Another power outage: Advice on a Generator

[Pat_in_NC]

Well another power outage and I've had it. Last time it was the ice storm this time Isabelle. Actually the hurricane was very mild here--really just a bit of wind and rain--but it was enough to knock out power in our subdivision again. Not clear when the power will be back--word is probably by tonight.

The fish are doing OK no deaths yet. I have battery pumps running all the sponge filters and The tank temps are at 77-78 F in the big tanks and in the smaller tanks it has gotten down to 72-73 F. I don't think it will get much colder because the room temp is about 74 F (and luckily I will. If I don't have power back by when I get home I will run an inverter to keep the coldest tanks a bit warmer. I do have one 30 gal tank with about 50 1 month old fry in it that I am doing 50% wc with my remaining stored water (which is at about 79 F righ now). I think/hope they will get through it but not knowing when the power is coming back on is a major pain.

The real reason I am posting is I decided I am going to get a generator for the next time this happens. I need to know roughly how large a generator I need to keep all six tanks (125g, 2x75g, 2x 29g, 20g) going along with a chest freezer and dorm refrigerator in my basement. I am hoping to keep the cost under $1500. Is this possible?

For example what about this:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000065CJ5/qid=1063986271/br=1-2/ref=br_lf_hi_2//103-8426644-1222235?v=glance&s=hi&n=552808


Would 2,900 W do the trick?

Any suggestions about particular manufacturers?

I know its too late to help with this outage but I want to prepare for the next one.


Thanks,

Pat

[lwarctic]

Pat, I would think that would be enough, but I would go for a little bigger one. If you check around you can get like a 5000 watt for around $500.00. Coleman has them for about this price. Right now on ebay they have the exact one you have listed for 460.00, the auction hasn't ended but you can get good prices if you look around. Good luck.

Les

;) ;) ;)

[DarkDiscus]

Pat,

When I bought my generator (it was 6000 watts) I managed to get the whole shebang including installation to my fuse box and automatic shut off etc. for $1,500. I got a top of the line generator because I wanted to be able to run the 2 fridges, the oil heat and water pump and have enough left over to run my tanks. Unfortunately, my generator wasn't enough to cover all that, so I had to rotate which circuits were on, but the one time I had to use it, it worked like a charm.

It was funny - in the 5 years before the generator we lost power 8 times for a total of 12 days and in the 2 after I bought it (before I moved) we lost power once for about 22 hours...

John

PS. If you can afford it, get the biggest and highest rated generator you can. You will be thanking yourself the next time you lose power!

[April]

Pat. i was wondering if you lost power. sure hope your little fry are ok.
let us know how it goes.
think i will stay on the west coast...and just wonder when the "big ones" coming.lol. they keep threatening at least they pick cool names for these hurricanes..
hope everyone else is ok with their fish who live over there.

[jeep]

John is right on the money here...


From what I've seen, Generac seems to have a very good generator for the money. The main thin you want to look for is the type of engine (Honda, Brigg & Stratton, etc...),surge watts and the options on the unit. Generac also makes an automatic, whole house system that runs on natural gas. Pretty expensive for that one...

IMO, an electrical starter is a waste of money and could be used on other options or a larger generator.

Also, figure out what you want this for. Your fish or you. If all you need is a generator for your fish you can probably get away with spending less than $400. If you want to power your house, go for the big ones (8000+ watts) with a large capacity for surge watts (12,500), which will power your furnace, A/C, electric stoves and even your washer and drier (maybe not all at the same time).

To figure out what you need, make a list of everything you think you will want to power up from lights to stove. Write down the total watts used to power these things, including the surge watts from things like washers, driers and furnaces , and add them together. The surge watts are added to the total.

Some examples are (check your own for true watts):

Central AC - 1,500 running watts - 4,500 surge watts (4,500 watts is added to the worksheet, not the 1,500 watts)

27" TV - 500 running watts - 0 surge watts

17" computer/monitor - 800 running watts - 0 surge watts

Washing machine - 1,100 running - 2,250 surge

You can also add a converter box outside that will allow you to plug straight in to your breaker box. This way, when your power goes out, all you have to do is throw the main breaker (you don't want to send electricity back through the outside line and kill the repair man), turn off the breakers you don't need, turn on the generator and you're set.

Home Depot has a Generac generator that provides 8000 running watts and 12,500 surge watts for only $1,099.

hth,

Brian

[Denny]

As far as engines are concerned Honda is far and away the best motor made for Generators. They are easier to start,Run smoother and quieter, and in the long run will cost less in maintainence and repairs.

If you want your own unbiased comparison, just drive around the construction sites and see which brand people that need to make money on them choose.

[Pat_in_NC]

Well the power came back on last night--just about 27 hours without power. All the fish seem to be in good shape with no obvious problems. I've been rinsing out the AC filters and doing large wc's today. The babies were a bit spooked but they all seem to be eating well.

The coldest any tank got was 71 F--much better than the last outage where the temp got down to 62 F in my breeder tank and was kept that way for days until I got an inverter running from my car battery.

Thanks for all the advice on generators--it really is a maze of information to sort through. I'm leaning towards John's suggestion of a 6-7 kW unit hooked up to the most essential lines (tanks, furnace fan--we have gas heat, freezer, refrigerator) at the main circuit. I'm hoping to get one that runs on natural gas that will automatically switch on after 30 sec of power outage. If its too much (and it may well be just out of my budget) I may just go with the gas powered system (I'll definitely look for one with a Honda engine thanks Denny). Its just the thought of running a dozen extension cords in the dark in the middle of a cold night that has me dreaming of something hooked up to the main power.

Anyway everything came through this well--but I really want to be prepared for the next one if it happens in the winter it won't be so pretty.


Thanks again for all the suggestions!

Pat

[Pat_in_NC]

Here are the tangerine babies from just a few moments ago--they have come through this unscathed so far

[Pat_in_NC]

here's a little closer

[Pat_in_NC]

Overall most of the babies look fairly clean but as I guess is expected with most pigeon blood spawns some have more pepper than others.

[April]

wow glad all is well Pat. they look great. looks like another N.C. fish sale will be coming up soon.

[RandalB]

Pat,
You might want to check out this one on Ebay. Sounds like what you're looking for...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2558528456&category=42 908

RandalB

[Tristanyyz]

HA HA...good investment...you buy that, guaranteed you will never have another power failure!

Very impressive system.
M