Power Generation General

[Rock Eater]

From generators to solar panels. Powering your home when shit hits the fan is the only way you can keep sneeding during the apocalypse

 

[DavidS877]

One thing I see often is people on-grid try and size their emergency power generation to run everything. Sure, you can do that but you're going to burn a ton of extra fuel. Think about maybe tolerating not being able to run the air conditioner, dryer, water heater and range at the same time. Sure, it could be out for a while and you need to do laundry but be rational with your usage and power needs. And if it's an emergency getting more fuel may be a problem.

And then someone will say "natural gas", if you're somewhere where the earth doesn't move then this may be a fine solution, but if you're in the mobile part of the US/West Coast then perhaps relying on fragile pipes in the ground for your power needs may not be such a great idea. Similarly if you use a large propane tank then think about when the next truck may be able to get to you to refill. Diesel or gasoline you can at least drag some cans or a tank on a trailer or whatever to wherever the nearest fuel can be acquired.

 

[StrawberryDouche]

I recently had the good fortune to acquire a new in box Predator 8750 for 300 bucks. The dude had never used it and was moving out of state. Something this size and capacity had always been aspirational. The relief I felt when it came through my door was immense. It holds 6.6 gallons and I have 25 more in storage.

I've spent the last two months learning how to use it, practicing with it, etc. No one in my real life truly understands the magnitude of how important this is, and when shit goes down, maybe I will let them enjoy the gift of a/c and cold food, and maybe I won't.

I have been very interested in these. I would love a big solar back up bitch.

https://www.bluettipower.com/https://www.bluettipower.com/

 

[Rock Eater]

I recently had the good fortune to acquire a new in box Predator 8750 for 300 bucks. The dude had never used it and was moving out of state. Something this size and capacity had always been aspirational. The relief I felt when it came through my door was immense. It holds 6.6 gallons and I have 25 more in storage.

I've spent the last two months learning how to use it, practicing with it, etc. No one in my real life truly understands the magnitude of how important this is, and when shit goes down, maybe I will let them enjoy the gift of a/c and cold food, and maybe I won't.

I have been very interested in these. I would love a big solar back up bitch.

https://www.bluettipower.com/https://www.bluettipower.com/

Make sure to cycle your fuel by occasionally using your storage fuel in your everyday vehicle.

 

[DavidS877]

It holds 6.6 gallons and I have 25 more in storage.

As I'm sure you know, but for everyone else.
Be sure to rotate fuel, be sure to use a stabilizer, and hopefully get stuff without ethanol in it(sorry Californians) or if you can't make sure your stabilizer is made for ethanol added fuel.

If you have a gasoline car then it's pretty simple, once a month take the oldest of the 5 gallon cans and put it in the car, then refill the can, mark the date, next month use the oldest one, rinse, repeat. Same with the fuel in the generator.

I see I lost the race. I should type less.

 

[StrawberryDouche]

Yes sir, that's what I'm doing. I'm rotating and I have it preserved with sta-bil. I try to keep both my vehicles full at all times between rotations.

I swear, this might be the most excited I've ever been about a purchase besides a house. I've spent years preserving and stockpiling food and essentials, and this was the holy grail.

 

[Rock Eater]

Yes sir, that's what I'm doing. I'm rotating and I have it preserved with sta-bil. I try to keep both my vehicles full at all times between rotations.

I swear, this might be the most excited I've ever been about a purchase besides a house. I've spent years preserving and stockpiling food and essentials, and this was the holy grail.

Thats a great find whats its max continuous wattage and temporary max wattage ?

 

[StrawberryDouche]

Thats a great find whats its max continuous wattage and temporary max wattage ?

Max continuous is 7000 and the starting is 8750, from my understanding.

It can literally run an entire house full of shit, but my main concern was the two fridges and a window unit or two in summer to keep me and the pets alive.

 

[Lichen Bark]

If you're planning on using electronics I would probably go for an inverter generator over a regular "non-inverter." They are much more expensive, but at least you won't cook your electronics/chargers. Also consider spending the extra buck on a thicker cord (higher gauge [AWG]) if you're doing some kind of whole house backup at your electrical panel.

A good way to keep your generator in running shape is pour a cup of fuel in it every long weekend/holiday and give it a run. Keeps the engine nice and lubed, plus if it has a battery it will stay charged. Nothing worse than needing the generator and it's been sitting for a whole year. It's easy to remember this way.

