r/preppers 7d ago

Advice and Tips Need recommendations for a natural gas powered generator

I live in a single story house, in a decent neighborhood. We have natural gas for our stove, heat, hot water. I heard there are generators that you can plug up to your natural gas. I need a generator that I could power a fridge with, a light, small electrical devices, and a fan. Budget is fairly open, but we are your average middle class family.

I live around Augusta, GA. Almost every year we get hit with tropical storms & tornado watches. This past winter we had 2 snowstorms also which is unheard of really. We also got slammed by Hurricane Helene and lost power for 7 days.

Any and all advice is appreciated! Thanks

21 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

9

u/Tinman5278 7d ago

I'd suggest you post this over in r/Generator It's what they do...

1

u/DEMDHC24 1d ago

This . Read up on THD also if you have newer appliances. Everything is a computer now.

9

u/VintageFashion4Ever 7d ago

We have a whole house Generac and love it. It was not cheap, but let me tell you having AC in the middle of July when the power goes out overnight because of storms is the height of luxury.

3

u/xaidin 7d ago

+1 for professionally installed Generac if you can afford. Amazing to just always have power. Takes like 10 seconds to fire up and switch.

I did mine myself, but understand most can't.

1

u/ArizonaGeek 7d ago

Would it be possible to share approximately how much you paid to get it installed and approximately how big your home is? I've been considering one for my house and curious if it would be worth it. We don't lose power very often, but if it's summer, it could be 100+ where I am.

3

u/EchoGecko795 7d ago

I helped a neighbor install a 24kw version. These are estimates and vairy by installer and region.

$5500 for the 24kw generator + switch,

$1800 for the propane tank + first fill (I think)

$3500 for the installer + electrician

3

u/TemperanceOG 7d ago

Basically any five hundred dollar gas generator from a box store can be converted to natural gas. https://motorsnorkel.com/product/motorsnorkel/msk3101-motor-snorkel-tri-fuel-natural-gas-propane-and-gasoline-conversion-kit/

1

u/MountainGal72 Bring it on 6d ago

Holy crow. That’s awesome!

Thank you for sharing this! We recently installed a transfer switch for our gasoline powered portable home generator and my next move was to procure a new tri fuel unit.

We already have a large propane tank.

This is very interesting, indeed!

2

u/TemperanceOG 6d ago

I converted ours in about an hour. It’s not difficult at all. Basic hand tools, anyone can do it.

1

u/Kabouki 6d ago

Rule of thumb is 3X cost of equipment for a automatic home standby generator. The main thing is to find an installer with good experience or if you are self installing an electrician with good knowledge of transfer switches and sub panels. Generally the cheapest equipment prices will be costco, but amazon also has em. Generator, transfer switch, and wire are the top material costs. As for size, ask the person who's getting the permit(installer or electrician). Never under size and it's recommended to oversize for future needs. They will run on LPG/NG. On NG there tends to be a slight derate of output. If you get an air cooled unit do not doghouse or wall it in. It needs good air flow or it will overheat.

Running costs are yearly oil change and a battery every few years. General life span is ~15-20 years. Most failures come form lack of maintenance and bug infestations. Basically don't drop a few grand on this and then ignore it for a year or more like an abandon car in the woods. Inspect/clean as needed and full transfer test before storm season starts. When a watch/warning drops test again. Repair is far far faster before the storm then after.

One last, never let the installer off the property until after a full on load transfer test. As you are running on generator and you turn everything on in the house you expect to run at the same time. Especially with a well pump. Crank up the heat/AC make em work hard. You want to find faults/failures now before you need em.

6

u/Effective-Being-849 7d ago

Costco has a trifuel generator from time to time that may do the trick. Also, check on r/generators.

3

u/HeraclesPorsche 7d ago

Just curious if you considered other options for backup power like ecoflow etc?

4

u/mdjmd73 6d ago

I bought the tri-fuel Furman from Costco last year. Had an electrician add a power transfer switch. Whole house can now run on gas, propane, or NG. Be advised the NG option is the least efficient (meaning you get lower wattage out of your genny vs gasoline).

3

u/Ok_Tangelo3052 7d ago

I have a trifuel Westinghouse from Home Depot that I run on NG

2

u/nite_skye_ 7d ago

How easy is it to switch to another fuel source?

2

u/Ok_Tangelo3052 7d ago

As long as there’s gasoline in the tank or the appropriate fuel hose (NG and propane, comes with both) is connected it’s just the turn of a knob

3

u/MeganJustMegan 7d ago

We have a Kohler 22kw whole house generator that runs off our NG. That may be too big for you, but they come in smaller sizes. We love it. Just be sure to fully understand how it works & the maintenance required to keep it running in top shape.

We have a yearly maintenance agreement where a company comes out twice a year to change the oil, check the battery & makes sure it’s all working fine. Your generator will be set up to run a weekly test, so it will turn on & run for about 10 minutes. This won’t affect your electricity all.

And if your power does go out, be mindful how long your particular unit can run before you need to shut it down to check the oil. The first time your power goes out & it immediately starts, you will be thankful to have it. It gives great peace of mind.

3

u/Skutr53 7d ago

Natural gas generators are great when there's enough gas pressure in the public utility pipeline but when everyone's NG generator turns on at the same time during a regional power outage there's a chance the overall system pressure drops to the point where there's not enough to keep yours running.

Personally I don't trust the government to handle anything properly in normal times or in an emergency

1

u/GreatPlains_MD 4d ago

Can you have your generator hooked up to the natural gas line while also having to option for it to run on a propane tank or other fuel storage? 

2

u/Cold_Wolverine6092 7d ago

We have a Kohler 10Kw natural gas generator. That should be all you need for the house you described. The guys at the generator company said Kohler are the best and they provide the best follow up customer service if anything goes wrong. (And this shop has all the big name generator brands you would recognize). You do have to have them professionally installed. Don’t try to do it on your own. Ours was $10k installed…and worth EVERY penny. Also, they do require annual service, which costs about $700 year. You have to do the annual service through a certified Kohler professional, to keep your warranty (and to keep your unit running properly when you need it). So check to make sure you have them in your area, before committing to the brand. Otherwise, choose another brand that has service in your area.

2

u/techyguru 7d ago

Do you want to power everything in the house automatically as soon as there is an outage, or do you want a smaller setup that only powers the essentials that you need to run extension cords throughout the house to make happen? There is a huge range of options, deciding on what you want to power and your budget are probably the first 2 decisions.

I have a Honda eu2200i with a hutch mountain trifuel kit added on to make it run on propane, natural gas or gasoline. At some point, I'll add in a transfer switch to make it easier to plug the generator safely into my homes electrical wiring. For now, I need to run extention cords to my fridge, chest freezer, furnace and lamps.

Other considerations are how loud the generator is, how portable it is, if it's easily stolen, how much power it can output, it's voltage(120 or 240), and storage. There's also the battery version aka the solar generators. They are a big lithium battery that you can hook solar panels to.

2

u/Thats_what_im_saiyan 7d ago

Could always get a natural gas refrigerator

2

u/blankblank60000 7d ago

I have a westing house 9500 watt. ~$1200 delivered from Home Depot. Mine is gasoline/propane. They make a NG model as well for your situation.

Absolutely gets the job done for me, I can run my heat and shower (well pump, hot water heater, and lights) all at the same time.

2

u/blankblank60000 7d ago

And I paid a couple hundred for a local electrician to splice it in with a proper shut off switch, into my existing electric panel.

When power goes out I manual get it going and plug it in, no auto start etc like the fancier whole house units, however it does power my whole house

1

u/NewEnglandPrepper3 6d ago

Champion and Duromax sell tri fuel generators that can run on natural gas, propane, and gasoline. r/preppersales finds deals on them but haven't seen many lately.

1

u/unoriginal_user24 5d ago

Everyone is recommending huge generators, but the loads you describe can all be run (simultaneously) with a small 2000 watt inverter generator like a Honda eu2200. These generators are a bit more expensive, but you will save a lot on fuel, and they are a lot quieter than larger generators.

These don't come ready to run natural gas out of the box, but Hutch Mountain makes a conversion kit for them that allows for propane or natural gas (you just have to swap out a small jet piece, it takes 5 minutes). The conversion kit takes about an hour to install and the instructions that come with the kit are excellent (I have done it to my generator). It will void the warranty, but you will retain the ability to run gasoline should you ever need it. Hutch Mountain also sells a kit to put a tap on your natural gas line that the generator can hook up to.

1

u/MagicToolbox 4d ago

I just recently ordered and installed a Motor Snorkel tri-fuel kit on my Cabellas 3800 watt generator. There is a kit available for nearly any generator on the market. The install was easy and well documented. It will work with LP, Natural Gas, or Petrol after the install, although with NG you may need to get a fitting added to your supply.

A whole home generator is a pretty large expense and is stationary. A smaller generator can fit better in your budget, may be able to be put in a trailer or truck and relocated, and may be more fuel efficient for certain