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[SAWCE]

Anyone got a backup generator for their house? We get a lot of quick off and on again power outages here, especially when we’re getting more severe weather. Thinking about picking something up, since we both work from home, just to be on the safe side.

[wap]

Anyone got a backup generator for their house? We get a lot of quick off and on again power outages here, especially when we’re getting more severe weather. Thinking about picking something up, since we both work from home, just to be on the safe side.

I've had a Generac whole generator for several years now. do you want to know?

[SAWCE]

Anyone got a backup generator for their house? We get a lot of quick off and on again power outages here, especially when we’re getting more severe weather. Thinking about picking something up, since we both work from home, just to be on the safe side.

I've had a Generac whole generator for several years now. do you want to know?

Happy with the brand/unit? Cost? Worthwhile purchase? Anything you would consider doing differently from what you have?

[J-Ho-Fo-Show69]

Anyone got a backup generator for their house? We get a lot of quick off and on again power outages here, especially when we’re getting more severe weather. Thinking about picking something up, since we both work from home, just to be on the safe side.

I've had a Generac whole generator for several years now. do you want to know?

Been looking at one of these for the mountain house and holy shit they’ve gotten pricey!

[SAWCE]

I've had a Generac whole generator for several years now. do you want to know?

Been looking at one of these for the mountain house and holy shit they’ve gotten pricey!

Yeah I just ran a rough quote on Generac’s website and a whole house unit for us would be ~$5,500 plus install and shipping costs.

Gonna price out something that doesn’t power the whole house just to see what the difference is.

[wap]

I've had a Generac whole generator for several years now. do you want to know?

Happy with the brand/unit? Cost? Worthwhile purchase? Anything you would consider doing differently from what you have?

Had it installed back in 2012 so over 13 years now. It's a 14 kw unit that runs the whole house so power outages have zero effect on us, which is . I had it installed by a local electrician and a neighbor plumber who ran the gas line (local guys who've done other work for me over the years). It's been flawless over that time, with a ~$200 annual maintenance visit from the electrician, and a battery replacement every 6 years or so. It wasn't cheap to install, the biggest unexpected expense was that I had to pay the gas company to install a larger gas main from the street to my house to be able to supply the increased gas need of the generator. It fires itself up once/week for 10 minutes or so just to keep itself in working order. Any second guessing about it being too goes out the window as soon as we have a power outage and we just until it's over. I think the longest it's ever run continuously was something like 2-3 days during a very hot summer when the neighborhood lost power. The thing ran all our window unit AC's like a champ, plus we didn't lose any food in the fridge or basement freezer, had internet, all TV's etc.

Overall, I've been completely happy with the unit and the brand has been top-notch too. I think getting a local guy to install it was a good move as it's nice to have someone in the area who can service it conveniently, plus I always like giving work to local businesses.

Can't think of anything I'd do differently, TBH. If you want, I can try to find old receipts to let you know what we paid, but I want to say the unit itself was something like $5xxx and bigger gas line installation was another maybe $2k-ish.

[wap]

I've had a Generac whole generator for several years now. do you want to know?

Been looking at one of these for the mountain house and holy shit they’ve gotten pricey!

What size? How much?

[SAWCE]

Happy with the brand/unit? Cost? Worthwhile purchase? Anything you would consider doing differently from what you have?

Had it installed back in 2012 so over 13 years now. It's a 14 kw unit that runs the whole house so power outages have zero effect on us, which is . I had it installed by a local electrician and a neighbor plumber who ran the gas line (local guys who've done other work for me over the years). It's been flawless over that time, with a ~$200 annual maintenance visit from the electrician, and a battery replacement every 6 years or so. It wasn't cheap to install, the biggest unexpected expense was that I had to pay the gas company to install a larger gas main from the street to my house to be able to supply the increased gas need of the generator. It fires itself up once/week for 10 minutes or so just to keep itself in working order. Any second guessing about it being too goes out the window as soon as we have a power outage and we just until it's over. I think the longest it's ever run continuously was something like 2-3 days during a very hot summer when the neighborhood lost power. The thing ran all our window unit AC's like a champ, plus we didn't lose any food in the fridge or basement freezer, had internet, all TV's etc.

