Let’s talk portable generators

[Jcjohnson]

Looking to get something that will run the fridge, freezers, a few circuits and maybe the AC at night during outages. What size would I need for this and what are some good brands? Not interested in a home back up type something portable that we can take camping as well. Any input from the green screen would be appreciated

[ateague11]

Predator 3500 are solid and quite

[TexasBob]

That sounds like a fairly wide range of things to run, especially adding in an AC. We love our predator 3500- runs the whole camper less AC at the deer lease. We have used it at home for fridge and freezers but we move it around so we aren't running several at once. Lights and a couple of fans etc are a non issue. Get the dang warranty on it and you have no worries.

[Joe H]

How big is AC would probably be the biggest factor

[SaltwaterSlick]

Best bang for your buck. Harbor Freight inverter style in the 6500 to 9000 watts, isolation switch, 30 amp plug box and a soft start for your AC.

[Jcjohnson]

Thanks guys AC is a 1.5 ton. Been looking at the predators but wasn’t sure of the quality. Not that they are bad I just don’t know much about them. Would a 6500 running watts generator run the AC?

[TxBowHntr]

Just went through this and the Westinghouse brand has the most/highest reviews. Went with a 12,000W version that has tri-fuel capability.

[Scubasteveo]

I bought the Predator 13,000 starting and 10,000 running for my house earlier this year. You have to jump on them when they come in as they sell out fast. I was in Arkansas seeing family in September and made a 4 HR round trip to grab one when I saw they had them in stock. We use the standard 3,500 one during deer season, 3 years old, started up this past weekend for the first time in 8 months or so and started first pull, and runs for about 12 HR's on a full tank.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Thanks guys AC is a 1.5 ton. Been looking at the predators but wasn’t sure of the quality.

Well, what I posted above is my opinion from experience. I personally have Honda inverter style generators and if you have the budget, that’s the way I’d go… but, I set my daughter up with the predator and it has performed flawlessly.

[rladner]

Looking to get something that will run the fridge, freezers, a few circuits and maybe the AC at night during outages. What size would I need for this and what are some good brands? Not interested in a home back up type something portable that we can take camping as well. Any input from the green screen would be appreciated

Just note that yes, its portable, but the bigger they are the heavier they are. I got a 10K start, 9K running and that sucker is heavy. Basically need two people to lift that sucker in the back of a truck. So yes, portable, has wheels to roll around, but if you are loading it in and out of a truck bed, it ain't a 1 person job and not something you want to be constantly doing.

All that being said, I bought a Champion dual fuel and I like it. I have a subpanel set up to run most my house and my upstairs AC unit. I did install a soft start on the AC. Make sure you catch the furnace as well.

[miket]

I bought a Briggs and Stratton that crapped out on me the first or second day after hurricane Ike. That ticked me off pretty good. Bought a Generac after that and have used it a decent amount at deer leases and power outages, then many, many hours at my place in AR. Pretty impressed by it now that it has so many hours on it.

I do hear good things about the Predators.

The small Honda inverter generators have a big following and will be buying one for my Lonepeak when it comes in. ( I need a small, more mobile one for that, the Generac is too big and loud )

[tps7742]

As we all know keep in mind the bigger the generator the more gas it uses. And at times gas could be difficult to find unless a person stays out front of things and more of the prepared type.

I have a couple of Honda 2000s I bought in 2008 when I lived in the suburbs due to storage etc. Tgey were fine for the necessities and gas mileage was phenomenal. I hear allot of good things about the predator as mentioned above. We have a whole house now after this last home build.

[Sackett]

You’re going to need at least 10kW running to power your needs, reliably.

Also, keep in mind most generators do not have oil filters and you really need to change the oil every 50 hours or so.

[CaptainDave]

We have a Furman tri-fuel, which has options for petrol, LP or Natural gas. I went tri-fuel as we have natural gas service in the city and I was able to plumb in a quick disconnect at the gas meter. That way, I don't have to worry about finding petrol during a mass power outage, which is often an issue. Gasoline also can't be stored in the long-term.

I'd say, without the central AC, you are looking at a 5,000 - 7,000 running watt generator. Central AC will demand going larger, which doesn't fit the bill for portability.

My opinion, scratch powering the central AC. Buy a portable AC or window unit at Home Depot, which are around $300. We have a portable AC that is rated for 300 Square feet. It will cool down a bedroom with the door shut and will make a family room at least comfortable. A small window unit could do the same. Compact and easy to store when not in use and roll out when the time comes. We didn't have power for 6 days following Beryl and this setup worked for us. These also don't pull too much wattage, so there's no issues running lights, fans, freezer, etc. with a portable generator in the wattage range above.

[BrianL]

You need to look on your AC and check the Amp draw at startup and make sure you genset has enough Amps for it plus the other loads. . AND you are going to need a 220V genset if that is a central HVAC. Your best bet money and genset size is to get a smaller window AC unit like 7500BTU and use it in emergency cooling. These are two different ways to approach it, big run most stuff that consumes a lot of fuel, or small inverter that uses little fuel but have to cut bat on what you can run...