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View Full Version : What do you guys do for power backup?



MarshallDodge
03-04-09, 21:26
I have a generator and decent supply of fuel for it but I am starting to think about alternatives such as solar, wind, etc.

What are your thoughts and experiences?

Seth Harness
03-04-09, 21:56
I have a generator and decent supply of fuel for it but I am starting to think about alternatives such as solar, wind, etc.

What are your thoughts and experiences?

I to have a "jenni" 5500watt. Would love to do something with wind if I could afford it...

Shihan
03-05-09, 02:30
Problem with a generator is in a bad situation they are nosey and you will have to have someone guarding the sucker as "they will come".

Boss302
03-05-09, 02:51
Rule #1 = Never have a generator running at night if you can avoid it. If you crank it, believe me, they will come. (Katrina taught me this)

Rule #2 = Only run it if/when you have to, to keep the fridge/freezer cold (couple of hours per day is more than enough). Don't worry about lights, fans or A/C, we did just fine before all that, so we'll manage to survive. Rechargeable Batteries are great too. ( This coming from someone in southeast, LA)

techo
03-05-09, 10:26
I have this quiet little Yamaha genny.
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/products/modelhome/444/0/home.aspx
I am hoping Nanosolar will start offering consumer thin film solar panels soon.
They should be very cost effective.
http://www.nanosolar.com

Ghostface03
03-05-09, 12:24
My fiancee's parents have been telling us to get a generator like they have. Might have to look into it when my ar list gets taken care of.

Seth Harness
03-05-09, 12:57
I just recently did some work for a couple who made the investment in an automatic back up, that runs on nat. gas. When it sences the powers out, it starts on its own. It runs tests on itself once a week, uber cool. I think it was something like 30,000 watts/30KW, I dont really remember. It was bad-as though, the entire cost was well under $10,000.

Vic303
03-06-09, 12:36
A small homebrew genny. Problems with it are fuel storage limitations, and I still need an inverter or more big batteries to charge with it.

K.L. Davis
03-06-09, 12:53
I have the following wired together as an "emergency" circuit...

Fridge
2 Kitchen counter plug ins
master Bedroom ceiling fan
2 Bedroom wall plug ins
Window AC in Master Bedroom
1 Master Bath counter plug in
LED lights in the Kitchen, Bedroom and Master Bath

All of these are hooked to a dedicated breaker box, which can be fed via city power, my gennie or a pig-tail.

Wes1977
03-06-09, 13:09
I've got a regular portable generator and 2, 15watt panels hooked to 2 car batteries. I've got a 750w/1500w surge inverter. It will run some small stuff for some time. I'd like to go larger with more watts on panels and inverter.
What is good is I can keep my secuity system up at night.

Northerntools had the 15 watt panels on sale at one time for $75 ea.

For me and the small watt panels I would suggest a few diffrent inverters. Large as you can afford a med and a small. I like to almost match my load. The inverter uses less battery on the small one if it can power it.

crob1
03-09-09, 20:01
Boss302(NICE), can you elaborate about "they will come" please? I realize the genny noise will attract some unwanted attention.

I have a Honda EU2000 and a Coleman 5000 watt generator. I have a switch panel that I can switch from the line power to the genny power. It is wired to run our refrigerators, furnace, lights in the kitchen, microwave, outlet in the kitchen, smoke detectors and the well.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p97/Cummins600/DCP_1084.jpg

I too would love to have a solar power system though. A hundpump for the well and or a small solar system to run the well and refrigerators and I'd be satisfied.

Decon
03-10-09, 21:34
The battery back up systems have improved much over the last few years. They would go good with any solar system you were considering

Abraxas
03-10-09, 21:41
The battery back up systems have improved much over the last few years. They would go good with any solar system you were considering

What would you suggest?

bigshooter
03-13-09, 23:25
Rule #1 = Never have a generator running at night if you can avoid it. If you crank it, believe me, they will come. (Katrina taught me this)

care to expound?.

Aray
03-14-09, 11:03
I have a 220 receptacle (30a) in my garage that I use to backfeed the whole house with a 6300w portable. The most important thing to remember is open the incoming main breaker, in my case a 200a service breaker to ensure you don't put power back out onto the poles and kill a line worker.

