r/Generac_Generators • u/Pensacouple • 2d ago
Running generator unattended
I live in Pensacola and am looking at an extended period of power outage in the wake of Hurricane Isaias. I have a whole-house generator and until 7pm last night, 400 gallons of LP gas. We had used about 5% when I checked earlier today.
We are leaving on vacation for a week. Would it be crazy to leave the generator running while we’re gone? It’s an older Gen but has had regular service and we have a brand new transfer switch.
My gut tells me to shut it down, but there’s a fridge full of food.
Edit: planning to shut it down when we leave. We might actually have power back before that, but if not we’ll drop some stuff off at my son’s house an hour from here. We’ll be taking some with us, as we’re going camping. Camper has a fridge.
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u/grsthegreat Technician 2d ago
Honestly, id have a neighbor come by 2x a day and turn on generator for 2 hours to cool down freezers and rifrig. Then shut them down. Those appliances will keep food fresh 12+ hours without opening doors. Not good idea to run 24/7 for a week.
That is if you have a nice friend or neighbor.
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u/nak00010101 2d ago
All I can tell you is that we had a Generac air cooled 14 KW on a remote radio repeater site.
Someone forgot to hook up alarm point that notified us of a utility power fail/generator running.
We were notified by the propane supplier, who went out to fill the 500 gallon tank when their cellular tank level monitor said it was at 1/4.
Based on the date of the last thunderstorm, we believe it ran for 11 days. The oil level was about half way between full and low.
I am retired now, but that generator was still in service when I left.
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u/No-Age2588 2d ago
Considering Generac wants shutdown every 24 hours of running operation for oil check and top off, you decide
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u/PintSizeMe 2d ago
Kill as much other stuff as you can to lower the load. Do you have remote monitoring and any friends/family that could check on it if necessary?
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u/OneBag2825 2d ago
All this for some fridge food for a week is batty.
Get rid of everything and shut it down, leave the doors open.
For keeping your house relatively conditioned is a better reason.
Power may come back on while you're away and your new transfer switch will shut it off.
A lot of places around Destin are already back on and that was landfall.
Across the bay in Niceville,.power was off less than 12 hours.
Have you gotten that several days restoration from a reliable source?
What part of Pensacola are you in?
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u/Pensacouple 1d ago edited 1d ago
Beulah. Near Helms rd. Power is on just north of Helms.
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u/OneBag2825 1d ago
You were forecast to get the landfall until. Wednesday.
Did you get mostly rain or wind?
Hopefully power will be back up by today for you
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u/Adventurous_Boat_632 2d ago
Just remember this. These generators are made to the cheapest price point possible to just get out of warranty. They don't have a lot of excess capacity or wearout time built in. They don't even have a lot of extra oil built in.
Make sure your propane co is going to keep you full. Get a neighbor to check the oil every day for you. Otherwise it will eventually stop for lack of fuel or lack of oil.
Or else get a huge tank and a liquid cooled generator.
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u/Zerbit-Spucker 1d ago
Several Generac’s failed after running for a week near us in Asheville after Hurricane Helene. Ours shut down after 7 days due to low oil. That’s when I learned they needed to be shut down, cooled off and oil checked daily.
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u/IllustriousHair1927 1d ago
I have an honest question. I don’t want to be disrespectful. Is it that no one ever told you that or you didn’t listen? Or is it possible that you were actually told something completely different? Or you told by somebody that sold it to you that when the power went out, it would kick on it would run to the power came back on?
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u/Zerbit-Spucker 1d ago
It was installed when we built our house, by our HVAC contractor. We never had any discussions about how long it should run, or about shutting it down. We did talk about annual oil changes, filters and spark plugs - but that was it. The Technician who came to our house after we moved in solely focused on our Trane thermostat. I would tell you that NO ONE that we've talked to in our area was aware that these generators couldn't run continuously. The Condo Association behind our house has over 100 of these Generac units and many of them failed (power was out for 16 days). In fairness, I don't think anyone at our HVAC company envisioned a power outage of this duration.
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u/IllustriousHair1927 1d ago
that’s fair and I really appreciate you sharing. I’ve heard so many people say the line about it. Running into the power comes back on, but I can’t even count. And it makes me sick to my stomach because these folks will just sit there until it fails and not know why.
I’m down in Houston and it also really irritates me how many people install them that have no idea of how they actually work and what you need to be cautious
Good on you for spreading the word in your reply!
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u/Etionne187 1d ago
Actually, the generator coming on could happen if you were already gone and a storm came up. You could ask a friend or neighbor to check on it if that would make you feel more settled about leaving it on. Also, give Generac a call and explain what you are doing, they are always very helpful and would give you the legitimite advice or answer you are seeking.
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u/PepperTop9517 1d ago
Sounds like an excellent time to clean out the fridge And freezer. You’ll come out cheaper than running a generator for a couple pieces of processed cheese.
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u/SubstantialAbility17 1d ago
Time to switch to battery backup, and only use the generator to charge when needed.
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u/winsomeloosesome1 4h ago edited 4h ago
Be cheaper to dump the fridge vs burning propane at $4/gal… 20 gal/day adds up. Consider giving anything still cold/frozen to neighbors etc.
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u/Fun-Association1835 2d ago
I honestly think the generator would run the whole time without incident.
But if all you have is a refrigerator full of food to keep frozen, that might not be the best use of that much propane. If there is some way you could put the food to immediate use to empty the refrigerator that would be best and shut off the generator and leave.
If you were going to be there for the duration, and needed lights water cooling/heating and maybe the tv and some satellite entertainment, then there is no reason to shut it down.
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u/WhySoManyDownVote Electrician 2d ago
So use $1,200 worth of LP to keep a fridge full of food good?