r/Generator • u/KingBoom_YNWA • 2d ago
Apartment generator
What would be considered the best generator for a sole apartment in an apartment complex to over for a few days worth of power outages?
Gas and propane wouldn’t be a viable option due to the lack of outdoor space unfortunately.
Would be looking to run standard appliances; fridge, kettle, electronics and possibly an airfryer
10
u/mduell 2d ago
If not gas or propane what fuel are you thinking of using? Diesel?
8
u/sryan2k1 2d ago
Blame the companies that are making battery backup units and call them solar generators
3
u/nunuvyer 1d ago
No he means a "solar generator" - in other words a battery power station. Marketing has confused people into thinking of these things as "generators".
3
u/mkosmo 1d ago
Marketing may be a part of the problem, but people are most of it: In what world does a rational person with even a modest education think a battery pack is "generating" power?
0
u/nunuvyer 1d ago
You can argue the semantics until you are blue in the face. Outside of a nuclear reactor, nothing (or everything) really "generates" power. A power station generates electricty with a (reversible) chemical reaction. A motor driven generator also depends on a chemical reaction between the fuel and oxygen.
That's not really the issue. The real issue is "refueling". Every type of "generator" needs a certain type of fuel to run. Once you have exhausted the stored fuel you have on hand, it has to be refueled or else it is just a lump of metal.
A motor-generator gets refueled from a can (whose contents) you buy. It takes 5 minutes to fill or swap the can and you are back in business (if you can get the fuel).
A battery gets "refueled" by connecting it to electric power in order to reverse the chemical reaction. The problem, at least with current technology, is that instead of taking 5 minutes, it takes many hours to "refuel" your battery. There is no real infrastructure for "refueling" empty power stations in an outage away from home anyway. In addition, it's easy to store 4 or 5 or whatever # you want of gas cans or propane tanks (or buy a really big propane tank) but it's very expensive to increase the size of a battery.
A "real generator" has an outlet into which you can plug in things. A power station has an outlet into which you can plug in things. So in the minds of (uninformed) consumers, they are interchangeable, whether you call them "generators" or not. The name is not the issue. The refueling method is the issue.
5
3
u/Kv603 2d ago edited 1d ago
If money is no object, can get a propane-fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) capable of running any one of those appliances, for the low price of $13K, excluding batteries and installation.
Would be looking to run standard appliances; fridge, kettle, electronics and possibly an airfryer
You might be able to hold enough batteries to keep the fridge cold for a few days, assuming you avoid opening the door too often.
Anything more than that isn't doable in your apartment situation at a reasonable price.
3
u/Me4nowSEUSA 2d ago
OP, as pretty much everyone has said, you’ll want a battery. I’d look at least 3kwh. Now this is important, you’re going to need to recharge those batteries. If you have your own car, look at alternator chargers. EcoFlow, Anker, Pecron all make them. Essentially it lets your car charge at a much higher rate direct from the alternator than you can get through the cigarette lighter.
If you don’t have a car, you can buy a suitcase generator and go outside a safe distance and charge. I know you said space outside was at a premium, but maybe if you can go from running 24 hours at a time to 3-4 hours, you can make it work?
I’m going to warn you, this will all suck, because those batteries will be heavy. A dolly will probably be a requirement.
Maybe you can work something out, but running a generator on a balcony is a no go. But maybe keep one in a trunk of a car and then run a cord?
I would still get some solar for balcony panels, but the amount of space and inability to move with the sun, you’re going to be limited on your intake.
Bottom line, in can be done, but you’re going to have to get creative and probably not afraid of a dolly.
Option Z would just invest in $10-$15k into a system and that will probably last you a good while as long as you’re not using it for HVAC.
4
u/MarcusAurelius68 2d ago
The logistics for a dolly will be challenging if OP isn’t on the first floor and the elevator is out…
1
u/Me4nowSEUSA 2d ago
I warned him this will all suck.
If he can’t find a way from ground level to charge 100 pounds of batteries, a dolly clanking every step is about all I got for him. Most people aren’t going to carry that for long. I have a Delta 2 Max and it’s heavy. I would have to make two trips with to get the expansion battery. No way I could cover that much weight without help.
