Are you prepared? Trying to be more self sufficient

Great post!

 

Yes it came with opener when we got it last year. Came home one day last week and power was out but the didn’t know it. I hit the opener and the door opened. Slower than normal but still worked

 

my garage opener has such a short range. I followed a youtube video and bought some wire and extended the antenna but it made no difference. I think it also depends on weather. Today I had to get real close to the garage before it was open. I think it's a craftsman motor.

 

I think ours is a Genie hell I can open it from a good ways

 

This is a great quote! It's the reason why I went to a 3 fuel system for energy (electric/propane/diesel) to ensure my well pump could be used and toilets can be flushed. Also from the covid era....I added a bidet! hahaha Now I think you guys using TP are Neanderthals! jk

Just did my monthly check on my generator and took a quick pic for you all to see. The diesel is a great fuel because it lasts longer than gas. I rotate my stock (5 cans of 5 gallons each) to fill my tractor.

 

Liquid cooled engine?

 

yes! liquid cooled. Friggin heavy too. around 600 lbs.

 

That's sweet, but 0.71gal diesel per hour at half load is substantial.

 

From another site, I saw a three generator system recommended (a little more advanced, but nice).

Large generator fired up occasionally for big loads like water heater, well pump, whole house stuff.

Small inverter generator for fridge and freezers at night.

Battery power station for small stuff around house (probably recharges it off the large generator when needed).

I have the Honda 2200 watt inverter generator, but I have thought about grabbing a Jackery 1500 or 2000 for running the fridge more conveniently (especially for the shorter outages we normally get here).

 

Exactly. The home made 100ah battery runs my entertainment system for at least 8 hours.

 

Or hook up 2 inverter generators in parallel during the day, go down to one at night (no water pump, water heater or AC) to save wear and tear. Inverters will ramp up as needed for larger loads and slow down for smaller loads.

 

They will adjust to a point, but a smaller one should be more efficient at lower loads.

It's also tough to find a 240v inverter generator, that's the kicker for me. A synchronous generator with 240v output will generally be much cheaper.

 

I've never met anyone who ever ran a hot water heater during a power outage. But I'm in FL. I have no idea how they do it in the cold north.

 

I wouldn't try to run my electric one off a generator, but for a gas one I would (tankless heaters have a 120v circuit for a blower and stuff). If electric was my only option, I'd just use the electric kettle to get some hot water, and skip showers for a while. (I'm thinking of the week-long outages in extreme situations, and yes, thinking of cooler temps).

My biggest thing is the well, since that kicks power requirements up a notch. I'm currently going down the rabbit hole of 240v battery / inverter backup systems. That's probably best for the well with such infrequent cycling.

Or the real thrifty approach would be to fill a $20, 7 gallon jug from Walmart with a spigot end. Just need to anticipate the outages:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Reliance...MUh6XCQHQAo4N8MdEmf-KARf5pTFOEwBoCcoEQAvD_BwE

 

I have a teenage daughter and a wife. Hot showers are high on the list of family priorities.

 

Yes, it will be. But Genmax makes smaller inverter generators with 240v/50Amp out, in 7kW range.

 

50 amps of 240 is 12kw

 

Yes, it is. Generators are adverised by peak power, not running watts.
If you run 2 appropriatly sized inverters parallel. combined running wattage may not exceed 12kW. My understanding is that momentary peak above 12kW is OK for outlet.
7kW peak usually means 6kW running, ie within the safe limits of the 50/240 inlet.
If is a dual fuel gasoline/propane, then you get about 6kW peak, 5kW running with propane. You lose some power by switching to propane and lose even more by using natural gas.

 

Your understanding is not based in reality, or math.

 

I just looked because i didnt think it made difference but apparently it does. I just picked one of Home depot in description it says peak kw is reduced