BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Go Back   6Post.com | BMW 6-Series Forum > BIMMERPOST Universal Forums > Off-Topic Discussions Board

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      08-05-2020, 11:17 AM   #45
CTinline-six
Hoonigan
CTinline-six's Avatar
United_States
6812
Rep
3,000
Posts

Drives: '09 328i, '98 Wrangler
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Connecticut

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
If you have home heating with Propane or NG, find a generator setup that uses that, it's a no brainer. Much better than having to go out and fill up 44549659865035695685963 cans of gas or diesel fuel during a storm.

My parents have a 500 gallon propane tank under their yard for home heating and I got a conversion kit for their 1980's Coleman 5000 watt generator. It's not as seamless as some of the kits shown in the above post, but it beats having to fill it every so often, or having to run out for fuel. Luckily I didn't lose power and neither did they. I just have a small gas generator for running the fridge and freezer.


I fix small engines as a side gig, and as a reminder make sure you change the oil in these things every 50 hours of run time, 100 hours if it has an oil filter, and make sure the oil is full. Last hurricane I was brought a bunch of generators with seized engines due to being run low on oil.
Appreciate 2
David701567.00
      08-07-2020, 10:01 AM   #46
Haywood
I know a thing or 2 about a thing or 2...
Haywood's Avatar
3099
Rep
3,470
Posts

Drives: E36 M3 Coupe, e39 M5, i3s
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: LI, NY

iTrader: (11)

Garage List
2003 BMW e39 M5  [0.00]
1997 BMW e36 M3  [0.00]
Just got power back yesterday after 3 days. Some of my friends still don't have it and might not have it until Sat. Just ridiculous. PSEG really screwed up this time. Terrible response and IT issues.
__________________
2019 Imperial Blue Metallic i3s BEV
2003 Le Mans Blue e39 M5 Dinan S1
1997 Alpine White e36 M3 (the old gal)
2013 Mineral White e92 M3 (sold )
2014 Carbon Black 650i M-sport (sold)
Appreciate 2
vreihen1614885.00
      08-07-2020, 10:21 AM   #47
upstatedoc
I'll get back to you
upstatedoc's Avatar
7556
Rep
2,132
Posts

Drives: blue streak
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: not downstate

iTrader: (2)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Haywood View Post
Just got power back yesterday after 3 days. .
thats bullshit
__________________
2018 Stinger GT
2009 E90 N51 /Active Autowerke Stage 2 tune/BMW Performance Exhaust/
Countermeasure enthusiast.
Appreciate 0
      08-07-2020, 10:38 AM   #48
vreihen16
Recovering Perfectionist
vreihen16's Avatar
Ukraine
14885
Rep
938
Posts

Drives: 2015 BMW i3 BEV
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Orange County, NY

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
If anyone in the northeast is looking for bargains on a portable generator, every big-box store in the region will have a glut of "open box" generators. Each will already have the oil poured into the crankcase, and gasoline fumes in the tank. Seriously, there are plenty of slimeballs in our society who do this for every storm.

A less shady trick is to go out to the store and credit card a generator just as a potential storm is forming, and then return it un-opened after the storm passes and they don't need it (or can't find a buyer to scalp during the emergency).....
__________________
2015 BMW i3 BEV, Giga World (Lodge interior), Tech/Driving Assist Packages, 30K miles
Appreciate 1
      08-07-2020, 10:42 AM   #49
zx10guy
Brigadier General
5139
Rep
3,235
Posts

Drives: 2013 135i
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: DC

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by vreihen16 View Post
If anyone in the northeast is looking for bargains on a portable generator, every big-box store in the region will have a glut of "open box" generators. Each will already have the oil poured into the crankcase, and gasoline fumes in the tank. Seriously, there are plenty of slimeballs in our society who do this for every storm.

