topic Re: Power Station in Home

Power Station

kismet — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 00:50:23 GMT

It's that time of the year here where it's very likely there will be a power outage. I have a large Honda generator that takes gas but it's a lot of work and would rather not use it. I did borrow one last year for 2 days which took gas. It worked well for a light and making hot water for coffee. I used a Buddy heater for heat inside. I have been looking at the power stations but my power will stay off for a few days to a week so I doubt a power station would work. It does seem easier but I can't even use a solar panel because of rain and dark weather. I would like to get a power station that can be charged from my car. It's an expense and want to make the right decision but can't decide. My main concern is my referigerator and freezer in the garage. If it's cold enough outside the garage would be cold enough. I'm not strong enough to pull the chord on the one I borrowed. Loved it and easy to use and quiet. I wanted to get a generator that would hook to the house but I have electric and not gas. Any suggestions.

Re: Power Station

Desertdi — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 05:41:41 GMT

You can purchase portable PROPANE tanks for fuel...but those would probably be too heavy for you to handle, also.

Re: Power Station

wagirl — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 14:12:50 GMT

I bought an Ecoflow Delta 2 power station last year. There was a thread about this subject here a few days ago. It lives in my diningroom and is very easy to figure out and run. They are pricy tho--I paid $650 for mine, down from almost $1300, that was during a black Friday sale on Amz. it will run for several days too depending on what you need powered. I need it for my refer as I lost nearly all the food during a wind storm last Nov just before Thanksgiving, about $300 loss. It is clean, no fumes and is quiet. Can be charged from a vehical too. I check mine each month and right now, its at 99%. Did a wall charge this past January. they come in different sizes too. I am in an apt and have no car but do have solar panels.

Re: Power Station

RedTop — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 16:30:28 GMT

@kismet

Your post is telling me you really need a convenient and reliable generator, so I urge you to look into a house model that will come on automatically with no effort from you.

I have an all electric house and have had one for 12 years; it runs on propane. I'm in WV and 3 days is the longest my generator has run thus far. I top my propane tank off every 2 years, but usage wise have never once reached half a tank.

My setup cost about $17,000, due to the large size generator we needed to power this size house. In an outage, we need to be able to heat and cool the house, power 3 refrigerators and a freezer, be able to cook, run an oxygen concentrator for my husband, and watch TV.

My generator was purchased thru the local business we bought our heat pumps from. They had a payment program, so do not let money keep you from choosing the option most convenient for you.

Re: Power Station

SilleeMee — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 20:00:41 GMT

I have a gasoline inverter generator and I start it with the push of a button. No pull cord and it has wheels to move it around. Google what the difference between an inverter vs generator to understand the two.

ETA-

It also has a remote control to start it. Weighs 119 pounds. It's actually easy to move.

Re: Power Station

kismet — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 17:54:45 GMT

@RedTop I wanted to have a generator hooked up to the house but the company that put in my heat pump said I would need the propane or natural gas. I'm on a private road and I don't want a propane tank outside the house. I doubt that the natural gas would ever be run on the private road. My neighbor use to have a tank but now she uses an outdoor large generator that uses gas. It's not the cost that stops me from getting a generator hooked to the house. It would be well worth the cost. Too many years with power going off. I do have a fireplace I can use but it doesn't heat as well as the buddy heater. My kitchen and family room are all one and when I used the buddy heater with a large propane tank my area was 68 so it works well.

Re: Power Station

kismet — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 17:50:32 GMT

@SilleeMee Your power station is more like I'm looking for. I would get one like I borrowed last year but tried pulling the cord but just couldn't get it on. How long can you keep your refer running with the one shown. I do have a large propane tank and I have a double heater that attaches to it but being alone really don't want to use it. I feel better with something outside. Think we live in the same area so you know that the sun doesn't shine a lot during the winter. I'll check this out.

Re: Power Station

SilleeMee — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 19:13:10 GMT

@kismet wrote:
@SilleeMee Your power station is more like I'm looking for. I would get one like I borrowed last year but tried pulling the cord but just couldn't get it on. How long can you keep your refer running with the one shown. I do have a large propane tank and I have a double heater that attaches to it but being alone really don't want to use it. I feel better with something outside. Think we live in the same area so you know that the sun doesn't shine a lot during the winter. I'll check this out.

@kismet

The length of time my generator will run depends on what is connected to it. It's an inverter which means the gasoline it uses varies according to the drawn on the power. The engine doesn't run full speed all of the time but only when there's the need to put out more power. It doesn't need to be refueled as often as a regular generator plus it's a heck of lot quieter, too. Says it will run up to 18 hours on 3.4 gallons of gasoline.

That Westinghouse generator also comes in a dual-fuel model where you have the option to use propane as well as gasoline alternately.

Re: Power Station

tiny 2 — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 21:10:55 GMT

@SilleeMee

I use to use a small inverter that I hooked to my car battery to run the freezer during power outages. I just kept my eye on the temp of the freezer interior and would hook it up for awhile to keep it freezing. I also used it for running the coffee pot LOL. It was a neat little device.