Another useful thing you can do is do a mock run. shut your power down and just go through setting up the generator, it helps you remember your procedures (try to do it at at least once a year). While doing this take a white marker and put a little square mark on the breakers that are essential (Freezers, fridges, water pump) only essential things. This way you know at a glance which things to turn on, without looking at the panel schedule, and a lot of the time the panel schedule is mis-labelled. It's good to know this before the emergency. Then take your white marker and put a line of dots on the breakers that are less essential, but useful, certain lights, outlets, maybe a stove, whatever you want. This way you don't have to think about if you're running too many things. Try to do this with a family member/close friend as it makes the job a lot easier and you don't have to walk back and forth to see what things a certain breaker has turned on. Trust me, when the lights go out it's so nice to have this already done, so you don't have to think/worry/squint about if you have the right breakers on/off.

 

[Taser Confetti]

Anyone have experience with dual fuel e.g gasoline propane generators? The idea of not having to cycle fuel is very appealing.

 

[DavidS877]

If you're planning on using electronics I would probably go for an inverter generator over a regular "non-inverter." They are much more expensive, but at least you won't cook your electronics/chargers. Also consider spending the extra buck on a thicker cord (higher gauge [AWG]) if you're doing some kind of whole house backup at your electrical panel.

As I mentioned on the other thread. Smaller stuff absolutely go with inverters. When you get big enough they have better frequency and voltage management due to inertia and are usually fine. I've found even cheap generators work with my electronics since they're usually US/EU 50/60 and 120/240v so they're pretty tolerant. My UPS on the other hand hates the frequency variance, thus the new inverter generator.

I highly recommend a proper inlet, transfer switch or interlock and all the trmmings. Much less of a pain than using extension cords. Obviously if you rent you can ignore this.

I have a 25' 50A 14-50P ( 6-6-6-8 ) to the generator with a CS6375 locking inlet on the house. 6-3+ground NM-B to the panel. And an interlock. Generally size wiring for 125%, so the new generator tops out just under 40A, so the 50A circuit and cables are fine.

Procedure is a bit of a pain: Turn off main breaker, turn off all other breakers, move interlock, connect and start generator, turn on generator feed breaker, turn on breaker or 2 to check, turn on other breakers needed. One annoyance is I need to get the "power back" alarm hooked up otherwise I won't know when the utility power comes back on.

If I had more regular power outages I'd look into an automated system.

plus if it has a battery it will stay charged

Always try the pull rope from time to time, just to be sure. In prep for my new generator I got a battery minder. Turns out it came with one and was pre-wired to just plug it in to the front panel.

 

[tehpope]

I like hobotech. He's got good reviews on stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVsNMiYQkqwIq_gd0rTJF9g

I have a Bluetti EB70s. 700w of power. Never really had to test it in an actual emergency situation. But I've ran my fan off of it for a night. It was like $530 wehn I got it in 2022. Its now $369 on amazon. A really good deal.

I have these BougeRV 120W Portable Solar Panels. Its foldable. But I don't think they work in my place currently. I'll have to test them again soon.

 

[Jump]

Anyone have experience with dual fuel e.g gasoline propane generators? The idea of not having to cycle fuel is very appealing.

Ya I went to DF after getting tired of rotating fuel constantly. We have 10 percent ethanol in are fuel so to be safe you have to rotate every 6 months and use stabil.

I have a Champion duel fuel Propane/Gasoline genset and I converted my Honda EU2000 to DF.
On propane your output is less. Look at the specific generator for the ratings on how much less.
Another nice thing about running on propane is you don't have to worry about draining the fuel bowl after use. You just put it away.

Now I keep 96hrs worth of propane on hand and if the event is longer I have 30 gallons of fuel in my yard truck's gas tank and at least another 20+ gallons in my other cars.

The EU2000 can run my boiler, deep freeze, well, security system, and a few lights and battery chargers. I made a dedicated 12 gauge extension cord with "taps" (outlets) spliced in so I just run a single cord in to the house that reaches to each thing I need to power. Another nice thing about the EU2000 is its so quite you can't even hear it from the street in the dead of night. In a long term blackout I don't want to be a beacon to the zombies out there.

The Champion is bigger and louder . I have it as backup and if I need to run something like a welder or air compressor. The EU2000 will run 8 hours on a gallon of gasoline. 1hr = 1 lb on propane.
The Champion eats .5-1 gallon of gasoline an hour. I am not trying to run my whole house on a generator. My main concern is fuel consumption. I have been out of power for weeks before and the last thing I want to do is have to go out and hunt for fuel when everything is AFU.

 

[Grub]

If you're planning on using electronics I would probably go for an inverter generator over a regular "non-inverter." They are much more expensive, but at least you won't cook your electronics/chargers. Also consider spending the extra buck on a thicker cord (higher gauge [AWG]) if you're doing some kind of whole house backup at your electrical panel.

Even with an inverter you can have issues. Be careful with modified sin wave inverters. Modified sin waves can cause issues with anything that has an AC motor in it. It'll make the motor burn out faster.

 

[DavidS877]

Even with an inverter you can have issues. Be careful with modified sin wave inverters. Modified sin waves can cause issues with anything that has an AC motor in it. It'll make the motor burn out faster.

Almost all purpose built built inverter generators do pure sine wave output, but you're right to double check. You'll see it in the smaller inverters you can run off your car battery and many UPSes.

Interestingly, even the Harbor Freight Inverter models are said to produce pure sine output.

 

[Jump]

Even with an inverter you can have issues. Be careful with modified sin wave inverters. Modified sin waves can cause issues with anything that has an AC motor in it. It'll make the motor burn out faster.

Ya I would take a stable normal generator over a chinky modified inverter genset any day. Honda's are pure sine wave btw.

That being said electronics are much more resilient today compared to days past. Most things are rated for 100-240volts/50-60hz now so they only have to make 1 power supply for the whole globe. So even if your old school generator is hunting up and down 10hz it wont matter.

You are right its the motors that hate modified. Running a fridge/freezer off a modified sinewave is asking for a failure. And stuff like the veritable speed motors in pellet stoves really, really don't like modified sine wave.

 

[Bummer]

Stupid question, but how practical are water wheels and micro hydro setups? Generators are all well and good but I know that even with additives gas will degrade after a year or two. I'm going to be buying some land soon and I'm curious if I should add access to some brook or stream to my list of demands for the realtor.

 

[Jump]

Stupid question, but how practical are water wheels and micro hydro setups? Generators are all well and good but I know that even with additives gas will degrade after a year or two. I'm going to be buying some land soon and I'm curious if I should add access to some brook or stream to my list of demands for the realtor.

Water power vanished the instant steam engines where invented. They are not practical for generating a useful amount of power unless you are building a big fucking waterwheel. Like something big enough that will show up on google earth and get the state's attention.

>List of demands
If you live in the USA or Canada then finding ANY available land now at reasonable price is hard. Forget trying to find land with a stream at the correct pitch and flow for a water wheel.

 

[Grub]

You are right its the motors that hate modified. Running a fridge/freezer off a modified sinewave is asking for a failure

It was fridges and ACs I was thinking of in particular. Someone mentioned specifically running a generator for a fridge and window ACs in the thread.

Almost all purpose built built inverter generators do pure sine wave output, but you're right to double check. You'll see it in the smaller inverters you can run off your car battery and many UPSes.

I don't know a ton about inverter generators. My experience with inverters is with car and RV inverters. I just know a lot of inverters don't output pure sine waves which is something that could be problematic if you intend to run a fridge or a freezer off it.

 

[888Flux]

http://www.driveonwood.com/library/basics-of-woodgas/

Wood and charcoal gasification are almost never brought up as an alternative power source, even though they are much more capable than solar, and if you have access to a steady supply of wood, can provide off-grid power almost indefinitely. A charcoal gasifier can be built with parts bought from Home Depot for under $100 and power most gasoline generators with little modification. I built one myself in 2021 following this exact guide: https://www.instructables.com/Charcoal-Fire-Powered-Generator/

There is also the FEMA design for a dual wood / charcoal stratified downdraft gasifier.

https://www.driveonwood.com/library/fema-gasifier/

Wood and charcoal gas can also power diesel vehicles. DriveOnWood has some great resources for this https://driveonwood.com/

This is a true off-grid power source, because the average person cannot manufacture a solar panel themselves. Solar panels also have a set lifespan of only 5 to 10 years.