A less shady trick is to go out to the store and credit card a generator just as a potential storm is forming, and then return it un-opened after the storm passes and they don't need it (or can't find a buyer to scalp during the emergency).....
This is the mentality that killed the generous return policy of Costco.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lups View Post
We might not be in an agreement on Trump, but I'll be the first penis chaser here to say I'll rather take it up in the ass than to argue with you on this.
Appreciate 2
vreihen1614885.00
      08-07-2020, 11:52 AM   #50
GenXer
Major
United_States
1351
Rep
1,031
Posts

Drives: Like a bat out of hell.
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: here and there

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
It depends on how easy you want it to be or how often you're facing a blackout.

I'm only a few blocks from the substation and I've never had a power outage in 4 years. However, I do have a 2200 watt Ryobi generator just to run the bare essentials. Heat is not an issue since I also have propane portable heaters, a gas fireplace with battery backup starter. My sump pump will also run for a week on battery power. My sump doesn't fill up that much during summer or winter.

Weigh out all of your necessities before spending a lot of money.

Gasoline generators are convenient but normal gasoline will clog up your carburetor pretty fast if you don't clean it out.

For infrequent use, propane is the next most reliable and second most convenient. Portable tanks are available everywhere.

However if you are plagued with frequent blackout, a permanently mounted natural gas unit like a Generac is your best bet. It does just about everything on its own. But why spend thousands of dollars unless you need to.

For natural gas, your only good option is a Generac
For gasoline, I would highly a Honda EU3000is or EU700is etc. It's super quiet, reliable and durable.

I've never used any propane generator so I can't recommend any.
Appreciate 1
      08-07-2020, 12:59 PM   #51
Haywood
I know a thing or 2 about a thing or 2...
Haywood's Avatar
3099
Rep
3,470
Posts

Drives: E36 M3 Coupe, e39 M5, i3s
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: LI, NY

iTrader: (11)

Garage List
2003 BMW e39 M5  [0.00]
1997 BMW e36 M3  [0.00]
Quote:
Originally Posted by GenXer View Post
It depends on how easy you want it to be or how often you're facing a blackout.

I'm only a few blocks from the substation and I've never had a power outage in 4 years. However, I do have a 2200 watt Ryobi generator just to run the bare essentials. Heat is not an issue since I also have propane portable heaters, a gas fireplace with battery backup starter. My sump pump will also run for a week on battery power. My sump doesn't fill up that much during summer or winter.

Weigh out all of your necessities before spending a lot of money.

Gasoline generators are convenient but normal gasoline will clog up your carburetor pretty fast if you don't clean it out.

For infrequent use, propane is the next most reliable and second most convenient. Portable tanks are available everywhere.

However if you are plagued with frequent blackout, a permanently mounted natural gas unit like a Generac is your best bet. It does just about everything on its own. But why spend thousands of dollars unless you need to.

For natural gas, your only good option is a Generac
For gasoline, I would highly a Honda EU3000is or EU700is etc. It's super quiet, reliable and durable.

I've never used any propane generator so I can't recommend any.
Good points. I learned a lot about generators this week since most of LI was out. Drove past a place that refills propane tanks and the line was about 10-12 people deep. Walking around my neighborhood, I realized how many people had generators. Most were filling up theirs with gas. They are very loud and obviously can't do the AC. Then, my neighbor has a whole house generator he got after Sandy. Not as loud, all lights, appliances, TV, cable, internet, AC working. I put a deposit down on one yesterday. They are more money, but I don't want to deal with the hassle of filling up propane or gas and not have the ability to have AC or heat. I couldn't sleep worth a shit for 3 nights and that's worth it to me right there. Everything here is above ground power and really old trees. It doesn't take more than 30+ mph winds to pull down trees and power lines. Plus, PSEG are useless. I don't want to have to deal with this again.
__________________
2019 Imperial Blue Metallic i3s BEV
2003 Le Mans Blue e39 M5 Dinan S1
1997 Alpine White e36 M3 (the old gal)
2013 Mineral White e92 M3 (sold )
2014 Carbon Black 650i M-sport (sold)
Appreciate 2
vreihen1614885.00
      08-07-2020, 02:19 PM   #52
zx10guy
Brigadier General
5139
Rep
3,235
Posts

