View Full Version : Zombie Box plus generator
I seem to be out of storage space to post a pic of the Zombie Box just put up, that contains a Generac GP Series 17500E generator that can run the entire house. A bypass was added at the main panel, so when power goes out, plug in generator to the box, fire up, and GTG. The the box is designed to be mobile and comes in segments, as it's used commercially and needs to be both easy to move, and secure. It can be bolted down for permanent placement. It reduces sound by something like 90%, protects the generator from weather, thieves, etc, and allows generator to be run during a storm if power lost vs having to wait till the storm passes to pull a generator out and run it. Living in FL, worth every penny. So far, quite impressed with the build quality of the Zombie box.
Zombie Box:
https://www.zombie-box.com/
FromMyColdDeadHand
10-10-18, 09:27
Is it just to be polite when the power is out? Seems like a pretty insignificant issue if your power is out? Or is it to help reduce the chances or people knowing you have power (or just steal the generator? I've not lived where generators are common.
SomeOtherGuy
10-10-18, 09:38
Is it just to be polite when the power is out? Seems like a pretty insignificant issue if your power is out? Or is it to help reduce the chances or people knowing you have power (or just steal the generator? I've not lived where generators are common.
When the power is out, all systems stop running, and vehicle traffic is usually way down. This means it's dead quiet and the sound of a generator carries FAR - maybe half a mile in some locations. If you're the only one with a generator running, you will have tons of people aware of this. Some may want to steal, some may beg for help either important (breathing machine for old people) or petty (want to watch favorite TV show), some may start friendly and switch to stealing or threatening. Being quiet and stealthy is a great idea.
The problem with typical generators is that it's not safe or practical to keep enough gasoline on hand to run them for any length of time - beyond 12-24 hours. If you have a propane tank, a propane generator may be an option.
Thanks for posting. I've been looking for something like this for some property my wife is converting into a wedding venue. The cost of bringing electricity to it would be in the six figures. This would solve our issues for many years.
Is it just to be polite when the power is out? Seems like a pretty insignificant issue if your power is out? Or is it to help reduce the chances or people knowing you have power (or just steal the generator? I've not lived where generators are common.
It's to be all mentioned above, less noisy for everyone (trying to sleep while a generator is running really sucks), secure, able to operate while it's storming out, diffuse the sound so it's hard to find, etc.
When the power is out, all systems stop running, and vehicle traffic is usually way down. This means it's dead quiet and the sound of a generator carries FAR - maybe half a mile in some locations. If you're the only one with a generator running, you will have tons of people aware of this. Some may want to steal, some may beg for help either important (breathing machine for old people) or petty (want to watch favorite TV show), some may start friendly and switch to stealing or threatening. Being quiet and stealthy is a great idea.
The problem with typical generators is that it's not safe or practical to keep enough gasoline on hand to run them for any length of time - beyond 12-24 hours. If you have a propane tank, a propane generator may be an option.
The Generac has a big tank and can also run on natural gas. Between the tank and some cans of gas, 2-3 days is realistic, but longer if we don't run AC which is the big power sucker. If the natural gas option happens, more like a week. It's unlikely we'd go more than a few days without power, but possible of course.
Thanks for posting. I've been looking for something like this for some property my wife is converting into a wedding venue. The cost of bringing electricity to it would be in the six figures. This would solve our issues for many years.
That's exactly the type of thing that box as designed for, and is easy to break down or leave perm as needed.
Averageman
10-10-18, 12:03
A friend of mine installed one of these himself over a weekend at his home.
He is very happy with it. He lives in a semi-rural area and I will ask him about the noise levels while running.
Very cool! Thanks for sharing...
Just what I need!
sundance435
10-10-18, 14:50
Is it just to be polite when the power is out? Seems like a pretty insignificant issue if your power is out? Or is it to help reduce the chances or people knowing you have power (or just steal the generator? I've not lived where generators are common.
I'd say it's more of a big added bonus along with being able to run the generator outside in inclement weather. Generators aren't real common around me, but this thing seems like it solves quite a few of the ancillary issues with a straight-gas or standalone (e.g. not integrated into or having dedicated ventilation) generator as your primary backup. As others said, you can go propane or NG, but it costs more than just plugging in a regular gas genny.