Overall, I've been completely happy with the unit and the brand has been top-notch too. I think getting a local guy to install it was a good move as it's nice to have someone in the area who can service it conveniently, plus I always like giving work to local businesses.

Can't think of anything I'd do differently, TBH. If you want, I can try to find old receipts to let you know what we paid, but I want to say the unit itself was something like $5xxx and bigger gas line installation was another maybe $2k-ish.

Great review and recommendation, thanks! Will definitely keep them on my list as I do more research. May pop back with some more questions if we decide to pull the trigger.

[wap]

Been looking at one of these for the mountain house and holy shit they’ve gotten pricey!

Yeah I just ran a rough quote on Generac’s website and a whole house unit for us would be ~$5,500 plus install and shipping costs.

Gonna price out something that doesn’t power the whole house just to see what the difference is.

Just found the receipt for the generator. Unit, delivery, installation, all in was $6900 so maybe your quote isn't so terrible?

Edit: just my unit was $3200. Everything else brought it up to $6900.

[wap]

Had it installed back in 2012 so over 13 years now. It's a 14 kw unit that runs the whole house so power outages have zero effect on us, which is . I had it installed by a local electrician and a neighbor plumber who ran the gas line (local guys who've done other work for me over the years). It's been flawless over that time, with a ~$200 annual maintenance visit from the electrician, and a battery replacement every 6 years or so. It wasn't cheap to install, the biggest unexpected expense was that I had to pay the gas company to install a larger gas main from the street to my house to be able to supply the increased gas need of the generator. It fires itself up once/week for 10 minutes or so just to keep itself in working order. Any second guessing about it being too goes out the window as soon as we have a power outage and we just until it's over. I think the longest it's ever run continuously was something like 2-3 days during a very hot summer when the neighborhood lost power. The thing ran all our window unit AC's like a champ, plus we didn't lose any food in the fridge or basement freezer, had internet, all TV's etc.

Overall, I've been completely happy with the unit and the brand has been top-notch too. I think getting a local guy to install it was a good move as it's nice to have someone in the area who can service it conveniently, plus I always like giving work to local businesses.

Can't think of anything I'd do differently, TBH. If you want, I can try to find old receipts to let you know what we paid, but I want to say the unit itself was something like $5xxx and bigger gas line installation was another maybe $2k-ish.

Great review and recommendation, thanks! Will definitely keep them on my list as I do more research. May pop back with some more questions if we decide to pull the trigger.

Any time. Hit me up if you want to know anything else.

[J-Ho-Fo-Show69]

Been looking at one of these for the mountain house and holy shit they’ve gotten pricey!

What size? How much?

26kw. $7 unit, $2500 (electrical + plumbing), $1k for propane tank (no natural gas available).

Si total about $10k

[golftdibrad1]

Anyone got a backup generator for their house? We get a lot of quick off and on again power outages here, especially when we’re getting more severe weather. Thinking about picking something up, since we both work from home, just to be on the safe side.

how often and how long? These things are very $$ install and very $$ to run. If you think you can live without central air (typically the largest load) during an outage, there are much more cost-effective ways to protect against even extended outages.

[SAWCE]

Anyone got a backup generator for their house? We get a lot of quick off and on again power outages here, especially when we’re getting more severe weather. Thinking about picking something up, since we both work from home, just to be on the safe side.

how often and how long? These things are very $$ install and very $$ to run. If you think you can live without central air (typically the largest load) during an outage, there are much more cost-effective ways to protect against even extended outages.

Fairly frequently when we have bad weather, but they’re very short, 5-10 seconds. Biggest issue is the internet cutting out, since Michelle’s work is 100% being on video calls and our modem/router can take a while to reset itself after the outages. So we could definitely get away with something smaller than whole house backup, at least for now and then decide if that’s worth doing down the line.

