Hurricane Sandy made me buy some Generators!

[CRE1992 135]

Well after experiencing the devastation of hurricane Sandy first hand, many of the people around me including myself were left without power, heat, phone, or internet for over a week. As well as food, gas shortages, and looting problems.

However I was much more fortunate than others in my area, we had no downed trees probably because I spent a week during the summer on a JLG man lift cutting and trimming the big oak trees that surround my house.

I shared a Generac 7000w generator with my Aunt and Uncle as they live next door and we ran both houses on it. As the days progressed with a gas and generator shortage people around us began stealing. Three generators were stolen a half mile up the street from me. Our was chained to posts in our pole barn, as well as put in a locked shed with a front end loader parked in front of it. A generator up the street from me was chained to a tree, and later stolen when someone cut down the tree to steal the generator.

So I decided it was time to take action and begin prepping for whatever other power outage is to come my way. So I decided it was time to get a nice generator that could power my whole house as well being efficient, reliable and the ability to use multiple fuels.

So I bought 2 nice kohler generators. A Kohler 7.5C62 that translates to a 7500w 4 cylinder 1800 rpm generator that has an air compressor and heater on it that is made to run 24/7. Shes in a nice steel tube frame and 6 feet long and 2.5 feet wide. We used a 2 ton hoist to get it into the bed of my truck. The pictures are not the best because I picked it up in Virginia on the way home from North Carolina where I spent Thanksgiving. It is set up for gas at the moment but if I buy a regulator and take a plug out of the carb I can run it on natural gas and propane.

A so called portable 5000w Kohler Power Pro generator with a K301 engine it is heavy! Yes it is only pull start but starts first pull, and is not that bad to pull.

So the damage? Only $650 for two awesome generators. Try buying one new portable for that!

Pics:

7.5C62:

Kohler Power Pro 5000w

Edited November 26, 2012 by CRE1992

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,294]

So how much gas do ya have to keep on hand to keep that 4 cylinder job going?

Mike.........

[CRE1992 135]

So how much gas do ya have to keep on hand to keep that 4 cylinder job going?

Mike.........

Actually not nearly as much as you would think, the engine runs at 1800 rpm whereas most portable generators run at 3600 rpm. It is supposed to burn .6 gallons per hour to 1 gallon per hour depending on the load placed on the engine. It will be hooked up to a 15 gallon outboard boat gas tank until I can find a larger one. The generac we were using has a 9 gallon tank, and only lasts 11 hours at half load. So it actually burns as much fuel if not less and I can leave it running over night without worrying.

-Charles

[AMC RULES 37,125]

Jumpin' Jehoshaphat...that thing should power up the whole neighborhood.

[roscoemi 245]

We had a major snow storm this spring and everybody and their brothers were buying every generator within 100 miles. Had my folks pick a 5000w continuous up in the Detroit area and meet me halfway. Wired the shed to backfeed the house( main off of course) and I was good. Hours after the power came back on, genny's were on craigslist by the dozen cheap. Mine is not going anywhere, can't understand that thought process. Make them theft resistant and enjoy the piece of mind.

[Zeek 2,286]

I back feed a 7550 Generac to my panel too (yes I do all the necessary precautions) and works great. It's almost a necessity when you are on a private well/septic/oil heat if you don't want to go anywhere. I've used mine several times over the past few years and the peace of mind is definitly worht the money. I just don't run my well pump and water heater at the same time.

[Amanda 81]

I was waiting for you to make a post for your baby aka generator

I just hope you don't have to use it soon!

[buckrancher 2,679]

Charles is the 4 cylinder a L600 kohler motor?

Brian

[JamesBe1 82]

I live in North NJ. I got lucky and only lost power for about two hours. I was all prepared with my lincoln welder/gen all set up and ready to go. Like Zeek said when you have a private well/septic/oil heat, you have to be prepared.

Hopefully soon I can figure out how to hook up my wife's Prius and use that to power the house. From what I hear, several people have done it, and it works very well. There is nothing like a large battery that turns it's engine on and off when the battery runs down. Allegedly, it uses a heck of a lot less gasoline.

[CRE1992 135]

Charles is the 4 cylinder a L600 kohler motor?

Brian

It's a Kohler L654. Why do you have one Brian? I am looking for spare parts for mine. To my knowledge the L600 was used on 6.5kw's and small gen sets. It is also an older model.

-Charles

Edited November 27, 2012 by CRE1992

[CRE1992 135]

I live in North NJ. I got lucky and only lost power for about two hours. I was all prepared with my lincoln welder/gen all set up and ready to go. Like Zeek said when you have a private well/septic/oil heat, you have to be prepared.

Hopefully soon I can figure out how to hook up my wife's Prius and use that to power the house. From what I hear, several people have done it, and it works very well. There is nothing like a large battery that turns it's engine on and off when the battery runs down. Allegedly, it uses a heck of a lot less gasoline.

I live in Central New Jersey, we use a natural gas furnace and water heater. We have "city" water that comes from the towns water tower and sewer. We have a back up well if we were to need it. However if they were to turn off the natural gas we would be screwed! Unfortunately we do not have a wood stove just in case. However, if and when I buy a house in the future (I am 20), I will have planned accordingly and have a back up for each.

As for your Prius, people most likely use a big 12v inverter to power some of their house. I could be wrong but that makes sense to me.

-Charles

Edited November 28, 2012 by CRE1992

[JamesBe1 82]

I live in North NJ. I got lucky and only lost power for about two hours. I was all prepared with my lincoln welder/gen all set up and ready to go. Like Zeek said when you have a private well/septic/oil heat, you have to be prepared.

Hopefully soon I can figure out how to hook up my wife's Prius and use that to power the house. From what I hear, several people have done it, and it works very well. There is nothing like a large battery that turns it's engine on and off when the battery runs down. Allegedly, it uses a heck of a lot less gasoline.

As for your Prius, people most likely use a big 12v inverter to power some of their house. I could be wrong but that makes sense to me.

-Charles

That is what I hear. A Prius has a 273V battery. I have to hunt down the correct inverter and appropriate connectors.

I am sure there are other considerations, I wouldn't dream of just winging it.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,238]

Not to go too far off-track, but if you use a Prius as a battery backup for your home, that will likely void the 8-100,000 warranty on the batteries. I'll bet that they ain't cheap to replace either.

[CRE1992 135]

Bad news guys! The locator in me struck again! I found the same 4 cylinder unit, but its newer and mounted on a trailer with 106 hours that runs on propane for $650!

Edited November 28, 2012 by CRE1992

[Amanda 81]

Bad news guys! The locator in me struck again! I found the same 4 cylinder unit, but its newer and mounted on a trailer with 106 hours that runs on propane for $650!

Oh that stinks! Are you gonna buy that one to?!? :eusa-think:

[varosd 1,185]

Good luck Charles..you have the luck finding great deals!!!!

I have a 500 gal propane tank and looking at portable generator rather than built in. We have the typical well/sump/propane water heater/propane forced air heat.

[krazy_horse 59]

This dosen't have any thing to do with generators but we watched the storm and it's aftermath on NY'Cs channel 7. Something like this seems to bring out the very best and the very worst in people. krazy_horse

[varosd 1,185]

This dosen't have any thing to do with generators but we watched the storm and it's aftermath on NY'Cs channel 7. Something like this seems to bring out the very best and the very worst in people. krazy_horse

The prepared vs the unprepared!