Having just got through 24 hours of intermittent power cuts, which were a heck of a nuisance despite UPS’s, inverters, torches and suchlike, we think we really ought to get a generator.
There are quite a few in the various DIY/agricultural places but I wondered if any of you resourceful people had one, could recommend one and could say how you use it? Also perhaps say how big a one you think is optimum given that we are not exactly young any more…
Hi @AngelaR I bought one about a year ago after similar power cuts. It’s a 2.2 kw 9ne with a 10 or 15 litre fuel tank. It’s sat in the garage unused (apart from the occasional start to make sure it still works) ever since. It cost about €200, probably from Amazon.
I’m sure it’s the equivalent of an uninterruptible power supply. Once you buy one then you never have another power cut.
I’ve got 3 or 4 small UPSes which keeps low power stuff (eg livebox, tv decoders) working when we have “micro” power cuts. I guess the generator will be put to use at some stage, bit of an insurance thing 
We always had them especially when there were chantiers without any power connected. The most important thing is that you must place it where the fumes from the petrol/diesel can escape so not inside your home. They do need to be maintained and not just left sitting for most of the year unused, so the regular start up and general upkeep is important. Beware of buying cheap, it won’t last nor be of much output especially if you want to run a few things i.e freezer/fridge/heating appliances etc. Suggest you visit a proper building supplies like Rexel, Point P etc. Our last one was a SDMO made locally in Brest and I sold it for near enough what it cost new when I moved as they were very popular in the building trade.
We bought a multifuel (bottled gas or petrol) one for the house we’re doing up in Ireland, because the electricity supply keeps going off there as well, and in the event of a storm, can be off for a good while, but haven’t had to use it yet whilst we’ve been there (typical). It is quite heavy, about 70kg, so lugging it around is no fun, but fortunately comes with a pair of wheels and handles.
It depends on what you want it to do. For me, just to keep the fridge and freezer working, Internet and a few lights. Maybe power the water heater but probably only that.
Where we used to live (Creuse profonde) we had frequent outages and a 2.2 kw genny was generally sufficient ( I left the old one for the new owners).
And make sure it is an electric one, not dirty diesel, you don’t want @Mik_Bennett after you. 
Sorry, couldn’t resist. 
I have a generic Chinese bricoshed 2.5kVA one I picked up from an acquaintance who moved back to the UK.
Used it 3 times so far in the last 18 months to keep the fridges, gas CH, internet, TV and a couple of lights on for 6-7 hours at a time.
Mine isn’t quiet, but it sits under a balcony a level below the main living area and on the opposite side of the house from the only neighbours when in use, so it’s not an issue.
You’ll want to add fuel stabiliser to the 5% ethanol sans plomb you feed it to avoid the various issues ethanol can cause in small engines.
Buy several 5 or 10 litre fuel bidons depending how physically strong you are. Don’t do what I did and get a couple of 20 litre ones, unless you’re like me and as strong as you are stupid.
You’ll want at least 2 long mains extension reels and a number of smaller 2-3 way ones depending how you house is laid out.
Don’t forget that cordless telephones need power even if they connect to an old school landline!
I have no experience of generators but would like to put in a word for LiPo battery powerbanks e.g. from Ecoflow, Jackery or Bluetti.
They won’t power your fridge etc (or at least not for very long!) but they are really handy things to have a round, for when you need some mobile mains power.
I have an Ecoflow Delta 2 which has 1024Wh (so it would perhaps power a fridge in a pinch) which I use when I want mains power at trade shows without paying the exorbitant rate for having an electrical supply from the show organisers.
Then I have an Ecoflow River 3 which is a smaller 245Wh unit which I use to power my telescope mount and other gadgets (on the odd occasion when the sky is not cloudy!!)
Both of them (of course) connect to an app via Bluetooth so you can keep an eye on them remotely.
They keep a charge for months (do get a LiPo one though) and you can even charge them off solar panels if you want!
For the benefit of improving my knowledge for a ‘just in case’ situation, how does the connection from a generator to the mains system work in practice?
Thanks!
This point must be fully understood. In the event of a power cut DO NOT BE TEMPTED to fire up a generator and link it to your domestic mains circuit. The reason is that anyone working to repair the fault “upstream” is at risk of electrocution!
For someone subject to frequent and/or extended power cuts I would go for the highest output I could afford. That may mean one that has wheels, not a carrying handle. The larger ones will be too expensive to run on petrol so a diesel one is a better option. Electric start is a must unless you are young and very fit. If you want to run any critical electronic devices like computers, modems, TVs, etc. then you should have an inverter generator. This produces a pure sine wave output that will not damage or destroy any sensitive equipment. Check the manufacturers I.D. plate on each item you will want to run off the generator at the same time and add up all the rated wattage to determine the capacity you need. Bear in mind anythng motorised will pull a little more current upon startup.
