Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - not really a furnace question
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Roeboat109
08-07-07, 12:47 PM
i've been looking for a good generator to run my furnace and maybe even my cental air or whatever else it may be capable of doing .can anyone give me any idea of what i may be looking for or even if it is possible to find a generator that is capable of handling these kinds of jobs .what size generator do i need for example? thanks for any input. or steering me to the right forum.
GregH
08-07-07, 07:26 PM
Roeboat109,
To give you an idea about the size of generator you would need a small 2kw generator would be what you would buy if you were going to need to power a circular saw or similar device.
If you have an electric furnace you could be looking at a 20kw load or better.
Not to even talk about the very large generator you would need but the amount of fuel it would burn would make it impractical.
Many people use an alternate fuel source like propane for emergency heat and install a small wall mount a/c unit and a more modest generator to run it.
To give you an idea about the size of generator you would need a small 2kw generator would be what you would buy if you were going to need to power a circular saw or similar device.
If you have an electric furnace you could be looking at a 20kw load or better.
Not to even talk about the very large generator you would need but the amount of fuel it would burn would make it impractical.
Many people use an alternate fuel source like propane for emergency heat and install a small wall mount a/c unit and a more modest generator to run it.
mbk3
08-07-07, 10:10 PM
May I add............please install an isolation switch. More then one lineman has been killed via a back feed.
Grady
08-08-07, 07:39 PM
Most portable generators produce "dirty" power. If your furnace has any electronics, I do not suggest using a portable generator.
The starting load on an air conditioner is quite heavy, even for something as small as 2 tons. They can easily draw five to ten times the running current on start up. For example if the running load was 15 amps & the starting load was 5X the running, you are looking at a generator which would handle a surge of 18kW.
The starting load on an air conditioner is quite heavy, even for something as small as 2 tons. They can easily draw five to ten times the running current on start up. For example if the running load was 15 amps & the starting load was 5X the running, you are looking at a generator which would handle a surge of 18kW.