If you think people aren't dumb enough to run a gasoline generator inside their house, I can introduce you to a few who would disabuse you of that notion.
"The Generac has a big tank and can also run on natural gas. Between the tank and some cans of gas, 2-3 days is realistic, but longer if we don't run AC which is the big power sucker. If the natural gas option happens, more like a week. It's unlikely we'd go more than a few days without power, but possible of course"
According to Generac it'l run 10 hours at 50% load on 16 gallons. That is 115 gallons to run it 24/7 for 3 days. I know you are new to Fla but I'll tell you what we do in coastal SC with a lot less generator. You can do without the water heaters and stove/ovens and other high watt usage appliances. You can cook easily on the grill for a couple of weeks with 2-3 propane bottles. Freezers don't need to run 24-7 either. You can pull them down by running the genset for an hour a couple of times a day. The big one is sleeping without AC. We have double hung windows and can temporarily install a window unit in a bedroom that will run on a smaller genset. Before Mathew 2 years ago I went to Lowes and bought a window unit. Never opened the box. When storm season is over this year I will sell it on CL. Next time a storm threatens I'll get a fresh one. If you haven't already done it.. Have an electrician or AC contractor look at the load your AC requires to start. If it won't start at 50% of what you have the fuel consumption will climb. Only use marine gas that doesn't have alcohol in it. Last.. Don't wait until you need it to see what it will do.
Averageman
10-10-18, 15:17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdxloey-OqA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdxloey-OqA
Not very impressive at all for the price IMO!
That doesn't seem to be much sound reduction.
I have kind of the same talking points as GH41, except in Kansas our biggest threat is ice storms, followed by tornadoes. I don't have any intent of running the A/C with a portable generator (if we do have a power outage in the summer), I do run the furnace, fridge, freezer, microwave and lights.
When winter comes I go to the Cenex and get 20 gallons of ethanol-free gasoline. When it's time to fill the truck I top off using that gas and go replace what I used - that way it stays fresh. During the year I start all my gas powered stuff on a regular basis - this includes the snowblower I bought to replace a worn out one, which has never been used in three years.
Before I wired in a quick connect box to my panel, ran the generator pigtail through my mail slot and ran extension cords to the furnace, fridge, freezer, and TV room lights. That was the system we used during our longest outage which was about a day and a half. I also ran an extension cord to my neighbor and ran his furnace fridge and a light.
The generator was chained to our front porch during this time and we couldn't hear it inside the house.
Since I wired the house for the generator it has been used for only short duration outages, if the power is off for an hour, I'll go hook it up, and do my Tim Taylor/Red Green imitation. The generator is chained to a deck piling, which is attached to a concrete pillar. It is right by a basement window and can barely be heard inside the basement.
I don't know what I'd do if I was facing the prospect of days or weeks, which I freely admit is not likely in my environment. I'd probably get an NG powered Generac 22KW. Be out less than a decent portable and a Zombie box.
Thanks for posting. I've been looking for something like this for some property my wife is converting into a wedding venue. The cost of bringing electricity to it would be in the six figures. This would solve our issues for many years.
It may be cheaper/easier to build a shed.
54080
"The Generac has a big tank and can also run on natural gas. Between the tank and some cans of gas, 2-3 days is realistic, but longer if we don't run AC which is the big power sucker. If the natural gas option happens, more like a week. It's unlikely we'd go more than a few days without power, but possible of course"
According to Generac it'l run 10 hours at 50% load on 16 gallons. That is 115 gallons to run it 24/7 for 3 days. I know you are new to Fla but I'll tell you what we do in coastal SC with a lot less generator. You can do without the water heaters and stove/ovens and other high watt usage appliances. You can cook easily on the grill for a couple of weeks with 2-3 propane bottles. Freezers don't need to run 24-7 either. You can pull them down by running the genset for an hour a couple of times a day. The big one is sleeping without AC. We have double hung windows and can temporarily install a window unit in a bedroom that will run on a smaller genset. Before Mathew 2 years ago I went to Lowes and bought a window unit. Never opened the box. When storm season is over this year I will sell it on CL. Next time a storm threatens I'll get a fresh one. If you haven't already done it.. Have an electrician or AC contractor look at the load your AC requires to start. If it won't start at 50% of what you have the fuel consumption will climb. Only use marine gas that doesn't have alcohol in it. Last.. Don't wait until you need it to see what it will do.
