Whole house back up generator

[Mac Daddy]

I've installed some of these whole house generators for friends, in my former life I was in the electrical business for 14 years. So a few things you need to know, if you take Generac's information regarding a 22kw generator on propane it will burn about 2.1 gallons of propane an hour at half load. But there are things you have to consider about propane tanks, for instance, if you have a 250 gallon tank, first they will only fill it to 80% full, then you can on use it down to 20%. So if you take 250 gallons less 40% that leaves you with 150 gallons usable fuel. Divide that by 2.1 gallons an hour and it will give you 71.42 hours of run time, divide that by 24 hours and it will last 2.97 days. And like someone else said in a hurricane or a massive ice storm like the one that hit the Mississippi River Valley from Memphis to New Orleans on both sides of the river for miles east and west in 1994 were some people were out of power for a month or so, getting someone to deliver diesel or propane probably isn't going to happen anytime soon. Natural gas is best if at all possible.

[Barnacle Bill]

No natural gas in my area of the swamp.

[Cray]

I’m fortunate that I have NG. In your case you might want to consider one just big enough to carry essential like lights, heat and things you need to survive. And in a sever storm situation be prepared to throttle back on usage. Still think it would beat the socks off a portable and having to scramble for gas. My installer explained same thing Mac just explained to me while he was hooking everything up.

[skunked again]

Barnacle bill - do you have propane for your house now? If so, call your supplier, see if they'll upsize the tank. If a customer asked, and could prove the need, we would swap them out for free.
In a former job, I delivered propane. The bigger the tank, the less money we charged per gallon.
The reason for not filling tanks all the way - to leave room for expansion.
Your local electric supplier might have stipulations on standby generators also.

[Barnacle Bill]

No propane. I use a portable gen right now. Its rated at 7K run and 8750 surge. I can have it set up and running the whole house except the heat pump in about 10 min. Problems are I'm getting old and my neighbor had a big standby gen installed so now my wife is really wanting one. I don't like what ya'll have told me about propane. I keep thinking that a 250 gal tank isn't going to hack it but then most times it would. Its been a long time but I keep remembering the time we lost power for about 2 weeks. That would have been a lot of propane. Maybe a bigger portable installed in an enclosure outside would be better? Oh well, just thinking. I've got a guy coming Thursday to give me some options and prices. I really appreciate all the input ya'll have given me so far.

[huntinslabs]

When you see what total bill would be for generator, install,the fuel cell, gas piping, concrete pad, crane or offroad forklift rental, permits etc your wife will like your set up most likely.

[huntinslabs]

Make sure you get it priced as complete package including all permits, tanks, plumbing, transfer switch, electrical connections and wiring, enclosure for elements, and pad that extends a minimum of 1' on all sides beyond edges of generator. Also get one that self cycles once a month and includes battery charger for starter battery. Don't let them leave out anything on the bid. Hold contractor you are buying from responsible for complete job including all subcontractors, trades and permitting.