Looking to buy surplus Gen. info wanted

[Next]

I'm looking at buying some surplus generators for my house, parents, and grandparents.


Would like to run entire house, but fridge, deep freeze, and heater are a must.


Anyone done this?

What models to look at and avoid?

 

[Speddmon]

Use the search function (advanced serach and limiting the results to the aux equipment forum will cut down unwanted results) and read through the threads in the Aux Equipment forum. This topic has been covered to death.

Also, there are too many variables involved in your request to give an accurate answer. with some laod balancing just about any mil surplus set would do your minimum requirements.

 

[Ken_86gt]

Also, If you are not very mechanically or electrically inclined- a surplus generator may not be for you. The majority of the generators we are dealing with here are manually operated. If you need automatic you should look elsewhere.

 

[wreckerman893]

Military generators are designed for providing power without worrying about fuel consumption. The military has plenty of it....we don't.

I bought a 10K mounted on a trailer and was using it to run two drills while I was building a barn.

It sucked the bottom out of the fuel tank and I switched to a 10k civy gas burner that the Boss Lady had.

The big 10K has been holding down the pasture ever since.

If you run a diesel genny with too light a load on it you will have a problem with the engine "wet stacking" which can lead to problems.

A 10K will handle most small households but a lot depends on how long you have to run it. Light duty civy gennys will not last a long time since they basically have a lawn mower engine on them.

If you are looking to run your house(s) in case of a major breakdown of the infastructure you have to consider long term storage of a lot of fuel. Diesel stores pretty well with additives but the new formula gasoline does not store well.

A combination of genny, wind power (small turbine) and solar may be the way to go for the long haul. You will just have to do without some of the power hogs such as clothes dryers, electric heat and central air.

Hope this helps.

 

[rickf]

Another thing to consider is the fact that these gensets are at least 25 years old. Most have some sort of mechanical or electrical issue that has to be dealt with before they can be depended on. They are auction buys, NO warranty! If it don't run, Oh well. Just some things to think about. As far as capacity, depends on the house but a 5K will do most full houses that don't run A/C or electric heat or stove. The 5K will suck down .5 gallon per hour. The 10K 1 gallon per hour. One gallon per hour does not sound like much till you figure a 55 gallon drum for two days! 220.00 worth of fuel at today's prices!

Rick

 

[ETN550]

As mentioned above it boils down to this. To run a house like its on the grid is going to take a big fuel sucking unit. To get by with the essentials a small unit will do.

I'm getting set up for the best of both worlds. A very small unit to handle a base load 24/7 which is fridge, freezers, window A/C, lights, tv, small appliances. I have a backup gas radiant heater so no electric needed for heat. I would run the small unit when I'm gone.

Then I'm planning on getting a big unit 10 or 15 kw. Run it for an hour or two to make hot water and use the electric dryer. After everyone is cleaned up and the wash is dry go back to the small unit.

Big unit 1+ gal per hr. Small unit .25 gal or less per hour. A 2 KW diesel is a real fuel sipper.

If you have a well pump then that load may determine the smallest unit possible. Deep wells can take some juice to run.

Another strategy is to have a large bank of batteries and a big inverter. Lots of short term capacity. Use a military DC generator to start and stop keeping the batteries topped up. A 10KW inverter plus a 3kw DC generator will go a long ways. Just depends how serious one is about the initial cost, the amount of time off the grid, and the expense for fuel, maintenance, etc. It's all a trade off.

Anyway that's my take on it.

 

[Isaac-1]

ETN550, I would tend to say even your laundry example could be managed on a 5KW MEP-002a if you turned off almost everything else that was on at the same time (assuming electric water heater and dryer), and ran them one at a time, a typical water heater draws 4,000 - 4,500 watts, and a modern household electric dryer is much the same as long as you stay away from the high heat setting.

Ike

 

[quickfarms]

First you need to do a power analysis for each house to get an idea of how big a generator that you will need for each house.

Military, and industrial, generators are rated much more conservatively than civilian consumer units. Consumer units are rated at surge capacity.

Second you need to look at each panel to se how you will feed it. Do you need to install a transfer switch or will an interlock work.

Typical residential power is 220 volt, single phase, 60 Htz

Be careful with military generators. There are 400 Htz units that will not work for your purpose. There are also military 3 phase generators, some can be converted to single phase.

Do your research first.

 

[derf]

10kW Diesels are not nearly as thirsty as 10kW gas powered MEPs.

I don't think the air cooled MEPs will wet stack.

MEPs are LOUD! The new quiet tactical gens are much quieter and much more rare.

3kW MEPs are generally man portable, although the 016B/701A variant is 500lbs, I can move/load one by myself with ramps and dolly.

5kW MEP-002A is not man portable although you can install wheels on it and roll it around. This will probably suit your minimum requirement, depending on what you mean by heater.

10kW MEP-003A will run typical home including one central AC unit, in general.

I would not consider using 004 or 005 for residential power unless you have 3 phase power already.