Best Gas Generator for Home Use

Are you in the market for the best gas generator for home use to act as a backup in case of power outage?  Generators are not appliances that you should purchase on impulse. Going for the wrong generator can be hazardous hence, it is important to get the right specifications.

However, what is the best gas generator for home use? Our top pick gas generator for home use is Westinghouse WGen7500 Portable Generator. This generator has a total of 7500 starting watt and 9500 running watt. Its engine is quite big at 420cc. It is also made of steel frame which makes it durable and long lasting.

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The Test Winner After 28 Hours Of Research:

Comparison Table Of Top 5 best gas generator for home use

What Are The Best Gas Generator For Home Use?

Here are some of the best gas generator for home use we found:

1. Best Natural Gas Generator For Whole House: Westinghouse WGen7500 Portable Generator
2. Best Gas Generator For Refrigerator: DuroStar DS5500EH Dual Fuel Portable Generator
3. Best Gas Generator Brands: Westinghouse IGen4500 Gas Generator
4. Best Gas Generator For Camping: Rainier R4400 Portable Generator
5. Best 5500 Watt Portable Generator: Yamaha EF5500DE Portable Generator

Are you in need of something that will offer you more than what ordinary generators offer? Then Westinghouse WGen7500 Portable Generator is your best choice.  However, you will have to spend a good amount of money to enjoy the power generation, superior performance together with other attributes that comes with this gas generator.

Power Output:

This Westinghouse WGen7500 Portable Generator is a force to reckon with when it comes to generation of power. It comes with a pre-installed 420CC OVH engine which helps offer a great 9500 watts starting output and a running power output of 7500 watts. It never matters what you will be using this generator for, be it lighting your house or powering the water pump, it will be in a position of doing that.

Noise Levels:

You should not forget to put into consideration the levels of noise which stands at 73 dBA that this generator will come with.   Compared to the conventional generators, this Westinghouse WGen7500 Portable Generator does have a recoil start, remote start together with a switch start. It means there will be no need of having to frequently pull on a coil in order to get the machine started.

Be sure to be impressed with the startup options of this generator. It also comes with a sweet wireless remote start and electric start feature. Its warranty period is 3 years.

This DuroStar DS5500EH Dual Fuel Portable Generator is another excellent gas generator available in the market. This generator will is quite easy to start with either its button electric start or using the recoil pull start.

Power Output:

Despite not being that powerful, this gas generator comes with a 7.5 hp engine that is capable of generating up to 5500 watts of power. This power produced is enough to run your house lights, TV and refrigerator in case of a power outage.

This DuroStar DS5500EH Dual Fuel Portable Generator also uses dual fuel technology that enables it to run on either gasoline or propane offering one more freedom and flexibility of fuel choice.  When this generator tank is full of gas, it can run for up to 9 hours at 50% load. However, propane of 20 pound tank is capable of coffering up to 7.6 hours when running at 50% load. It is quite amazing how this DuroStar DS5500EH Dual Fuel Portable Generator has managed to pack the entire 5500 watts peak into a small compact and portable unit.

Design:

This gas generator is made of durable construction which makes it suitable for both commercial and residential set up. Transporting it is quite easy thanks to its compact size and lightweight nature. This DuroStar DS5500EH Dual Fuel Portable Generator is well designed for smooth operations and comes with an electric start which makes it quite easy to start. Its recoil start is of great importance whenever the battery is drained completely.

The Westinghouse iGen4500 Gas Generator is among the most outstanding gas generators currently available in the market. It is well known for delivering stable and clean power that is perfect for home appliances like TVs, phones and even the computers.

Power Output:

This Westinghouse iGen4500 Gas Generator is capable of delivering up to 4500 peak watts and 3700 running watts. This is quite remarkable and enough to run heavy duty machines and to successfully recharge all the electronic devices.

Design:

It comes with an LED display that is responsible for showing all the power output details, the amount of fuel still inside the generator together with other more details. Just as its title, this generator is of an innovative design that enables it to reduce the levels of noise to a mere 52 db making it a perfect generator for use at your backyard or for your pool party.

It has compact dimensions and a 93 pound weight which makes it quite easy to carry from one place to another.

This Rainier R4400 Portable Generator is from a brand that is not that popular in the market. However, despite coming from unpopular brand, it is a high quality generator with great performance at quite affordable price.

