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[yorkdude]

Looking for information and input about generators.
We have a smaller old Honda that we used camping etc. Looking to get something for the house in case of emergency.
I am intrigued by the Wen 11,000/8,300 dual fuel, key start. From what we can tell the reviews are very favorable in all regards.
Does anyone have any opinions on the dual fuel and also input about the brand etc.

[Mikro]

I would look at the Generac whole home models. They have come down in price over the years. I am considering a new natural gas model for us 22kw. Not so much for the winter problems here but the Spring storms and Summer outages that occur here in Texas. They also make very nice portable units. I have a 12kw portable that I used when I had my construction company.
Just my 0.02 cents.
mk

[02ebz06]

I would look at the Generac whole home models. They have come down in price over the years. I am considering a new natural gas model for us 22kw. Not so much for the winter problems here but the Spring storms and Summer outages that occur here in Texas. They also make very nice portable units. I have a 12kw portable that I used when I had my construction company.
Just my 0.02 cents.
mk

+1

No experience with them, just have seen informercials.
They can connect a switch into your breaker box.
When Power is on the switch sends power to house from the breaker box. When off, the switch sends power to the house from the generator.
Starts up automatically.
You can choose how much or how little of you houses electrical needs you have the generator handle.

[Bar-B-Lew]

I talked myself out of putting a whole house generator in when we built about six years ago do to the cost and the uncertainty about my future employment due to the move.  I wish I would have installed it.

[yorkdude]

I have looked at “whole house” honestly I think the cost versus use is not near worth it.
We have lost power probably 10 x’s here and only for a few hours at a time.
We have an area (enclosed porch) that we can easily store it but won’t be in an area used much so not worried about gas smell etc. We want to be able to power a couple fridge/freezers and a mini split system for the bedroom at the least.
Micro, I am also somewhat interested in the generac  portable but again I am a little concerned about cost versus use.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Why not go with a bigger Honda or do they not make them big enough to handle what you want running?  I ask because you already have a Honda and from what little I read they are supposed to be a pretty decent brand.

[WiPelletHead]

I just read an article that Ford Motor Company is urging all of their dealers in Texas loan out any F150s with the onboard generators loan them out to people. Sounds like Ford will pay the dealer 600.00 if they do that. 

[yorkdude]

Why not go with a bigger Honda or do they not make them big enough to handle what you want running?  I ask because you already have a Honda and from what little I read they are supposed to be a pretty decent brand.

I have looked at them for the size I am thinking we would need, the reason I am not interested is they are quite expensive, the one we have is awesome but way too small.
Same wattage and 5x’s the money.

[Mikro]

I have looked at “whole house” honestly I think the cost versus use is not near worth it.
We have lost power probably 10 x’s here and only for a few hours at a time.
We have an area (enclosed porch) that we can easily store it but won’t be in an area used much so not worried about gas smell etc. We want to be able to power a couple fridge/freezers and a mini split system for the bedroom at the least.
Micro, I am also somewhat interested in the generac  portable but again I am a little concerned about cost versus use.

If you look at Generac. try looking at the exl series These have engines tat are very similar to the honda engines and last longer than most others using the old Briggs and Stratton engine.
If you are going with a portable unit. I would still possibly suggest using an interlock switch to your mains panel. This gives yo a lot of options from a power standpoint within reason of your wattage of the generator. It basically disconnects the mains power and you turn on a breaker in the panel the back feeds the entire panel, Yes your limit is the what the gen can put out but you can manage that by what you have turned on or off within the house. I used this early on with a 75oo watt gen 30amp unit. It allowed me to use some lights when needed and also keep my fridge and freezer going all with out running extensions cords everywhere. do your research before you buy. There are many options and many price points depending on need and use.

Here in Texas, because of storms or summer we will lose power maybe 20 times a year and usually at least 8 to 14 hours. Sometimes more. So It is a benefit for me.
MK

[Brushpopper]

I have a Yamaha YG6600D that I got for nothing off of Craigslist because the carburetor was trashed from bad gas.  My BIL had a conversion kit to convert it to propane that was off his old one in their motorhome that he gave me.  It starts on the second or third pull every time, even after sitting for several months.  I'm a firm believer of propane now.

