Generator purchase advice

[shanekarl]

I have read a ton of the threads on here and wanted to see if anyone would give me a bit of advice before i pull the trigger and buy a new to me generator.

I live in an all electric house in Texas. With just lights, TV and computers on I pull about 5KW average. When the AC is on i pull 10KW and in the winter if the heat-pump and heat strips are on i pull about 20KW. This are real readings not just going by the face plates. If you add any one of the stove or oven, microwave, dryer etc i can push 25-30kw.

I dont mind managing the load a bit but I do want to be able to run my heat pump and heat strips. After the last winter in texas we had way to much damage from the house getting to cold and lost most of our salt water fish/corals. With that my question is what would you recommend on a generator?

My gut tells me to try and find a mep-005 but realize I may need a load bank to burn off wetstacking from time to time if I'm not running it in the winter with my heat. I was also considering a 004 as I know they are under rated but I was not sure if I could really push it to 20-25KW if really needed as thats almost 170% capacity. In this past storm i was pulling 20kw+ for hours and hours at a time when we had power.

Also I know the 005's are getting hard to find (004's for that matter too) can anyone comment on cost of ownership of a 005 v/ 805? I can do the basic work (fluids, fuel, fuses etc) but if it breaks down ill be hriring someone to fix it so which is more economical to work on is a plus. From what I have read the 805 parts seem a bit more costly.

Also after recommendations if anyone has pointers where to buy let me know. I have been looking on eBay. I do know where ever i buy from i will want to see it run/be load tested to know I am getting a working unit but I am open to suggestions if anyone knows a good surplus dealer. I doubt ill buy from a government auction as if its not running id have to hire someone to get it running.

Anyhow thanks in advance for your time/advice.

 

[Scoobyshep]

If it helps with the single phase mod I can run my 004 at 72 amps.

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[Guyfang]

Boy, have you opened a can of worms. I am going to see if anyone else posts, before I jump in here.

 

[Light in the Dark]

What is the minimum power use for each season... I assume you wouldnt have to turn on every heat zone, for example. What TX had is quite extraordinary (though getting more common)... but thats a LOT of power to buy a backup solution for '100 year storms'.

 

[GopherHill]

I would suggest looking into some propane heat. We have that and were fine. A camp stove is also handy for outages. You can then use a smaller generator to carry the basics. You can carry smaller ones to the repair shop.
Just my suggestion.....
TomC

 

[shanekarl]

What is the minimum power use for each season... I assume you wouldnt have to turn on every heat zone, for example. What TX had is quite extraordinary (though getting more common)... but thats a LOT of power to buy a backup solution for '100 year storms'.

Thanks for all the replies so fast! I will try to answer everyones questions or comments

for all seasons but winter - I can run the AC/Water heater, well, septic, lights, computers for a littler under 10kw, I would like a little more room to be able to also run the stove/oven/microwave too. Those do not need to all run at once, one of a time is fine.

For winter if i need aux heat my heat strips pull 10kw which puts me at a minimum of 20kw.

I do have a propane space heater but the issue with this past storm was that we could warm a room, but my 200gallon reef tank is in an open area of the house that can't easily be kept warm without the central heater and dropped down to about 45 degrees.

I do understand with the smaller the generator the lower my fuel usage will be - which I care about - but i would have happily paid a $1000 fuel bill this last storm to save my 20k fish aquarium that insurance does not cover. My only fear with the larger unit is wet stacking but I am not against buying or renting a load bank a few times year.

In my opinion the smallest option would be the 15kw but i dont see it running the heater unless I shut everything else in the house off and I am not sure I want to load manage that much. I have also considered breaking some of my load into a separate panel so i could run two smaller generators. I do get that would give me some additional backup if one died but quite honestly I think I would rather just have one larger unit from a single device to maintain perspective and not to have to worry about managing any loads.

If i get a 004 or 005 I will look for a unit with a trailer so that if something happens i can tow it to someplace to be repaired.

I think I answered all of everyones questions but if not let me know and ill try to answer them.

Thanks again for the advice you guys are great!

 

[glcaines]

I don't see how you are using so much power. You mentioned 5 KW for just lights, TV and computer. I have a large house with a MEP003A 10 KW backup generator. It runs my geothermal heat pump and everything else fine, summer or winter. When I run the generator, it's business as usual - we can't even tell we're on the generator except for the noise.

 

[shanekarl]

I don't see how you are using so much power. You mentioned 5 KW for just lights, TV and computer. I have a large house with a MEP003A 10 KW backup generator. It runs my geothermal heat pump and everything else fine, summer or winter. When I run the generator, it's business as usual - we can't even tell we're on the generator except for the noise.

Right this second my usage is 4.531 KW (my smart meeter reports real time usage). At the moment i have lights and fans on in 6 rooms, a tv, 4 computers, security system - including 7 cameras, fridge and 2 freezers plus the fish tanks. I suspect about half that usage is the fish tanks to be honest. The fish tanks require 2 - 20 amp breakers and if every device (lights, heaters, pumps, UV, skimmers etc are on I can pop the breaker but its rare everything is on at the same time).

