because our power grid is old and so many new demands have been put on it due to development, we frequently have power outages. which means we cant use our well since we have no electricity to run the pump. we want to get a generator strong enough to run the well - it is 375 ft deep. the generator we have now will run 4 lines for the house, but not the well. any recommendations on a generator to run the well? thanks
It’s probably best for you to talk with several contractors that install generator packages to determine what the best solution is for the load you want to preserve during a power outage. There multiple variables involved.
FYI, I’m about to contract for a “whole house” generator for similar reasons…no power; no water (well); no septic, no HVAC, etc. To cover our home, a 20-22kva until will be installed and powered by natural gas, the one utility we have that “just flows”.
We have a whole house generator that runs from the propane tanks. It will cover everything including the well but not the A/C. We have a 16KW. If we had included the AC we would have had to go to a 20.
Best is, as advice above, a whole house generator and properly installed.
Best money ever spent.
If you only want one for the well, we used to have to do that decades ago and used our regular welder, that is a 10KW generator also.
Consider getting a used welder, or a used generator, but those are not as reliable, have not been used consistently.
We got our generator thru the electric business that installs them for big warehouses, hospitals and government buildings.
The old one was a used one we bought in 1976, when a hospital upgraded to more power.
The electrician had been looking for one such for us for a while.
We still have it and runs like a top.
Talk to an electrical firm that does those kinds of jobs.
The capacity of generators is really in how many amps it can produce on demand. So find out how many amps your well draws when it starts and size your generator from there.
I forgot to add, you can also rent generators, many places here do, including the Caterpillar machines store, that rents those to oil field drilling sites.
They may have some used ones for sale now that the oil drilling business has practically stopped.
You need to know the size of the pump, how many hps. Knowing the make even better because you can look up the power requirements.
When looking at a generator there is almost always two output numbers,
8000-6500 Kw. The first number is the maximum/peak power demand it will be able to handle for a short period. Also called Start up watts. The second number is the “running power” the amount it can constantly put out.
When a well pump starts up, a lot of motors, frig, furnace, AC etc it will “demand” need X watts, for like 30 seconds if not a lot less. Once up to speed the demand drops quite a bit to running watts.
I am trying to keep this simple. So you need to make sure the genny can handle a short peak spike when the pump comes on. You will hear the genny engine labor a bit when it does. Depending on the size of the generator and any other loads it is carrying.
Most well pumps are 3/4 hp and usually run fine on a 4500-3500 watt generator. Decent ones can be had for under $500. Nothing else should be hooked to it while the pump is running.
For a bit more money IMO it is better to go with 6,500 or 8,500 starting watt genny.
The bigger the pump the bigger the genny needed.
The rub with any of the smaller, “portable” generators for this application is that most, if not all, deep well pumps are hard wired. The load itself isn’t substantial…it’s the connection that presents the challenge. Electrical code applies, too.
Following. We’re in a high risk fire area. Would like a generator to keep water and essentials running if the power goes out during/after a fire.
20 KW hardwired to panel. It is big enough to not need a “transfer” panel, it simply cuts in at the supply side. Will run everything at once with the caveat that it may need to pick one of two AC units if the other demand is high.
Otherwise, a nice Honda 6KW portable will get the job done, but you will need a manual transfer panel. We got by for many years on this setup.
Be sure to get something quiet as some can be very loud. We could stand next to our Honda and hear the neighbors generator over a quarter mile away.
Digital AC is a bonus if you are going to be running electronics. Some units put out pretty dirty power. Great for lights and motors, not so great for sensitive things.