I also have a Generac 10,000EXL that I got cheap off of CL for the same reason as the Yamaha.  I got it running good and used it to power my big welder away from the house, but after a couple of years the carb went bad again because of the gas.  Walmart has ethanol free gas here now so I'm definitely getting it going again.  I was too cheap to buy the conversion kit for it to be a tri-fuel but that is going to have to be done since I got permission to do it now.  Seems like it was just under $300 for one that was big enough for it.  I'll have to figure out where I got that info.  I have an idea of how to run what's needed in the house off of it using my 50 amp welder plug in the garage, but it would cause nightmares for a code compliance employee. 

I got both of them thinking we would need them after a hurricane and never planned on it being a winter storm.

[Th3Batman86]

Looking for information and input about generators.
We have a smaller old Honda that we used camping etc. Looking to get something for the house in case of emergency.
I am intrigued by the Wen 11,000/8,300 dual fuel, key start. From what we can tell the reviews are very favorable in all regards.
Does anyone have any opinions on the dual fuel and also input about the brand etc.

I couldn't find anything in that listing that talked about whether or not it had a clean sine wave. When looking for a generator for backup power (where you will run tv's or cell phones or computers) it is important to have a clean sine wave. My experience is that if it doesn't say it, then it doesn't have it. A lot of the inverters use modified sine which is fine for turning on lights, but not for high end appliances or electronics. Nothing with a computer chip.

Look at the champion dual fuels. They have clean sine.

[Brushpopper]

Looking for information and input about generators.
We have a smaller old Honda that we used camping etc. Looking to get something for the house in case of emergency.
I am intrigued by the Wen 11,000/8,300 dual fuel, key start. From what we can tell the reviews are very favorable in all regards.
Does anyone have any opinions on the dual fuel and also input about the brand etc.

I couldn't find anything in that listing that talked about whether or not it had a clean sine wave. When looking for a generator for backup power (where you will run tv's or cell phones or computers) it is important to have a clean sine wave. My experience is that if it doesn't say it, then it doesn't have it. A lot of the inverters use modified sine which is fine for turning on lights, but not for high end appliances or electronics. Nothing with a computer chip.

Look at the champion dual fuels. They have clean sine.

That would be very beneficial to have I reckon.  I had a power strip plugged in to run the fridge and phone chargers off of and didn't know why the light on it was flashing super fast.  Then the ones I have are fine for tools but not the house I take it?

[1MoreFord]

While I don't have a brand recommendation I have a couple of thoughts.

Some of the Honda's can be coupled together and I think some of the Yamaha's can too along with a Chinese knockoff brand, so if you have one you could add another maybe cheaper than buying one big one.

I've seen a couple of mentions of bad/cheap gas.  Use Pure Gas . Org to try to find alcohol free gas near you.  It's far better for small engines and vehicle engines too.

https://www.pure-gas.org/

[Th3Batman86]

That would be very beneficial to have I reckon.  I had a power strip plugged in to run the fridge and phone chargers off of and didn't know why the light on it was flashing super fast.  Then the ones I have are fine for tools but not the house I take it?
[/quote]

If it’s fairly old then probably doesn’t have a clean sine wave. A lot of generators won’t list sine but if it is clean they will at it is a selling point. They also might list it under frequency disruption. You want one that specifies clean sine or low frequency disruption. 

[yorkdude]

Looking for information and input about generators.
We have a smaller old Honda that we used camping etc. Looking to get something for the house in case of emergency.
I am intrigued by the Wen 11,000/8,300 dual fuel, key start. From what we can tell the reviews are very favorable in all regards.
Does anyone have any opinions on the dual fuel and also input about the brand etc.

I couldn't find anything in that listing that talked about whether or not it had a clean sine wave. When looking for a generator for backup power (where you will run tv's or cell phones or computers) it is important to have a clean sine wave. My experience is that if it doesn't say it, then it doesn't have it. A lot of the inverters use modified sine which is fine for turning on lights, but not for high end appliances or electronics. Nothing with a computer chip.

Look at the champion dual fuels. They have clean sine.

Excellent point, I will definitely look into this, ironically I did look at the Champion brands but passed? More closely looking now, thanks.