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Back-up power
As other mentioned, 5K - 6K will supply enough power for emergency backup and then some. I have a Honda 6500 myself.
However, in selecting a generator it might be a good idea to calculate loads. There would be the continuous load from lighting, running electric motors etc. I say running motors because motors create surges at startup. The generator should be capable of handling a continuous load plus the surges created by electric motors at startup.
A generator that would pop its mains if all motors started simultaneously might be thought of as undersized. Of course, the worst that would happen is that the generator would have to be reset. Granted the chances of all motors starting at the same time isn't huge but the possibility would be an issue if the generator starts automatically and reliable unattended operation is expected. I doubt that the automatic systems are capable of resetting themselves. A sense of a generator's capabilities in operation can be gained by referring to the difference between its peak and continuous power ratings and the duration peak loads can be sustained.
With my Honda, I don't worry about leaving the furnace, water pump and fridge on while running on generator but I do turn off the water heater. Those loads plus some lighting has never popped the mains but I can't be certain if all motors have ever started simultaneously. Some have been running while others were starting though. If we need to run the stove, I turn off one or more circuits they feed motors to make sure they don't come on while the stove is in use. The Honda will support the entire stove on high plus a few lights but it's probably into it's peak rating. It wouldn't be enough generator to cook and serve Thanksgiving dinner but it's plenty for emergency use.
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Back-up power
Regarding transfer switches: I imagine that transfer switches are required most places, but an auxiliary geneator panel worked out better for me.
I replaced an existing 60-amp service and fused panel with a 200-amp service and breaker panel and generator backup.
Since I had to rewire the panel anyway, a 60-amp generator panel that runs as a branch circuit off the 200-amp main panel worked better for me than a standalone transfer switch.
A transfer switch has to be rated for the utility service. Two-hundred amp switches are expensive and excessively heavy-duty for transferring to a 20A - 30A generator. I simply wired the existing house to the 60A panel and used the main panel for new circuits to out-buildings etc. It was cheaper than a transfer switch and probably more convient to operate.
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Back-up power
I may not have been clear. My auxiliary generator panel has it's own built-in transfer switch. The difference between it and one on the service line is that the transfer switch is a modest 60A and 14 branch circuit slots fed by my 22.5 amp generator while a switch alone on the service line has to be rated for 200A.
Codes here require all transfer switches to have three point breakers so the neural and both hot lines are disconnected from the utility line when running on generator. Most service panel use two point main breakers, which is why they don't provide adequate disconnects from the utility lines for generator use. A miswired generator connection in combination with a faulty service ground can backfeed the utility neutral irrespective of whether the panel breakers of on or off.
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Back-up power
I know those camps Murf is talking about but I thought it was the hunters rather than the lights that come in high and low beam.
It may seem excessive, but I'd use at least 10-gauge wire as well for a 12V system. The rating of wiring is determined by the current through it rather than the voltage. Low voltage lighting draws a lot of current for the light it produces. A quick calculation is that 10-gauge line in residential use is rated for 30-amp and 6 55W 12V lights draws around 30A. However, SAE rather than residential standards may be more appropriate. Automotive wiring dissipates heat better since it's less insulated, and residential wiring is additionally de-rated by 25%. Anyway, low voltage systems can rack up the amps and take surprisingly large wiring.
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Back-up power
Well, a 7+ hour power outage in -5F temps yesterday. The backup generator finally dealt with an emergency rather than just being a convenience.
I believe I'll pay closer attention to generator maintenance. I'm not sure that just adding gas additive to old fuel, running the generator every month for 4 years with the occasional actual use for a few hours and doing only basic maintenance quite does it.
The Honda 6500 starter and tinsey battery really didn't like the cold plus 10W-30 oil, and I don't suppose 10W-30 on the air filter helped either. Had to take a 1,700 btu propane burner into the small shed where generator is and warm it up. Pull starting when the 10W-30 is like molasses also is interesting. But it did get going even if it did then take about a half-hour for it to convince the automatic choke to give up.
