Disaster generators

[GREENMV]

Are we talking about the Island Anguilla not (Aguila) is the British overseas territory in the Eastern Caribbean? Power on the island is provided solely by the Anguilla Electricity Company Limited, which supplies reliable electricity at 240/120 volts AC on 60 cycles.

I would send them a HONDA 6500. Very Very reliable and good on fuel with Eco mode. Easy to use. Don't forget to send some 5 gallon fuel cans, very hard to find.

 

[Tinstar]

Like mentioned, they need to meet it as it arrives if at all possible.
That will be one super hot commodity and will have lots of eyes and sticky fingers on it.

Agree wirh the Honda sets.
Too late in the season for a big mil unit.
Authorities might even confiscate it for their own use. I've seen it happen more than once.

When things quiet down and become somewhat normal, then they can get a military generator.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Yes, Anguilla.

I am still waiting for more info so I am in a holding pattern. I appreciate the info so far. I have been told propane and diesel is what they have reliable access to for fuel. No other info as of yet.

 

[Chainbreaker]

When I was looking for a generator a few years ago, I had to decide between propane and diesel. We have a 1,000 gal propane tank (80% max fill = 800 gallons usable) which is metered so we pay for only what we use each month. I did some calculations using various formulas and tables that were available for fuel burn rate, btu's, kW hours, etc. Even with having 800 gallons propane available I chose diesel for economy, longetivity of engine, and portability (didn't want to be tethered to our tank line). I seem to recall from my calculations a while back that in order to produce ~7kW of power the engine required to run off propane would suck down propane.

Anyway, just passing this along as a consideration. It really depends on size of generator required and the fuel cost there on the island for propane vs diesel as to which way might be best for them.

 

[boatman69]

#2 has 35% more btus than propane par gal.

 

[Bmxenbrett]

Before i decided on a diesel i was also considering a 5.5kw generac portable propane unit. The fuel burn rate really turned me off to them fast. Even if the burn rate wad the same as a diesel your still limited by a lawnmower engine and consumer grade electronics.
Generac, honda, yamaha and even some better brands are for stand by power only. Not to be used as a sole power source as they them self state.

 

[GREENMV]

For Diesel the Kubota Lowboy Diesel Generators 7Kw or 11Kw are nice gens. they are heavy enough, you just can't walk off with them. I have a neighbor who has the 7Kw and it starts every time he uses it and hasn't had one problem with it in years. If I had the extra $$$ I think I would buy the 11Kw for my house.

I forgot to say it might be helpful to send some power cords and chain with nice lock. There neighbors would probably help with the cost of fuel to share the power?

 

[DeadParrot]

2nd GreenMV's idea on including appropriate extension cords as the stores are likely empty by now if they are still standing. If you send them one that does 240V, send a long cord that uses the 240 outlet and breaks out both sides. And at least one fuel can if they don't have one. Those are probably in short supply there as well. Also a set or two of consumables like oil, filters etc. Fueling funnel.

 

[Recovry4x4]

For Diesel the Kubota Lowboy Diesel Generators 7Kw or 11Kw are nice gens. they are heavy enough, you just can't walk off with them. I have a neighbor who has the 7Kw and it starts every time he uses it and hasn't had one problem with it in years. If I had the extra $$$ I think I would buy the 11Kw for my house.

I forgot to say it might be helpful to send some power cords and chain with nice lock. There neighbors would probably help with the cost of fuel to share the power?

That is a super nice genset but at $5500 for a 7 kw and $8000 for an 11 kw, it might be a little costly for the commoner, especially after a major storm where everything,including money is at high demand.

 

[Chainbreaker]

If their budget allows and they want a premium genset there are several options offered at "Hardy Diesel". I don't have any first hand knowledge of "Hardy Diesel" but they would be a good place to at least look. They carry a lot of brands Perkins, Kubota, Yanmar, and others. They advertise "free shipping" but that is probably only lower 48...so that might get it to Miami. Although their prices seem a bit high, which is probably due in part to the included shipping.

http://www.hardydiesel.com/

 

[Robo McDuff]

Second most of the earlier posts. Get a medium sized Honda with the output for what they need. We (my son) uses one for his welding and drilling jobs when installing forged fences etc somewhere without power available. Or if the power goes out in his workshop which is in the middle of nowhere. He has a professional one that can handle 220V and 380V on a 24-7 base without problem for around $ 900 (in Czech Republic). If you only need 120V for refrigerating and lights, there are cheaper Honda versions. A lot of other "chain shop brands" are cheaper but actually use Honda engines for power. Those often are reliable as well, but make sure you get a good engine. The advantage of Honda: easy to handle, easy to move, and reliable.

 

[DieselAddict]

Second most of the earlier posts. Get a medium sized Honda with the output for what they need.

Yes, Anguilla.
I am still waiting for more info so I am in a holding pattern. I appreciate the info so far. I have been told propane and diesel is what they have reliable access to for fuel. No other info as of yet.

The Hondas won't be the preferred solution since gasoline isn't the best fuel choice.

 

[Light in the Dark]

I am not a generac fan (as already stated), but just throwing out other options...

https://www.amazon.com/Generac-6864-Starting-Portable-Generator/dp/B010T243GU/

 

[Robo McDuff]

The Hondas won't be the preferred solution since gasoline isn't the best fuel choice.

