I have been looking for a generator for my home and came across this one - Pulsar G12KBN Heavy Duty Portable Dual Fuel Generator - 9500 Rated Watts & 12000 Peak Watts. It looked to have good reviews so I set a price alert. I have my transfer switch waiting to be installed to hook it up. Hope I'm not too late as its snowing as I type this here in PA! Hope this helps someone else that"s been looking.
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11-02-2020 at 06:16 AM.
Quote
from PBzz
:
As someone who is also in the market for a generator, can you explain why having this would be useful vs a non-inverter. TIA!
inverter generators reduce power spikes and troughs with changes in load as well as supply cleaner more consistent power (THD). Modern electrical gadgets are sensitive to those things. Inverter generators tend to be quieter, more fuel efficient, more expensive, smaller, and most have lower running wattage (3500W on average). https://www.bestgenerator.org/inv...ifference/
Thanks for explaining the difference. I was leaving that for someone with more knowledge. It seems the many types of generators depend on what you plan to use for. I am buying this one to stay put attached to a transfer switch in case of power loss.
inverter generators reduce power spikes and troughs with changes in load as well as supply cleaner more consistent power (THD). Modern electrical gadgets are sensitive to those things. Inverter generators tend to be quieter, more fuel efficient, more expensive, smaller, and most have lower running wattage (3500W on average). https://www.bestgenerator.org/inv...ifference/[bestgenerator.org]
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11-02-2020 at 06:48 AM.
Quote
from PBzz
:
Thank you! This is helpful. So if I am looking to power my entire house (~10kW), looking at inverter generators is non-option looks like.
In reality you need to know how much power you will draw. For instance I live in New England when we loose power it's usually for a couple hours, but if there is an ice storm it could be days.
I want to be able to power; gas furnace, gas water heater, sump pump, gas range, refrigerator, wifi, laptop, and a single light to maintain and acceptable temporary living condition. A 2500w portable gasoline generator (20A x 110v) can do all that and I can just run extension cables to achieve it cheaply. But it takes an hour to setup and I will not bother if I think power will come back soon. ($400 total)
The next step, that I am upgrading to, is having an electrician install a 30A twist lock outlet on the outside of my house cabled to a interlock on my circuit panel. As well as getting a bigger generator (30A x 240V = 7200W) so I would like a generator with at least 7200W running power. That is enough for everything but large appliance (electric ovens / AC units / driers), this takes 15 minutes to setup and can power more electronic devices; TV's , desktop computer, and small appliances. ($600 for electrician and $800 for generator)
The step above that really is a natural gas or diesel whole house stand by generator that can run everything, but assuming not absolutely everything is running at once 20,000w (20kv) minimum. It gets running is a matter of seconds but can cost well over $10,000 to have completely installed ($5000 for electrician and $5000+++ for generator)
In reality you need to know how much power you will draw. For instance I live in New England when we loose power it's usually for a couple hours, but if there is an ice storm it could be days.
I want to be able to power; gas furnace, gas water heater, sump pump, gas range, refrigerator, wifi, laptop, and a single light to maintain and acceptable temporary living condition. A 2500w portable gasoline generator (20A x 110v) can do all that and I can just run extension cables to achieve it cheaply. But it takes an hour to setup and I will not bother if I think power will come back soon. ($400 total)
The next step, that I am upgrading to, is having an electrician install a 30A twist lock outlet on the outside of my house cabled to a interlock on my circuit panel. As well as getting a bigger generator (30A x 240V = 7200W) so I would like a generator with at least 7200W running power. That is enough for everything but large appliance (electric ovens / AC units / driers), this takes 15 minutes to setup and can power more electronic devices; TV's , desktop computer, and small appliances. ($600 for electrician and $800 for generator)
The step above that really is a natural gas or diesel whole house stand by generator that can run everything, but assuming not absolutely everything is running at once 20,000w (20kv) minimum. It gets running is a matter of seconds but can cost well over $10,000 to have completely installed ($5000 for electrician and $5000+++ for generator)
I'm sure there are a lot of "it depends" but my 22kw Generac setup cost closer to $8,000 installed. I did already have a concrete pad already in place.
You can get a kit for this to make it run on natural gas. Just Google [model number] natural gas conversion. you can also look up YouTube videos on the process. seems pretty cut and dry but I've never done it myself.
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11-02-2020 at 09:19 AM.
just to chime in on a few points:
- I call BS on the "sensitive electronics need inverters" comment. modern switching power supplies (aka everything) work anywhere from 90-250v, 50hz-65hz... you can literally run them on anything and they put 12vdc out, period.
- you may, however, notice motor/appliance issues with these that run up to 63Hz -- they'll spin faster.
