rated for in running watts. Your 5500 watt unit probably will do like 6250-6500 in start up wattage but it won't run that way for long. You did fine with the 5500 unit.

To put a little perspective to it though. A house hold electric water heater requires 4500 watts to run. So, take your water heater off the grid, and you could pretty much run your whole house on that 5500. If you turn the water heater on, make sure you have most everything else off when you do.

[TampaReefer79]

Thanks for the info!

[chilwil84]

a thing that surprisingly uses a lot of electricity is your coffee maker. mine uses over a 1,000 watts

[Rancherlee]

If you shut off the Water heater and don't use other 220v appliances like an electric oven or electric dryer a 5500/4500 should be plenty, that size is usually 2 20amp circuits. I have a 8000/6600 watt unit and It powers the whole house + 1 220v appliance if I need to use hot water or cook something in the oven. Also make sure to have enough gas, a 5500/8hp generator can go through ~18-20 gallons a day if run at full load. I know last time the power was out for 3 days my 8000watt unit burned around 12 gallons a day but it was only running at about 1/2 capacity or less.

[holdendaniel]

I have just been wrking on a couple kubota generater that would be awesme for you to bad you were not closer........I. belive that if your gonna put so much time and money into a tank you have to have backup power

[mscarpena]

I bought a honda 4300 watt generator and love it. I spent almost 2 grand on it, but should last me a lifetime. I ran anything I could throw at it. Also if your heat is off you'll need more than 1 250 watt heater. Your better off getting one large enough to run your furnace and fridge. Make yourself comfortable, but also makes your family happier to put the money out to get one.

[jeff@zina.com]

5k KW?

Crap! I can't type. 5,000 WATT, not Kilowatt. :hmm6:

That's for sustainability of the household, it'll run a tank, fridge, small heater/air conditioner, some lights and a TV.

Jeff

[auburngrad]

i havefound charts like this to help figure generator wattage needs



http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/generators/content.aspx?asset=gg_wattage

[justisathomesea]

I prefer a whole house generator if your looking to spend that kind of money, No need to set it or try and start it in the middle of a storm its automatic. You could get a 20 or 25 kw and that would be enough to run most anything including a heat pump, but would have to disable the heat strips if it was on the generator. But for the most part its the way to go more exspensive the a small generator but well worth the money and ease of mind.

[Chris27]

I have a 3500W generator that I picked up at northern tool for around $300, it runs my 180 reef, the fridge, the TV/Cable, and a few fans. While it's not a whole house unit, it takes care of what I need to take care of and still leaves me some juice to keep the beer cold in the fridge and run the TV so my kids don't drive me nuts.

[ducatimikep]

I bought a honda 4300 watt generator and love it. I spent almost 2 grand on it, but should last me a lifetime.

That is absolutely crazy!
I have just upgraded to a Generac portable that is 4X as powerful
as that honda at less then 70% the cost....and its electric start.
I can easily run my whole house off it and still have power to send to
the neighbors.

[potterjon]

Last year when we had our power outage, I used my portable generator to run power heads and the heater. We were without power for about two days and everything was fine. It won't run a fridge or anything but it is portable and affordable. We could at least watch tv in the freezing cold and I was happy knowing that my tank would make it. It was only a few hundred bucks and I can take it with me. I am talking about the models with a handle that you can just pick up. It was fine for my tank. :)

[auburngrad]

ducatimikep where did u get a 16000 watt generator for $1400? i would love to have one

[ducatimikep]

16,500 watts actually
Northern Equipment
scratch & dent sale.
Had to put in a battery & replace the LCD hour meter.

[auburngrad]

thats a sweet deal i paid 900 for a 6 kw but of course i bought it during hurricane season lol

[mike_dani]

If your looking for a whole home generator, I would suggest the Generac Guardian units. I have one for my house and during the summer can run the 300 gallon display and only have to chose between the stove and A/C.

The only issue I have is during winter, I can run my Heat Pump without strip heat but not both at the same time.....To do all of this I needed a 28KW and wasnt going to shell out that cash. I love it cost around 4500 total 3800 for the generator and another 700 for install.....

Here is a link (http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/Generac-Guardian-5887-Standby-Generator/p4798.html) for the one I bought

[Drez]

Can't help re a generetor but all you need some flow to tie you over till your up and running again, most powerheads are pretty low drain so a couple PC back ups would be easier and cheaper idea if that hasn't been considered. Not trying to talk you out of the genereator and you may have considered it already but just a budget alternative that I know a lot of reefers use

[Paco]

This is what I did: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1901118&highlight=generator. Hope this helps.

[xlotus123x]

what's a good price on a decent to good generator?
a link if possible.

thanks in advance :fun4:

[jeff@zina.com]

Get you generator locally, shipping will kill you. Home Depot and Lowes usually have them. Expect to pay $500-700 for a decent 5,000 Watt range generator. Look for sales.

Jeff

[xlotus123x]

Get you generator locally, shipping will kill you. Home Depot and Lowes usually have them. Expect to pay $500-700 for a decent 5,000 Watt range generator. Look for sales.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff

will check out home depot and lowes.

[bluezx636]

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/ This is a good site to check out reviews and prices

[RokleM]

Just remember that most cheap generators and UPS's are not compatible with our pumps and powerheads. To ensure you don't damage equipment you're either building your own or looking for something that process a true sine wave.

I have a honda eco 2000. It was pricey, but it's portable, the power is very stable true sine wave, very good on gas usage (throttle the motor from almost off to full speed dependent on load), I can run it on my front porch in the middle of summer and not keep the neighbors awake, and it will last quite some time.

[seafd]

^^?

I'm pretty positive that all gas generators produce AC... I'm no expert so you probably should check, but I don't see why or how a rotating generator would produce anything other than AC.

[bluezx636]

Found this link that somewhat explains it but from what i have read inverter generator would be best http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjHzOQp90Pc

[RokleM]

^^?

I'm pretty positive that all gas generators produce AC... I'm no expert so you probably should check, but I don't see why or how a rotating generator would produce anything other than AC.

Not all AC is created (literally) equal ;)

Many produce square or modified sine waves. This can cause cavitation, overheating, and failures on any AC motor type of equipment (power heads, pumps, etc). DC is not impacted. The power from your wall and power from quality UPS/generators are true sine wave (smooth up and down wave).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sine_wave

[xlotus123x]

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/ This is a good site to check out reviews and prices

Thanks for the link Bluzx636