I have what I think is a good start

[T.j.]

I have a 7500 watt generator that I wired with a twist lock and plug so I can back feed my dryer plug to my panel. Not the best way to do it, but it keeps cost down with a transfer switch. Also keep about a weeks worth of gas in gas cans that I rotate out into my cars probably once every 2-3 months. Little work to not be on those gas lines when shtf.

[Jonesy]

What can you power with the 7500W?

[T.j.]

To be honest I don't know "how much" or "how big" of a house my 7500watt generator will run. I can say that I have powered my hole house off of it but not abusing it. It keeps the oil burner on and hot water moving. Idea is to conserve. Walk out of one room shut the lights off and turn the lights on in another room. The harder it works the more fuel it burns.

[Joey B]

I think u need to call that guy Joey B. He will hook u up And Tom if u do go for a generator u want nothing less thana 7500w.  8000w is perfect

[Jonesy]

Thanks for the advice Joey B!

[Joe K]

7500 watts is about 25amps of 240 running at 80%., dont really want to push it much harder than that.

25 amps will get you the boiler, fridge, a couple tvs, some lights, coffee pot, a sump pump, a small/medium size window AC and a few other things.

Keep a few things in mind.  The fuel tanks on most generators are sized to run for 8 hours at 50% load.  Running it at 80% will increase fuel consumption accordingly.  The fuel tank on a 7500watt generator will normally hold 6 to 7 gallons.

That being said, with a 7500 watt generator, you should expect to use a minimum of 5 gallons per 24hr day if you are conservative with it.  If you want to run it around the clock figure on around 20 gallons per 24hr day.

I have a 18,500 watt generator, it uses around 2 gallons per hour when running hard.  The most i have pushed it is up to 43 amps per leg which is around 10,500kw.  I was cooking on the electric stove and washing and drying laundry, tv was on and so were most of the lights. 

My plan for the future is to pick up a Honda EU3000.  It will run almost 21 hours at 1/4 load on 3.5 gallons of gas.  It will run just over 7 hours running hard. 

The plan is to install them both and primarily run the Honda to conserve gas but have some level of comfort. Then an hour or two in the AM and PM start up the big boy and do laundy, dishwasher, etc.

The moral of the story is to be sure and balance fuel consumption against your actual 'needs' before you purchase a generator.

[Joe K]

Another thing to think about for you oil heat guys is a diesel generator.  You can set it up to suck out of your heating oil tank and eliminate trips to the gas station all together.

This of course also applies to someone that has natural gas or propane tanks.  Use what you have already available and reduce the work you have to do when the SHTF.

[Jonesy]

Great generator advice by Joe K and Joey B!  Thanks for the input!

[WRAI475]

Great information Joe K.  Fuel conservation is a must, just remember the gas lines after Sandy struck.  Deisel was available almost everywhere.   I have a Briggs 5600/8500.  Running three times a day for an hour and a half each time I was able to get the consumption down to about 3 gallons.   This was running two fridges, 4 zone heat and hot water, TV's lights, coffee maker, microwave and a few loads of laundry.  All these operations were done while the generator was running.    This kept hot water for showers and the house was able to maintain a comfortable temperature. 

I do have a few smaller generators that can be put into service if extra heat was needed or just a few lights.   This is the way to go as only supplimentary usage consumption was 2.5 gallons for the week.   If nothing else I could have kept the house warm with just a 1500 Watt generator.

One of my tricks so that the generator is not needed at nigh is solar garden lanterns.  Charge all day in the yard and bring them in the house at night.  One or two in each room provide enough lighting for safety and comfort.  No need to run the generator while sleeping which is unsafe.   It is also known that generators running after dark can and will attrack zombies of all sorts. 

Portable generators as I see it are devices that will provide enough electric to maintain a basic level of comfort.   Equivalent to a 1920's home with a 20 Amp service.    A/C's can be run on a limited basis as can forced air heating.  The problem comes in when we expect it to take the place of our 100 or 200 amp service.   So one needs to figure out what you cannot live without and size the generator appropriately.   A 3500 Watt generator will do fine providing the basics.  My 5600/8500 does a two family house just fine.   It takes some thought and effort but nobody will ever be cold and hungry. 

[Butch618]

I have a 10k and converted to run tri fuel

[Butch618]

If you have natural gas in your house visit u.s.carb website order a tri fuel conversion  kit

[Joey B]

O.K so Im liking what I am hearing from everyone Especially from Joey K You are pretty much on the ball so you have either done your homework really well or you are an electrician. My guess is Electrician. The fuel consumption is defiantly negatively effected by the load your drawing so you only want to power things that are important at the time you are using them so if you want to do some laundry leave the electric stove, A/C, ect. off you can also shed the load by turning off some of the lights not being used at the time. Save on some Fuel and save the load on the generator. Also remember the Generator can only send the load of the breaker and wire carrying it so if your feeding your house with 30amps (Most common output in generators 4500 to 8000) your only going to get 30amps (in theory) LOL