I am looking to purchase a portable generator to power some of my home during a power outage. While I don’t lose power very often, storms are getting more unpredictable and I would rather be prepared. With that said, I looking at a Honda EM6500S and a Honda EU 7000. I know the 7000 is fuel injected and an inverter but is it worth an extra $1300 ? I literally have lost power approx. 48 total hours in 10 years. Any input would be appreciated.

you need to decide if you need 240vyou need to decide if you care about fuel economyyou need to decide if you care about noise levelyou need to see if you have sensitive electronics that require cleaner THD.only you can make that decision.

What will you be powering? That's a big generator. You can probably get away with something smaller. You don't need to run all your appliances at the same time.Personally, I would spend the extra money and get the inverter generator.

If you are really worried and have natural gas at the house a stationary generator would be the best. Remember, its not just the basic generator you need. You MUST have a transfer switch installed. Otherwise you run the risk of killing someone. Doing it right is not going to be cheap no matter how small the generator is you pick, so if your going to do it, do it right up front.

I have the Honda EU7000, earlier version with carb. However, I outfitted it for propane from the get-go and have never run gasoline through it, just propane. I had a plumber run a line from my house propane to where the genny sits near the meter and panel. The purpose of this is so I never have to store gasoline in quantities that would make owning a genny for power outages practical. Gasoline gets old and stale. Especially this alcohol laced ****. Propane never goes bad. I tapped into the main panel and run the whole house off this generator. Since I heat with propane, in winter I could never max out the genny's capacity even if I tried. In summer I MIGHT be able to if I ran both house air conditioners (I have 2 AC's to split the house chilling in order to cut down on ducting and it's paid off) Recently here in California, the electric company, PG&E, purposefully shut off power to homes in my area due to fire hazards. They were found to be responsible for several major fires here in California and now just shut down the grid when the fire danger is high and won't turn it back on again until the danger has passed AND they inspect every inch of overhead lines for any damage. This resulted in power off for 2 days. As the temps were mild, I didn't need AC, but the writing is on the wall; expect many more power outages in hot weather when fire danger is high. Our community lost a lot, considering all the stores, businesses and homes that had food needing to stay chilled. A few hours is one thing, a few days is gonna destroy a lot of food. Spend all you want, but remember; if you do have extended outages, will the genny you buy last through the outage and save you from losing food or other stuff. We don't notice any difference when we have outages. All I have to do is watch for neighbor lights to return in order to know when to switch back to the grid. Oh, the Honda is quiet. My neighbors never knew I had power or else I'm sure they would have asked to run extension cords to keep their fridges running. I'm not a jackass, I'd be happy to help them set up a genny if they wanted, but I'm also not going to risk my own need after doing all the work and spending all the money to do so either.

donn0128 wrote:If you are really worried and have natural gas at the house a stationary generator would be the best. Remember, its not just the basic generator you need. You MUST have a transfer switch installed. Otherwise you run the risk of killing someone. Doing it right is not going to be cheap no matter how small the generator is you pick, so if your going to do it, do it right up front.so extension cords don't work with this generator? news to me.will he prolly use the twist lock prolly, but to say he has to use a transfer switch is incorrect.

Portable generator advice | Good Sam Community

philh
Explorer II
Oct 31, 2018
Hedgehog wrote:
I plan on powering my whole panel. With that said, I know the genny has limitations and I will run things accordingly

You can get bypass switches that will safely permit the whole panel to be powered.

I bought and installed this device. It's a piece of cake and works very well.

https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Corporation-31410CRK-10-circuit-Generators/dp/B000HS2L3O/
DrewE
Explorer II
Oct 30, 2018
PaulJ2 wrote:
philh wrote:
excretion cords?

Even if you meant extension cord, you're going to have to explain how connecting something via an extension cord can back feed the grid.

The way to back feed the grid would be using a generator with an extension cord with a male plug on both ends ( suicide cord ) plugged into a house wall outlet feeding half the house.