Power Output:

This generator comes well equipped with a four gallon gas tank and an engine of 212 cc 4 stroke OHV. This makes it capable of producing a total of 4400 peak power watts and a running power of 3600 watts. Be sure to expect an 18 hours runtime at 25% load when you purchase this gas generator.

Design:

Despite not being that compact in design, it is quite heavy although its manufacturers did all they can to make it a portable generator. It comes with two wheels which will never be flat. For sure, you will appreciate some of the additions that come with this generator like a fuel gauge that makes it possible for you to track the levels of fuel. This generator is also able to shut down by itself when it is low on oil. This will help in preventing any form of ugly surprise.

The levels of sound are kept at 65 dba although this level might still be high for some people.

Related Post: http://www.weldinghubs.com/best-4000-watt-inverter-generator/

Closing our list of the top five best gas generators in the market is the Yamaha EF5500DE Portable Generator which is a very reliable and fuel efficient generator in the market. It comes with comprehensive control panel and safety features that are capable of coming in in case of an emergency power outage. It is also capable of powering up a construction site.

Power Output:

This Yamaha EF5500DE Portable Generator does have somehow low power surge rating. With a 4500 watt running power, it is only in a position of handling an extra surges amounting to 1000 watts. The surges normally take place when electric motor appliances are started up. These electric motors will always be in need of 2-4 times more wattage at startup.

Design:

This gas generator has an appealing design. It is made using sturdy and durable materials that make it long lasting.  It is compact in size and lightweight making it possible to carry around. It comes with a ground fault circuit interpreter which is a safety feature that helps in protecting the outlets. This safety feature is capable of measuring the alternating current between the appliances which have been powered and the generator.

How many watt generator do you need to run a house? (With load calculation)

Size is really important when it comes to generators for running house appliances.  When you undersize a generator, you will not be in a position to power your appliances. When you oversize the generator, you will just be wasting money!

What Type of Equipment will the generator run?

First, you need to come up with a list of equipment which you will be powering and all their total wattage.

It is this total wattage that will tell you what amount of electrical power are needed by the equipment. After knowing this, you can now proceed to working out the minimum amount of electrical input required from the generator.  Wattage information is always available in the silver nameplate of the equipment or the manufacturers guide.

NB. There are electrical appliances that have a different starting wattage and running wattage. This is because they do require more energy to start them up than it does to keep their motor running.

Converting kW to kVA

When you add the maximum amount of wattage for your equipment, you will get the total power required in kilowatts (kW). Kilowatts are the real power that will be needed by the load to give out a working input which will be enough.

Generators are usually rated using kilovolt amperes (kVA).  The KVA refers to the apparent power measure. It will inform you the total power amount you will be using in the system.

There are tools that have power requirements stated in amperes:

Watts and Amperes are completely different units that are used in calculating the total consumed power.

When you know the number of amps your appliance or tools needs to run, you can always calculate the wattage requirement using this formula:

Wattage = Amps* 120

Example 1:

When you are in need of powering a MIG welder with 120V and 70 Amp

70 AMPS * 120V = 8400 W

This simply means that you will require a generator having at a minimum 8,400 running watts to successfully run a MIG welder.

Example 2:

Let’s say you have a refrigerator that uses 7.1 amps and is operating at 115 Volt AC power

The total consumption of power in watts is 7.10 Amps * 115V = 816 watts.

When you know the wattage and you are interested in knowing the amperage of the appliances, you can use this formula

Amps= Wattage/ Voltage

Example 3:

Let say you have some appliances that you need to run using the generator, this example shows us how to go about it.

In the case above, you will require a generator with a minimum of 25kW since all the appliances that will be using the generator have 24,100W as the starting wattage.

Define the running requirements

You need to know if the generator will just be a standby measure or it will be the main source of power.

It is advisable never to operate a generator at a maximum capacity exceeding 30 minutes. In case you will be using the generator as the main source of power supply, it is advisable that you size for 70% to 80% capacity.

You can always leave a 20% to 30% safety margin as a safety margin.

How to Hook Up Gas Generator to House?

There are two main methods you can always use to connect gas generator to your house. The first method is connecting the appliances directly to the generator while the second method is connecting the generator to the electrical grid of your house.

When you plug the generator to the wall socket directly in what is referred to as back feeding. However, this method can cause lots of damage to the electrical wiring of the house or even at times can lead to fire outbreak. Back feeding is illegal since it can electrocute the technician working on the lines.

