I live in the Houston area (where Hurricane Ike is expected to make landfall
late tomorrow). We have a "whole house" generator. I'm wondering how long
we can use the generator before it gives out on us. I'm thinking a week or
possibly two, but not sure. It runs on natural gas.

In article ,
"Chris Marksberry" wrote:

I live in the Houston area (where Hurricane Ike is expected to make landfall
late tomorrow). We have a "whole house" generator. I'm wondering how long
we can use the generator before it gives out on us. I'm thinking a week or
possibly two, but not sure. It runs on natural gas.

First off, do a test run BEFORE you need the generator. You might
even want to do a load test and transfer you house over to the
generator to make sure it will work.

If it is connected to city gas, it should run pretty much until it
needs an oil change. You can extend the life by using a "duty
cycle". That is, run it for a while, then shut it down for a
while. Maybe 4 hours on, 8 hours off. You might also want to
lighten the load by pulling plugs in the house, turning off lights,
and using only the essentials like refrigeration.

You may also want a plan B. For example, if you have a lot of
food in a refrigerator and freezer, having a portable generator
and a 5 gallon can of gasoline can go a long ways towards saving
that food. There are tricks to doing this. Keep the generator
outside and away from any air intake to the house. You don't
want to kill yourself doing this. Next, keep the genset out of
sight behind the house to thugs don't get quite as bold. Maybe
chain it down with a good bicycle chain. Then run cords directly
to the appliances. Don't try to jerry-rig a portable into your
house power. That could back-feed down the line and kill some
high-line worker. And be careful with power cords and water,
so maybe wait until after the storm hits to do this.

If you do lose power, avoid opening the refrigerator and freezer
as much as you can to preserve the cold that you already have.

If you have something small that absolutely must stay running
during the storm, like a medical device, a large computer UPS
that is fully charged might be able to get you though the worst
of it while you have a chance to get your plan A or plan B going.

Good luck. I'd be freaking out if a storm like that was headed
my way. Post back with your results after it is over.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III * * * * * 612-720-2854 * * * * *
Newave Communications * * * * * * * * * * * * http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

I live in the Houston area (where Hurricane Ike is expected to make
landfall
late tomorrow). We have a "whole house" generator. I'm wondering how
long
we can use the generator before it gives out on us. I'm thinking a week
or
possibly two, but not sure. It runs on natural gas.

First off, do a test run BEFORE you need the generator. You might
even want to do a load test and transfer you house over to the
generator to make sure it will work.

If it is connected to city gas, it should run pretty much until it
needs an oil change. You can extend the life by using a "duty
cycle". That is, run it for a while, then shut it down for a
while. Maybe 4 hours on, 8 hours off. You might also want to
lighten the load by pulling plugs in the house, turning off lights,
and using only the essentials like refrigeration.

You may also want a plan B. For example, if you have a lot of
food in a refrigerator and freezer, having a portable generator
and a 5 gallon can of gasoline can go a long ways towards saving
that food. There are tricks to doing this. Keep the generator
outside and away from any air intake to the house. You don't
want to kill yourself doing this. Next, keep the genset out of
sight behind the house to thugs don't get quite as bold. Maybe
chain it down with a good bicycle chain. Then run cords directly
to the appliances. Don't try to jerry-rig a portable into your
house power. That could back-feed down the line and kill some
high-line worker. And be careful with power cords and water,
so maybe wait until after the storm hits to do this.

If you do lose power, avoid opening the refrigerator and freezer
as much as you can to preserve the cold that you already have.

If you have something small that absolutely must stay running
during the storm, like a medical device, a large computer UPS
that is fully charged might be able to get you though the worst
of it while you have a chance to get your plan A or plan B going.

Good luck. I'd be freaking out if a storm like that was headed
my way. Post back with your results after it is over.

-john-

Here's a picture of a generator that is very similar to ours:

http://tinyurl.com/4xvcpp

It "rehearses" once a week so I think that's covered. So if it is needed to
work for longer than a couple of weeks that can be accomplished by doing an
oil change? It is connected to city gas. Our home is about 2400 sq. ft.
and the generator is capable of running central air, freezer, TV,
refrigerator, etc. but I wouldn't want to keep all lights on in the house
at the same time! When it was installed we had to pick and choose what most
important for us to run so the garbage disposal won't work or double ovens.

Many thanks for the good wishes. I REALLY don't care for hurricanes at all!

In article ,
"Chris Marksberry" wrote:

Here's a picture of a generator that is very similar to ours:

http://tinyurl.com/4xvcpp

That is a nice unit. I have been considering one just like it.

It "rehearses" once a week so I think that's covered.

The weekly test likely only starts and runs the engine, and likely
only at low speed. That doesn't mean that the engine can, for sure,
produce the horsepower that is needed, nor does it prove that the
alternator and cut-over are working. You may want to do a full
power test before it is needed rather than waiting until the
emergency, and find that it doesn't actually produce power.

