jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I watched a YouTube guy set up a military generator he got at an auction. It was huge, heavy duty, and in very good condition. He paid $3,000 for it because it was dented. Undented models went for $5,000 - $6,000. If someone could get one of these, he'd be crazy to get a puny Generac for $5,000. He plans to use his engineering knowledge to turn it into an automatic generator. It's the top one listed below - "Don't Buy a Propane Generator."

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=install+military+generator

BebuLamar

I think I would go for the Generac. It's big but only 10kW. I also don't like to run on diesel.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

!0KW is not enough to run my house in the winter since I am total electric, my furnace alone is 14.7 KW so I would need a 20kw at the minimum .

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I saw a 60k offered there.

BebuLamar

If I get a generator I would want one that run on natural gas with the ability to run on propane. That way I just use the gas from my house gas line and if I lose the gas too I would run it on propane tank. I don't think diesel is a good idea.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

3000 sounds like a great deal if you are skilled at construction like the guy making the video. For people not skilled in cement work, electrical work, and carpentry, the price would be something like 3-5,000 for electrician & cement work, another 1000 for diesel fuel and tank, a few hundred more for supplies like wiring, transfer box, and parts that were replaced on the generator he bought. I could see the "good deal" on a surplus generator costing between 8 -10,000 dollars.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Lol I have passed to two like that the file would cost a fortune!!

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I went for 4 Solar generators with extra batteries and panels. The two big ones and their batteries will run our fridge, freezer and CPAP machines. One is medium size and runs special LED lights. Our heat is gas plus So. Cal doesn't get that cold anyway, and except for a few days, we have sunshine. The miniature one is designed to charge/run three cell phones or tablets at once. On the other hand, "heat in the summer"!!! Maybe I need another big solar generator with extra batteries to run the window AC in the family room instead of the whole house unit. These things are fast charging and in summer So Cal has no shortage of sunlight. My computer, a Big Screen TV, and my lounge chair are already here. Move two lounge chairs or the living room couch back here and the whole family hangs out in the family room. It would be fine for the three of us who would be here.
Our oldest Son is cadre at his Army Reserve base, he would just move to their barracks - they have the full emergency set up for the "Big One". He would be called in any way, the unit members also work for FEMA during disasters. He just did 2 months for FEMA in Florida and North Carolina, finishing the recovery work from some of 2022's hurricane damage.
Our Daughter is a Pediatric Resident at one of LA County's biggest hospitals, and they have an even more elaborate full emergency setup with cots for staff and tents and cots to set up in the parking lots to expand their capacity.

And if things get real bad, but we are still mobile, we pack up the SUVs and get out to somewhere else=all the solar generators and their panels are portable. Throw in some cloths, our meds and the dehydrated 3 month emergency food tubs and off we go!

scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

Something he fails to address is the length of time diesel or gas stays good compared to propane. I run mine on propane and have 2 50 gal tanks. I can fill the propane tanks and store them for years if need be while gas and diesel will deteriorate. One drawback is that the output while running propane is slightly less than gas or diesel. One of my generators, rated at 10K, produces appx 1000 watts less while running propane but 10,000 watts is very seldom needed.

Country Boy Loc: Beckley, WV

Overkill, I paid $5,500 and had a Gererac installed with the auto activate switch so when the power goes off, I have power in 12 seconds. It runs on natural gas but you can uses propane. Where I live it is not "if" the power goes off but "when" and this meets all my needs. One thing to consider in getting a generator is the fuel supply. When the power is out for days (we were out 13 days once) can you get more fuel if needed. A lot of people had gas generators and could not get fuel to use their generators.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I have a 21K whole house Generac tied to my 1000 gallon propane tank. The only thing that we can't run is the dryer and the oven at the same time--no big deal. If the power is off for 30 seconds, it kicks on automatically and auto shuts off when the power comes back on. I never have to fuel it, and I'm never without power for more than 30 seconds. It was an excellent investment, I think.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

tcthome Loc: NJ

A auto transfer disconect switch. If your main power goes out, for say about 30 seconds, the gen comes on & when the transfer switch sees it, transfers. Usually has a mechanical interlock disconect so only one (power supply) can supply power to the house at any one time. The commercial gen might already have an auto timer device in the start circuit to test run the gen at any given-programmed schedule set by ???

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

When I got my Generator-on-wheels, I got a transfer panel with it. All the wires from the original breaker box go to the transfer box. If I want to use the generator, I have to disconnect the main breaker box from the grid. I won't be feeding 120v back into the local wires.

There's a YouTube video showing how to connect your generator by use of a clothes dryer outlet. I'm surprised that YT allowed that.

BebuLamar

I don't think youtube bans unsafe videos though. It's very unsafe but if it's an emergency and there is no other way I would do it though. Just connect a male plug to the generator, turn off the main breaker and plug the plug into the dryer outlet. But it's very unsafe.