Charlie:
James over in Richmond is thinking about getting a propane home generator.
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Tom:
Okay.
Charlie:
He wants to know what he needs to know for getting something for a 4,200 square foot house with three AC units and all that.
Tom:
That’s a big one.
Charlie:
Yeah.
Tom:
Two ways to approach it. One is like most people do, remember, it’s only an emergency backup. You don’t have to run all three units. If you can get by a couple of days, a week with just running one unit or even two units, get a smaller one. It’ll be much more affordable and you still be able to have a good quality of life. If you just determined on running that house as if you had electricity to it, then you’re going to have a master electrician and they’re going to have to do some sizing on that one.
Charlie:
You’re going to need a master electrician no matter what.
Tom:
That’s true.
Charlie:
If you’re getting a generator.
Tom:
But this case, it’s going to be even more. It’s just going to be a bigger one and we’re probably talking $30,000 plus dollars.
Charlie:
Yep. Probably in that neighborhood.
Tom:
If you’re going to run 4,200 square feet.
Charlie:
Yeah, buddy.
Tom:
Do you have one that big? How big is yours?
Charlie:
Mine, I’ve got a big one.
Tom:
I got an 18 in KW.
Charlie:
Mine is 48.
Tom:
Do you, really?
Charlie:
Yeah. It’s a long story.
Tom:
I’m glad I’m not a rich man.
Charlie:
No. It’s a long story but no.
Tom:
How big is this? A size of a yellow school bus?
Charlie:
Is it in fact, actually, I bet you mine is quieter than yours.
Tom:
That could be. Mine is just a two cylinder air cooled.
Charlie:
Mine is a four cylinder.
Tom:
Oh, jeez.
Charlie:
Liquid gold. That thing starts up and it’s like it purrs and it’s like a car. But Tom makes a good point, James. You don’t necessarily need that unless you want to run everything, but here’s something else, Tom, about it. James kind of blew by it in the question. He’s getting a propane generator.
Tom:
That’s all right.
Charlie:
No, actually what it means is he can actually get a little less generator because propane generators generate a little bit more power, so when you’re doing your load calc on that house make sure they know that it’s going to be a propane generator.
Tom:
They better know. You’re going to have to have your switches, your automatic switches and stuff too, so there’s a lot to go on, but yeah. Propane runs at a higher pressure. It’s liquid and it will give you a little more juice.
Charlie:
Here the other thing about that too. This is not something you can buy on aisle 9. This is a very complex, you’re putting combustible fuel and electricity next to your house, so you want to make sure that whoever’s putting this in knows what they’re doing. Shop carefully. Make sure it’s a master who’s been in business a while. Don’t be buying somebody off the side of the freeway just because they have a fancy story.