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You may want to consider something smaller, like 5500 - 6500 watts or so. They are often available used pretty cheap ($300-$400 around here on Craig's List). They often have wheels so they are semi-portable, or at least can be moved around. A lot of the ones I see have very low hours on them. Higher Peak (starting watts) and longer run times are good things to look for. These are mostly 2 cycle ones, so they are loud, but ... that is something you can probably live with to save the money.
You may not be able to run your whole house, but you can plug in what you need and switch things around. Fridge/Freezer, Lights, Heat, Well pump, etc. Another plus is that you don't need a electrician to install it.
Over time you can get a second one, or a larger one if you want/ need it. Also, having 2 gives you some peace of mind in case one shits the bed. OR, you can buy a smaller 4 cycle one and that can be brought anywhere, a little 2000 watt honda 4 cycle is Really nice to have in camp.
I bought a house that had one in the garage (6500 watts). Never needed it for 7 or 8 years and then we had a hurricane and an ice storm hit a few months apart, power was out for about a week each time. I ran it almost continuously and was able to keep everything working fine. Get yourself a few 5 gal gas tanks and some good extension cords (or consider having the house wired with a panel and switches). Use gas stabilizer and you'll be fine with long breaks between uses. FYI, when the power is out, gas gets very hard to find too, so keep some around.
By the second storm, people around here were offering $1000+ to people with even small generators for sale. Home Depot, Lowes and Tractor Supply were selling out in minutes. Now there seems to be a glut of these mid-size units, especially used.
I'm not sure where you are in OH, but here is an example of one in Columbus.
I run it for about an hour every month as recommended, and if not used significantly more than that, change the oil every other year. So far, I've had no problems, or other maintenance. It's only been used for a few hours at a time for power outages. I had hoped that once I was prepared, I wouldn't need it. So far, that has worked. ;-)
Quality high watt generators like a Honda are pricey....there are high watt generators that are a little more cost effective and if it`s a emergency use type of thing that may be the best way to go. Shelling out $3500 for a generator to sit for possible years is a tough pill to swallow.
One good point of the portable is that you can always sell it if or when you decide to get the whole house generator.
So, I just bought a 5500 Watt Duromax dual fuel generator, and wired a 6 circuit switch in to my Service. It was relatively easy to do the wiring, and I never have to touch anything on my main panel during an outage...just need to switch from "Line" to "Generator" on the switch, and engage the breakers I want to run.
Got the Generator new from Lowes...485 dollars with my Military Discount. Bought the switch on Ebay new in a box, for 215 dollars. Adding in some conduit, maybe 650 bucks out the door.
Tested it, and it runs all 6 circuits just fine. The only thing left, is to split my propane line under the house, and set up a quick connect outside for the generator (We have a 250 gallon propane tank). I won't have to worry about fuel, when it comes to the generator.
You stated that you have electric heat. This puts you in a whole new ballgame. Your best bet is to have a local electrician (or 2 or 3) come to your home and analyze your setup and give you a quote. If you do not get a unit big enough (this puts most portable generators out of the equation) it will damage your furnace during start up. If you have a well, electric hot water, electric stove and an electric dryer now you will need a setup where these units can not be run at the same time. My neighbor had a 17k generac installed and he has fuel oil heat but everything else in the home is electric and the electrician advised against having these appliances set up where they could potentially be operated at the same time. Therefore he had the electrician set it up so they can not.
I have a portable generator that is 6000 watts with a 8500 surge. I had my house wired with a box outside so all I have to do is flip a switch on the fuse box and plug the generator in to the box outside. I heat with wood and all of my appliances are propane. I also have a well. When I had this set up installed by a local electrician he told me under no circumstance should I try and run my central air off of the generator that I have. He stated that my generator will run the central air but it will not start it properly with out damaging the motor in it.
It takes a lot of juice to start electric appliances. A case in point...... if I am running my generator and I turn my coffee pot on, which obviously has an electric coil in the pad to keep the coffee hot, my generator will surge more at this point than if my 220V well turns on.
The best deal going was at Costco an 8k fuel injected general for $1k delivered. The fuel injection eliminates the gunner up carb from storage. Propane derates fast at 20 degrees and below so you have to upsize as much as 50% if it gets really cold where you live.
Be aware that cheaper generators put out Dirty Voltage. The voltage regulation is not even enough for most modern appliances and Electronics.
While an inexpensive generator may be fine for sump or well pumps, power tools and lighting, today’s HVAC systems, appliances and home electronics need special consideration when it comes to emergency backup power.
Newer Hvac and appliances either won’t operate correctly and or will be damaged over time.
New models of Honda, Generac and Cummins all have Automatic Voltage Regulation.
Also if buying a used generator be careful. If it was wired or plugged in directly to the panel box and the main breaker was NOT turned off and the electric utility company grounded the power line to repair it will damage the generator and they are expensive to repair if even repairable. Great to hear "Hawk" is doing fine.
We live in rural TN and realized the importance of back up power our first winter after losing power one time too many. That said, we installed a Generac 22KW LPG/CNG fueled gen set for our house. It's got sufficient power to run everything (water well, HVAC, double ovens, freezers etc) without worry. The auto-start/kill feature is definitely a necessity.
If you have CNG heat, you're good-to-go, otherwise if your house is total electric you'll need to install an LPG tank. We're using a 100 gallon LPG tank, which will last approx 5 days worth of fuel for the gen set while keeping the gas cook-top working. The 100 gal supply will last considerably longer if we take our HVAC system off-line and use the fireplace for heat.
I originally had a 7-8k watt gasoline portable generator that would handle everything in my 2000sq ' house that is heated by natural gas, included a gas range, gas water heater, and gas dryer. This setup included a (National Electrical Code requirement) manual bypass switch adaptor at the main 200 amp breaker and a outdoor power inlet to connect the generator cord connection to power selected circuit breakers. All was needed to drag generator outside, fuel up, connect cord and flip bypass switch and start generator. Easy enough until weather is howling rain/snow and windy. This happened to me 9 days after hip surgery.
I now have a 11K Generac standby generator with a 200amp automatic transfer switch that automatically starts my generator and powers up the house within 30 seconds of losing power. This setup powers everything in my house, gas appliances, 2 ref, freezer etc. My central AC unit has a manual lock out to prevent that large electric motor load from overloading the generator. The 11k generator has full rating while on propane gas, but is rated 10k when operating on natural gas. This is the way to go.
Contact a local electrical contractor generator dealer/installer for a evaluation of your home power needs.
Generac and newcomer Champion make affordable reliable home standby generator systems.
PS I have been an electrician for over 50 years.
We installed a Briggs and Stratton brand for my mom. It was either an 8 or 10. They have a transfer switch system that allows you to run a smaller unit. The switch has 16 circuits. You hook up each circuit in the order of importance. The box monitors usage and will kill circuits to make sure you don't over load system. It really works well. I think it $3000. I was pretty impressed with it.
