Generators | GTAMotorcycle.com

Generators

-Maverick-

-Maverick-

Well-known member
Need a crash course in emergency generators.

Champion, King, Firman? Any experience with ok, better, best?

Corn fuel seems to have become more trouble than it's worth, so...

Gas?
Gas / Propane?
Gas / Propane / Natural Gas Conversion?

What wattage do you need to run a house? 8 - 10,000 best choice?

What cords do you need to run a house?

Transfer panel worth it?

The guy formerly known as Mladin.
 
I don’t know much but the Polaks all go bananas for GENERAC brand.

Runs off natural gas at my buddys cottage and has been working like a champ when they lose power (which is often).

I think @SunnY S May have good info.
 
Is it emergency or standby? If it's a just in case situation with mostly inconvenience issues any thing might do. If it's life support or major financial loss then I'd say it's emergency. Last time I was there, Loblaws distribution North Cambridge had a parking lot full of trailer sized ones so they wouldn't lose millions of dollars in perishables.
 
Just power outage for house. There's been some erratic weather, especially wind. Had one power outage already. Thought it would make a better Christmas gift for the house than more stuff we end up collecting and donating or throwing out.

The guy formerly known as Mladin.
 
right up my alley. I do LOT's of generators in my electrical field.

NOTE: I am speaking solely of Home Stand by, not the small disposable ones you buy from Home depot.

EVERYBODY wants a generator these days.

good luck getting Generac, sold out across the country, expecting more March/April, but the dates keep getting pushed further and further. I wouldn't get your hopes up.

I am an authorized dealer for Champion Home Standby. Champion is tough to get too, but I bought I whole bunch and am down to my last couple. More expected to arrive in Jan to March window.

Both Champ and Generac are field convertible to NG or Propane.

8.5kW is the minimum to power a house, but 14.4 to 24kW is much better.

You definitely need an Automatic Transfer Switch to go with any of the above units to power your house.


I've never met a customer yet, who regretted buying a whole house generator. Best investment ever.
 
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mimico_polak said:
I don’t know much but the Polaks all go bananas for GENERAC brand.

Runs off natural gas at my buddys cottage and has been working like a champ when they lose power (which is often).

I think @SunnY S May have good info.
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Dealing with Hydro some time back we were informed that when there is a major outage the priorities are:

1) Emergency services in town, hospitals etc

2) Industry in town

3) Residential and commerce in town

4) Farms

5) Cottages

Natural gas is lower maintenance. Nothing like a glued up carb to ruin your day.

Cheap and dirty gasolene types start around $500 for the equivalent of one circuit and questionable reliability.

The bigger the unit the more sense a transfer panel makes. The basic one circuit generator needs a common extension cord that feeds whatever is most important. It's like musical chairs but with appliances. If you've got a bigger gennie you don't have to constantly switch loads and having a transfer switch makes it safer for everyone.

What is important for you to protect? I know one guy with a decent wine collection and the climate control for the cellar is on the generator.

Winter and summer loads and how long do you want to prepare for?
 
For portables, The Champions are excellent bang for the buck and good units.

I am a dealer for Champion (Home Standby only, not Portable) They have their Canada warehouse in Burlington (Qew and Burloak) NOT open to the public. Last time I was there, they had plenty of stock. right up to the ceiling. So you shouldn't have a problem buying from a retailer.

They also stand behind their product and have great customer service and stock lots of parts in burlington. Great guys to deal with that really care about helping.

I don't know anything about King or Firman. Good luck getting parts or service.

www.championpowerequipment.com

Champion Power Equipment – Powering Your Life

Powering Your Life
www.championpowerequipment.com www.championpowerequipment.com
 
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For emergency power you don't need much, I can run my place on a portable 3KW setup. This powers the furnace, 2 fridges and a few lamps, router and a couple of laptops.

It will not run AC, electric stove, dryer, EVcharger (although I don't have an EV) and running hi wattage things like hair dryers, toasters, microwaves are not advisable. It will run a coffee maker, router and a couple of laptops.

No transfer switch. My furnace has plug that I can reconnect to the gennie, everything else needs wo be connected via extension cord. I have 30amp cord that I feed into the basement, my furnace has a plug so I can swap it over easily.

I think it should burn .5l/hr of gasoline (never tested).

For emergency use you want to make sure you don't freeze, or in the summer you don't spoil what's in the fridge. This can be quite comfortably done on a small 2-3kw gennie.

A few years back my BIL ran the furnace and fridge for 4 days during a big ice storm in Ottawa on a Honda 1kw unit.
 
Mad Mike said:
For emergency power you don't need much, I can run my place on a portable 3KW setup. This powers the furnace, 2 fridges and a few lamps, router and a couple of laptops.