I can run almost everything in my house, I do have to shed loads to run my electric hot water tank or electric stove. It is truly amazing how much power a toaster oven draws.

As far as the running at night issue, marine supply and RV stores have exhaust/muffler setups that you can use to run the generator inside a garage or shed and exhaust outside safely to minimize the noise and attention it brings.

Nathan_Bell
03-14-09, 11:48
Multiple options.
All are loud and diesel. Need to get my noise shelter in this summer if $$ and time permit.

Boss302
03-14-09, 11:58
Boss302(NICE), can you elaborate about "they will come" please? I realize the genny noise will attract some unwanted attention.




care to expound?.

I live in Jefferson parish and received about 20" of water. After the first couple of days when Broussard finally brought the pump operators back (that's a story for another day) the wate went right down. I immediately cranked up my genny to salvage what I could out of the ice chests and get the items back into my remaing fridge and deep freeze. The first night, I made the mistake of leaving the genny running, and let's just say that was a long night. After the first couple of knocks on the door we turned it off, but every couple of minutes we would see someone try and hop our fence. We had a couple of windows broken out, and one guy tried to kick down our side door...until I stuck the business end of a 12ga in his face.

My point is, most of the high RPM genny's are loud and can/will attract some unwanted attention. Just be aware of that is all I'm saying.

Let's just say that the experiences I went through during Katrina were a real eye opener.

cobra90gt
03-14-09, 12:28
Those little Honda (EU series) and Yamaha (forget the model, blue colored) generators are on the quiet side - have used them on camping trips in the past. As long as you have fuel, you're set - in eco mode they are very quiet compared to your typical/older generators...

Aray has the right idea about housing it in a shed or other "muffling" device to keep it quiet at night (if you must run one at night, that is). I'd also keep it (running a genny) very limited at night, if at all.

Abraxas
03-14-09, 12:44
If one could afford it I think that the way to go is off of battery back up. Have multiple charging methods. In town both solar and generator, and if in the country add to those two a wind generator of some kind. All of this would help minimize the run time of a a noisy generator. Differing types of generators might also be handy , so you could have the ability to burn different types of fuel,just in case one becomes harder to come by that another. All of this of course would be VERY pricey, but I think that it would work out the best

bigshooter
03-14-09, 14:17
After the first couple of knocks on the door we turned it off, but every couple of minutes we would see someone try and hop our fence. We had a couple of windows broken out, and one guy tried to kick down our side door...until I stuck the business end of a 12ga in his face.


that's crazy.

I spend quite a bit of time reading through various survival forums and the general idea is that noise = problems in a SHTF situation, but this is the first time I have personally read or heard about it actually happening. definate reality check.

you guys that had to deal with Katrina should start a thread DPP associated thread.

bigshooter
03-14-09, 14:42
to the original question.

I have lived in an apt. for the last 6 years while my wife has gone to school, started to get into prepping about 16 months ago. since then we have moved to the heart (8 blocks from dead center downtown) of the largest city in MN, Minneapolis.

solar and Batt. is way out of my league financially and even if it wasn't my apt is 650sqft.

I have a honda eu2000i with an extended run 3 gallon tank that I made. on four gallons I think it could run for nearly two days straight, if needed.

my "plan" is to place it on the roof and run a cord down to my top floor apt. there is only one access to the roof. after I take my bolt cutters to the padlock and replace it with my own it will be fairly secure. hopefully being three stories up will cut what little noise the honda puts out.

after hearing Boss302's story I am convinced my $30,000 solar array would become a target after I denied access to the sheep.

great way to become on some level energy independant, especially if your in a rural setting, but urban, sub-urban in a real lasting SHTF I see it as a liability.

one 5000 watt genset or two eu2000i's can be thrown in the back of the BOV and get gone alot easier than $30,00 in solar equipment.

Abraxas
03-14-09, 15:19
to the original question.

I have lived in an apt. for the last 6 years while my wife has gone to school, started to get into prepping about 16 months ago. since then we have moved to the heart (8 blocks from dead center downtown) of the largest city in MN, Minneapolis.

solar and Batt. is way out of my league financially and even if it wasn't my apt is 650sqft.

