Solar Power or Generator for

Power outages. Power was out for about 6 hours today. We don't get snow storms and very rarely ice storms. What we do get is high winds and have lots of trees(which take out trees within the power grid). Tropical storms and tornadoes are not uncommon.
Just need a backup to keep things warm or cool, not to mention keeping 4 freezers going and basic needs.

What would you do for a long term investment? Sarge

I have a generator. Just a small one. To run freezers and fridge every day. Not continuously. Open up what you need to in the morning. Remove stuff for the day and put it in a cooler or on the counter to thaw. Run them for an hour. My heat and cook stove work without electricity. I have lanterns for lights. White gas never goes bad, The generator has a fuel shut off valve. To store I start it then turn off that valve. Let it run till it dies. The other day high wind was predicted and power outages. I drained the half gallon of gas in the tank and dumped it in my pickup. changed the oil. Put in fresh no ethanol gas with stabilizer. Not a full tank about a half gallon. Started it up and let it run about ten minutes. Hadn't been ran in two years so I had to pull the rope twice. Then I turned off the fuel at the shut off valve and let it run a few more minutes till it died. I really ought to run it every spring and fall. Change that half gallon of gas out and change the oil once a year. Unless I take it camping or something.

Good morning Sarg. Merry Christmas, I can speak highly of Genrack ( sp ) had it put in 20 some years ago. It's hooked up to our lp tank that heats home, water, cook stove. Yearly service is about 60 bucks, oil changes update electronics, unless needs a new battery then add a hundred bucks. Bout every 3 years. We run 3 freezers. It's a whole house deal, with auto start power goes out 7 seconds it comes on. Runs ten min. Once a week to charge bat. Runs 8 circuits you pick from electric breaker box. They have bigger ones now. We have been out for four days no problem. (Winter ice storm) I will say if your budget will allow to look at a water cooled unit, they will run much longer with little to no harm to the engine where an air cooled unit like mine will eventually wear out. Ours comes into play about 4-5 times a year. From minutes to days. Also be sure to power your water pump, in case of fire, you can use exterior hydrants to fight fire till pros get there. Shower, toilet, and other water stuff when pressure tank loses pressure. Good luck with your search.


The home gen. System adds value to your home.

generator. If your power is out from storm damage, your solar panels probably aint gonna do you much good either.

Like Danny, I have a small generator. Used it for 3 days last week when was without power due to storms. Can't run everything at once with it, but freezers only need to be plugged in about every other day for a little while if you don't open them. Fortunately wasn't all that cold so didn't run the furnace much. Used an infrared heater to take the chill off. Thankfully I am on rural water so don't have to worry about the well pump and such.
Bottom line: a small generator is fine for "survival mode" for awhile when you need it, without making a big investment.

When I lived on Hatteras Island, NC, I had a Honda 12kw. Needed it following many hurricanes. Mine was gasoline so I had to keep a few cans of ethanol free gasoline all the time. When not in use I could roll it into my workshop to keep to keep it away from salt air and moisture. Kept it 14 years and sold it (in almost new condition) to the couple who bought our home. It would power one AC compressor and everything else except the hot tub. A microwave pulls a lot of current too.

Had a manual transfer switch and a dedicated 220v pigtail that ran to my panels. I always drained my fuel tank and ran the carb dry. When gas was a few months old, I poured it in my vehicles and refilled my storage containers with fresh fuel and Staybill. I babied it. Kept it on a trickle charger during hurricane season.

Only regret was I never changed it to propane.

Plan for exhaust heat. When my two cyl engine ran for hours, It made a lot of heat even though well ventilated.

I agree with Trapdog. I have a 5500 Watts Homelite generator (I believe Homelite it was made by John Deere at the time) equipped with 11 HP made by Briggs & Stratton. I bought it in 2000 and it is still running good. Low cost maintenance and versatile ... It will power pretty much everything you need and will last you a long time if you take care of it. I have a subpanel for it and it works good.

Based on what I have seen on Solar Power components install, I am not sure I would invest in this. i.e. fire safety issues.

Just my opnion.

Just forgot to mention and you likely already know this, but just in case, if you consider buying a used generator make sure you run it with a load before you make your final offer (especially if it has been sitting in a garage for a long time).

Both. I'd run wind too if I could find one cheap enough.

just

I do a lot of work in a wealthy community built around the largest lake in NJ. For whatever reason they get a lot of damaging storms there and lose power for multiple days relatively frequently.

Most of the residents and vacation home owners have had permanent back-up generators installed. Most are Generacs and run on LP. They start up once a week and run for a few minutes while self-diagnosing and they power everything in the house.