The 6500 did get the house back up to temp and got us through dinner and evening stuff almost normally but with a lot of juggling of circuit breakers on my part to manage the load. Still, I can't help but think that the engine should start better at -5F.
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Back-up power
I think the oil is part of it and the old gas and not enough exercise is the rest of it. Don't know but I got to reading users manuals and thinking--dangerous mixture for me. I was running 5W-30 in the generator and 0W-30 in the tractor year around. This fall I ended up changing to 10W-30 for the generator and 5W-30 for the tractor.
In the generator's case, I started wondering if the air-cooled engine may never get hot enough to thicken multi-grade oils with fairly light loads on very cold days. Actually the choke never did open up until I gave up and applied a load to get it hotter. I don't know if that could happen but I guess I read the manual again which specs 10W-30 and nothing else and so I start thinking and wondering. Maybe somebody knows.
In the tractor's case, it didn't have any problems starting in temps down to -20F in past winters. It does take awhile for the oil pressure light go off though. I figured that maybe slightly thicker oil would provide better initial lubrication or get the pressure up faster. Who knows maybe my reasoning is backwards.
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Murf: I was thinking along those lines because I went to exercise the generator several days ago and the battery was dead. Well, maybe a four year old box store battery might be shot but I think it probably froze in the -30F weather we had after this thread started. Warm batteries are good. I'd have to dig up my underground feed to do what you did though, but I guess I could use utility AC that's already in the shed to keep it warm and reason that the battery wouldn't get real cold before I noticed that I have to start the generator.
Jerry: You use the regular 220V outlet for equipment designed that current. The equipment likely would be already wired with a plug for the smaller 220V circuit. Using the full-power output would be like sticking a larger fuse in a circuit to keep the fuse from blowing. Somebody running a power saw from the full-power output might burn up the motor if they lugged it because the larger circuit breaker wouldn't pop.
Every combination of current and voltage has its own unique sets of plugs and receptacles designed to prevent people from using equipment and extension cords that are intended for applications either greater or lesser than the circuit's breaker protection. Sure is a pain to end up with a piece of rental equipment and then find that it can't be plugged into anything available.
When my generator travels I have an old 100A panel and a flock of receptacles mounted on a piece of plywood and fed from 100' of flex 100A line. I used to use it in the sound/lightning buz when we had to get more AC to a stage. I rewired the board so I now have a receptacle for virtually every plug I'm likely to encounter. I used to drag the board inside the house and run extension cords everywhere before I installed the transfer panel. I figured that was better than back-feeding a stove or dryer receptacle--a common but taboo practice.
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Back-up power
It'd be good if the cooler tops didn't seal very well. Hydrogen from the battery would go to the top and a water drain at the bottom likely wouldn't dissipate the hydrogen.
When I was a kid, we used to punch a small nail hole in the bottom of tin cans, put a little Draino in a pop bottle with water and hold the open end of the can over the bottle top. Hydrogen would displace the air and fill the can. Then, the can could be set on something (usually Popsickle sticks) and a match held to the nail-hole. A small flame would stay over the hole. As the hydrogen burnt, air comes in from the bottom of the can. The ratio of hydrogen to oxygen decreases as oxygen comes into the can. Sometimes but not always the ratio becomes critical and a small explosion pops the can off the ground.
There may be a chance that an old cooler and battery could be a slightly larger version of my former entertainment. Kids like that sort of stuff but there's no recommendation here to try or teach it.
Codes always should be considered and work inspected. There's a good chance that around here low-voltage wiring could run through under-ground conduit along with AC line but all line should be direct burial type. When conduit is used for branch circuits with DB line it's not actually considered a formal electrical raceway anything can be used. I've used 3" rigid drain and even 4" flex drain in inspected work. However, anything that attaches to and enters a structure is a raceway and would be treated differently under code. Even if it's permitted under code, whether it's a good idea or not is another question.
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11-26-2002, 05:45 
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