It will not run AC, electric stove, dryer, EVcharger (although I don't have an EV) and running hi wattage things like hair dryers, toasters, microwaves are not advisable. It will run a coffee maker, router and a couple of laptops.

No transfer switch. My furnace has plug that I can reconnect to the gennie, everything else needs wo be connected via extension cord. I have 30amp cord that I feed into the basement, my furnace has a plug so I can swap it over easily.

I think it should burn .5l/hr of gasoline (never tested).

For emergency use you want to make sure you don't freeze, or in the summer you don't spoil what's in the fridge. This can be quite comfortably done on a small 2-3kw gennie.

A few years back my BIL ran the furnace and fridge for 4 days during a big ice storm in Ottawa on a Honda 1kw unit.
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If it's winter perishables can be kept outside or in an unheated room / porch. The main winter load would be, in my case, a hot plate and furnace blower.

Summer loads would involve refrigeration. Rural locations may have other needs such as water pumps.

At 0.5L/hour a five gallon can of gas will last a couple of days but I feel that's light.

To keep the five gallons fresh dump it in the cage once a month and buy fresh. Stabilize what's in the genny. Prepping is a PITA.
 
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I was tempted to buy one after we lost power for 3hrs last week and the temp started getting cold.

Maybe I should consider one just for furnace and basics. Don’t need a transfer switch I just want the heat to keep on in the house.
 
SunnY S said:
For portables, The Champions are excellent bang for the buck and good units.

I am a dealer for Champion (Home Standby only, not Portable) They have their Canada warehouse in Burlington (Qew and Burloak) NOT open to the public. Last time I was there, they had plenty of stock. right up to the ceiling. So you shouldn't have a problem buying from a retailer.

They also stand behind their product and have great customer service and stock lots of parts in burlington. Great guys to deal with that really care about helping.

I don't know anything about King or Firman. Good luck getting parts or service.

www.championpowerequipment.com

Champion Power Equipment – Powering Your Life

Powering Your Life
www.championpowerequipment.com www.championpowerequipment.com
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I have a 8.5 kw champion whole home runs everything I need heat pump included. Just over 5 years old not sure if I would bother again.

Sent using a thumb maybe 2
 
mimico_polak said:
I was tempted to buy one after we lost power for 3hrs last week and the temp started getting cold.

Maybe I should consider one just for furnace and basics. Don’t need a transfer switch I just want the heat to keep on in the house.
Click to expand...

Adults understand and kids are resilient. By denying them nearly freezing to death you deprive them of telling thier kids "When I was your age....." Seriously a 2Kw can be shared between a fridge, hot plate, microwave and furnace. You just won't get a lot of sleep.

My choice would be a Honda 3Kw inverter with two circuits. I'd put the furnace on a circuit with the cooking stuff and turn down the thermostat while using one appliance. The fridge and a few LEDs go on another circuit. Hungry stomachs complain a lot.
 
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mimico_polak said:
I was tempted to buy one after we lost power for 3hrs last week and the temp started getting cold.

Maybe I should consider one just for furnace and basics. Don’t need a transfer switch I just want the heat to keep on in the house.
Click to expand...
I bought a 2kw honda after the christmas ice storm 7 or so years ago. It can power everything I need. Obviously no a/c, dryer etc. Some neighbours have whole-house. Super annoying when the power goes out. They are loud and obviously have everything on the genny as their xmas lights stay on all night.

How are you going to power your furnace? Pretty sure code in ontario for furnaces is hard-wired which makes generator connection annoying.

My parents put in a generac and auto transfer switch in the summer (propane). Wind last week knocked them off the grid for days. They were happy with their purchase.
 
Stupid question (there are no stupid questions) but are there any db bylaws for generators? Could a bylaw shut you down in the cold? I see they run ~70 db. Honda being the quietest.

The guy formerly known as Mladin.
 
-Maverick- said:
Stupid question (there are no stupid questions) but are there any db bylaws for generators? Could a bylaw shut you down in the cold? I see they run ~70 db. Honda being the quietest.

The guy formerly known as Mladin.
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Generator sound level ratings are mostly crap. They are used by the marketing department and far detached from engineering. If you want to compare sound levels, make sure they are measured at the same distance (most gen manufacturers dont tell you the measurement distance) and ideally under similar conditions (again most dont provide this information).

Under emergency conditions (eg power is out) all sound level limits are suspended. Standby generators (eg permanently installed) normally exercise weekly and that operation can be subject to sound level limits. Most municipalities are way behind the times so their bylaws wont have anything specific. Almost all municipalities have "right to quiet enjoyment" so they would use that. You discussing that you wanted to be respectful and picked a quieter model and placed it away from neighbours would go a long way to appeasing most by-law officers. Technically, someone could sic the MECP on you (formerly MOE before they keep changing names) but I doubt they would bother investigating.
 
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