Danman1 - most things you power with a generator have 2 power requirements. 1 is running load, the other is starting load. I run a fridge, an air-conditioner, some lights, and a few fans. Occasionally we run a TV or radio and a computer for news and information pertinent after a major disaster (hurricane). Depending on what you choose to run, in practice you will realize it is likely not possible to draw 100% power all the time. The air-conditioner draws 1,500 watts running, but draws 2,400 when the compressor cycles ON. The fridge draws 850 running and 2,475 when starting. So here I am running the AC and the load is 1,500 watts I have a few lights on using 200 watts, and the TV is on drawing 150 watts. I have on 4 fans circulating the air in the rooms I am cooling keeping the temperature even using an additional 400 total watts. This is 2,250watts and easily handled by the generator. Suddenly the fridge turns on. This draws an additonal 2,475 watts during starting. I am now drawing 4,725 watts and that is below the 5,000 rated and 6,250 surge rating so I am good. I could turn on a few more lights, maybe turn on the radio too. But the point is the maximum I can really run has to be the start-up surges + what is running and this must not exceed the nameplate max surge. Since there is a very real possibility of the AC and the Fridge cycling together occasionally I need to make sure I am subtracting the total surge that would produce from the surge rating of the generator. That leaves me with 1,375 watts to power "non surge loads" such as lights and the radio etc. So If I max out the non surge loads and the AC and Fridge are running at their running loads I am using 3,725 watts. I also have the overhead surge for when and if the AC and the fridge cycle together. If you run exclusively non-surge loads (like all incandescant light bulbs) then I could run (50) 100-watt lights, or 50 miles of electric fencing. But it is impossible to run my generator at FULL LOAD continually given what I choose to run. The only exception to that is when we turn off the fridge and the AC, and run the water heater 4,500 watts along with the bath and shower lights, and the humidity fan. It draws a total of 4,750 watts but the water heater only heats for 20-30 minutes then it cycles off when the water reaches temp again. (Yes it is very noticable listening to the generator when the 4,500 watt load ceases and I am only drawing 250 now for a fan and a few lights.) If I had the water heater on drawing 4,500 watts, and I left the fridge breaker on, that would be 5,350 watts and not good for the generator, but what would be worse is the fridge being off, but the breaker on, and the hot water heater drawing 4,500 watts... suddenly the fridge tries to start. I say tries, because that would need 6,975 watts The max surge rating is 6,250. I do not want to try this and find out, but I think there may be a bright flash from the generator, and then everything plugged in would shut off. Everyones needs differ. I use my genset for emergency power during likely a widespread long term power outage. Fuel use is a factor so I do not load my generator up to the max running load less the surge requirements because it DOES require more fuel to operate at 3,500 running watts than it does at 2,475 running watts. How can we know this is true? Well, simply it requires more energy input to get more energy output. As to my using say a 5hp generator instead of a 10hp unit.. the 5hp unit may handle all the running loads, but it does not handle the surge requirement of the fridge and AC cycling, so it was ruled out. Hey, I would love a 5hp generator that could handle the surge loads AND run for 24 hours on 5-gallons. Nobody offers one though. If you find one, please post it here. Until then I am stuck with the larger engine running at part power normally, with the balance there for the starting loads that happen on and off.

gotta love threads like these, and gotta love the people that need to convince themselves that their $3,000 honda generator was made by GOD himself and since they bought one, - everyone else should buy one too. especially had to laugh when someone suggested buying a generac over a another brand with a real honda engine. let me remind everyone that pride of ownership is a huge factor here, and if you ever take a trip to a honda dealer, you will find a long line of equipment in the back room waiting for repairs. so just because you bought one of the most expensive generators around, doesnt mean they dont break. so seriousy - get over yourself. i know this is an old thread but the issue will go on forever. my personal feeling if i were to buy another generator, is to buy the same deal the OP described. many suppliers offer generators with real honda engines for about $200 more than a similar sized unit with a honda clone. AND - even the honda clones these days are extremely reliable if broken in and maintained properly. what many people dont know, is the clone engines are designed using expired honda patents, and have come a long way in recent years. the karting world even has a separate racing class for them, and a 6.5 hp engine can be modified to push almost 20hp and rev up to 9000 rpm. that being said, a clone motor will have NO PROBLEM running a generator at 3600 for the occasional black out and power loss so long as you use common sense to maintain it. i dont care if JESUS HIMSELF built your honda generator, if you leave the same gas in it for 4 years - your carb will need to be cleaned. now - i am not saying that honda and honda clones are of equal quality and reliability, but something has to be said for a $650 ETQ generator with a pure sign wave, that makes more power (7250 cont) and will keep my lights on just as well as a $3,000 Honda with 5000 cont watts.. furthermore, after your 2 year warranty expires on your $3,000 honda, you can enjoy the $100 an hour labor rate, and $1200 repair bill god forbid you ever need to bring it to a dealer for repair - THAT YOU WILL DO since you spent so much money for the "best" me on the other hand - if my $650 generator gets used 3 times in years, i will feel i got my moneys worth out if it, and it it dies - i will toss it the garbage or sell it for parts, and buy another brand new generator with another 2 yr warranty for less than you paid for the labor alone on your repair bill.. - unless your a contractor using the thing on remote jobsites for 30 weeks out of the year, you have no need for a $3,000 portable generator anyway, because this is who these things are made for. for $2400 you can buy a 12kw whole house standy unit at costco made by generac, thats completely automatic, runs off natural gas, and is big enough to run 2 central air units along with most of your home. lastly - I hate to break the news to all the honda guys, but honda is not the "top of the line" when it comes to reliable generators. i work for a major utility company, and you will not find ONE honda generator on ANY utility truck.

I was wondering if you had some unusual HVAC, oh, like an outdoor wood furnace and I don't know what for cooling - Nubian slaves with ostrich-feather fans, who just happened not to be there at the time? Our tax assessor has us down for electric heat (partially correct, since the heat pump includes radiant heat for those times when the geothermal can't keep up) and no AC. Guess it has to be that way since they're not allowed to tax us on a geothermal system. But I know it looks strange on the tax card. If we ever sell, it might be hard to convince buyers what type of system we have. Though by then I hope geo will be much more common. We have hard water, so the little bit that spits out of the top of the canner (doesn't have a tight-fitting lid) vaporizes around the bottom of the pot and leaves a ring that I just can't get off. I also have some black burnt-on stuff right on the white ring that marks the smaller front burner, nothing seems to get that off (it's probably grape jelly).

Interesting thread. Lots of people got generators after the 1998 Ice Storm, but without being maintained, most were useless after a couple of years. I don't know about the bigger ones being discussed in this thread. Many city homes (ours included) have a gas fireplace, so that would handle the heat issue of being without electric power. And we have several power boxes that can be used off-grid that are handle for short power failures (to plug in some lights). I wouldn't bother with a generator, myself. During the big power failure in August (2004?), we just did without power for a day, but a few people in our urban neighbourhood had generators - it just made the rest of us irritated, because they ran their AC and had all their lights on, and made a racket. Not impressed.