Generator Help

[jamrice]

Been thinking of upgrading my current generator and could use some practical advice.

My current one is a 3500/3000 watt, 120v/220v, brand is Steele (Chinese), and paid $500.
I purchased it a day after hurricane Ike, and believe me I was darn lucky to get anything even though I paid double!
But with that said, it has performed perfectly and I’ve had zero issues with it other than the nagging concern it is slightly too small.
At the time I got it, I ran: tv, refrigerator and fans for several weeks till power was restored. All work flawlessly.

But now I have a bigger house and more responsibility.
I’d love to get a bigger one, but with larger size comes more: weight and fuel usage and since I’m the one doing all the work I need it to be: compact, light, fuel efficient, decent quality and cheap…….. is that too much to ask for (ha ha).

But seriously, can anyone give some advice if they have gone through this same thought process.
I’d love to say I have a 10k watt generator for the whole house but that just isn’t practical, especially in an already full garage. I’ve got to find what find me. Thinking about something around 5500k watt and connecting it to the circuit breaker to get power to the home without running power cords.
Any thoughts……….. pro or con?
Thanks.

[jm423]

By "connecting to the circuit breaker" I hope you mean pulling the main breaker loose from the line bus and tying into the load side connections. Believe me, line crews take a very dim view of a gen set back-feeding to the system they're working on. I don't think you will gain enough by going to 5-5.5 KW unit to power much other than lights, refrig. and freezers--i.e. essential services. I am fortunate enough to have a welding machine with (I think) 10-12 KW gen capacity, with a commensurate appetite. But I also have a 1.5 HP water well pump and (? HP) sewage system in addition to the other essentials. We were fortunate during Harvey--water system had de-pressurized, I was about to go hook up to the well and the power came back on. Thank you, Lord!

[sleepersilverado]

Get you a larger unit and have a bi-fuel kit put on it. Then install a generator receptacle and a natural gas quick connect next to the generator receptacle. Roll the unit out, plug it in, and attach the natural gas line.

[jm423]

Above^ or LPG if you're not on nat. gas. Such a good idea might consider putting a LPG kit on my welding machine for stationary use. Why didn't I think of that?