bought a gas generator for myLiFePO power station
- Thread starter spokewrench
- Start date
spokewrench
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
It's rated at 1800 W (15 A), 3600 W (30 A ) peak.
I think it bears repeating that the preferred "design" now for home backup is a suitable battery (power station) that is then recharged via the ICE generator ... and not using the generator to directly power some or most of your appliances. Yes battery power stations cost quite a bit more than an ICE generator up front but incorporating one does provide some solid benefits and some longer term cost savings. As spokewrench has pointed out multiple times that using the generator only to recharge the battery really conserves fuel (sometimes dramatically). The generator only runs long enough to charge the battery and not continuously to handle the varied loads of our households. Less fuel used, and less load on the generator means lower costs over the long term. Everyone's needs and budgets will be different but even a small battery based power station and a few extension cords added to an ICE generator can help extend how long a gallon of fuel lasts which can become a crucial issue in a prolonged outage.
Another benefit of this type of configuration is that the battery power station now handles the AC creation - and virtually all of them on the market provide sine wave inversion so that you no longer care about the quality of the AC (within reason, there are minimum standards) coming out of the ICE generator. The battery effectively isolates your appliances from the generator. This can be a real benefit as not all of us have a nice gold plated Honda powered inversion generator sitting in the garage.
Many of the battery power stations can also function as an uninterruptible power source which can be a cost savings - so no need for the old style lead acid battery based UPSs for sensitive or critical loads (computers, routers, CPAP machines, etc.), plus the UPS functionality can now be extended to heavier load appliances such as fridge/freezers.
The battery setups also let you add alternative recharging options. The obvious one is recharging from the grid which aside from bringing a battery up to full charge after an outage also allows you to time shift the use of expensive electricity (assuming you are on a variable rate electricity plan). This requires juggling some of the connections to the battery (or setting up a more expensive automated system tied directly into your household wiring) but it does over time help offset some of the cost of the battery system. The other recharging options are from your car/truck or solar so you can add solar panels at your convenience to eventually replace the ICE generator and further reduce long term costs.
Incorporating a battery into a backup power setup injects a lot of flexibility into the configuration and can really change the way you look at protection during power outages.
Finally I (and quite a few others around here on EBR) found it's also really easy and fun to use a simple solar/battery configuration to recharge an ebike's battery and ride almost cost and grid free. No it's not as cost effective as simply recharging from the grid but it does demonstrate how simple a grid free setup can be, and that can put a smile on most faces.
Another benefit of this type of configuration is that the battery power station now handles the AC creation - and virtually all of them on the market provide sine wave inversion so that you no longer care about the quality of the AC (within reason, there are minimum standards) coming out of the ICE generator. The battery effectively isolates your appliances from the generator. This can be a real benefit as not all of us have a nice gold plated Honda powered inversion generator sitting in the garage.
Many of the battery power stations can also function as an uninterruptible power source which can be a cost savings - so no need for the old style lead acid battery based UPSs for sensitive or critical loads (computers, routers, CPAP machines, etc.), plus the UPS functionality can now be extended to heavier load appliances such as fridge/freezers.
The battery setups also let you add alternative recharging options. The obvious one is recharging from the grid which aside from bringing a battery up to full charge after an outage also allows you to time shift the use of expensive electricity (assuming you are on a variable rate electricity plan). This requires juggling some of the connections to the battery (or setting up a more expensive automated system tied directly into your household wiring) but it does over time help offset some of the cost of the battery system. The other recharging options are from your car/truck or solar so you can add solar panels at your convenience to eventually replace the ICE generator and further reduce long term costs.
Incorporating a battery into a backup power setup injects a lot of flexibility into the configuration and can really change the way you look at protection during power outages.
Finally I (and quite a few others around here on EBR) found it's also really easy and fun to use a simple solar/battery configuration to recharge an ebike's battery and ride almost cost and grid free. No it's not as cost effective as simply recharging from the grid but it does demonstrate how simple a grid free setup can be, and that can put a smile on most faces.
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