Can anyone here describe how to utilize a Honda generator to

[truedelphi]

Provide power to my household?

When it is hot here in No California, often there are power blackouts. We are now considering buying a Honda generator, so that we can at least keep the lights on and the fridge, computers and phone lines up. (We lose the phone when the power goes out.)

The business we run depends heavily on the phone. A single day without power means we can lose as much as $ 175.

It also seems that you can purchase two generators and run them in series.

Here is one link to the type of generator we are considering.
http://www.electricgeneratordepot.com/honda-super-quiet-light-weight-inverter-2000w-120v-fuel-efficient-generator-with-parallel-capability-and-oil-alert


Of course, thoughts on how to also have AC would be wonderful, but that might have to be sacrificed, as the AC/heating unit has a huge motor.

[jpak]

1. You might want to consider a propane or natural gas back-up generator

The portable ones will wear out quickly - and require a LOT of preventive maintenance to keep them going.

Generac and Onan Cummings make good ones...

[truedelphi]

5. I will check those out. thanks. n/t

[liberal N proud]

2. For what you are describing, you need a whole house system

I am not sure Honda provides such a system.

Here is a link that might provide some help... http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/stories/36-How-to-Pick-the-Perfect-Home-Standby-Generator.html

I have a portable generator to run fridge, freezer and sump pumps. Got it after hurricane Sandy and with the power out coupled with rain, we had to bail to keep water out of the basement. We never intend on running whole house.

You need to determine the total wattage of everything you want to power and then get a system that will generate more watts than your requirements.


Good luck.

[leveymg]

3. 1 portable generator will run the essentials - fridge, computer, TV a few lights.

Run the generator outside, you can lead an extension cable with a power strip (essential!) inside, and plug extension cords onto the power strip. The amps/hr (total wattage) output of generator will determining how many appliances and lights you can run.

The generator will have instructions, and the salesperson should be able to answer these basic questions.

Good luck!

[NickB79]

8. How much gas did you use per day to run those appliances?

I'm thinking of getting something similar for the same appliances (freezer, fridge, sump pump, battery charger, etc).

Does fuel consumption increase with increased load, or is it a steady amount?

[liberal N proud]

10. I get 4 hours on a fill

The tank is 2 gallons.

7000 watt unit.

It does have 220 capability but using it would reduce what you can load up greatly.

[kristopher]

4. I'd say that is too small and overpriced.

A new small, stand alone generator for black-outs shouldn't cost more than $100/kw. I bought a used 3.5kw Champion (they call it a 4000) and have used it for several years the same way you describe. A new one that size at home depot is about $300.

First thing to do is look at your needs - make a list.

Second is to decide where you can place it so that the noise doesn't bother you (even the honda will be a problem). There are instructions for easy to build enclosures available on the internet. We just put ours in the detached garage, which is only a few feet from the house.

Third, consider what you want to plug in and where it is locate; then look at how many outlets are available on the generator and their capacity. With a hard copy schematic of that in hand, go shopping for high quality specialty power cords. DONT SCRIMP.

Have the cords stored in an easily accessible fashion. I'm old enough to know I forget things I seldom use, so I keep a couple of copies of the cord diagram in handy places for reference.

If you want some excess capacity just to be comfortable, go to the 4.5KW. However, remember that fuel consumption is related to size so don't go extra large for no reason.

I run the refrigerator, telephone, computers, router and internet, two CFL lights and the TV w/satellite box.

I would require a larger generator if I wanted to run my well pump, but we decided to put in a separate smaller well with a hand pump.

Emergency heat is a 12K btu kerosene heater.

Preventive mx consists of starting the generator once every 2 months and using gasoline to which we've added a preservative treatment. Also recommend a small siphon pump that will fit into the gas tank of your auto.

Don't forget the fuel preservative or it will gum up the carb on the generator - a real pain in the ***.

[Fumesucker]

6. I would start off with a big UPS for the computer/phone system and a few CFL lights

Uninterruptible Power Supply, a battery operated backup power mechanism made for computers. I have an older model one that's similar to this and it's really nice not to have the computer kick out every time the power blips for a few moments to ten or fifteen minutes. We get a lot of thunderstorms in the Summer and the power often goes out briefly after lightning strikes.

http://www.amazon.com/APC-BR1500G-BACK-UPS-10-Outlet-1500VA/dp/B003Y24DEU/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1374360712&sr=1-6&keywords=ups+battery+backup

Inverter generators like you have posted a link to are particularly good on fuel efficiency at partial load but they are also more expensive to buy and more complicated than a non inverter type generator, I'm skeptical that you need that feature for your purposes.

As for the reliability of a Honda generator, I think it will do well. We have two Honda motors of that type here that have run a combined total of thousands of hours over more than ten years with almost no servicing at all.

For a whole house AC system you're going to need a lot bigger system and that would depend on the power draw of your AC, you could get by with a three or four thousand watt generator if you just wanted to run a small to medium window AC.

Something like this would probably run your whole house AC system too but you'd need to get someone knowledgeable to wire up a cord that will let you plug it into the generator.

http://www.amazon.com/DuroMax-XP10000E-Portable-Generator-Electric/dp/B0018C6BDE/ref=sr_1_20?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1374361463&sr=1-20&keywords=yamaha+generator

[pscot]

7. Check out craigslist before you buy

You can probably save yourself some dough.

[NYC_SKP]

9. I use my Prius or my El Camino for backup power.

Buy a 12 volt inverter. I also live in California and blackouts are pretty rare, although we had an outage just yesterday in my neighborhood.

A few years ago I was at friends in Sunnyvale and we just used an inverter to keep the fridge and TV going.

It wouldn't have been enough for central AC but some powerful enough for a window unit.

Better, though, to just use fans.

Here: 2000 watts, $99.00: http://www.walmart.com/ip/COBRA-CPI-1000-Cobra-CPI-1000-2-000W-12V-DC-To-120V-AC-Power-Inverter/10746773?findingMethod=rr



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