Surely if it is a suicide cord with a male connector at each end, it's no longer an extension cord by definition as you cannot extend a too-short cord with it.
Atlee
Explorer II
Oct 30, 2018
If people are stupid enough to do that, then they are too stupid to take advice to install a lock out, or what ever, to prevent electricity from going backwards down the line.

For me, if electricity goes out, I'll start one Honda 2k and run an extension cord from it to the fridge. That's the most important inside house appliance I need to use.

Since this is an RV board, probably most on here have an RV of some sort, as I do. I call it my escape pod in times of emergency. If it's too cold, or too hot outside and the power is off, I'll just run generator power to the RV like I would if boondocking. I then have heat, A/C, hot water, etc until the power is back on. I would still run an extension cord to the house refrigerator.

PaulJ2 wrote:
philh wrote:
excretion cords?

Even if you meant extension cord, you're going to have to explain how connecting something via an extension cord can back feed the grid.

The way to back feed the grid would be using a generator with an extension cord with a male plug on both ends ( suicide cord ) plugged into a house wall outlet feeding half the house.
Hedgehog
Explorer
Oct 30, 2018
I plan on powering my whole panel. With that said, I know the genny has limitations and I will run things accordingly. My heat is natural gas so that doesn’t consume much. So basically a fridge, furnace a few lights, maybe tv and possibly one window ac unit if we lost power in the summer.
I just wanted advise between the two mentioned generators or advice on any comparable generators that people have had good luck with. Interlock is being installed this week so I will be not backfeeding the utility lines. Built in is out of the question b cause I plan on moving north in 4 or 5 years and I want to take the genny with me.
PaulJ2
Explorer
Oct 30, 2018
philh wrote:
excretion cords?

Even if you meant extension cord, you're going to have to explain how connecting something via an extension cord can back feed the grid.

The way to back feed the grid would be using a generator with an extension cord with a male plug on both ends ( suicide cord ) plugged into a house wall outlet feeding half the house.
valhalla360
Navigator
Oct 30, 2018
LittleBill wrote:
you need to decide if you need 240v

you need to decide if you care about fuel economy

you need to decide if you care about noise level

you need to see if you have sensitive electronics that require cleaner THD.

only you can make that decision.

A lot of rambling on with this thread but until the OP gives us this info, we can't give him good advice.

If you just want to run the fridge and a few lights, a portable 2000w generator is fine. If you want to run the whole house including the central air/con, you need something big and likely fixed install with a transfer switch and other complications.

Side Note: Looping around to the website we are on, a 7000w generator doesn't make a good "portable" for an RV in most cases (maybe if you have a permanent site with a place to semi-permanently install it).
theoldwizard1
Explorer II
Oct 30, 2018
Hedgehog wrote:
Also, both Honda generators I mentioned are capable of 240 volts.

But the question is DO YOU NEED 240V ?

If you MUST run 240V appliances (electric stove, electric water heater, electric clothes dryer) or have a well pump you will need at least a 5000W generator
If you do NOT have any of the above, you can get by with one 120V 3000W generator, INCLUDING running one windows air conditioner !
philh
Explorer II
Oct 30, 2018
excretion cords?

Even if you meant extension cord, you're going to have to explain how connecting something via an extension cord can back feed the grid.
Dave_H_M
Explorer II
Oct 30, 2018
campinginthewoods wrote:
Hi you need to disconnect your house from the power grid when using a generator. Even using excretion cords can back feed. I used to work for a electrical utility (25 years) and dealt with several ice storms and customers ended up back feeding our power grid by running generators we aren't against using them the key is to remove your home from the power grid.

:h i wonder what people have been referencing here? Yes the purpose of the interlock switch is to insure that the house service cannot be powered by the back up genny until the service is disconnected from the main power feed. Installing the square D interlock is purely mechanical and it is supplied with template for proper mounting.
campinginthewoo
Explorer
Oct 30, 2018
Hi you need to disconnect your house from the power grid when using a generator. Even using excretion cords can back feed. I used to work for a electrical utility (25 years) and dealt with several ice storms and customers ended up back feeding our power grid by running generators we aren't against using them the key is to remove your home from the power grid.