Using Transfer Switch to Connect the Generator

Transfer switch refers to an electrical control gadget which you can install directly together with the circuit breaker box at your home. The main role of this transfer switch is to help switch the electrical grid off of your home of the electrical utility grid onto the gas generator.

You can also use the transfer switch to help in making management of power quite easy. This transfer switch will act like the circuit breaker in your home. This will make it possible for you to load different outlets, rooms and appliances. It is also possible to control the outlets that are on a particular sub breaker when using the transfer switch.

In order to effectively control the wattage amount that is being drawn from the generator, all you will have to do is turn one of the breakers on and off. With this, you will be able to keep your house connected to the generator.  You will only draw power whenever you are in need of using a specific appliance. This makes it possible for one to use smaller gas generators to help in powering up homes.

Installing Transfer Switch

Experienced electricians are the ones who are tasked with transfer switch installation as it involves moving wires that enter the circuit breaker board of your house. However, it is also possible for homeowners to carry out installation of transfer switch only if they have experience in electrical wiring and use of transfer switches.

During installation of a transfer switch, the most important step is to identify the circuit which is coming from the main board circuit breaker and move it to the circuit of the transfer switch.  The level of determination will be determined by the type of appliances you are interested in running during the power outage period and the generator size. In case you are using a universal transfer switch, you will have to program it in the different appliance priority levels.

Connecting the Generator

For you to successfully connect the generator, you will need to get a specialized generator cord that will help you connect the transfer switch to the generator. The cord is usually plugged into the outlet on the generator and onto the transfer switch inlet. 

It is important to always be prepared for an outage way ahead of time. You can achieve this when you leave the generator always connected to the transfer switch.

It is also advisable that you always keep the gas generator cord located with either the transfer switch or the generator as you will be moving around in the dark in case of power outage. Ensure that you do flip the main breaker up to enable it draw power from the generator inlet instead of from the electrical utility grid before you start up the generator.  You also need to ensure that all breakers found on the transfer switch are off especially when using a manual transfer switch.

Ensure that the generator is situated in a well-ventilated are or outside before you start it up.

How to Choose the Best Gas Generator for Home Use?

The wide variety of gas generators in the market for home use has made it quite challenging for buyers to identify which suits them best. In this section, we will be looking at some of the important factors one need to consider when in the market for the best gas generator.

• Runtime

Runtime is an important factor that you need to always look at whenever you are shopping for a gas generator. You need to ask yourself how long can the gas generator run on a single fuel supply. The answer will always be determined depending on two main components, the generators engine efficiency and the fuel tank capacity.

The runtime of the generator will always be measure by considering the half load. Half load refers to when the generator is operating at half of the wattage.  When using the 4000 watt generators, the single fuel tank runtime usually ranged between 8-10 hours.

• Motor

This simply means the generator engine you intend to purchase. The engine quality you have settled for will play a great part in determining the performance of the generator. The engine’s main role is to help in conversion of fuel into electrical energy.  The powerful your generator engine is, the bigger it will be in terms of size. It is important to that you go for engines which are well designed and efficient.

• Outlets

The outlet numbers present in the gas generator you are about to purchase will determine the number of appliances you will plug on it. However, the number of outlets does vary from one generator type to another. In most cases they are in a range of 2 to 6 or even 10.

You can also consider using a multi plug adapter or make good use of the power strips. However, these can at times compromise the electrical flow stability depending on the engine quality.

• Portability

Most of the gas generators are built with portability in mind. However, the portability also depends on the wheels availability, weight and size of the generator.  The purpose of the generator will help determine if you can go for a portable generator or not. Will you be using the generator for household use or on occasional basis? Then it is not a must you go for a portable gas generator.

It is also possible that you might at times need to use the generator for outdoor trips or camping.  In this regard, it is important you go for a portable gas generator.

• Noise Level

For sure generators can at times be noisy. However, there are some which produce too much noise that one can bear. Going for a noisy generator will definitely disrupt your daily life especially when using it at home or at camp site.

There are generators that make use of noise cancellation technology despite costing more. The larger the generator engine, the noisier it tends to be.

• Ease of Use

It is advisable that you go for a generator which you can easily understand and use. Don’t go for a generator which you will take weeks to understand using. This will consume lots of your precious time.

Conclusion

We do hope that this best gas generator for home use review guide has been of great help to you. Before you make any decision on which gas generator to purchase, ensure you take your time and go through the buyer’s guide to help you know what features to look at.  This will enable you narrow down your options from the wide variety of generators in the market.

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