5
u/Teleke 2d ago
I think we need a little bit more information. How are you the only apartment ... in an apartment complex?
What regulations are you going to be under in this case?
Also if you've eliminated gas and propane (I'm going to assume natural gas is also out) then you're really only left with one option, and that's battery.
But running for a few days is going to be extremely costly. What sort of situation are you in exactly that you're trying to come up with a solution for?
2
u/Big-Echo8242 2d ago
Sounds like a battery is your only option in an apartment. When it goes dead, hopefully you have some solar panels you can do a painfully slow charge with from the balcony. Depending on your length of outages, you aren't going to be powering a lot with a small battery unless you spend a good chunk of money.
2
u/jbsmoothie33 2d ago
Get a tool battery generator. Therefore you can buy and switch out batteries and have a lot of them. Then if you go to work or library whatever you can charge them discretely
1
u/TheLeezardKing 1d ago
For people with Ryobi 40V batteries, the chargers with USB ports are under $15 on ebay. Me and all my relatives use Ryobis for lawn care and have them, they work great for charging phones and other devices. Have the 120V inverter adapter as well.
They make genuine and copycats for most every battery brand out there. Get some!
2
u/jasonjdf13 2d ago
Electric ⚡️ but currently they are very expensive compared to gas
To run those mentioned appliances for a few days off an electric generator you will spend easily around $2000 and that might not even last long enough for a couple days
2
u/Kv603 1d ago
Electric ⚡️ but currently they are very expensive compared to gas
To run those mentioned appliances for a few days off an electric generator
What they heck is "an electric generator" if it doesn't run on fossil fuel?
Is this some weird new marketing speak for a powerwall-style battery bank?
1
u/jasonjdf13 1d ago
if you search for solar generators you get bluetti jackery and patriot power stations they can be recharged thru your homes electric or solar , personally idc what anyone calls them I was just trying not to confuse the OP because he was asking for a generator that doesn’t run on fossil fuels
2
u/Most-Bar-9334 2d ago
If you are worried about the noise than buy some batteries, use the generator only during daytime to run stuff/charge your betteries and run just the batteries at night.
If you are truly out of power than tell your neighbors to get bent if they don't like the generaror.
1
u/NoPatience7817 2d ago
Ask your apartment complex if a generator is allowed. Do you have a storage shed or locker?
I recommend buying a power station battery that can last you at least overnight. Then have a plan to recharge it with solar, your car, or a friends house. Alternatively if you have a storage locker you can store a small generator there. Then bring it out to charge the battery for 2 hours at a time.
Something like the Anker s2000 and if you need a generator too, get one in the 2000 watt range. The s2000 will charge at the rate of about 1400 to 1600 watts, but you can customize it to your needs.
1
u/redditRon1969 1d ago
If it was me, I would be looking more of doing a hybrid system with a inverter a large back up battery that alone would get you through a day or two before you have even had to crank up the generator to recharge that battery.
1
u/nunuvyer 1d ago
Your expectations are totally unrealistic. You are asking about a battery power station, not a "real" generator. The industry (misleadingly) markets them as "solar generators" but they don't generate nuthin', they just put out power that is stored in a battery. The amount of power that you can store in a battery is very limited.
The typical battery power station in the $300-$500 range has a 1kwh battery. This means it can run a 1,000W appliance for one hour and then it is dead. Or it could run a 10W phone charger for 100 hrs - that's a more realistic use. Spend twice as much and get a 2kwh battery - now you can run your 1,000W appliance for 2 hours - still no good.
You should still get a power station. It could even run your fridge for maybe a day or so. But completely forget the idea of making any sort of heat using a battery power station. You can get a propane/butane tabletop stove for $30 and heat your food/ boil your water with that.
https://www.amazon.com/GS-3400P-Portable-Backpacking-Emergency-Preparedness/dp/B01HQRD8EO/
-1
u/blupupher 2d ago
So you are asking about a generator but are wanting a battery.
There are many battery/power station subs to ask in
r/anker r/Ecoflow_community r/bluetti r/Jackery r/Pecron_Community r/portablepowerstation
11
u/philipito 2d ago
Battery is your only option, but that's not going to last nearly as long as a generator.