- dual fuel is where it's at. plumb it into a giant tank (or your house if you have propane instead of NG) and run it forever, never clean a carb, go get gas or refill it.
- also note that motors (like a well or sump pump) pull a LOT of current at startup and can stall a smaller generator. the 3-5x running watts thing is no joke. my 1.2kw pump stalls my 5kw generator. I got a 10kw one to replace it (the $500 dual fuel duramax).
- finally, make sure anything you get has electric start. you don't want a pull cord, especially if you'll eventually get a transfer switch that'll start your generator for you (or want someone less strong to start it)
- ps. yes inverters are more efficient, quieter, often parallelable, usually smaller, but always considerably more expensive
A solution for using a non-inverter generator is using a double-conversion online ups for your sensitive electronics. These units can be a little pricey but they clean-up the power from these type of generators.
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Although WEN is selling a 6250w surge / 5000w running inverter generator for $685.
https://wenproducts.com/products/...-compliant
The most powerful portable inverter generator I have seen is a Champion 8750w / 7000w inverter generator for $1075
https://www.norwall.com/products/...or-100520/
Although WEN is selling a 6250w surge / 5000w running inverter generator for $685.
https://wenproducts.com/products/...-compliant [wenproducts.com]
The most powerful portable inverter generator I have seen is a Champion 8750w / 7000w inverter generator for $1075
https://www.norwall.com/products/...or-100520/ [norwall.com]
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank User2828036
I want to be able to power; gas furnace, gas water heater, sump pump, gas range, refrigerator, wifi, laptop, and a single light to maintain and acceptable temporary living condition. A 2500w portable gasoline generator (20A x 110v) can do all that and I can just run extension cables to achieve it cheaply. But it takes an hour to setup and I will not bother if I think power will come back soon. ($400 total)
The next step, that I am upgrading to, is having an electrician install a 30A twist lock outlet on the outside of my house cabled to a interlock on my circuit panel. As well as getting a bigger generator (30A x 240V = 7200W) so I would like a generator with at least 7200W running power. That is enough for everything but large appliance (electric ovens / AC units / driers), this takes 15 minutes to setup and can power more electronic devices; TV's , desktop computer, and small appliances. ($600 for electrician and $800 for generator)
The step above that really is a natural gas or diesel whole house stand by generator that can run everything, but assuming not absolutely everything is running at once 20,000w (20kv) minimum. It gets running is a matter of seconds but can cost well over $10,000 to have completely installed ($5000 for electrician and $5000+++ for generator)
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I want to be able to power; gas furnace, gas water heater, sump pump, gas range, refrigerator, wifi, laptop, and a single light to maintain and acceptable temporary living condition. A 2500w portable gasoline generator (20A x 110v) can do all that and I can just run extension cables to achieve it cheaply. But it takes an hour to setup and I will not bother if I think power will come back soon. ($400 total)
The next step, that I am upgrading to, is having an electrician install a 30A twist lock outlet on the outside of my house cabled to a interlock on my circuit panel. As well as getting a bigger generator (30A x 240V = 7200W) so I would like a generator with at least 7200W running power. That is enough for everything but large appliance (electric ovens / AC units / driers), this takes 15 minutes to setup and can power more electronic devices; TV's , desktop computer, and small appliances. ($600 for electrician and $800 for generator)
The step above that really is a natural gas or diesel whole house stand by generator that can run everything, but assuming not absolutely everything is running at once 20,000w (20kv) minimum. It gets running is a matter of seconds but can cost well over $10,000 to have completely installed ($5000 for electrician and $5000+++ for generator)
I'm sure there are a lot of "it depends" but my 22kw Generac setup cost closer to $8,000 installed. I did already have a concrete pad already in place.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank synthesis77
- I call BS on the "sensitive electronics need inverters" comment. modern switching power supplies (aka everything) work anywhere from 90-250v, 50hz-65hz... you can literally run them on anything and they put 12vdc out, period.
- you may, however, notice motor/appliance issues with these that run up to 63Hz -- they'll spin faster.
- dual fuel is where it's at. plumb it into a giant tank (or your house if you have propane instead of NG) and run it forever, never clean a carb, go get gas or refill it.
- also note that motors (like a well or sump pump) pull a LOT of current at startup and can stall a smaller generator. the 3-5x running watts thing is no joke. my 1.2kw pump stalls my 5kw generator. I got a 10kw one to replace it (the $500 dual fuel duramax).
- finally, make sure anything you get has electric start. you don't want a pull cord, especially if you'll eventually get a transfer switch that'll start your generator for you (or want someone less strong to start it)
- ps. yes inverters are more efficient, quieter, often parallelable, usually smaller, but always considerably more expensive