I have a honda eu2000i with an extended run 3 gallon tank that I made. on four gallons I think it could run for nearly two days straight, if needed.

my "plan" is to place it on the roof and run a cord down to my top floor apt. there is only one access to the roof. after I take my bolt cutters to the padlock and replace it with my own it will be fairly secure. hopefully being three stories up will cut what little noise the honda puts out.

after hearing Boss302's story I am convinced my $30,000 solar array would become a target after I denied access to the sheep.

great way to become on some level energy independant, especially if your in a rural setting, but urban, sub-urban in a real lasting SHTF I see it as a liability.

one 5000 watt genset or two eu2000i's can be thrown in the back of the BOV and get gone alot easier than $30,00 in solar equipment.

Heck, where you are at the solar panels would be covered by snow 11 months of the year;).Just kidding, I used to live only an hour or so away from there

bigshooter
03-14-09, 18:33
Heck, where you are at the solar panels would be covered by snow 11 months of the year.Just kidding

that's no joke, 6 months of winter really is getting to me. it was 5 degrees wednsday morning:mad:

BigJim #1-8
03-14-09, 19:55
I'm considering a propane powered whole house backup.Kohler 17kv seems to be the ticket.
Anyone have experience with these systems??

philco
03-14-09, 21:23
After a number of hurricanes a fews years back that came through central florida,I installed a 15KW Guardian generator that runs on Natural gas. Haven't had to use it yet.

Boss302
03-14-09, 22:08
I'm working on a low RPM Diesel setup. 15kw is enough to run my house, so i'm looking at a 20kw unit. The low rpm setups are quiet....and will be even more so in the building i'm putting together for it.

Puffy93
04-11-09, 23:33
The thing about solar/wind power is if it comes to long term SHTF as in war or something solar or wind power is alot more vunerable than generators although generators aren't as reliable.

MarshallDodge
04-12-09, 01:34
The thing about solar/wind power is if it comes to long term SHTF as in war or something solar or wind power is alot more vunerable than generators although generators aren't as reliable.

I am not sure why solar or wind would be any more vulnerable than a generator. I would think that fuel for your genny would be hard to come by in a time of war. :confused:

If you are talking about a war in which a battle ensues in my front yard then I am going to have some serious issues, so serious that I won't care about where my power comes from. Except for being built from brick, my house is not necessarily battle hardened. :eek:

In my research so far, it seems that I need to calculate the batteries based on a 20% discharge. Discharging any lead acid battery more than 20% significantly reduces it's life. One site said that you can expect 7-10 years of use from batteries if you take care of them this way.

I am looking into a great big forklift battery. :cool:

Puffy93
04-12-09, 12:32
I was thinking more along the lines of a bunker where the generator would be protected inside

RWBlue
04-13-09, 13:20
The good news is that I don't think I will need backup power for 99.5% of the time. Living in subberbia does have benefits.

The bad news is I am not preped for the .5% of the time when I really need it.

Hayduke
04-13-09, 13:40
i have a noisy gennie and have been kicking around making a muffler box for it. i have one of those steel JobSite workboxes and am thinking of mounting it inside with some fireproof sound deadening material and a air intake/exhaust system to keep the heat down. i'd run a pipe/muffler up through the roof of the garage and have the fuel tank sitting outside the box.
i also have a nice wired house system with the throw switch to cut main power and the big plug in the detached garage, wires are underground running into the basement to a secondary switch box with power draw gauges and switches to move power around the house, fridge, furnace, etc.
these JobSite boxes are really hard to get into when locked and i could bolt it to the floor in the garage. worst someone could do would be take the fuel perhaps.
anyone build something like this?

platoonDaddy
02-25-14, 05:46
Interesting article on: Residential Standby Generators for EMP and Severe Solar Storms

http://www.futurescience.com/emp/generators.html


Edit: Dang, just realized this thread ended in 09, or well I did use the search function. :rolleyes:

wilson1911
02-25-14, 18:31
I know that almost everyone who has some type of backup chooses either solar or a generator, but what about using a stirling engine power plant ?

