Using Your Backup Generator During a Prolonged Power Outage

[@glenfinklea4117]

Maybe I just have a good Generac 17kw. I installed it in July 2009 and it is now January 2022 It has been through 4 hurricanes that 2 were major. I ran the generator 17 days 24/7 and the other time was 24/7 9 days only shutting it down to check the oil and air filter. It is hooked up to whole house running 2 central A/C units. I service it myself on time every time.

[@tonyscorcia7534]

I have a 22kwh Generator and we recently lost power for 10 hours during a heat storm, the unit is CNG and came up automatically. A great investment

[@DJaquithFL]

My Generac is 16 years old and took me through Ian. The problem that I'm having is its casing for some silly reason was made out of steel which is rotted away allowing critters in it. Thank God I was able to clean everything out, replace the battery and fill it with oil and it took me through the storm. We were lucky and only lost our power for 24 hours in the Sarasota area. Many people still are without power. Interestingly enough, I got a quote to replace the generator about a week prior to being hit by the hurricane. The local dealer carries both Generac and Kohler and is really pushing Kohler hard. My only complaint was under medium load ~8-10kW my LED lights won't work properly and it was kind of annoying, ditto with ceiling fans on low. Clearly the stator somehow isn't generating as clean of power as it should be. We are running right around 58 Hz and 114V vs 60Hz/120V. The only thing I'm a little torn on is whether or not to get a liquid cooled ($35K) or replace yet another air cooled unit ($14K).

[@Dqalex]

@@DJaquithFL I'm down in Cape Coral. I have a liquid cool Kohler 30RCL that we just ran for 10 days straight. I shut it down for an hour to change the oil. It didn't use a drop of oil in 10 days. I like the liquid cool units because they run at a slower 1800 RPM's and are very quiet. Also the Kohler has the 2.2 liter Toyota 4Y forklift motor in it. A very reliable engine. Toyota claims 30,000 hours or more.

[@emitissimo7618]

How much natural gas does that use to run it for 17 days ?

[@operamatthew]

just ran two generators for 7 days straight during hurricane ida with daily oil checks/adds.

[@petem6291]

speaking from experience we had a power outage and I ran my Generac 17K for 6 days straight in Aug20 and on the 6th day the engine sized bend 3 out of the 4 push rods and when the engine stop so quickly it damaged the Stator in the generator housing , The oil was a tiny bit low and still very clean , the unit had 202 hours on it at the time of death . I guess the point is no matter what the company advertises the engine runs at 3600 rpm . and resting it for 8 hours at night , is probably a smart thing to do, or use the heck out of it but buy the extended warranty ....

[@avecrux333]

Very helpful. Was wondering if I could turn it off every night during a prolonged outage.

[@LichaelMewis]

Always go liquid cooled 1800rpm.

[@rogueldr642smiythe9]

Pete, In the manuals for small air cooled engines you should change the oil between 40 and 50 hours depending on climate. Thats basically every 2 days. While the standbys have oil filters, the oil breaks down under constant use. Changing the oil, replacing the filter during extended use goes a long way to prevent seizing. I have had to run mine for extended periods, on the 2nd day, take the load off, power down change the oil. Still hasn’t let me down. Had it since 2008.

[@LichaelMewis]

@@rogueldr642smiythe9 and adjust valve lash per manual hours.

[@rogueldr642smiythe9]

@@LichaelMewis all about maintenance.

[@mafosa8519]

why do these air cooled motors drink so much oil? i mean a harley motors dont need to be changed everyone week when running it hard over the summer. just curios... larry

[@trith72]

These motors are not designed to put out near the HP or torque that a Harley does. The Harley's block is likely 3-4 times thicker than the standby generator and is designed to be run every day all day if needed. It has advanced cooling fins and design features to assist it with running at much lower rpms air cooled and not to burn as much oil. The motors in the stand by generators, while reliable, are just glorified small appliance engines designed to run at higher rpms, akin to a lawn mower or a power washer. They are not designed to run everyday forever, and thus are not engineered to do so, to keep cost down. Because of this, they don't dissipate heat as well as a $20k Harley motor would. To compensate, they burn a very easily replenishable resource, motor oil. This keeps their cost down, and as long as you do the maintenance, their reliability stays high and cost low.

[@pmaint1]

Excellent video! Thank you

[@SchwaAlien]

I’m dealing with two: one that operates a corner store walk-in cooler plus a few lights & computers and an identical 8kw model that runs part of the house we live in: fridges, freezers and living room. We have a wood stove for heat in the living room but the place has electric baseboard heaters everywhere that are not wired to the generator, so the bedrooms may get very cold if the power is out for several days this winter; I think a mini split heat pump with a head in each bedroom would probably solve the problem and still be able to run on the generator because we don’t get super cold winters here... ideally the generator’s warm air / exhaust could be directed towards the heat pump outdoor unit for additional winter efficiency while on the generator. Another option may be to just set up a simple non-refrigeration heat pump to move some wood stove heat to the bedrooms with tubing around the exhaust pipe and radiators in the rooms... might not be worth it for the relatively small amount of heat, but people abandoned a solar heating system for a pool here that consists of long black tubes and a pump that may be most of what is needed... gonna play around with it and see what it can do.

[@trevorwesterdahl6245]

My Generac 24kw is getting installed right now. Came with a 10 year (parts & labor) warranty. For $270 a year, it gets serviced with 24/7 service and no excuses to void warranty (I.e. service was performed wrong). I bought because of losing power for 7 days in ice storm. Wouldn't want to power it off in freezing weather, will have to ask about these suggestions. Would want it to die three days in either.

