Some folks had a few questions about Portable Generators since my last post so I wanted to throw this out there.
The main thing you need to understand about using Portable Generators is calculating BEFOREHAND the WATTAGE PULL of the appliances you are needing to run.
Below is a basic chart to give you an ideal:
Once you have calculated what you NEED to run, you then need to formulate a PLAN for your specific situation.
To help you understand what I mean I will give you an example of my Summer Plan.
*My Winter plan is basically the same except for a Window Unit A/C we have a couple of large Space heaters we use in conjunction with a wood burning Earth Stove and depending on how cold it get’s, a couple of 25,000 BTU kerosene heaters as well. That Blizzard in 2021 taught me a hard lesson!
Summer Plan
The basic premise behind this plan is COMPARTMENTALIZATION.
Instead of cooling/heating the entire house, you seal off a room and just cool or heat that room. This works very well with just two people but if you have a big household it is more challenging.
Although I really could do with just one 7500W Genny, I typically run two: one for the kitchen and one for the bedroom just to simplify and to keep from tripping breakers.
Kitchen:
(2) Lg. Deep Freezers
(1) Refrigerator
(1) Oven,
(1) Microwave, Coffee Maker or other small appliances as needed
Bedroom:
(1) 10,000 BTU Window Unit Air Conditioner
(1) Internet Modem
(1) T.V.
(2) Laptop chargers
(2) Phone Chargers
(2) Reading Lamps
Using this plan I typically can get around 8-10 hours per tank of gas per Genny, sometimes more.
Calculating how much time you get per tank is very important when you are dealing with LONG TERM situations where you don’t want to be going out to fill up the generator at two in the morning when it is 17 degrees outside! BTDT.
**My Current Goal is to install a Whole Home Generator with a Natural Gas or Solar Battery backup by the end of 2023.
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