expiredNavy-Wife | Staff posted Jul 10, 2024 07:04 AM
Item 1 of 4
Item 1 of 4
expiredNavy-Wife | Staff posted Jul 10, 2024 07:04 AM
Prime Members: Champion TRI Fuel Portable Natural Gas Generator: 5k/4k Generator
& More + Free Shipping$592
$699
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Inverter- this type uses power electronics to produce a 60hz pure sinusoidal wave form at the cost of increased price. Pros: more fuel efficient and quieter since it can produce power at any RPM of engine speed. Slower engine speed is less power thus it can vary engine speed based on power needs. Price is increasingly prohibitive as you increase the generator size and so you typically use this for smaller power needs. Pure sin waves are best for sensitive electronics.
Traditional generator- this type relies on engine speed (typically 3600rpm) to produce a 60hz waveform. Furthermore, the physical design and construction varies with cheaper design/construction having higher THD total harmonic distortion. Better design and construction costing more money lowers THD with some advertising a THD of less than 5% which is best for sensitive electronics. This means the THD number can indirectly tell you the quality of the design and build. These Generators are used throughout the range of sizes with lower THD designs costing more money. Generally loud. My cost per performance sweet spot is 5 to 10% THD.
With this said, champion seems to be good quality among the cheaper gens. THD can be high so look for THD numbers in a Q&A section
Side note- unfortunately, you will need these more often going forward. There is absolutely no reason why black outs or energy emergencies should exist. This is purely political.
Another side note- do your break in oil changes on every generator and always use ethanol free gas with fuel stabilizer.
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EDIT: while someone else mentioned 100 hours, it looks like the 22kw standby generac I have is probably meant to be changed every 200 hours or 2 years. Some other models are even every 400 hours/4 years.
What brand and model ac you have? Does anyone recommend any other good brands AC in that 21amp LRA range of specs.
Secondly.... The SL28 which I assume you are referring too as that's the only AC unit currently that can get UP TO 28 seer, has an inverter built into it...
Secondly.... The SL28 which I assume you are referring too as that's the only AC unit currently that can get UP TO 28 seer, has an inverter built into it...
What brand and model ac you have? Does anyone recommend any other good brands AC in that 21amp LRA range of specs.
EDIT: while someone else mentioned 100 hours, it looks like the 22kw standby generac I have is probably meant to be changed every 200 hours or 2 years. Some other models are even every 400 hours/4 years.
love this place not only for the deals but for the massive amount of info.
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What line size did you end up going with? I have a 1/2" gas line at my dryer that I want to use. Not sure if I should be concerned about having enough flow.
Would I need to plumb a T from the main gas line coming into the house(which i think is 1") to power something that is the Champion 10k tri - fuel? or the Duramax 15k tri fuel?
What is also interesting is the Champion comes with a 1/2" flex NG line. So i'm assuming my 1/2" gas line should be good.
That said, the more practical issue with higher THD's is in UPS devices, but generally lower cost consumer ones. Higher-level UPS allow for customized setups dictating how high a THD is allowed.
I'm not saying that the THD discussion is entirely pointless or that you shouldn't seek a lower-THD generator, but usually the tradeoff is cost. Also, inverter generators at higher capacities tend to be prohibitively expensive, and since kw capacity generally goes hand in hand with 240V availability, and ease of connection to a panel, finding a low THD, 240v-capable generator is even more expensive.
The fact, not theory, is that you cannot run modern variable heating and cooling units on unclean power. This is a fact, and if you need something else showing it take the time to read up on the installation manual that comes with your HVAC or instant hot water heater. I'd tell you as well to do a simple Google search to find this but I can tell by your comments here that you don't care what some dumb engineer has to say; so why would you believe any of the first hand accounts of people asking for forum help when they can't get their heat to work in a snow storm.
I am thinking of a whole house solution, but the need for just a plain generator vs. inverter generator has got me going in circles as some suggest the inverter generator type is necessary while others no. Folks have been using just regular generators for years so that suggests just a generator might be fine. But yeah, everything has more and more built-in electronics nowadays for better efficiency and such. So the inverter generator style may become ever more important.
For the folks still without power from Beryl, I'd bet they'd be willing to take either...
I have two central A/C units at home so I am thinking I need a bigger capacity, as least for surge capacity when the units start up. But those Micro Air EasyStart devices that convert a traditional hard start AC unit to a soft start version seem almost miraculous because they can reduce needed start up surge wattage by like 75%. So all the apparent need to purchase units with 10K, 12K, 13K, 15K surge wattage is possibly moot. Yeah, the Micro Air EasyStart modules are pricey at about $400 each, but if that let's one cut down to an 8K surge wattage inverter generator, gosh, it seems worth it.
Oh...... And cold beer!
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Indeed, I had sort of started down this path yesterday because I was going around and around in circles to the point of paralysis. I was looking for a 100% solution for the whole house to start, but with a ton of unanswered questions because I am new to the game, it was hard to focus. Then, I had the realization that I could separate things into critical needs (fridge, one of the A/C units, water heater, some lights and other appliances) versus things that would be nice to have but are not critical (i.e., fully independent whole home backup system for both levels of the house). Yeah, it is completely obvious in hindsight that I should have started this way...
Anyway, yesterday, I started up spreadsheet to document the electrical draw of my house on an item by item basis. Now I am able to estimate the size of an inverter generator that would be needed for the critical items, and I think a 9K inverter generator would more than suffice. So for the moment, I'll get a transfer/interlock box installed and the NG line tapped and run out to the porch (which will also be great for the grill, too). This will leave me with a solution for the critical items. Then next year or when the wallet allows, I can upgrade to a higher wattage unit for the whole house, and all the infrastructure will already in place.
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