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Post by alice on Oct 20, 2020 23:09:11 GMT
I have been in communication with a generator company and two propane companies to provide and install a whole house (including water system) back up generator. Today, I spent a significant amount of time communicating by phone and email with the propane companies, one of which is NOT going to get the job due to obvious internal communication failures.
The generator rep is coming out on Friday to mark where the generator pad will sit. Then, I can find out how to get the trench for the propane line dug through limestone. I may be renting equipment for that.
Generators the size that I need are in short supply locally, and somewhat tied up in warehouses in hurricane recovery areas. Looks like a six to ten week wait to actually get this installed.
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Post by Cabin Fever on Oct 20, 2020 23:22:16 GMT
Just make sure that the generator is located where a tree can fall on it during a storm/hurricane.
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Post by ketoriverfarm on Oct 21, 2020 1:23:36 GMT
alice, we installed a whole house generator this year. Best money we ever spent!
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Post by allenw on Oct 21, 2020 2:45:07 GMT
We finally talked the mother in law into getting one, a great relief knowing she has backup when the electricity goes out. Don't forget to make sure it is covered under your homeowners policy my mother in law's failed due to a lightning strike fortunately it was covered under her insurance.
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Post by susannah on Oct 21, 2020 13:03:04 GMT
alice , we installed a whole house generator this year. Best money we ever spent! The first thing we did when we bought this house 9 years ago was install a whole house generator. We were all too familiar with how often the power goes out up here. Ours runs on natural gas - to the amazement of a lot of people, we ARE on natural gas up here. I agree with ketoriverfarm , that generator was money VERY well spent. I was reminded of that again as the power kept blinking during last night's heavy wet snow.
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Post by Maura on Oct 21, 2020 15:45:01 GMT
Daughter got one. They put a "box" around it to disguise it since it sits outside.
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Post by ketoriverfarm on Oct 24, 2020 2:46:21 GMT
DH and I went to Spokane on wednesday. Then on Thursday a quick trip to Moscow, Idaho. Last night I checked the forecast before I went to bed. 1-3 inches of snow after 11 am.
This morning it started snowing At 7 am. Snowed all day, we got 8 inches. And it is still snowing. We worked most of the day on winterizing. I dug carrotsin the snow, put heaters in 4 water troughs. Emptied two decks. DH drained the camper van and installed a heater. I dug out our snow shovels. Tonight’s low will be 22, tomorrow night willbe 12. I guess winter has officially started. Both passes to our west were closed this afternoon. Two log trucks collided on Sherman Pass. And Boulder Creek was closed because a tree was across the highway. And our power was out. Did I tell you I love my generator?
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Post by farmerjack on Oct 24, 2020 4:09:24 GMT
ketoriverfarm, Saw there was an accident on Sherman, did nit say what kind or how bad. Hope no one got hurt, but truck accidents can be bad. Also saw where there were multiple accidents at highway 20 and 25. Sounds like you had a full day of last minute preparing for the first snow.we may get a little tonight, but not much. You folks take care and NO falling on the ice.
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Post by Maura on Oct 24, 2020 18:33:03 GMT
Oh, Ketoiverfarm, you give me cold shivers.
We had a storm come through. I was driving home and saw a big lightning flash. a little further on I saw a tree across the road. Turned back, went to the next road and found another little dead tree across the road. Called 911 to have them taken care of. Right now, I feel lucky not to live at Keto river.
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Post by alice on Oct 26, 2020 15:12:23 GMT
I am on the schedule for installation, and the propane company wants to be here at the same time the generator is installed.
I need to dig the trench for the propane line. In Central Texas rocky soil. Soil is questionable. Rock is guaranteed.
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Post by ketoriverfarm on Oct 27, 2020 0:48:21 GMT
alice, we had to dig our propane line by hand because of our rocks. Ours had to be laid across a driveway, so extra deep. However we have been fortunate the last two summers to have a teenage boy who we hired to do tons of tasks for us. Such as digging our propane ditch, cleaning out the barn, moving gravel, splitting wood, building raised beds for garden. Alas he is now in technical school and will be getting a good paying job.
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Post by whisperwindkat on Nov 23, 2020 13:33:53 GMT
If you all don't mind...what is the average cost of installing a whole house generator? What all is involved to having one installed?It is something we have talked about but not done much research on yet. Thanks for any info.
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Post by alice on Nov 26, 2020 2:34:47 GMT
I will get back to this after Thanksgiving.
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Post by susannah on Nov 26, 2020 15:32:24 GMT
If you all don't mind...what is the average cost of installing a whole house generator? What all is involved to having one installed?It is something we have talked about but not done much research on yet. Thanks for any info. I'll try and remember to dig up the receipt for our generator. Of course, it was 8 years ago and prices probably did not go down... We're on natural gas here (to the surprise of most of our friends and family who assumed it would be propane). But that had an issue of its own. When we talked to the person who owns the generator place, he said he just needed to check to make sure we didn't share a natural gas line with our next door neighbors - "It's pretty common for lakefront properties but due to the size and age of your home, I'd guess you don't." Murphy's law in action - we did in fact share a line with our neighbors. The generator guy got the utility company to come out (despite it being a holiday weekend) and we got our own line very quickly. Which was helpful also because we planned to change from an electric stove to natural gas - and to replace the electric water heater with a natural gas one as well. So that was a several hundred dollar additional expense for the new gas line. I don't remember the exact amount but it's something that most people on natural gas probably would not have had to deal with. But because many of the homes in our area were originally builts as seasonal cottages and later expanded, shared lines were common, and it did become an issue for us.
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Post by thumper on Dec 13, 2020 10:04:55 GMT
What's involved with a LPG genset? LPG tank. A 22kw LPG unit will last about 5.5 days running at 50% on a "full" 500 gallon tank. The calculation changes due to LPG evaporation rate with temperature. Whole house transfer switch between the electrical meter and the electrical panel. The grounds and neutrals would have to be separated in the electrical panel. Ditching between LPG tank and genset with possible trenching between genset and house.
If you don't have to go whole house it might be worth looking at a small battery PV system.
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Post by alice on Dec 14, 2020 18:03:42 GMT
About $9000
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Post by alice on Jan 8, 2021 2:04:06 GMT
The arrival of the generator has been pushed out to April.
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Post by janinco on Feb 24, 2021 1:29:59 GMT
We managed to get ours through a deal with the local FD. They ordered five units and were sent two that were the wrong size. The company told them if they could find someone to buy the units, they would accept 10% less. The former fire chief is a retired electrician and handled the hook up for us. We rented a trencher, bought all the pipe, wire and things needed. All in all, spent about 8000. About two months later we had a whopping lightning storm that knocked the generator out. Due to covid, it was six months getting the parts and getting a licensed company to come out and make the repairs, but it's up and running again.
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Post by alice on Feb 24, 2021 21:23:50 GMT
Glad all is well in the long run.
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