I ordered the Champion 9000w / 7250w inverter trifuel generator yesterday. Now I have to install a quick connect on my natural gas line. I am confident that I can install it myself properly and safely. However, any gas work requires a permit (and inspection?) from City of Houston. There is a homesteader exemption so a homeowner can work on their own house without a Master Plumber's license. Though pulling permits seems like a lot of paperwork and possible delays waiting for an inspector. These smart gas meters can also detect when it has been exposed to air. So I am concerned that the meter will shut itself off and would require Centerpoint to come turn it back on. Has anyone done anything similar to this before? Maybe I will call a professional instead.
I just paid the stupid tax because I have a tri-fuel and never hooked it up to my NG line and had to go in search of gas. Please let us know how the connection goes. I also need set up a connection to my breaker box for AC, furnace in the attic and kitchen.
Will do. I have an appointment with Plumbco tomorrow afternoon. The trifuel generator was also suppose to be delivered tomorrow, but it has been delayed due to the storm.
My Bluetti battery generator is working like a champ. Cheaper than Generac, much quieter (it's silent), and easy for the wife to operate from the sofa.
Friendly reminder for those with standby generators that have been chugging on for 48 hours: many call for an oil check every 24-48 hours of continuous usage. There should be very specific instructions for your model if its required.
Well **** lol. I didn't know that about generators. I don't have one but man I don't know if I want one now lol.
You hit two switches and one button...check the oil like a car engine...then press one button and two switches. It takes all of 2-3 minutes. In exchange for that I've had full air-conditioning, refrigerators, and lights the whole time.
Natural gas quick disconnect was installed today by Plumbco here in Houston. The cost is $455 but you have to supply your own quick connect connector for them to install (~$20 from amazon). 1/2" should be enough for my generator power output and hose length. Two people showed up and the entire process took about 30 minutes, actual work was about 15 minutes. I don't think they actually called it in or got permits. Maybe certified plumbers don't need it? or they just skimped. Either way, I am glad it's done quickly. The trifuel generator that's enough to power my house AC is supposedly on the truck to be delivered today.
Alright, that sounds very manageable. I'm going to wait a bit before calling someone to come install a quick connect for the house and gas line, then I'm going to buy a portable that I can use during times like these. I've thought about doing the whole home generators, but man, the cost on those things just doesn't make a whole lot of sense from a cost benefit analysis. I'm not planning to sell my home any time soon either, so makes it even less attractive to me regarding resale value.
The fact that you'll be there long-term is a better reason to get one! You'll be able to benefit from it for 10+ years or however long you're going to be there. But you are definitely right that you shouldn't rush to get one. Many installation companies are shady and are ripping people off. If you're in no rush, next time you're in Costco, grab one of their pamphlets on a standby generator. They work with Generator Supercenter and gave me BY FAR the best price (net around $11k, after getting $1.2k cash back from Costco). This was cheaper than going through Generator Supercenter directly. The downside was that they had to put me further out on their schedule. I think I waited 3 months or so before they finally got to me. And when they did, they just called me the evening before to let me know they were coming the next day. So, not a lot of heads up. That said, it was worth saving several thousand dollars, IMO. My neighbor told me he got a quote of $26k after the May storms. That's nuts! I got mine put in a few months after the big freeze a couple years ago. Definitely don't regret it, and I'm a very, very cheap person.
I've heard from multiple people this is the best and most cost effective way to get a standby generator these days (via Costco). Its still Generator Superstore doing the work, which most people would end up using anyways.
Went back and saw your original post. Very intrigued by your setup -- you're able to power your whole house including HVAC? What is the output of your fuel generator that you use to charge the batteries? Thanks in advance. Let me know if you prefer DM.
Got my Champion tri-fuel generator running now (inverter 9000w start, 5875w running). It's powering the essentials (lights, wifi, fridge) and the 3 ton AC with MicroAir with ease. It's even running a GE combo heat pump washer/dryer right now because my wife is getting ready to go on a trip tomorrow. It's loud, but not annoyingly so. I feel so fortunate to have ordered the generator a week ago before Beryl hit. My wife was not convinced that we needed a bigger one to run the AC since we already have a 2kw one. I think she eventually agreed because she's tired of me bringing it up. I look like a genius now though!
I've got the smaller Champion 8750W starting / 7000W running inverter. I'm researching the conversion kit to run on propane/natural gas, how to hook up a natural gas quick connect, and get an enclosure to minimize the noise. I bought it 1.5 yrs ago and fortunately have not needed to use it in Austin. The soft start is also on the plan. Altogether, it's like $200 for the conversion kit, $300 for the soft start, $200 for the enclosure, and maybe another $150 in parts/hoses. But it's good to hear it's enough to run essentials.
On Saturday we went looking for a relatively small generator (3500-5000 watts). Went to Harbor Freight in Katy and they were sold out. As we were there, we saw around 2-3 other families. Looked online and supposedly the Harbor Freight at Willowbrook had some, so we went that way. As we parked and walked in some of the same families were doing the same thing. We struck out there as well. Decided to go to Costco around the corner. When I walked in I figured they wouldn't have anything, so didn't grab a cart. When I found the isle, they had 4 of the 4000 watt firman inverters. I went to get a cart and then went back and there were only 2 left. I grabbed one while a couple of people were on the phone asking questions about generators. It worked out fine. We don't have a transfer switch or plug in for the house, but ran extension cords. Powered the fridge, portable AC, fans, wifi router, TV, and a couple of lights. For me, that was "good enough". I don't mind running cords or getting gas/propane. I might look into something in the future if there continues to be more and more storms/power outages. (I'll probably need to end up doing it, right?). I just don't want to make any knee jerk reactions right after a storm. We got this generator because we were without power for 5 days with the derecho storm and we just hate losing food or doing the cooler/ice thing. I know it sucks trying to find gas or propane, but can normally prepare a little before a big storm (derecho was a surprise though). We got power back after around 36 hours this time around, but I know there's plenty of others who didn't.
So, if I get one of these tri-fuel generators ... what are the additional costs to get it all setup for me at the house? I'd probably go the natural gas route and want that. If I get a $1-$2k tri-fuel generator, what are the other costs and who installs / sets it up? I don't want to mess with anything myself if I can help it.
