Anybody have one and what brand/size?

How hard are they to install?

Small house 1600 sq. ft. Just want to be ready for outages.

Thanks
Mike

Are you talking about an automatic start one or just a big portable manual one?

you need to figure what load you want to carry, whole house or just necessities? a 6500 watt will carry just what you need and you may need a 10,000 watt for the whole house.
consult an electrician that comes and looks at your load panel (breaker box) to get a good idea. too little and you can cause a fire, hooked up wrong and you will cause a fire. permanent will have to be installed by a licensed electrician as will a junction for a smaller one.

FYI - In Texas if the house is Homesteaded then the owner can do any and all work on his house, and he can pull permits for electrical, Gas, etc............

Thanks. It will be a whole home type. I have a 6500 to use for my business and could use that in a pinch. I was wanting one that if the power is out and looks like it might be out for a period of time, I could fire up the generator.

My dad is an eletrician and could help me hook it up, I just had questions about the size.

Thanks
Mike

have your dad look at your panel and let him tell you what you need, ac/appliances etc can make the needed wattage change.

Hop,
Would it be determined by the amps on the breakers?

yep you need to know what amp service you have as well as how many appliances/ac units/stuff running in the house to determine size.
look for the propane models similar to this one for whole house when you figure out what you need.



http://www.google.com/products/catalog?r...ed=0CIkBEPMCMAM

Lowes has a nice transfer switch that a friend and I installed on my home. If the electricity goes out I just start the gen and flip a swith. If you are in are near Arlington you are welcome to see the setup. I put my gen on the patio and built a cage around it so my homeowners ins wil cover it. The transfer switch was very easy to install and it will run everything in my home. The switch has 6 different breakers that regulate the amps. It runs about $280.00. I have a coleman 7500 gen with electric start.

Oh I forgot since I put mine in I have helped 4 neighbors do their homes.

hop, Thanks, never thought about propane.


bear,
I might stop by sometime. I do much better when I see how something is set up. Is your generator covered or out in the weather? Mine would be beside my A/C unit that is partially covered. I might be able to extend the roof line to cover the area it will set in.

Mine is in a cage with a top and air registers on the sides to keep rain off.

I would love to know more about your set up too. What was the total cost to set it up?

Generator cost plus $400.

Here's one that I installed for my folks place, works like it should. 25kw on a auto switch and natural gas fed.