To set up a system that is safe and well specified I would engage a qualified electrician to wire a permanent installation that keeps the generator outdoors in a safe place and the connection point which is a special interface with the house system. It will be a special changeover switch that isolates the house from the mains network at the same time as connecting the generator to the internal house wiring. The two sources will never run at the same time. Play safe.
It doesn’t, you would need to run extensions to the things you want to power. The power company will get very grumpy indeed if you send power back into the grid.
I guess, if you really, really wanted to, you could install a changeover so that you could power the whole house but they’re not cheap.
I’d like to say a big “Thank you” to everyone who has posted so far. This is all incredibly useful information and you’ve raised quite a number of points we need to think carefully about, big appreciation to @Mark @Shiba @JohnH @RicePudding @David_Spardo @NotALot @ChrisM @GraemeL & @Backagain (Hope I’ve remembered everyone!)
We already have a couple of “power stations” that we use in the caravan, mainly for the tiny fridge, but we bring them into the house when needed here. They are great but I wouldn’t want to try running a large fridge/freezer off them and certainly not anything more serious.
For his little garçonnière, my partner has installed a changeover switch but I’m not sure it’s appropriate for our main house - I was thinking of running on extension leads to start with at any rate.
Interesting that two of you have found less than 3KVA to be adequate for very occasional use. I was here over Christmas/New Year when the massive storm took out a signifcant portion of the supply network across Normandy. The power was off for a very long time at that point and we had just enough petrol in the car to get back to the UK, so we did. I’m not really expecting to cover that sort of situation but minimal cover for a day or two would be reassuring.
It does sound liek the cheaper options are noisier and heavier but that may not matter enormously if it’s very occasional use. However, if things get difficult here, either because of increased storms or alien invasion or similarwe may need to do something better than that! We’ll certainly look at builders’ merchants, which we haven’t so far so thank you for that suggestion @Shiba
Any more comments gratefully received.
Ditto - except I never did the “run it occasionally” thing as I haven’t got around to filling it with oil (the engine will have a light film from manufacturer, so it should be OK).
I’d sell it but you’d guarantee I would need it the day after.
Agree - you MUST NOT hook it into the house wiring for this very reason without, at the same time, isolating the house from the mains.
There is also the little problem that when the mains returns it, and the generator output, will not be synchronised which is likely to result in electrical mayhem and the distinct possibility that neither the generator or your house wiring will survive.
One thing I would suggest though is get an inverter model. Otherwise the engine needs to run at a fixed 3000RPM to get 50Hz output, which is why they are often loud.
No.
Don’t do that.
Bad things will happen.
Valid points. The ideal for your age, is one that is wired into the house that will automatically kick in when no grid power is detected, and kick out when grid power is resumed, but the generator and switch you will need is one up to the ones described above. They are a permanent fixture in the gargage or other outbuiding, are encased in a sound proofed casing and are really quiet.
Look up Kohler SDMO 5.5kva - approx 6000€. Thoroughly recommend!
The longest I’ve run my Chinese generator was about 10 hours and used around a litre of fuel an hour by my guestimation.
Just powering a fridge freezer, a chest freezer, the gas CH boiler/pump, TV, broadband box, cordless phone and a few lights.
I suspect that my 2.5kVA model wouldn’t actually supply that amount of power for long, if at all and running a separate feed to my water heater in the loft would be an uber PITA, so bathing would have been a standing bath in the shower tray using water heated on the gas hob or wood burner during a multi day outage.
Anker does batteries as well.that you can basically use as a UPS. “Balcony batteries” seems to be how these are often described and sold.
TBH the choice and communication about these types of solar batteries (also chargeable from heures creuses electricity) seems better in Germany.
Generators of the old sort used to be quite a target for stealing especially off building sites.
Have you checked to see what compensation could be available from your electriciry supplier for outages? If there is and people don’t claim it, then there is less incentive for the electricity supplier to durably fix problems or provide a more weather-resilient etc. system.
Nobody ever got fired for specifying Honda. Compact, quiet, efficient - top dollar.
There’s good deals to be had a.t.mo with Eco-Worthy LiPO batteries. Vente du Black Friday & Cyber Monday - ECO-WORTHY – eco-worthy-fr. €30 less than the Amazon price for the 100AHr model. Very well reviewed by users.