"Tokai" wrote in message
ups.com...
Years ago, during an emergency, I bought what I could find, and ended
up with a 5,000 watt generator (2 phase, about 20 amps per phase). I
wired a generator panel with an isolation switch so I can give power to
the kitchen, furnace, and sump pump. It has a 5 gallon tank, and uses
about 1 gallon per hour. I have used it a few times. I mention this
because:

1) If you put 5 gallons in the tank, and the power comes back on after
1 hour, you have 4 gallons left in the tank. Gasoline does not keep, so
you have to use it or drain it out.

2) I saw a comment a long time ago that someone had a 2,500 watt
generator, and could run it all day on 1 gallon. Probably hyperbole,
but you waste a lot of gas if you don't use all the power.

Maybe it was me. I have a 2000w and it will run 12 hours on a gallon at
half load; no hyperbole. My freezer and refrigerator are only 200w and my
furnace is 500w, thats only 900w in total. (starting the freezer is
another story, the generator stalled once doing that; but once in about 2
weeks of use isn't bad.)

A bigger generator will use more gas than a small generator, even doing the
same thing. Gas can be hard to find in a power outage. Buy the smallest
generator that will satisfy your needs.

3) You need to balance the load on your generator. 3500 watts is still
15 amps per phase. As long as you don't start both refridgerators at
the same time, you should be ok (start-up current is large, but
generators do have the ability to exceed the rated output for a short
period of time for just such a purpose).

I haven't seen the 3500w, but most small ones are one "phase".

4) Some time spent wiring on a nice day sure beats running cords all
over the place on a lousy day when the power fails. It is so
convenient, even my wife can hook it up in an emergency (just kidding
about the wife part). I ran a 30 amp circuit for the generator into the
Garage, where it can sit protected from the elements when running
(garage door open). Hardwire is the only way you can supply generator
power to the furnace.