In your opinion would the 3500 watt generator be enough to run minimal appliances during a blackout? I am doing more research and our budget will allow us to buy a 3500 watt one but before we do I would like some opinions.
3500 watt generator
- Thread starter monica123
- Start date
Monica,
I suggest you look at the items you have at home that you are needing to use and add up their power consumption. Almost all appliances are "nameplated" that is the voltage and ampere rating is listed on the unit. Some are listed in watts but you can easily determine this with a simple formula P/IxE which is Power in watts/ current in amperes times the voltage. So a 120v appliances that draws 5 amps uses 600 watts. You will need to stage the use of some items to prevent overloading but this beats going without. If you have a gas stove and gas or oil burning furnace you should be able to get by without much of a problem. If you are on a private well and it uses a 230v pump you need to make sure your new generator can produce 230v power as well.
A small generator will not run an electric water heater, electric furnace or electric clothes dryer.
I suggest you look at the items you have at home that you are needing to use and add up their power consumption. Almost all appliances are "nameplated" that is the voltage and ampere rating is listed on the unit. Some are listed in watts but you can easily determine this with a simple formula P/IxE which is Power in watts/ current in amperes times the voltage. So a 120v appliances that draws 5 amps uses 600 watts. You will need to stage the use of some items to prevent overloading but this beats going without. If you have a gas stove and gas or oil burning furnace you should be able to get by without much of a problem. If you are on a private well and it uses a 230v pump you need to make sure your new generator can produce 230v power as well.
A small generator will not run an electric water heater, electric furnace or electric clothes dryer.
JDgreen
Lawn Addict
- Joined
- May 14, 2010
- Threads
- 248
- Messages
- 2,887
Items that use a 230 volt motor like a well pump draw several times their rated wattage upon startup, which may tax some generators that do not have adequate SURGE watt capacity. By electric furnace, do you refer to a fuel fired type (gas or oil)? The motors in those are not beyond the capacity of a 3500 watt generator...
Want to pass along a tip, for those who have a gas grill, keep an extra tank or two of LP fuel around, if your power goes off for an extended period you can heat a LOT of types of food as well as get reasonably hot water by using the grill to heat things...but keep some old, scuffed up pots and pans to use...the flames will ruin the exteriors of good ones in no time....
rekees
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2010
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 191
In my opinion, 3500 isn't enough. Get a 5000 - 10000. More expensive, I know, but you will get a unit that is better quality with the capacity to make your life comfortable during a lengthy blackout.
Untitled Document
JDgreen
Lawn Addict
- Joined
- May 14, 2010
- Threads
- 248
- Messages
- 2,887
That is what I advised in another forum...a 5000 watt running, 6250 watt surge model is the sweet spot in a generator. A small model STRAINING to produce enough power will consume as much fuel as a large model running comfortably, and it will have a shorter service life to boot.
Items that use a 230 volt motor like a well pump draw several times their rated wattage upon startup, which may tax some generators that do not have adequate SURGE watt capacity. By electric furnace, do you refer to a fuel fired type (gas or oil)? The motors in those are not beyond the capacity of a 3500 watt generator...
Want to pass along a tip, for those who have a gas grill, keep an extra tank or two of LP fuel around, if your power goes off for an extended period you can heat a LOT of types of food as well as get reasonably hot water by using the grill to heat things...but keep some old, scuffed up pots and pans to use...the flames will ruin the exteriors of good ones in no time....
JD,
I thought I was clear in this post, in the first paragraph I stated that " if you have a gas stove and gas or oil burning furnace you should be able to get by."
About the well pump, I would doubt in her locale if the pump is a deep well design (over 250 ft lift) I think she should be okay. She should be able to start a 1/2 or 3/4 hp pump.
While I have four generators to choose from none of which are low end models I can easily understand that a 3500w generator is far better than having nothing. I quite often get by while using my truck camper with a 2000w Honda, runs my microwave, coffee pot, sat tv and recharges the batteries quite easily. It is all relative as to how big a generator to buy.
JDgreen
Lawn Addict
- Joined
- May 14, 2010
- Threads
- 248
- Messages
- 2,887
Sorry, I was in reference to your closing paragraph "A small generator will not run an electric water heater, ELECTRIC FURNACE, (emphasis added) or electric clothes dryer" I stand corrected.
We do not have an electric furnace and we wouldn't really need it to power the electric stove, we can survive with the camping stove and the bbq. I think if we could run the pump enough to flush the toilet once in a while, great, otherwise we have extra water and we bucket it. My biggest concern would be the fridge and freezer maybe an hour or so a day and a light and a television.
A modern day TV will draw LESS than 100 watts. And they have very good voltage regulators built into them..
You can run almost anything you have listed plus the TV and most likely several lamps, energy efficient types... Freezer and refrigerators will draw around 1k Watt to start... then drop way off to run.
Your water pump will be the largest draw at start up... :smile:KennyV
You can run almost anything you have listed plus the TV and most likely several lamps, energy efficient types... Freezer and refrigerators will draw around 1k Watt to start... then drop way off to run.
Your water pump will be the largest draw at start up... :smile:KennyV
Monica,
You sound like a real trooper, from what you are inferring you need to find out what you need to run the well pump as this sounds like your largest power need. I should mention if you have a good pressure tank to go with the pump you should be able to flush the toilet several times before needing to start the pump. That along with a few buckets of water will make things alot easier. Once the buckets are filled and the tank is filled you can turn the pump off and run the fridge, freezer and tv with no problems.
Another thing to remember is if it is cold enough outside you can put some of these cold stuffs in your car if necessary.
You sound like a real trooper, from what you are inferring you need to find out what you need to run the well pump as this sounds like your largest power need. I should mention if you have a good pressure tank to go with the pump you should be able to flush the toilet several times before needing to start the pump. That along with a few buckets of water will make things alot easier. Once the buckets are filled and the tank is filled you can turn the pump off and run the fridge, freezer and tv with no problems.
Another thing to remember is if it is cold enough outside you can put some of these cold stuffs in your car if necessary.