Community Forums

rjreiffer · 07-24-2019, 06:32 AM

Well, this past weekend we had some straightline winds and microbursts come through West Michigan. It knocked out power to 100,000 plus! We were expected to not have now for 3 days. Now I didn’t want to lose what was in our freezer and our fridge, so I headed out in the motorhome, filled it up, came back and ran two extension cords (heavy duty) to our freezer and our fridge. Started up the motorhome generator (just a 4000 Onan) and let it run.

Every spec I have been able to find indicates that the 4000 uses a max of 0.8 gallons per hour under full load with an average of 0.5 gallons per hour. (Some of that info was direct from my local Onan dealer)

Needless to say after 24 hours our power came back on and my freezer and fridge were saved!

Didn’t even notice the gas gauge drop!

yeloduster · 07-24-2019, 06:51 AM

During a nearby forest fire that took down my power I had the same idea. I disconnected the utility power to the house at the power pole.

I then connected the 2 power phases together and using 10 gauge wire connected my Motorhome ONAN 4K generator the house. This way I had power to everything in the house. The well water pump and the clothes dryer didn't work because they are both 220V 2 phase. This arrangement effectively connected the 2 hot poles together and had same voltage applied to each.

The generator never even grunted under this load. We avoided using the microwave and were careful to not use more lights at one time than necessary.

As the disclaimers on TV declare. "This modification was done by a professional. DO NOT try this at home!"

TonyMac · 07-24-2019, 07:05 AM

I keep two 100' power cords for just such a case. It can run my fridge and freezer in the summer, or the gas furnace in the winter.

Charming · 07-24-2019, 08:24 AM

I am so dense, I've not thought of using the generator. Fortunately? The only time we've lost power for more than a few hours was during an ice storm. We kept everything closed and no major problem except we were pretty darned cold. Since it was ice it was not safe to go get the motor home.

jacwjames · 07-24-2019, 08:38 AM

I just got done building a new house. I did the wiring myself. I set the basement up so that I could easily add a manual transfer switch to power that panel form a generator. Haven't done it yet but may be forced to with the changing weather patterns. We had a storm come through about 1 month ago, in the area it blew down massive 100 year old trees, took down power poles etc. We had over 20 trees down on our 5 acre lot. Power went out for 14 hours. If it would have lasted much longer I would have stretched an extension cord from the motorhome. I keep it parked with a full tank of fuel, so ~1 week of running the generator if needed.

Mudfrog · 07-24-2019, 08:50 AM

We've used our genset a couple of times during power outages. One was when Rita knocked out power that didn't get restored for almost a month. Gasoline was hard to come by but we made it by using what we had sparingly. Was able to keep the house frig cool and run the washing machine in the house when needed. We don't sleep well in high temperatures so using it to run the rooftop A/C was a lifesaver for sure.

For short durations of outage, I run a heavy duty cord through a window. For longer periods, such as when Rita came through, I pull the meter and hardwire to the main breaker box. Not something you want to do normally but for long times like this, works fine to run 120 volt devices inside the home with zero chance of harming a utility worker working on the line.

Note: This time of year (hurricane season), We don't keep the frig and freezer stocked full. Have lots of dry and canned goods. I make sure to keep everything we own full of gas so I can siphon if needed.