Some of the paranoid folks know that damage sometimes happens
when the power goes out. Those folks might suggest pulling the
commercial power before it fails, and run on the generator until
you know the power is back working. That way, you plan the
power hand over rather than letting it happen to you.

So if it is needed to
work for longer than a couple of weeks that can be accomplished by doing an
oil change? It is connected to city gas.

The only thing you need to worry about are the service intervals.
Oil is the only thing that I know of that has a service life here.
If you are liquid cooled, then you need to check that it has the
right anti-freeze. You are on city gas, so no worry about running
out of gasoline or filling the tank.

You may want to do some pre-work to ensure it is ready to go. Pull
off the cover and make sure that there is no debris, birds, or insect
nests inside the cabinet, or near the cabinet. Make sure it has
airflow. Consider changing or cleaning the air filter. Check the
oil just to make sure.

Also make sure that debris does not pile up on the unit during
the storm. It needs airflow to keep cool.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III * * * * * 612-720-2854 * * * * *
Newave Communications * * * * * * * * * * * * http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

"Chris Marksberry" wrote in message
. ..

I live in the Houston area (where Hurricane Ike is expected to make
landfall
late tomorrow). We have a "whole house" generator. I'm wondering how
long
we can use the generator before it gives out on us. I'm thinking a week
or
possibly two, but not sure. It runs on natural gas.

This depends whether gas fuel is supplied by a gas
main or your own tank. If on a gas main, supply may
continue indefinitely but will fail as soon as the gas
company's installations are closed by storm damage.
If you run from a tank, the generator manual should
tell you (approx.) how long one tank lasts.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

On Sep 11, 8:50*pm, "Chris Marksberry"
wrote:
I live in the Houston area (where Hurricane Ike is expected to make landfall
late tomorrow). *We have a "whole house" generator. *I'm wondering how long
we can use the generator before it gives out on us. *I'm thinking a week or
possibly two, but not sure. *It runs on natural gas.

I would change the oil to Mobil 1, 5-30 Extended Life, Now, it does
reduce wear and is a 7500 mile oil. Does it have a propane tank
connection option, look into it. 2 weeks is 350 hours, if your unit is
3600 rpm constant, life may be 2-3000 hrs on the motor. If its
variable down to 600 life might be 20000 hours. Dont run it 24 hours
a day and check the hour meter. Is the battery old, what is its
voltage, after running it should be 13.3, check and charge it if
needed and be prepared to jump it from your car. Consider covering the
unit when off if rain is hard. How old is unit , are cables clean or
corroded.

On Sep 12, 9:44*am, ransley wrote:
On Sep 11, 8:50*pm, "Chris Marksberry"

wrote:
I live in the Houston area (where Hurricane Ike is expected to make landfall
late tomorrow). *We have a "whole house" generator. *I'm wondering how long
we can use the generator before it gives out on us. *I'm thinking a week or
possibly two, but not sure. *It runs on natural gas.

I would change the oil to Mobil 1, 5-30 Extended Life, Now, it does
reduce wear and is a 7500 mile oil. Does it have a propane tank
connection option, look into it. 2 weeks is 350 hours, if your unit is
3600 rpm constant, life may be 2-3000 hrs on the motor. If its
variable down to 600 life might be 20000 hours. *Dont run it 24 hours
a day and check the hour meter. Is the battery old, what is its
voltage, after running it should be 13.3, check and charge it if
needed and be prepared to jump it from your car. Consider covering the
unit when off if rain is hard. How old is unit , are cables clean or
corroded.

no reply from chris marksberry today, which may mean that his
generator unfortunately failed to fire up

ps i will be "dancing in the rain"( and wind)

In
wrote:

no reply from chris marksberry today, which may mean that his
generator unfortunately failed to fire up

Or more likely, his phone or cable lines are down, while he's safe
inside, with the lights on :-)

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

no reply from chris marksberry today, which may mean that his
generator unfortunately failed to fire up

Or more likely, his phone or cable lines are down, while he's safe
inside, with the lights on :-)

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

Hello,

So GLAD to be back! We lost power a week ago Friday evening and the
generator came on. We didn't lose our water (many did) fortunately. Phone
was "iffy" for several days. At one point no AT&T land line, cell phone, or
OnStar which is in the car. We were able to help neighbors keep their
refrigerators running (5 houses at one point) to avoid food spoilage.
ComCast is ailing somewhat. The generator did develop an oil leak which we
will have to repair.

We were luckier than most regarding damage to our home. We lost some
shingles and a couple of boards from the fence. We have roofer coming later
in the week.

Needless to say the Houston/Galveston area is a WRECK, but we'll be back
too.

Chris (a girl) in Pearland, TX