[Johnny_P]

how often and how long? These things are very $$ install and very $$ to run. If you think you can live without central air (typically the largest load) during an outage, there are much more cost-effective ways to protect against even extended outages.

Fairly frequently when we have bad weather, but they’re very short, 5-10 seconds. Biggest issue is the internet cutting out, since Michelle’s work is 100% being on video calls and our modem/router can take a while to reset itself after the outages. So we could definitely get away with something smaller than whole house backup, at least for now and then decide if that’s worth doing down the line.

You might be able to get away with a battery based system if the outages are really short like that and you only care about internet

[golftdibrad1]

how often and how long? These things are very $$ install and very $$ to run. If you think you can live without central air (typically the largest load) during an outage, there are much more cost-effective ways to protect against even extended outages.

Fairly frequently when we have bad weather, but they’re very short, 5-10 seconds. Biggest issue is the internet cutting out, since Michelle’s work is 100% being on video calls and our modem/router can take a while to reset itself after the outages. So we could definitely get away with something smaller than whole house backup, at least for now and then decide if that’s worth doing down the line.

ok, so a whole hose ginny won't protect against short outages like that. You need a UPS for your internet stuff to keep that from happening. The ginny would be for longer term outages. its a 100 dollar question.

https://www.amazon.com/APC-Battery-Prot ... r=8-9&th=1

Id imagine something like that would keep the modem / router up for 10-15 mins at least.

[Johnny_P]

New fun stuff with the house of horrors.

Had a shitload of rain a couple days ago. Water pouring in a crack in the foundation by the basement bilco door. Water pouring in above bilco door. Need to repoint the bricks above it, pray that the floor beam right there isn’t rotten, and excavate the corner of the foundation to make an exterior repair to the stone.

Deck is 2yo and trashed. It’s tongue and groove mahogany construction so essentially impermeable, and pitched to drain water into the basement wall instead of away from it. So I need to build a drain system for the deck. Or throw out the deck. It looked good when we bought it and now it looks like shit. Half the boards are warped.

Backyard turned into a swamp with last storm. Need to install downspout extensions and re grade the backyard somewhat to keep water away from the house.

Basement has a below slab radon mitigation fan. Prior owners installed two dehumidifiers and pulled apart the sealed sump pump lids to drain them. Need to re seal those so the radon system works, and get a condensate lift pump. I might buy a radon detector to see if the basement is compromised. Lots of cracks in the floor. Slab should really be re poured but I don’t have time or patience for that.

Acid washed the basement and got most of the dust up in half of it. Ready to coat the floor and I need to concrete patch a few spots.

New dryer is here can’t install till the coating is done in basement. Currently ferrying laundry to/from in-laws house. Helpful they are so close by.

Kitchen sink shot out a geyser of water. Upstairs bathrooms stopped flushing. Plumber came out twice and identified a grease blockage in the main line. So that was cleared and it’s all working now.

Electrical voltage fluctuations at outlets and light flickering noted when washing machine, electric kettle, or heater turn on. Electrician came out and told me to change every light bulb in house. No brah. They’re coming back out to check more connections in a week once I can coat the basement. Likely a corroded connection or loose neutral somewhere.

Exterminator came out and inspected. He’s not worried about anything he saw seems all old damage. There are termites in the tree stump 10’ from house and he will come out in April to put a barrier down so they stay there. So that’s some good news.

[coogles]

That sounds like a bit of mess. Godspeed sir.

[SAWCE]

Thanks JP and Brad. That looks like exactly what we need for now.

[SAWCE]

New fun stuff with the house of horrors.

Had a shitload of rain a couple days ago. Water pouring in a crack in the foundation by the basement bilco door. Water pouring in above bilco door. Need to repoint the bricks above it, pray that the floor beam right there isn’t rotten, and excavate the corner of the foundation to make an exterior repair to the stone.

