It’s almost 4:00 am

I'm honestly surprised that our power didn't stay down (it apparently just flashed). We're out in the woods with all above ground lines and trees everywhere.
 
Guard Dad said:
I'm honestly surprised that our power didn't stay down (it apparently just flashed). We're out in the woods with all above ground lines and trees everywhere.
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I think it was sheer luck of the draw. Our subdivision usually drops if somebody sneezes too hard, but we never even flickered, while cobb county had huge swaths of homes out of power (including my parents)
 
lotstodo said:
We now have power! That generator was worth its weight in gold. We were able to keep our food, stay warm, take hot showers, and even watch tv. It just cost about 20 gallons of gas.
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Yep. I've got a 4Kw one my Dad gave, it really helped in the snow two winters ago. It at least allowed me to run each of the fridges and freezers in turn to keep the food good and have a few lights. However, I'm thinking of going whole hog with one. Looking at a 10KW one at home depot, dual fuel. (Gas / Propane) Only $1300 bucks or so. Sucker will put out 50A of 220V, that would pull one of the AC units in the summer. (My wife's nightmare scenario)
 
The Sound Guy said:
Yep. I've got a 4Kw one my Dad gave, it really helped in the snow two winters ago. It at least allowed me to run each of the fridges and freezers in turn to keep the food good and have a few lights. However, I'm thinking of going whole hog with one. Looking at a 10KW one at home depot, dual fuel. (Gas / Propane) Only $1300 bucks or so. Sucker will put out 50A of 220V, that would pull one of the AC units in the summer. (My wife's nightmare scenario)
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Yeah I installed a 30 amp 220 volt generator inlet and manual lock out on the panel up in Ellijay. I have a 3800 w unit up there now and it won't run the well pump and several lights very well. There is a huge surge that I'm afraid will kill my refrigerator. I'll try this 6000 watt unit I have in Hiram up there, but I know I still won't have heat since it's a heat pump. The septic pumps to the field too, but I can shut that off until the alarm sounds and then cut other stuff off to pump it. That pump tank holds 250 gallons. 10,000 watts would probably do me just fine. I'm even thinking about having a propane tank put in and buying a 18kw stationary, but that's a lot of money. Mrs. LTD is campaigning for that since she thinks it's too hard for me to deal.with a portable. She will probably be right in a few years and we have to think ahead.
 
Guard Dad said:
I have a 5 KW and a 1 KW. Neither will run the main A/C though. I would love to have a great big natural gas model.
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What would I need to run a 3 ton seer 16 unit? I'm thinking maybe 4kw just for that? I guess I could crawl around back and look at the plate but it's easier to ask you
 
lotstodo said:
What would I need to run a 3 ton seer 16 unit? I'm thinking maybe 4kw just for that? I guess I could crawl around back and look at the plate but it's easier to ask you
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The issue is the starting current. However, that can be reduced somewhat by adding a had start kit (capacitor start). Typical for a 3 ton unit is a 30 amp circuit, but running amps after start-up would likely be more like 12 ish amps. 30 amps at 230 volt = 6900 watts, but I think you could get by with a bit less. A 5KW might even do it, but that's really pushing things. I'd say maybe 6500 watts to be safe.

PS, that's just for the outdoor unit. In indoor unit would be additional. Assume it's a heat pump? The blower motor will only pull a couple of amps, but forget about the heat strips unless you buy a monster gen.
 
Guard Dad said:
PS, that's just for the outdoor unit. In indoor unit would be additional. Assume it's a heat pump? The blower motor will only pull a couple of amps, but forget about the heat strips unless you buy a monster gen.
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Dad is lucky, he has a heat pump, but when they ran Natural gas down the street he had it installed and uses gas as his backup heat, not heat strips. So I fired up the furnace unit but left the compressor unit powered down and after a bit the controller figured out the compressor wasn't working and we had heat.
 
The Sound Guy said:
Dad is lucky, he has a heat pump, but when they ran Natural gas down the street he had it installed and uses gas as his backup heat, not heat strips. So I fired up the furnace unit but left the compressor unit powered down and after a bit the controller figured out the compressor wasn't working and we had heat.
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That is referred to as a dual-fuel unit. A heat pump on a gas furnace. Good combination if you have natural gas or propane.
 
Guard Dad said:
The issue is the starting current. However, that can be reduced somewhat by adding a had start kit (capacitor start). Typical for a 3 ton unit is a 30 amp circuit, but running amps after start-up would likely be more like 12 ish amps. 30 amps at 230 volt = 6900 watts, but I think you could get by with a bit less. A 5KW might even do it, but that's really pushing things. I'd say maybe 6500 watts to be safe.

PS, that's just for the outdoor unit. In indoor unit would be additional. Assume it's a heat pump? The blower motor will only pull a couple of amps, but forget about the heat strips unless you buy a monster gen.
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What? I didn't get called nerd?

Cat boy is slipping. :coffeespit:
 
Guard Dad said:
The issue is the starting current. However, that can be reduced somewhat by adding a had start kit (capacitor start). Typical for a 3 ton unit is a 30 amp circuit, but running amps after start-up would likely be more like 12 ish amps. 30 amps at 230 volt = 6900 watts, but I think you could get by with a bit less. A 5KW might even do it, but that's really pushing things. I'd say maybe 6500 watts to be safe.

PS, that's just for the outdoor unit. In indoor unit would be additional. Assume it's a heat pump? The blower motor will only pull a couple of amps, but forget about the heat strips unless you buy a monster gen.
Click to expand...

Guard Dad said:
That is referred to as a dual-fuel unit. A heat pump on a gas furnace. Good combination if you have natural gas or propane.
Click to expand...

Guard Dad said:
What? I didn't get called nerd?

Cat boy is slipping. :coffeespit:
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The Sound Guy said:
Dad is lucky, he has a heat pump, but when they ran Natural gas down the street he had it installed and uses gas as his backup heat, not heat strips. So I fired up the furnace unit but left the compressor unit powered down and after a bit the controller figured out the compressor wasn't working and we had heat.
Click to expand...
I just switch mine in Hiram over to emergency heat on the thermostat and it runs exclusively off the gas furnace backup. Unfortunately I don't have gas in Ellijay.
 
Guard Dad said:
The issue is the starting current. However, that can be reduced somewhat by adding a had start kit (capacitor start). Typical for a 3 ton unit is a 30 amp circuit, but running amps after start-up would likely be more like 12 ish amps. 30 amps at 230 volt = 6900 watts, but I think you could get by with a bit less. A 5KW might even do it, but that's really pushing things. I'd say maybe 6500 watts to be safe.

PS, that's just for the outdoor unit. In indoor unit would be additional. Assume it's a heat pump? The blower motor will only pull a couple of amps, but forget about the heat strips unless you buy a monster gen.
Click to expand...
I've got a 5000 run 6850 surge here in Hiram. I might try it up there. Of course I would have to shut everything off except the heat pump to heat the place up and then switch it off. Any chance of harming the unit if the gen is too small? I understand the new dc motors in the high efficiency air handlers can be sensitive to brown out.
 
lotstodo said:
I've got a 5000 run 6850 surge here in Hiram. I might try it up there. Of course I would have to shut everything off except the heat pump to heat the place up and then switch it off. Any chance of harming the unit if the gen is too small? I understand the new dc motors in the high efficiency air handlers can be sensitive to brown out.
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Monitor the voltage to make sure it doesn't drop more than 10% of rating. I suspect you'll be borderline. If it doesn't already have a hard start kit (capacitor start), get me the compressor numbers and I can get you one that's easy to install. That will lower the starting amps.

You'll need your other gen to run the indoor unit, and forget about the heat strips.
 
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