Since buying this house 4 years ago and having a few minor power outages for a few hours and one major outage for a couple weeks when we lost 3 freezers of meats since no one had room to store and couldnt BBQ it fast enough.... This year I finally bit the bullet and got a Genny big enough to power my entire house, not just for the freezers but without power we dont get water either since we are on a well, also our new septic system run pumps so in order for them to work properly they have to be powered to pump out.

Got a really good deal at Harbor Freight on the biggest genny they have , The Predator 13000 watt with Auto and Remote start ( still has the pull start also ) but it is a beast. I am getting a 50 amp Generator hook up kit wired into my service panel for easy hook up if the power ever does go out again and peace of mind when it does. Has enough power not only to power the entire house but will also power the shop in case of an emergency, but dont want to overload it , but if the need arises some stuff can be turned off by breakers to compensate additional draws. Some were saying its a beast and loud but i have to say it is not. This beast is actually quieter than the Briggs and Stratton Storm responder 6500/8500watt I had recently

 

I did a little research on backup power; sounds like you’ll be able to sleep easy.

I am lucky because my only worries are gas heat, which doesn’t draw much power, and maybe the fridge. Got a small generator. Maybe someday I’ll add the needed transfer boxes. Just sloppy rigged for now. Few outages here, don’t last long. Don’t want to over-prep for something that might never happen.

 

Research it some more. 13000 watts won’t run a whole house. Central HVAC, water heater, microwave, clothes dryer all turning on (start up amps) and you’ll overrun the capacity of that generator.

 

Already did and it will run this house as everything was added up. The new HVAC system is super efficient, the septic pumps are very low draw also a super efficient unit, My water heater is propane only thing is running the electric stove and clothe dryer would have to be one or the other and thats the only thing but we dont have tons of laundry ( a load or 2 a week if that ) There is a youtube of a guy running a smaller unit 9500 watt on a larger house running all but dryer and microwave.... so yes, research was done and for me this unit works. So, before you start telling people it wont, might want to research a little better. 9500-10000w is all I need as some of my units are lower than whats listed.

 

I guess we could disagree.
Since a typical residential service box is 200 amps. Larger homes may have 300 amp or bigger and some smaller homes may get by with 100 amp service then how do you figure that 50 amp from a small generator will be enough for the whole house ? And didn’t you also mention running 3 freezers along with everything else ?
I’ve been without power before from 2 hurricanes that hit here. Power was out for 11 days and 8 days. Ran a 5500 watt generator with extension cords. Lights, septic pump, freezer and 2 fridges. Would have to unplug the freezer so we could use the microwave.

 

I only have 1 freezer now, had 3 a few years back. I have 200 amp service but when they installed the new septic and ran new wiring for the pumps ( old system was gravity fed ) they opened the panel and theres a ton of breakers but only a 3rd of them are wired for anything. The old guy who owned it before me apparently did some remodeling and just popped in a bunch of breakers to nothing???? I ordered the Interlock kit and once it comes in Ill re-arrange, mark and pop in the new 50A breaker for the generator. I got my 30A pigtail made for an emergency now if needed, as soon as I get the 50A Power Inlet box Ill get it all wired up for the exterior hook up.

 

Yeah, but I don't think he's expecting zero lifestyle adjustments in an outage. Might be possible, tho. Depends on the house. Depends on priorities and concerns.

Many many Midwest houses have natural gas and not much in the way resistance heat loads beyond the toaster, coffee maker, etc. With gas heat, cooking, hot water, and clothes dryer, simply living without the central air, an you could get by with a lot less than 13,000 Watts.

In my case, my only real worry is heat in the winter. With a small 120 V generator with a 15 A breaker, I'm covered. Should be enuff for the fridge, too.

 

If I was to run everything in my house at once Id need 14,600 watts ( excluding lights which are all LED and anything else such as laptops/internet )
But running only the necessary things needed would be less, or switch off/on/over to other things trading out power at the breakers.
My lights only draw 4w so if every bulb was on in my house that would be 104watts total, this house is very energy efficient ( my electric bill is only $54 a month in the winter and under $110 in the summer ) So this works very well for me being it is only for emergency back up during a power outage in which we can do without certain things during that time as well.

Well 1000
Septic 200
Fridge 700
Deep Freezer 1500
HVAC (propane) 900 heat 1500 ac
Total Watts needed primarily....... 4900 watts
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Electric Stove ( id like to convert to propane ) 2100
Microwave 1000
Total watts needed depends on which item is used.....as above
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Washer 1100
Dryer 5500
Total watts needed 1100/5500/6600 if used each/together but usually small loads so not running together, as above

so basically if Im not doing laundry at the time I can power the entire house

 

Today I just decided to get into the panel, The previous owner had a nightmare in there ( wires too long, wires doubled and wound up instead of cutting shorter.... just a mess ) so I cut back the sheathing and shortened some of the wires, rerouted others to clean the box up a bit.... I really want to just pull everything out and redo it to bundle the wires ( Hot, Neutral, Grounds so it looks more professional ) I may tackle that later. But today I got the breakers moved and installed the 50 amp for the generator. had to return the surge protector as its the wrong style... so new coming soon.
Tomorrow I will be mounting the exterior inlet box for the generator hook up, then I need to get the 6 gauge wire to tie it all in.
Installed the interlock kit and attached all the warning labels. I also marked the white wires that are carrying a hot load so it is all up to code as well.
Also coming in is new color coded location label for easy identification as well as what to turn on or off during the switchover. I will be removing the old label and already cleaned the marker off the panel. Also, running wire to the exterior box is simple, right out the wall below the panel so really short run.

 

Busy busy! Do you need a permit for this type of work?