Deck is 2yo and trashed. It’s tongue and groove mahogany construction so essentially impermeable, and pitched to drain water into the basement wall instead of away from it. So I need to build a drain system for the deck. Or throw out the deck. It looked good when we bought it and now it looks like shit. Half the boards are warped.

Backyard turned into a swamp with last storm. Need to install downspout extensions and re grade the backyard somewhat to keep water away from the house.

Basement has a below slab radon mitigation fan. Prior owners installed two dehumidifiers and pulled apart the sealed sump pump lids to drain them. Need to re seal those so the radon system works, and get a condensate lift pump. I might buy a radon detector to see if the basement is compromised. Lots of cracks in the floor. Slab should really be re poured but I don’t have time or patience for that.

Acid washed the basement and got most of the dust up in half of it. Ready to coat the floor and I need to concrete patch a few spots.

New dryer is here can’t install till the coating is done in basement. Currently ferrying laundry to/from in-laws house. Helpful they are so close by.

Kitchen sink shot out a geyser of water. Upstairs bathrooms stopped flushing. Plumber came out twice and identified a grease blockage in the main line. So that was cleared and it’s all working now.

Electrical voltage fluctuations at outlets and light flickering noted when washing machine, electric kettle, or heater turn on. Electrician came out and told me to change every light bulb in house. No brah. They’re coming back out to check more connections in a week once I can coat the basement. Likely a corroded connection or loose neutral somewhere.

Exterminator came out and inspected. He’s not worried about anything he saw seems all old damage. There are termites in the tree stump 10’ from house and he will come out in April to put a barrier down so they stay there. So that’s some good news.

Holy fucking shit. That is brutal.

[MrH42]

Electrical voltage fluctuations at outlets and light flickering noted when washing machine, electric kettle, or heater turn on. Electrician came out and told me to change every light bulb in house. No brah. They’re coming back out to check more connections in a week once I can coat the basement. Likely a corroded connection or loose neutral somewhere.

[Johnny_P]

Electrical voltage fluctuations at outlets and light flickering noted when washing machine, electric kettle, or heater turn on. Electrician came out and told me to change every light bulb in house. No brah. They’re coming back out to check more connections in a week once I can coat the basement. Likely a corroded connection or loose neutral somewhere.

Yeah I’ll call the power company next week. I just gotta get this basement coated before I have a ton of contractors walking around on it and crumbling more concrete dust everywhere.

[wap]

What size? How much?

26kw. $7 unit, $2500 (electrical + plumbing), $1k for propane tank (no natural gas available).

Si total about $10k

26kw is a big'un

[wap]

how often and how long? These things are very $$ install and very $$ to run. If you think you can live without central air (typically the largest load) during an outage, there are much more cost-effective ways to protect against even extended outages.

Fairly frequently when we have bad weather, but they’re very short, 5-10 seconds. Biggest issue is the internet cutting out, since Michelle’s work is 100% being on video calls and our modem/router can take a while to reset itself after the outages. So we could definitely get away with something smaller than whole house backup, at least for now and then decide if that’s worth doing down the line.

Yeah, a whole- generator won't help with that. The way mine works is it kicks in about 12 seconds after it senses an outage so it won't constantly turn on and off. Then it shuts off about 12 seconds after it senses that power has been restored to make sure it's back for real. Little power flickers like you're describing don't make the generator fire up.

[wap]

Sorry for all your hassles, JP.

[SAWCE]

Fairly frequently when we have bad weather, but they’re very short, 5-10 seconds. Biggest issue is the internet cutting out, since Michelle’s work is 100% being on video calls and our modem/router can take a while to reset itself after the outages. So we could definitely get away with something smaller than whole house backup, at least for now and then decide if that’s worth doing down the line.

Yeah, a whole- generator won't help with that. The way mine works is it kicks in about 12 seconds after it senses an outage so it won't constantly turn on and off. Then it shuts off about 12 seconds after it senses that power has been restored to make sure it's back for real. Little power flickers like you're describing don't make the generator fire up.

Got it. Thanks dude!