Forum Discussion
Gdetrailer
Feb 18, 2021Explorer III
valhalla360 wrote:Gdetrailer wrote:
In fact, since I bought my bigger gen it has clocked 6 hrs since I bought it about 5 yrs ago..
Wow, that works out to something on the order of $1000/hr.
I can live with rebooting the computer and going out to start the generator for a $1000/hr.
Nope.
I call it an "investment".
While we have not experienced a lot of long power outages for many yrs, the possibility DOES EXIST.
Many yrs ago when I was a young kid, my parents experienced a power outage that lasted over a week.. Thankfully my Dad had a cobbled together a DIY gen laying around (that was nearly unheard of back in the 1970's very few people actually had 240/120V portable gens) and was able to run the water well, run a fridge and freezer, supply heat and even run lights for that entire week.. All while all the neighbors lost food, temporarily left their homes to find heat or braved the bitter cold with a few Kero space heaters..
Myself, before we bought the bigger gen have gone through a 11 hr power outage, ran nearly 200 ft of extension cords through the house to hook up fridge, freezer, some lights and the wood burner fan.. Was not fun, was not easy to run all of those cords, used a lot of power strips and had to make sure those didn't get too much load or you would end up popping their breakers.
To myself, saving $2,000 in frozen foods in the basement freezer, $500 in food in the fridge, having heat any time needed, running water anytime I need it and add in being able to provide backup power so my DW is able to work on the clock from home and doing it without spending time running tripping hazards like extension cord is totally priceless!
Not to mention, I didn't buy an automatic standby gen, I bought a $500 Harbor Freight 8700W gen with manual electric start and I added a $100 manual gen transfer panel, I already had leftover 10/3 with ground wire from a previous wiring project I did for my BILs home so that was paid for..
All told I have $600 into my setup so a whole $100 "per hr" of use if you want to be an "Accountant" for me..
Much better than spending $2000 on a 2Kw 2000i gen that sits and sits and sits.. And when you end up having a power outage you have to run $500 worth of extension cords, $500 in power strips and have to choose between lights or microwave or microwave or heat..
But my setup is not for those who have zero interests in doing routine small engine maintenance, doing the manual start and manual switching..
For totally automatic systems you do pay a much costlier price upfront but the end result is you do not have to lift a finger to make it work.. You pay up front for the "convenience".
While you may think having a more integrated backup gen system is "A waste of money", I don't.
You weren't the one that slipped and fell down steps landing flat on the back while picking up extension cords after a power outage.. My back has never been quite the same since.
Something else to consider, a lot of folks HAVE died over the yrs attempting to run a gen on a porch or INSIDE a home or attached garage (even with garage door open).. A properly installed purpose built outdoor standby gen eliminates a known problem.
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