Generator ??

chonko · #5 09-22-2008, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek

After spending the last 8 days without power thanks to Ike my interest in a whole house generator has spiked. Does anyone have any experience with one? Recommendations?

~40% of the Houston metro area is still without power so we are one of the lucky ones at this point.

First of all you need to check the Power rating that you need.
A quick way to ascertain this is to decide what appliances you might want to run. Once that is figured out, you then need to buy a plant that will provide the Power(Watts) rating to meet your need.

I got mine from Lowes for $800, and it is rated for 5.5KW. I was able to carry my fridge, freezer, fan, other appliances. You should avoid over loading it, as that will lead to shut down and potential damage of the system.

I avoided running the Gen through the House electrical system. What you may want to do is run some extension cords to the units. Something else you need to know about the cords, ensure that they are rated for 1.6KW.

Good luck. What part of Houston are you in?