I'm awares of the above, thanx. This was not my project, but the GFs. Me, I smaller generator that would run a window AC, some lights, and the fridge for a lot less $ would have been my choice. Grills, etc are all covered. She mostly wan
That doesn't seem to be much sound reduction.
I have kind of the same talking points as GH41, except in Kansas our biggest threat is ice storms, followed by tornadoes. I don't have any intent of running the A/C with a portable generator (if we do have a power outage in the summer), I do run the furnace, fridge, freezer, microwave and lights.
When winter comes I go to the Cenex and get 20 gallons of ethanol-free gasoline. When it's time to fill the truck I top off using that gas and go replace what I used - that way it stays fresh. During the year I start all my gas powered stuff on a regular basis - this includes the snowblower I bought to replace a worn out one, which has never been used in three years.
Before I wired in a quick connect box to my panel, ran the generator pigtail through my mail slot and ran extension cords to the furnace, fridge, freezer, and TV room lights. That was the system we used during our longest outage which was about a day and a half. I also ran an extension cord to my neighbor and ran his furnace fridge and a light.
The generator was chained to our front porch during this time and we couldn't hear it inside the house.
Since I wired the house for the generator it has been used for only short duration outages, if the power is off for an hour, I'll go hook it up, and do my Tim Taylor/Red Green imitation. The generator is chained to a deck piling, which is attached to a concrete pillar. It is right by a basement window and can barely be heard inside the basement.
I don't know what I'd do if I was facing the prospect of days or weeks, which I freely admit is not likely in my environment. I'd probably get an NG powered Generac 22KW. Be out less than a decent portable and a Zombie box.
Calculations made, and due to a number of factors, going with a 22KW considerably more $. In terms of full house coverage, in a secure box that can run in terrible weather, with sound reduction, that was best choice. If there was gas coming to the house, that would have been obvious choice. No gas, 500g tank has to be buried by code, extra 1k for auto switch over at main panel, requires inspections, etc. The 22Kw ends up being the least expensive part of that project, at least in this part of FL.
It may be cheaper/easier to build a shed.
54080
Easier, not at all, less $, possible sure. There's a number of do it your self designs out there for same purpose.
Moose-Knuckle
10-10-18, 18:48
When the power is out, all systems stop running, and vehicle traffic is usually way down. This means it's dead quiet and the sound of a generator carries FAR - maybe half a mile in some locations. If you're the only one with a generator running, you will have tons of people aware of this. Some may want to steal, some may beg for help either important (breathing machine for old people) or petty (want to watch favorite TV show), some may start friendly and switch to stealing or threatening. Being quiet and stealthy is a great idea.
Bingo!;)
ETA:
The last ice storm we had was the first year we were in our first house. I had several shovels but none with a flat wide cutting edge to break the ice free of our sidewalks and driveway so off to the local farm / ranch store for a transfer shovel as all the big box warehouse home improvement stores and Aces' were sold out. While there some poor guy from a rural community that had a power outage outside of our town was desperately looking for a genny as those were all sold out too due to the ice storm.
It's surprising to me that they want you to bury your fuel tank. There's a lot of places in the US where you have a hell of a time selling an old service station that had buried fuel tanks because they're a nightmare to clean up.
When the power is out, all systems stop running, and vehicle traffic is usually way down. This means it's dead quiet and the sound of a generator carries FAR - maybe half a mile in some locations. If you're the only one with a generator running, you will have tons of people aware of this. Some may want to steal, some may beg for help either important (breathing machine for old people) or petty (want to watch favorite TV show), some may start friendly and switch to stealing or threatening. Being quiet and stealthy is a great idea.
.