The AC is a 4 ton trane heat pump. When the outside compressor and attic blower run it pulls a little less than 5kw on its own and when its really cold the heat strips turns on the heat strip pulls an additional 10kw by itself.

It sucks having a 100% electric house at times like this. In the event of a power outage i can cut back on lights and fans, but that really does not save much of the power to be honest 2 maybe 3 kw.

Right now i have a 10kw propane generator and i can easily max it out and drop the load without the heater or fishtanks.

 

[Dock Rocker]

I don't see how you are using so much power. You mentioned 5 KW for just lights, TV and computer. I have a large house with a MEP003A 10 KW backup generator. It runs my geothermal heat pump and everything else fine, summer or winter. When I run the generator, it's business as usual - we can't even tell we're on the generator except for the noise.

I am in the same boat with you. I can run my whole house 3,500ish feet off of an 802. I had to do a little load management but no real issues. When I have the 003 hooked up I don’t even think about what we do.

Note. I do have propane tankless water heaters and a propane cooktop.

That seems like a ton of power for the basics.

The bigger sets 004-005 are 3 phase so you will never be able to get the full rated power on 240/120.


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[Scoobyshep]

I am in the same boat with you. I can run my whole house 3,500ish feet off of an 802. I had to do a little load management but no real issues. When I have the 003 hooked up I don’t even think about what we do.

Note. I do have propane tankless water heaters and a propane cooktop.

That seems like a ton of power for the basics.

The bigger sets 004-005 are 3 phase so you will never be able to get the full rated power on 240/120.


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The 004 and 005 can be converted to single phase.

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[shanekarl]

The 004 and 005 can be converted to single phase.

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I have a few questions if you don’t mind?

how do you connect you 004 to your house? I was thinking of a double throw safety switch. It’s a manual transfer but low cost setup. Also how do you know when utility has been restored other than testing or seeing a neighbor? I can’t see neighbors easily where I am - I could put a utility light right off the meter or something.

 

[Scoobyshep]

I have a few questions if you don’t mind?

how do you connect you 004 to your house? I was thinking of a double throw safety switch. It’s a manual transfer but low cost setup. Also how do you know when utility has been restored other than testing or seeing a neighbor? I can’t see neighbors easily where I am - I could put a utility light right off the meter or something.

I used an automatic transfer switch. I completely automated the generator and transfer switch.

You can use a double throw safety switch and indicator light on the utility side fairly easily

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[ldmack3]

I lived in Houston in a 3,000sf house. I put in whole house generator that was rated at 18kw with natural gas. Only gas used in the house was the cooktop and furnace. The 18 kw would run everything including 3 AC units if all was already on. But the dryer and oven were set to load shed, which they would when the AC started up due to surge.
Hope this helps.

 

[shanekarl]

I lived in Houston in a 3,000sf house. I put in whole house generator that was rated at 18kw with natural gas. Only gas used in the house was the cooktop and furnace. The 18 kw would run everything including 3 AC units if all was already on. But the dryer and oven were set to load shed, which they would when the AC started up due to surge.
Hope this helps.

This does help a lot. I think I have talked my self in to a 30kw unit - now is just a matter of finding a nice unit to buy!

 

[shanekarl]

I used an automatic transfer switch. I completely automated the generator and transfer switch.

You can use a double throw safety switch and indicator light on the utility side fairly easily

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Would you mind sharing some info on the ATS you used and what you had to do on the generator to convert it to use the ATS?

 

[ldmack3]

My Generac was $10K installed in about 2014.
It was rated ta 20KW on propane but natural gas was 18kw.

 

[Scoobyshep]

Would you mind sharing some info on the ATS you used and what you had to do on the generator to convert it to use the ATS?

I used a generac 200 amp service rated transfer switch.

Generator side I have 2 relay boards one is outputs to the generator the other is inputs back to my plc. I figured out what the contacts on the switches are doing at each step of the starting process and paralleled them. I replaced the manual throttle with a servo motor and set my plc up to adjust the throttle to keep the set at 60 hz.

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[NDT]

Any way to get natural gas piped in? I have two 120,000 btu gas furnaces and a 2000 watt natural gas fueled generator kept them and the rest of the house going for many days during the storm. Just paid the gas bill, like $80.

 

[shanekarl]

Any way to get natural gas piped in? I have two 120,000 btu gas furnaces and a 2000 watt natural gas fueled generator kept them and the rest of the house going for many days during the storm. Just paid the gas bill, like $80.

natural gas is not an option, I live in the country... I could have a large propane tank installed but I’d honestly prefer diesel if I can find a 005 to buy.

 

[maniatopoulosg]

This does help a lot. I think I have talked my self in to a 30kw unit - now is just a matter of finding a nice unit to buy!

Have you thought about fuel requirements for that generator what’s the plan


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