Three years ago a micro-burst took out every utility pole along a half-mile stretch of the dead-end street leading to the vacation island home I was staying at. It was a tangled mess of broken poles, downed trees and wires. I was trapped back there for a week. Luckily for me the owner had installed a whole-house back-up generator the year before, I had installed the concrete pad and excavated the wire trenches for it.

Other than hearing the generator run, it was no different than having regular electrical service. It ran everything, well pump, furnace, dryer,electric stove, everything.

I use a portable Generac 5,500 watt at home when needed. It is my work generator for new construction sites and other job sites without power. It's twenty-plus years old and still going strong.

I deal with generators all the time. We have 4 on demand that each have their own 500 gallon propane tank, and 5 5000-7000 watt gas generators. My advice as far as the on demand goes no matter the brand is. If you’re not handy with electric boards and circuits get a regular double throw switch. I’ve had to wire around the electronics more than once in snow storms because the electronic double throw wouldn’t work. Wherever you buy it they will try and talk you into the electric one. Solar panel’s have their place but not in a emergency. Good luck.

Sure is nice to be snug n warm watching the idiot tube while cleaning the days target shooting toy when it's really, really, nasty outside. Whatever you choose do it. For yourself and family the peace of mind is worth every penny.

I use gas generators.

If you are in an area with frequent storms, perhaps wind or solar may not be the way to go due to potential storm damage that might occur to your equipment. To me propane would be the way to go as long as you remember to keep the tanks(s) full.

Naturally I have more claims after a tornado or a hurricane than any other time and I have yet to meet a man who regrets having a Generac installed

Good advice on long term gas engine storage. I see you are in a part of the Country that I imagine is pretty dry.
I do something a little different since my gas engines (outboards, ATV's, generators) are stored literally just a few feet away from the edge of the ocean. I found years ago that if I run an engine dry I tend to get some condensation and corrosion inside my carb float bowl. So now I use your method of fuel stabilizer and like you mentioned, NON ETHONAL GAS. I leave the tanks full so I don't get water from condensation build up in tank, and also leave the float bowls full for same reason. I've had no problem with engines starting up easily after two years of being stored like this.
Almost forgot to mention; I also spray some fogging oil in the air intake just before shutting down the engine before storage, or on my four strokes I will often spray some in the spark plug hole and replace plug along with thread anti-seize.

My dad has a generac 10 kw gen set like posted above its worth the piece of mind. I also would like solar. But that generator is the best for piece of mind.

We have solar with back up batteries. Tho our battery back up is on the small size.

a couple of things.

most grid tied solar sends power to grid, the power you use in your home is all grid supplied. In this case the grid goes down you have no power even if the sun is shining.
Now add batteries and things change. Then there is a disconnect that kicks in when the grid goes down and the solar and batteries work together to power the place.

our biggest power outage was 30 some hrs. The batteries/solar kicks in without notice. You'll want an alarm to notify you that your off grid power.
Our place is all electric. We have a well pump, lift pump for the septic, water softener, iron filter plus 2 freezers and fridge. So lots of power needs.
when the power goes out we cut back on our electrical use. No running the wash, no electric stove and so on. All the things that we can get by without for a day or so.

Our solar is enough to charge the batteries from 1/2 charge to full charge in about 2-3 hrs, after that point you either us the solar or loose it. So then run the unnecessary stuff. We would be better off with more attery power that would allow us to run more and longer when the grid goes down. And Solar does work on cloudy days. It just doesn't work when covered in snow so a plan for that.

One advantage of solar over gennies is they are providing power all year round. Our total power bill for a year is in the $750 range. Thats for all power all year. Big investment up front but it does payback, ours in about 6 years after that its money in the pocket every year.
Gennies don't do that.

been about 20 years since power was out here for a week. ice storm did that. was out 2 days a few years ago. same thing. ice. water never quit. My water comes from a reservoir about 15 miles away into a water tower. have a creek about 1/4 mile away that comes out of pasture ground for a source. i have two ceramic filters on hand if i never need to use it. couple ponds closer than that. i think that creek would be better water. the creek has went dry in a couple dry years but never seen the ponds dry.

My second year running a Generac 16 KW whole house generator. Best home investment yet. I installed the cement pad and plumbed my own Natural gas line to it. Electrician set the unit and wired it. I can flip a fuel lever and hook to propane if needed. I keep several 100# propane tanks for the off grid cabin. I fill the tanks in summer when cheap. My natural gas has never went down though.