Last year we got hit with a massive windstorm that knocked power out all over Maine. My nieghborhood was one of many that had no power for over five days.
My next door nieghbors have an automatic standby generator that ran the whole time but I thought it was interesting that at no point did i see so much as single light on in that house the entire week. My guess is this was to avoid attracting any more attention than they had to. I mean the sound of the generator is a dead giveaway but the sight of lights would really provoke the envy of the nieghbors.
When I first closed on my house I looked into having a standby generator put in but it just wasn't in my budget so, with the lessons of the five-day power outage still fresh in my mind I finally ended up getting a gas-powered 7500w portable back in January. The zombie box idea is pretty cool though because right now my plan if I have to power the house with the genny is to run it in my (detached) garage with the bay door and walk-in door open to allow for airflow through the building. I'm not so concerned about noise reduction as I am protecting the generator from the elements and theft.
If there was gas coming to the house, that would have been obvious choice. No gas, 500g tank has to be buried by code, extra 1k for auto switch over at main panel, requires inspections, etc. The 22Kw ends up being the least expensive part of that project, at least in this part of FL.
Wow! That bites. Plus the bugs and weeds never die during winter and you get hurricanes. Tell us again why you live there?
Wow! That bites. Plus the bugs and weeds never die during winter and you get hurricanes. Tell us again why you live there?
No winter, no state income taxes, low cost of living (compared to where I was), gun laws, close proximity to places I like to travel, and my condo in Panama, and no f-ing winter. Not sure I'll stay forever but I need to be close to the ocean to be happy.
It's surprising to me that they want you to bury your fuel tank. There's a lot of places in the US where you have a hell of a time selling an old service station that had buried fuel tanks because they're a nightmare to clean up.
That's pretty much standard code anywhere for residential propane tanks. I have a 1000 gallon one buried that runs my heat, stoves, dryers, etc.... I have been thinking of adding a generator since, with this tank, fuel will not be much of an issue.
That's pretty much standard code anywhere for residential propane tanks. I have a 1000 gallon one buried that runs my heat, stoves, dryers, etc.... I have been thinking of adding a generator since, with this tank, fuel will not be much of an issue.
I am from South Dakota and when I think of propane tanks, I think of the above ground white tanks. I honestly had no idea people buried them.
I thought the buried tank referred to a diesel tank. Propane would not have nearly the same enviromental impact from a leak.
Andy
That's pretty much standard code anywhere for residential propane tanks. I have a 1000 gallon one buried that runs my heat, stoves, dryers, etc.... I have been thinking of adding a generator since, with this tank, fuel will not be much of an issue.
Yup, it's code. You can do up to 400g above ground, which would be 4X100g tanks, which would also be big $ and take up a lot of room in her small yard. Either requires getting permits, inspections, etc.
Moose-Knuckle
10-11-18, 14:18
That's pretty much standard code anywhere for residential propane tanks. I have a 1000 gallon one buried that runs my heat, stoves, dryers, etc.... I have been thinking of adding a generator since, with this tank, fuel will not be much of an issue.
There is a Hank Hill meme in there somewhere.
There is a Hank Hill meme in there somewhere.
"Propane and propane accessories"
Moose-Knuckle
10-11-18, 16:52
"Propane and propane accessories"
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1962/43441125540_1105b23b31_b.jpg
An old joke... A white guy jumps out of the plane and pulls the parachute rip cord and it doesn't open. He pulls the backup cord and it doesn't deploy! All of a sudden he meets a black guy on the way up. As they pass the white guy yells.... Do you know anything about parachuuuuuutes?? The black yells back.. No. Do you know anything about gas stovessssss?? No racism intended.
Update. Did the full testing. You can stand next to the box while generator is on and talk at just above normal volumes. It cuts the sound down considerably, I'd guess 30db. I do have a db meter and may use that for official test, but box works well for its intended use overall and muffler works better than expected sound wise.
With AC at 78f, fridge, lights in one room, all else off, it's a tad under 50% load of the generator, so about 10-12 hours run time per tank. A 55g drum of gas would give adequate run times for typical power loss in the area. Beyond that, gas stations open and so forth.
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