Drives: 2013 135i
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: DC

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Haywood View Post
Good points. I learned a lot about generators this week since most of LI was out. Drove past a place that refills propane tanks and the line was about 10-12 people deep. Walking around my neighborhood, I realized how many people had generators. Most were filling up theirs with gas. They are very loud and obviously can't do the AC. Then, my neighbor has a whole house generator he got after Sandy. Not as loud, all lights, appliances, TV, cable, internet, AC working. I put a deposit down on one yesterday. They are more money, but I don't want to deal with the hassle of filling up propane or gas and not have the ability to have AC or heat. I couldn't sleep worth a shit for 3 nights and that's worth it to me right there. Everything here is above ground power and really old trees. It doesn't take more than 30+ mph winds to pull down trees and power lines. Plus, PSEG are useless. I don't want to have to deal with this again.
Doesn't matter if the power lines are above or below ground. My neighborhood is fairly new with all power lines buried underground. There are some large transmission lines nearby but no trees that would cause any issues and the main lines are high up on steel "poles". There's even a power substation across the street from the entrance to my development. With all of that, we still lost power. Actually, we were the first to lose power during Sandy even though at the time we were the newest development. The older development next to mine was up about an hour or so longer than we were.

You're right about the piece of mind a generator brings that depending on the person is worth the price of admission; except when the power company sends more voltage than it should .
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lups View Post
We might not be in an agreement on Trump, but I'll be the first penis chaser here to say I'll rather take it up in the ass than to argue with you on this.
Appreciate 0
      08-07-2020, 03:30 PM   #53
vreihen16
Recovering Perfectionist
vreihen16's Avatar
Ukraine
14885
Rep
938
Posts

Drives: 2015 BMW i3 BEV
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Orange County, NY

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
I think that I found my next home generator!



Third-world technology to back up our third-world power grid. What a shame that the EPA banned the import of these and other large/slow 1-cylinder diesels for emissions reasons.....
__________________
2015 BMW i3 BEV, Giga World (Lodge interior), Tech/Driving Assist Packages, 30K miles
Appreciate 1
      08-11-2020, 06:55 PM   #54
Kolyan2k
Major General
916
Rep
5,538
Posts

Drives: 2006 S2000
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Boston

iTrader: (1)

At home depot
Attached Images
 
Appreciate 3
vreihen1614885.00
RickFLM410879.00
wdb4673.00
      09-04-2020, 06:05 PM   #55
angelr
Lieutenant
188
Rep
515
Posts

Drives: 07 aw/ir m coupe, 2013 S4
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Cedarpines park, Ca

iTrader: (1)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyan2k View Post
At home depot
Lol, I am the vp of sales for a generator company that supplies a lot of the big box stores and I am anxious to see how many returns we see after this season. It's been a record breaker for us and the issue of folks returning the units after a storm is real. With some of my partners I have allowances built into the contract and they often deal with this stuff internally but not with all of them.
Appreciate 1
vreihen1614885.00
      09-04-2020, 06:22 PM   #56
upstatedoc
I'll get back to you
upstatedoc's Avatar
7556
Rep
2,132
Posts

Drives: blue streak
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: not downstate

iTrader: (2)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyan2k View Post
At home depot
Quote:
Originally Posted by angelr View Post
Lol, I am the vp of sales for a generator company that supplies a lot of the big box stores and I am anxious to see how many returns we see after this season. It's been a record breaker for us and the issue of folks returning the units after a storm is real. With some of my partners I have allowances built into the contract and they often deal with this stuff internally but not with all of them.
seriously its like returning toilet paper after the hoard
__________________
2018 Stinger GT
2009 E90 N51 /Active Autowerke Stage 2 tune/BMW Performance Exhaust/
Countermeasure enthusiast.
Appreciate 2
vreihen1614885.00
angelr187.50
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:15 AM.




6post.com
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST