Trailblazer vs Bobcat - seconding as backup generator for home anyone?

[jfk92]

Hi,

Curious - anyone here use their trailblazer or bobcat as a home generator when there is a loss of power? or just to power 'other' tools on their worksite/workshop? Either one of these advantageous over the other for 'that' means - that is to serve as a home generator in power outages to power a fridge or two, internet, furnace etc.?

john

[Bob Miller]

Here in CA the power is out a lot in my area.
My Tb 302 does just fine for everything in the houses (2).
It does not have the capacity to run the houses and the water well.
I'll have to look into cut back on some breakers and see if it will run the well.
Good Luck,
Bob

[admweld]

Just brought my tb300d home getting ready for sandys arrival here in mass tommorrow.Will run my fridge and some lights so my food wont spoil.

[Portable Welder]

They both will work good to keep you going, Which ever one your looking at choose the one with more watts.

Admweld, I just had my friends wife over for a birthday party and her husband which is a friend of mine is a pipeliner and was working in Massachussets so they stayed out there for the summer and she was telling us how they tax you on everything, cars, campers etc.

Good luck.

[BD1]

My 302 will run the well, refrigerator, freezer, gas furnace , and lights. No issues.
You just don't want everything starting at the same time.
Remember, it may burn about gallon a hour at full load.

[Meltedmetal]

Fuel consumption as BD1 mentioned is a concern. For a short power outage it really doesn't matter much but for an extended outage fuel costs can really add up. In 1998 we were 21 days without power in mid-winter. One of my neighbors was running a 70 cow dairy herd, power part time for three houses and his heifer barn. He used a 40 kw generator on a 100 hp tractor running over 20 hours a day burning 100+ gallons of diesel per day. Makes the utility prices look like peanuts. I used a 1.8 kw generator alternately powering my oil furnace, 2 refrigerators and 2 freezers, and a small water pump burning less than a gallon per day. I didn't have much else to do but move extension cords and draw water and feed for my 30 head of beef. Our regular business had to close without power for 3 weeks. Point-imho-size the equipment to the job and be realistic about what your needs are as opposed to your wants. Most any of the welder/generator units will provide what you need. How much your are prepared to pay for what you want is up to you.
And taxes, hah, we pay about 15.5 percent on almost everything goods and services(labor).
Everything from a bag of chips to a new house bought from a builder but oh we love our government.
Meltedmetal

[Sberry]

It does not have the capacity to run the houses and the water well.
I'll have to look into cut back on some breakers and see if it will run the well.
Good Luck,

How big is the well? A common residentiawell shouldntnt even be a hiccup to a TB. It should run everything in 2 houses not including air cond or electric water heat and a well 2 hp or less without breaking a sweat.

I run my place (one of them) shop side and a house with 8K which is marginal and only reason it is because of 3 hp well, when I power up I isolate the well and charge it up on its own first so any fridges freezers etc are not coming on all at same time initially. I turn off any water heaters, air comps, electric heaters. Its doable but stilpain innthe tha azz and limiting.

Yup, cost adds up too, had 2 16 hp units running on gas, seems it was about 8 or 10 bucks an hour and was glad I bought gas when I did. As we type have sent a guy to start up some equipment and top the fuel off in the event of high wind. We had a little outage the other night and we are on such a small branch circuitdon'ty dont seem to know if its down, I am like a shot on the phonlike likre to get on the List if its less than isolated.

The poco did a good job, . The well was way down, a couple hrs decided to make some power real simple like, charge the well and serve one house which has gas, cooks were at work so at supper and dark I hook on, in about hr or 2 it came back on, a speed bump.

[kvwall]

Are you guys just running extension cords? Or do you have some patch panel that plugs into your main power breaker?

[Meltedmetal]

Are you guys just running extension cords? Or do you have some patch panel that plugs into your main power breaker?

I bought a 4 kw unit for power outages (cheap to run) I have 3 wells but none of them has the water more than 20 ft. from the surface so none of my pumps are more than 3/4 hp. I would like to have a separate single hookup just to make things convenient but my power supply has gotten more reliable in the last 10 years or so. Because of the small power I use I just use extension cords and move them from appliance to appliance. Newer refrigerators don't draw a lot of power and I run more than 1 at a time. I heat with wood and oil so its only a circulator and the burner. Again not much power. I installed a hand pump on one of the wells so in a pinch I can hand pump water from inside the house but a single connection would still be nice. If you go for the patch panel though be sure that when you are connected to it that it can not in any way back feed into the grid. It might kill someone. In my jurisdiction that means that it is not possible to connect it that way. There is another thread on here somewhere dealing with this that has links to some good reasonably price equipment designed just for this purpose.
Meltedmetal

[Broccoli1]

Are you guys just running extension cords? Or do you have some patch panel that plugs into your main power breaker?

As mentioned you can use extension cords but a Transfer switch is much better.

http://www.gen-tran.com