[@Datahog747]

I also bought a 24k Guardian system just had LP hooked up yesterday waiting to start for the first time I feel good about it so far

[@avecrux333]

1) Is it alright to turn the standby generator off at night out of consideration for my neighbors if there's a prolonged outage? 2) Do they make noise Mitigation cabinets to reduce the db level of the Generac generator? It's really loud. Thanks!

[@TUMARK2]

Transfer switches should have an option built in to shutoff from 10pm to 6am.

[@tonioyendis4464]

I got mine in 2005, right after Hurricane Rita left us without power. I highly recommend using Royal Purple engine oil in it if you want it to last.

[@charliekilo3]

I plan on using Amsoil in my 24KW Generac.

[@melodymaker396]

@@charliekilo3 You and Tonio are right about using a 100% synthetic oil in these generators. That's all my contractor will use when installing Generacs. These oils are the best for an added insurance that the motor shouldn't seize up if levels are checked regularly. Don't be fooled by oils that say "full synthetic". They are not the same as 100% synthetic.

[@oldhendy785]

@@melodymaker396 I didn't know that. Thanks.

[@justincase1575]

Hey you are lucky! My power goes out 5 or 6 times per year and it may be for up to 24 to 72 hours. If it can’t handle that I don’t want a generac. I have a Troy built that I need to run on cords that is 20 years old and has never had a problem.

[@rogerballiet8131]

Troy Built Generators, are re-bagged Generac's.

[@rogerballiet8131]

Troy Built Generators, are Re-bagged Generac's.

[@trith72]

Generac handles that easily, as long as you do your maintenance. Any air cooled generator requires some maintenance after a few hours, or you will destroy it or it will auto shut down. There is no such thing as a maintenance free air cooled generator engine, from any manufacturer.

[@HoroRH]

What about what to do when you have a transfer switch? Do you use that to separate the generator from house load?

[@ernestwalden3894]

In 2009 kentucky was hit with a major ice storm that knocked the power off for 7 days. I was running my firman duel fuel 9400 watt generator all day from sun up to past sun down. I didn't have any issues with it. Guess what I'm saying I seen plenty of videos of these stand by generators failing during emergencies. And the portable ones last longer in a long term power outage.

[@Dqalex]

Excellent video

[@robwooley5752]

Could I use a stand by generator as the only power source for a small off grid cabin?

[@unixgnuru]

no. They are designed to not run over 8 hours without down time. Go solar with a battery wall.

[@WilliamKing-hf8lc]

@NonyaBusiness! Just installed G 22kw. Tech said after first eight hour continuous running you need to change oil. (or after first total eight hours in maintenance cycle) . So in other words keep oil handy.

[@trith72]

Not an air cooled, bad idea. Get a water cooled or better yet full diesel for off grid.

[@clintholloway5862]

Can it be used for DJing?

[@mawel1955]

Well, I guess so but when the bullets start flying, make sure none hit the generator.

[@JCourts2k23]

So you shut the disconnect breaker off that’s in the breaker box outside your house that says Generac on it?

[@TheJakeman789]

Common sense. It’s called, run it for a few hours, then shut it off. Run at night, then shut it off when your gone, or run during the day, keep the house cool, and then turn it off at night when’s it’s cooler.

[@knjpollard]

Not common sense when you have 2 freezers, and two refrigerators with food in them. Also, try having no heat when it’s 5 degrees outside. What is point in having it if you don’t use it when the power goes out?

[@TUMARK2]

Why do vacation homes need to have generators set to auto? No one home and generator running providing noise for neighbors day and night

[@artwinslow5399]

To keep the refer and or freezer running, security systems, and sump pumps going...things of that nature.

[@TUMARK2]

@@artwinslow5399 so how long does food stay refrigerated and/or frozen without power? At least 24 hours, security systems don't work without internet , and sump pumps are a probably good reason. My neighbor doesn't have a basement so no pump. He even complained his own generator woke him up. When power was cut

[@sharnea7342]

Will this work for someone that is on oxygen 24/7 ? .

[@LichaelMewis]

No, invest in an 1800rpm liquid cooled genset.

[@metelectricalmechanical]

"This product is not intended to be used in a critical life support application. Failure to adhere to this warning could result in death or serious injury" This is exactly what it says in the installation instructions.

[@eds5977]

10 years hell been down 3 times in the last two months

[@marktravis4381]

Me n my wife can hear the generator run at knight dificult to sleep

[@charliekilo3]

You have to be very tired and you can sleep through just about everything.

[@Terbug]

Ear plugs. I use them at night, wife snores. I woke up to a power outage today. We got hit with a snowstorm. I thought the neighbor was snowblowing outside and then saw the drive light blinking and realized generator was running.

[@XX-166]

@@Terbug I’m currently looking for a cabinet that would quiet my 14kw in consideration of my neighbors

[@Terbug]

Get some if the silicone earplugs like $4 from Walmart. Work great. Follow the instructions, though.

[@Terbug]

The generators are supposed to be temporary. If it bothered you that much that the noise might bother the neighbors, you could always turn it off but that defeating the purpose. I had neighbors that had generators, and I can assure you they didn't care if the noise bothered anyone else. Don't worry if it's too loud, they'll get one too. Have a good day!!!

[@joshmarauder]

100 years old elon musk

[@judithadede3394]

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