Now I would be interested in something like this because I can't have the car running in the drive even for short periods of time unsupervised. Now we are not supposed to even warm the car up on a cold morning unsupervised.

Could you give me a little more information about what it will run, what maintenance is needed and how frequently it should be done. I do have an alternate heat source.

Re: Power Station

SilleeMee — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 21:45:34 GMT

@tiny 2 wrote:
@SilleeMee

I use to use a small inverter that I hooked to my car battery to run the freezer during power outages. I just kept my eye on the temp of the freezer interior and would hook it up for awhile to keep it freezing. I also used it for running the coffee pot LOL. It was a neat little device.

Now I would be interested in something like this because I can't have the car running in the drive even for short periods of time unsupervised. Now we are not supposed to even warm the car up on a cold morning unsupervised.

Could you give me a little more information about what it will run, what maintenance is needed and how frequently it should be done. I do have an alternate heat source.

@tiny 2

I only used it for three days in a row to power up two large space heaters, some small electronics and a microwave oven. Says it will run two power-hungry devices, whatever that means. I haven't needed to do maintenance on it b/c it's still so new. But there is a digital display that monitors maintenance when needed. Maintenance would be the same as what a regular gasoline generator would need but less of it.

In case the push button starter fails to start the generator, there is a pull-cord on the thing so you can start it that way, too.

It's also parallel capable so if you need more power then you can connect two inverters together to boost the power output.

Re: Power Station

Zhills — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 21:35:00 GMT

@Desertdi wrote:
You can purchase portable PROPANE tanks for fuel...but those would probably be too heavy for you to handle, also.

They have a 5 lb tank now!

Re: Power Station

SilleeMee — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 20:24:42 GMT

One year I ran out of propane for my outdoor gas grill so I went to the nearest store, Ace Hardware, to purchase a can but they had none. So I scooted on down the road to the next store, a Walgreens, and they were out, too. I made my way over to Home Depot, to Lowes and to a gas supply house...all were out of propane! Turned out that the delivery truck was in an accident so no one got their propane for days.

That's why I bought a gasoline generator.

Re: Power Station

RedTop — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 00:22:16 GMT

@kismet

I'm not sure why having a propane tank in your yard prevents you from the convenience of a whole house generator if money is not a problem. If the power goes out, you don't have to lift a finger, the automatic transfer switch kicks in within 40 seconds and you go on as normal.

Re: Power Station

kismet — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 18:14:57 GMT

Not sure but was told by two people it's not a good idea. I live on a private road and the heavy propane truck is something neighbors mentioned coming up the hill. We have to pay to have the road maintained. My neighbor use to get it delivered and now uses a gas generator outside. Right now my son-in-law is helping find something. I have the propane and buddy heater hooked up ready to go and it's pretty easy. My husband use to take care of all of this but I'm by myself now.

Re: Power Station

SilleeMee — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 20:49:08 GMT

The issue I have with purchasing a whole-house generator, like a Generac, is that since my house is old it needs an entire new breaker box and upgraded wiring which costs an arm and a leg. The cost of a Generac by itself I can handle but then add to that the cost of the electrical upgrade...forget about it. Not worth it. I won't live long enough to reap the benefits.

Re: Power Station

RedTop — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 22:57:46 GMT

@SilleeMee

You could have a separate breaker box installed for the generator. Our garage was added many years after we built the house so it is on a different breaker box, and our generator is wired into it.

Re: Power Station

We rescue cats — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 23:18:34 GMT

@SilleeMee - We are in much the same situation, we're 1000 feet off the main road, on a private lane. We too have issues with weather, last year was the first time in several years that we lost power for more than a few hours, prior to that we were out for nearly a week. We have talked about a whole house generator but then did not lose poower for more than an hour for many years. I was trying to convince my DH to get one when this happened last winter, luckily we have the motorhome, it has its own generator and when we park it for the winter we fill both fuel tanks so we have plenty of fuel. In your situation I think I would buy one of the power stations that QVC or HSN offer, they often do them on an attractive payment plan, and ours got us thru 3 or 4 days with no issues at all when we needed it-and we did not pay close attention to how often we used it. BUT we do keep it charged.

Re: Power Station

SilleeMee — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 23:24:44 GMT

@We rescue cats

I own a nice gasoline inverter generator. Push-button start on wheels and has a remote control. Easy to move. Has all the power I need plus it has parallel capability so I can add another one to it if I need more power. 24-hour gas station is just down the street.

Re: Power Station

Imaoldhippie — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 11:54:38 GMT

@SilleeMee ...........Where did you purchase your inverter?

Re: Power Station

SilleeMee — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 12:31:13 GMT

@Imaoldhippie wrote:
@SilleeMee ...........Where did you purchase your inverter?

@Imaoldhippie

From Amazon. This model (they make four different models):

Westinghouse 5000 Peak Watt Super Quiet Portable Inverter Generator, Remote Electric Start with Auto Choke, Wheel & Handle Kit, RV Ready, Gas Powered, Parallel Capable