Hurricane Timing S###s

[dlandersson]

How much was the install?

[Russ]

How much was the install?

I had one of those in my last house. Installed it myself and it's not that difficult. However, if you are not familiar with A/C wiring, an electrician can do it easily. Mine was a few hundred bucks for that same exact switch. Can monitor power to circuits so nothing gets overloaded. My house was on a well and without power, we had no water. I'd stick the genset in the woods and run the heavy 220 cord to the switch.

Today, if I had to do it again, I'd get one of those natural gas powered generators. For about $4k installed it will come on 10 seconds after power loss and run as long as the gas line is pumping to your house. They are pretty smart machines. They start themselves up once very few weeks to maintain battery and lubrication. Portable gensets are pricy. That nice Honda genset Kevin has probably runs over $5k. It's a fine machine and a workhorse that will last forever. But for that much coin for a house standby, i'd go with a fixed mount Generac.
http://www.amazon.com/Generac-5871-Air- ... ds=generac

[kmclemore]

How much was the install?

Cheap. My next door neighbor was a contractor and we went in together and got both our houses done at one time. I got the genset at wholesale pricing and his electrical guy wired them in for us for less than $300 each (basically, for free).

I don't think Honda even makes this large generator anymore, which is a real shame, but yes, it would have cost close to $5K new... I got mine for around $3K. The only thing I'd change if I had to do it again is to go with an LP Gas powered genset as opposed to gasoline, since there's less chance of gas spoilage and it's not as difficult to refill and you don't have to do it as often. I can't do natural gas here at Puff's Woods, because they don't have it in the street... we're too far off the beaten path!

[Russ]

The only thing I'd change if I had to do it again is to go with an LP Gas powered genset as opposed to gasoline, since there's less chance of gas spoilage and it's not as difficult to refill and you don't have to do it as often. I can't do natural gas here at Puff's Woods, because they don't have it in the street... we're too far off the beaten path!

I bet you could convert it to gas. Those Honda gensets are great. Quiet, reliable workhorses. Cheaper brands tend to fail when you need them the most.

Many of my family are back in NJ without power. Probably take 10 days to get it back on. I've got a friend there running his generator, but keeping it fueled is an issue. And he did have a catastrophic failure of the genset. Smoke and flames and it died. Not a Honda.
As you said, LP gas has a long shelf life. You could easily store a weeks worth of generator fuel safely for years. Not so much with gasoline.

Glad to know that Puff woods fared well from Sandy.