Quote:
Originally Posted by LikeLakes
I agree on needing some basic idea of what is going on, what kind of loads certain items are. I've also advised people to get a bigger generator than they first are thinking. The fuel burn of an 8,000 watt at 40-50% load is not much different from a 5,000 at 70-80% load. I realize the initial purchase cost is higher but gives you a ton of flexibility to have more capacity available. I think people tend to think about overnight outages, I'll unplug the fridge off and on like someone suggested. But in the rare occurrence of a multi day outage it's awful nice to have nearly everything available, be able to run a hot water heater or a burner on the stove, without worry.
I've always run a microwave during outages, with no problem.
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All my large heating appliances are gas (hot water, cooking stove, furnace). So a 4000 watt generator for me is plenty. Fridge is probably the biggest thing. If I had electric hot water, yeah I’d want double that size. For an overnight power outage I typically don’t even bother with the generator. Note: I didn’t charge my car that day, which is a massive spike and dwarfs everything.
When I’m on generator I’m surprised how little I can comfortably get by with.
Here is a typical days usage. Both working from home. Never broke ~1600 watts. Do I really need a 8000 watt generator.
