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Post by LowKey on Jan 16, 2016 17:58:00 GMT
The "Oil" thread made me think about people stocking up on petroleum products as prices begin to dip; storing gasoline and diesel with added fuel stabilizers. In most cases preppers would say their primary use for that fuel would be a generator.
Good plan, and good idea to buy it when it's cheap.
BUT...
I think anyone who has, or is considering, a generator should look into a propane/natural gas conversion kit.
Why?
If you're in an area that has NG, then you can hook your generator into your homes NG lines. If/when the power goes down the NG lines will stay at pressure for quite some time. You won't have to worry about refueling the generator, storing liquid fuel, liquid fuel going bad in storage, or spilling liquid fuel while refilling your hot generator. Bluntly put, if your home has NG and you don't do an NG conversion for your generator you're really missing an opportunity to simplify your preps. %99 of your grid power outages aren't going to effect your NG supply.
For he rest of us, propane is a good alternative here. If your home can be accessed by a truck then you should be able to have propane delivered. You gain all the benefits of the NG generator above minus the unlimited fuel supply, but unlike gasoline and diesel your fuel wont go bad. Ever. Odds are that you have a gas stove and water heater that run on propane already.
For those of us that can't get a truck to our place, there are smaller propane tanks that can be transported to our locations. All the other positives of this fuel still apply, and you can still run your stoves, water heaters, and BBQ grill off of the tanks.
I honestly can't see a serious downside to this.
Just be sure to store/locate any propane tanks in a safe location and to have them inspected periodically for safety...and never put them in the basement (the gases are heavier than air. Store them where any potential leaks will not collect).
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Post by dannusmaximus on Jan 17, 2016 0:12:37 GMT
Solid post, Lowkey.
I've mentally gamed buying a generator before, but just can't find a good enough reason to drop the coin and deal with the logistics afterwards. Right now my backup power is a 750 W inverter that I can hook up to my Honda and run an extension cord from, using it as a de facto generator for such things as the sump pump, fridge, charging cell phones, and other small things. I keep an extra 5 gallons of gas on hand, and don't let the Honda or my pickup dip below 1/2 a tank of fuel. I honestly don't know how long this setup would last in an emergency, but if the power isn't back on in a week or so in this AO, we would be talking a pretty major disaster. The last time it was out for that long generally was during a bad ice storm in 2009. Power was out for up to a month in some rural areas, we had to do about 3 days.
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Post by red on Jan 17, 2016 1:41:44 GMT
For me a whole house generator is out right now due to cost and home. I have a back up for the sump as it is most important house hold item. I got a jumper box for starting a dead car i hook it up to a DC utility pump and just turn it off and on. Phone charging and small items are done in the trucks.
Later on when i get a house i can mod i do plan on a genny area will dictate what fuel it will be leaning towards propane right now as natural gas is not everywhere here.
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Post by LowKey on Jan 17, 2016 14:10:19 GMT
You don't have to go for one of those giant skid mounted whole house generators. Thee are conversion kits out there for generators as small as 6.5HP gasoline models which put you in the 3.5KW range. linkShould be enough to keep the fridge and lights on, furnace blower, and maybe selective use of a window AC unit (might be important in some locations in order to get some sleep). |
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Post by red on Jan 17, 2016 17:49:16 GMT
Later on when i get my shit set in a house i can mod up, i will have to do an inventory of what has to run and there power draws. Then i can get a good base on what genny to get plus conversion if needed.
Thank you for the linky I see they made one for a big job site genny we used to use at work.
Also i just remembered we got a giant ass generator where i work now. Its umm 8 foot tall about 10 foot long and 4 foot wide. underground tank for fuel i believe is propane. All it can do is run the back lights and a few office computers.
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Post by misterdark on Jan 18, 2016 4:04:00 GMT
+1 to everyone on this thread. A genny is, I think, a very solid prep. Even an inverter running off your car as dannus mentioned will give you the energy to keep food from spoiling, or run a couple of fans in the summer.
I have a 1500 watt Ryobi that is really quiet, great on gas, fits in the trunk of the car, and can power 12+ amps worth of stuff in the house. I can keep my fridge cold, run the fan in the attic, a window unit air conditioner, a few lights, and charge all the battery-dependant devices. (Not all at once) It is enough, combined with a gas fireplace, to keep us comfortable in any sort of winter shenanigans, and keep us from abandoning the house in the summer. Got it on closeout for $350. Totally worth it.
Eventually, the cabin/retreat in the mountains will have a whole house LP powered generator as a backup to the solar/microturbine power I normally run on. Right after I win the lottery.
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Post by rickoshea on Aug 25, 2017 20:30:42 GMT
Went ahead and got a little 7kw dual-fuel genny and a 30 amp Generlink switch. Still need to swing by Amerigas or Blossman and get a propane tank. Probably will get a smaller 120 gal./420 lb. tank. Mostly got it for my Mom. She is living next door in my other house, so she can just come down here and hangout. I told her no hot water or washer and dryer, but she should be able to run the 12,000 btu window AC I installed, along with the well pump, fridge, microwave, and the TV.   |
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Post by LowKey on Aug 25, 2017 20:48:34 GMT
Went ahead and got a little 7kw dual-fuel genny and a 30 amp Generlink switch. Still need to swing by Amerigas or Blossman and get a propane tank. Probably will get a smaller 120 gal./420 lb. tank. Mostly got it for my Mom. She is living next door in my other house, so she can just come down here and hangout. I told her no hot water or washer and dryer, but she should be able to run the 12,000 btu window AC I installed, along with the well pump, fridge, microwave, and the TV. Outstanding!! People got along without electricity back in the day, but there's no reason we can't have a bit of comfort courtesy of the advancement of engineering and technology over the last hundred years. Seriously folks, shell out the $500 or so and get yourself a duel/triple fuel geny and handle %95 of the problems you're likely to face. |
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Post by omegaman on Aug 26, 2017 0:45:37 GMT
Went ahead and got a little 7kw dual-fuel genny and a 30 amp Generlink switch. Still need to swing by Amerigas or Blossman and get a propane tank. Probably will get a smaller 120 gal./420 lb. tank. Mostly got it for my Mom. She is living next door in my other house, so she can just come down here and hangout. I told her no hot water or washer and dryer, but she should be able to run the 12,000 btu window AC I installed, along with the well pump, fridge, microwave, and the TV. Ha! I have the same genny. Finally getting around to getting the house wired for it next week. 20lb propane tanks are like $26 at costco and maybe $8ish to fill. |
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