Having gone through an blizzard/ice storm and loss of power for several weeks with temps below 0'F I am familar with running off a portable generator. I have a 4kw with 6.5 hp gas engine that was purchased at that time. It runs approx. 14 hrs on a tank fill.

Here is the question...

Is it reasonable to expect to "live" off these portable gen sets for an extended period of time... I would expect the engines to where out rather quickly after several hundred hours much less months of continuous use. This doesn not take into consideration the amount of fuel burned.

30 days * 24 hrs = 720 hours * 1 qt hr = 180 gal (US) per month.

I would think that heating with wood/keresene and keresene lamps would be a more practical solution if possible.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 1998

Answers

are portable generators resonable solutions?

We have been debating this issue in our house for months now. On the pro side: we could run some small appliances, heater, well pump, battery chargers, etc as long as the fuel supply lasts. On the con side: the noise will alert those that have not prepared that we have and if there are severe problems, they will want to come and take what we've got. This is an extreme view if things get ugly, but must be taken into consideration as well. Even a shotgun will only hold back a very small mob, and I'm not Rambo and don't look forward to getting into shoot outs with hungry desperate people. By the way, our local Sams club stocked up some generators and were sold out in two days. Would like to hear other views as well.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 1998

In considering both fuel consumption and security issues, I'd suggest running the generator for 2 or 3 hours in a 24 hour period and do it at odd hours. That will reduce wear and fuel use and keep the essential appliances like freezers and battery chargers viable. Also, who will be out at 2 am to hear it running if it's as cold as predicted? Just an opinion.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 1998

Desiging a system using a generator, PC to AC inverter, and battery bank will allow power consumption 24 hours a day while only running the generator just often enough to charge the battery. If the generator is large enough household chores requiring lots of power could be scheduled around the generator run time.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1998

late 1970's my family and I were caught off guard when we were dinied heating oil. From a severe crisis to a never again attituded. We learned to make our own fuel (ethanol) with a small wooden box..an unlimited supply of re-newable resources..a few simple recipes..heated the home..power the generator..fuel the car and truck...research..read..research. We wouldn't give up and neither should anyone else who wants to help themself and the many millions who need to know this information .. please see (take just 5 minutes and read how to) http://geocities.com/heartland/lane/5515/index.html or see http://homepages.infoseek.com/~owens911/index.html Share this infomation as is being done by those who let us post on this bullentin board...y2k is real...caring and sharing is the only way we're going to make it. By the way your generator will run much cooler on ethanol...with much better compression...a lot less wear .. same thing applies to the vechile... a wooden box (still) simple recipes ... become as important ad the blacksmith use to be and will become once more.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1998

The original question had a certain "heating" bent to it. If you are interested in heating your house, you would be much further ahead with any other method instead of an electrical generator. Electrical generation is a noisy and inefficient process. All the heat that goes into exhaust is lost to you. Also, I think gasoline is going to be a problem. Even if the gas station has gasoline, will they have electricity to pump it? And I am afraid to keep even 90 gallons of gas in the house/garage.

The only way the electrical generator is useful to me for heat is if we still have natural gas available. Then I can use the generator to run my natural gas furnace. (I have to rewire the furnace first, but that is not that big a deal.)

I'm planning on using wood for heat, though, because I can't count on natural gas or gasoline being available and I just hate the noise!

-- Anonymous, November 30, 1998

As I live in close proximity to three, that's right, 'three' nuclear power plants I pondered long and hard on my choice for an alternative source of fuel. As no one knows how long this alternative source will be necessary I wanted an inexhaustible source of fuel.

That left me one option......wood. I live in the mountains and could probably walk around picking up dead wood for weeks before I would even have to cut and chop.

I bought a woodstove insert that protrudes 17" from the fireplace as I intend to use it for cooking also.

I felt, and still do, that it is necessary to adjust to a new way of being rather than to attempt to perpetuate my dependence on a 20th century lifestyle of convenience. What would I do when I ran out of gas and the grid was still down?

-- Anonymous, December 21, 1998

I am planning on buying a generator in the next week. I will not be using it to heat with. Wood stove is the only answer. We have a well, but it takes power to pump the water. Thats what the generator will be for. As we have 5 horses, and will need the water, this is the only solution. (We plan on selling 3, anyone interesed in good transportation?) I also plan on having a multiple battery setup. I can pump water and charge batteries at the same time. If no more than 2 hrs per day I should have a long time before I run out of gas for it with a 100 gal tank. By then I should have the still up and running. I have purchased a few 12v lights to rig in the house and also the CB will be run on the batteries.

-- Anonymous, January 01, 1999

Bradley - I know I'm getting into this question REAL LATE but here goes anyway. I believe Jeff Stocker hit the nail on the head when he advised putting a "system" together. Continued use of any genset, other than an industrial one (and some HD diesel units), will only lead to a burned out or blown engine. Remember, they are called "emergency (temporary) generators". My wife and I are literally assembling our own power generation system using (believe it or not!) a 5HP lawnmower engine (rebuilt it - no $ wasted!), connected to a large automotive alternator (with built in voltage regulator), connected to a 14 unit, deep cycle, battery bank (got the batteries, used, from a golf cart supplier - real cheap but still good). The battery bank is connected to a large Trace Engineering Inverter (to invert it from DC to AC, 120V), which was the only expensive part of the whole system. With the system finished, I can run my fridge, lights and possibly furnace (if the gas stays up, otherwise we have kero heaters, 60,000 BTU). Everything draws off the battery bank and the "generator" re-charges the bank as needed. This cuts down the usage of the generator Tremendously. We have 100 gallons of gas (stabilized) storage capability (vented also) in an area 500 feet from the house. I know this sounds a little crazy but it's working, costs are quite low and I keep getting more and more neighbors coming over asking how to do it. Hope this helps. God Bless and good luck. Jeff Sullivan.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 1999