I have been doing some research and found this to be interesting.

http://www.microgen-engine.com/

and this.

http://www.dekaresearch.com/stirling.shtml

DukeNukem
03-16-14, 10:28
I have lived off grid for the last 2 years. First off - do not plan on a scenario where you run a generator 24 hours a day. It just doesn't work that way. I'm outside all day long and use the 3750 watt generator for 2-3 hours when I come inside at dusk, and that's about all. In the summer to run A/C to cool the place down, run a microwave to heat 1.5 gallons of water to shower with & heat food, and to recharge my laptop and cell phone. I use the cell phone as a WiFi hotspot. That size generator will not run a small wattage microwave and a window A/C at the same time. Just turn the A/C off long enough to use the microwave, then turn the A/C back on. In winter, things are different. See below.

I can run this 3750 watt gen for about 12-15 hours or more on a tank (4 gallons) of gas....less time if I run the A/C a lot. Full wattage use will drink gasoline. Low wattage use will extend the amount of time the gen will run on one tank.

I store 87 oct non ethanol gas in 5 gallon metal Jerry cans. I have 8 cans. The all metal cans are expensive but I have experienced no evaporation over 4 years time. I have evaporation problems with all plastic cans that I have used. I am currently rotating 4 year old pure gasoline for my vehicle that I stored using stabilizer and octane booster. I've had no problems since I add one or two gallons of old gas to a nearly full tank of fresh gas. I do not recommend waiting more than a year to rotate your gasoline stock. Don't buy gas with ethanol for your generator, or for storage.

My fridge is a Dometic and runs off of propane, but I do not run it all day. I keep several nearly full gallon jugs of water in the freezer at all times. I move them into the refrigerator when it's shut off. When I restart the refrigerator, I put the jugs back into the freezer. In the winter I run the refrigerator 3-4 hours a day. In summer, most of the day and a little at night.

I have one 140w solar panel and one group 31 AGM battery. I really could use a second 140w solar panel on that one battery. It would mean I wouldn't have to run the generator the full 2 hours to recharge the laptop and phone. If I have to drive somewhere, sometimes I use the car to recharge them. That single, large panel and single 12v battery do not go a long way, even as far south as I am (seasonal angle of the sun). If you plan on using solar panels, plan on the power output to be about ZERO on overcast days.

In the winter, my heat is a propane furnace, and the fan blower runs off 12v DC. I run it for 3 hours when I come inside for the evening to heat up the room to about 85 degrees, then turn it off for the night. This heats up the walls, the floor, the ceiling and furniture. The heat that is absorbed into all those solid objects radiates back out into the room during the night and keeps the inside warm enough to make it through the night under 2 layers of sheets, a blanket & comforter. If you only run the heat just long enough to heat up only the air in the room from say, from 40° to only 65° or 70°, the air will be comfortable for a few minutes, but the room gets very cold very quickly if the heat is shut off for the night after running it for only 20-30 minutes. I put about 12 layers of folded, cheap 100% cotton blankets from Walmart on top of the mattress but under the fitted sheet (the kind of thin cotton blankets they use at hospitals and nursing homes). If I didn't do this, the mattress would get too cold to sleep on during the night. I tried various closed cell foam sleeping pads to insulate between the sheets and the mattress. The bed sheets always becomes "sticky" due to the fact that those foam camping mattresses can't breathe. Even with a few layers of cotton blanket and a sheet on top of the foam pad, it still gets "sticky."

I still run the generator in the winter - a few hours after I get in at dusk, mostly to keep from using up all the 12v DC to run the blower motor for the heat, and to recharge the usual stuff. Also to heat food and water in the microwave.

In the summer, I run an 02Cool fan (Home Depot) in the window to blow cool air in. It came with a 110v to 12v AC converter. I snipped the converter off, and wired the +/- ends directly to a cig lighter jack that goes directly to my 12v battery, then plug the other end into the fan. The fan runs all night off of the Group 31 AGM battery, and blows directly on me.

My general lighting is LED bulbs that are in 12v incandescent sockets that are similar to overhead lamps in an old car. I also have some incandescent bulbs that are much brighter than the LED, that I run only when I run the generator. I use a Petzl TacTikka XP headlamp when I read at night when the generator is off.

I have enough stored propane and gasoline to live "normally" as described above for about 4 months, producing my own electricity, heat and A/C. The longest I heard of having to do without electricity in the US, this guy said he lived in Memphis in the 60's or 70's when an ice storm brought down the high voltage main power line towers for miles coming from the power plant going into Memphis. The electricity was off for 6 months before new lines could be erected and the power turned back on.