Honda has diesel generators, but they are double or triple the price as I could find on short notice. Then again, if you are talking a gen that can take over your home power supply for the next x weeks or months, it is not realistic to expect that you can find a reliable low cost option that fulfills all requirements and runs on diesel as well. Maybe a large old diesel gen would do, but shipping that to the island would cost you certainly when speed and space on transport are premium. And having those noisy son of etc running several months next to your house is also not much fun.

Probably a small diesel gen combined with sun collectors are the best way, but with no high-tech installer there, who is going to install and connect everything? Sending some empty diesel Jerrycans is a good idea as well.

Also don't forget, its an investment now, but those things last and this definitely will not be the last hurricane to hit them.

 

[Bmxenbrett]

From a news report i saw today a generator might be last on these peoples mind. No food, no water and huge debris piles that use to be houses.Alot of the non military diesel options you guys are posting are in the $1k/1kw range. Thats solar prices and the sun is free.I dont thing gas should even be an option as almost all of them are for stand by use only. Even 1 month in the humid salt filled air would take a toll on a lesser unit. For instance 30days run time with 8hrs off a day would be almost 500hrs. Ever see a gas generator thst was built in the last 5 year thats got 1,000hrs? There just not made to run that long.

 

[GREENMV]

After Hurricane Wilma, we lost half our roof and lost power for 13 days. At that time we had a 6500Kw Gen on our boat and ran power with extension cords to the freezer, fridge, TV, lights and a small window shaker A/C we put in the window of our sleeping area. It was a life saver to be able to get out of the Humidity & Heat of South Florida to sleep at night and have a place to hang out to cool off. We also used the power for tools for temporary fixes. I have always had a backup Gen and a small Portable A/C for that reason.

My point here is you can do a lot with very little. Another tip I learned Is if you have running water, connect all your garden hoses together and put a sprayer on the end. Lay the hose all over the yard to heat up the hose and you will have hot water for taking a shower.

Small portable Diesel Gens are not all that common except for Chinese models. I had a 6000Kw in the cabinet style and it broke after a couple of uses. (JUNK) You are going to get what you pay for and the nicer diesel gens cost more but will last a lot longer for that future use in an emergency. Just keep up the maintenance and run it to exercise it once in a while.

I have sold and still dabble in Military surplus gens and I would say it's not for the common man/woman. They are harder to get parts for the older models and defiantly can be finicky if you don't know what your doing with them. I still get stumped by problems, that's why I come here to talk to people who have the same disease I have. they are definitely not plug and play.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Power management is a key. Whole house gensets are nice when the power fails but when attached to partial or total devastation, When fuel is at a premium and hard to find, gas might be a fair option. If Incould only have one genset, it would be the Honda inverter. Just enough power to survive, a few gallons goes a long long way and you can pack it with you. One of these combined with a big unit would be ideal. As far as gas not being an optimal fuel, when there are destroyed cars all around and you are in survival mode, gas looks viable. Going through many hurricanes and some devastating, your views change. Lots of car batteries and inverters can also go a long way.

 

[Chainbreaker]

I'm thinking perhaps a MEP-831a might be a good middle of the road option. Its Diesel, not so heavy as to be exorbitant to ship and has a reliable Yanmar engine. Would be easy enough to crate so its unknown as to what is in the crate (enroute theft deterrent). It should last a while if they maintain it properly. Of course we have no idea as to their mechanical aptitude when it comes to making adjustments and tweaking generators, but if fully tested ready-to=run unit it could get them going.

 

[rustystud]

From a news report i saw today a generator might be last on these peoples mind. No food, no water and huge debris piles that use to be houses.Alot of the non military diesel options you guys are posting are in the $1k/1kw range. Thats solar prices and the sun is free.I dont thing gas should even be an option as almost all of them are for stand by use only. Even 1 month in the humid salt filled air would take a toll on a lesser unit. For instance 30days run time with 8hrs off a day would be almost 500hrs. Ever see a gas generator thst was built in the last 5 year thats got 1,000hrs? There just not made to run that long.

I totally know what you mean. It's been 15 years now since my home got power installed from the utility. Until that time I had generators. I settled on 10KW units with Briggs & Stratten "VanGuard" engines. They all ran on propane and the truck would come out once a month and give me about 300 gallons each time. I would run them 16 hours a day, everyday. They would last 1.5 to 2 years max. Then the engines heads would usually fail. Since they where aluminum they tended to collapse on themselves. Literally collapse the valves into the head. The bores where always in great condition due to the propane. No contamination in the oil from the fuel. The generators only needed the capacitors replaced every now and then.
Now I only run diesel units. They use much less fuel and I have never had a head failure on anyone of them.
Now for these poor guys on the island I still say a small portable 5KW unit is all I would have right now. It's enough to keep your food in the frig ( if you still have a frig or house) from going bad, and still give you lights and a TV and power to charge your phones and such. If your careful you even could do some laundry, or run a microwave.

 

[Robo McDuff]

..... Now I only run diesel units. They use much less fuel and I have never had a head failure on anyone of them.
Now for these poor guys on the island I still say a small portable 5KW unit is all I would have right now. It's enough to keep your food in the frig ( if you still have a frig or house) from going bad, and still give you lights and a TV and power to charge your phones and such. If your careful you even could do some laundry, or run a microwave.

You probably looked very much into this for yourself, any suggestions about brands or models? Or which brands to definitely avoid, which is also helpful.

I know that several cheaper generators use high quality engines, but all diesel gens I saw were over $ 5,000.