ebinmaine 74,703 #1 Posted September 17 A year or three ago we decided to invest in a generator powerful enough to run everything in the home including the well pump, AC, & electric heat and hot water. We've been hunting for a small enclosure for it but as we're all well aware many of the available products are just cheap 💩 Well yesterday the BBT commenced to making one on her own. As usual it's almost all free/recycled materials. It turned out EXCELLENT. It'll be painted all one color. The huge cord will be hung inside the enclosure. 11 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beap52 1,675 #2 Posted September 18 Next question is "Whose gonna run out in the wind, rain and lightening to start it?" I'm personally pretty fond of the fellow in our family of two (one he and one she) will gets the honors! Mean while, two neighbors hardly blink when power goes down. Of course their investment is a touch more than mine. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ML3 1,960 #3 Posted September 18 Nice setup you did. Westinghouse makes a good generator. I have one of their small inverter generators & its been great. Heres what I did. Generator is in storage side of the she shed. Got the fresh air vents then the shutter fan to remove heat/fumes. Purchased the insulated exhaust designed specifically for this type of installation. All I have to do is quick connect to the natural gas & plug into 30a outlet installed on back of house. It all works well 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lynnmor 8,105 #4 Posted September 18 You can't have too much ventilation down low, I have seen oil temperatures go extremely high if the air can't freely flow thru the generator. My daughter has concession trailers and noise suppression is always an issue. Directing the noise straight up instead of trying to stop it is the best way. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 15,797 #5 Posted September 18 5 hours ago, ebinmaine said: It'll be painted all one color. The huge cord will be hung inside the enclosure. I make only one suggestion: dig as deep as you can with post hole diggers and concrete in a steel anchor to use a cable and lock (more than one is a good idea) on the generator. Even out in the country, those things grow legs and dissappear when power outages occur. Especially true of a high watt model that will carry your entire house. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 53,021 #6 Posted September 18 I got a .44 magnum if mine tries to grow legs ... 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 74,703 #7 Posted September 18 8 hours ago, Beap52 said: Next question is "Whose gonna run out in the wind, rain and lightening to start it?" No one. This generator has remote start. If the cable is already plugged in to the house all we have to do is flip the safety switch in the basement and start it. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 74,703 #8 Posted September 18 8 hours ago, lynnmor said: You can't have too much ventilation down low, I have seen oil temperatures go extremely high if the air can't freely flow thru the generator. I've had a thought of putting a fan in the little house out there. 8 hours ago, lynnmor said: My daughter has concession trailers and noise suppression is always an issue. Directing the noise straight up instead of trying to stop it is the best way. Up here many builders use there own generators even if the power is on at a jobsite. Combination of convenience and liability I suppose. They all use a hardboard insulation sheet to make their shelters. Noise is directed sideways, away from the work area. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 74,703 #9 Posted September 18 4 hours ago, kpinnc said: I make only one suggestion: dig as deep as you can with post hole diggers and concrete in a steel anchor to use a cable and lock (more than one is a good idea) on the generator. Even out in the country, those things grow legs and dissappear when power outages occur. Especially true of a high watt model that will carry your entire house. 3 hours ago, WHX?? said: I got a .44 magnum if mine tries to grow legs ... If someone is desperate and utterly unencumbered by intelligence enough to come in this yard past our dog 🐕 and BBT 🥋 ....... 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 44,684 #10 Posted September 18 Watts = Heat. The bigger the jenny and the more load you put on it, the more cooling it's gotta have. I always get a big kick out of when they load bank test the big Cat jenny's at work. Like a giant BBQ! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CCW 1,442 #11 Posted September 18 An outage requiring the generator does not happen very often so my small homemade generator shed is disassembled and screwed flat to the garage wall for long term storage. Easily reassembled when an outage occurs. Generator stored in garage where I roll it out and run it a couple times a year. Honda that always starts with two or three easy pulls. It also has electric start if I want to put a battery on it. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 44,684 #12 Posted September 18 I've lived in my home since 88. Up until this year we've lost power for maybe a total of 8 hours. And 2 of those times was when a drunk hit a pole. The 2nd one was right in front of my house! Then this month I'm in the shower getting ready for work and I noticed the lights flicker then go out. Across town a transformer exploded and the surge did some damage to the sub station so the whole village was out for almost 6 hours. 2 days later the lights go out again. This time a truck had torn the wires off of a house 2 blocks away blowing the fuse on our transformer. Then this past Sunday my wife is ready to start canning peaches. Bam the power goes out again! Another car into a pole. This pole had 3 giant transformers on it feeding a factory and a Dollar General which had a fire start from a electric motor. 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 74,703 #13 Posted September 18 5 hours ago, squonk said: I've lived in my home since 88. Up until this year we've lost power for maybe a total of 8 hours. And 2 of those times was when a drunk hit a pole. The 2nd one was right in front of my house! Then this month I'm in the shower getting ready for work and I noticed the lights flicker then go out. Across town a transformer exploded and the surge did some damage to the sub station so the whole village was out for almost 6 hours. 2 days later the lights go out again. This time a truck had torn the wires off of a house 2 blocks away blowing the fuse on our transformer. Then this past Sunday my wife is ready to start canning peaches. Bam the power goes out again! Another car into a pole. This pole had 3 giant transformers on it feeding a factory and a Dollar General which had a fire start from a electric motor. Around here the power is snuffed when a mouse 🐁 sneezes three towns over. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,352 #14 Posted September 20 On 9/18/2025 at 6:22 AM, squonk said: Watts = Heat. The bigger the jenny and the more load you put on it, the more cooling it's gotta have… Absolutely. The gas engine is at best about 30% efficient and the alternator maybe 85%. So you can more than double the wattage you’re generating to ballpark your waste heat generation. A little less than half of that waste will leave with the exhaust. On 9/18/2025 at 3:46 AM, ebinmaine said: I've had a thought of putting a fan in the little house out there… if you care for a benchmark datapoint, the manufacturer we buy engines from at work recommends a 650 CFM fan to evacuate an enclosure for their 6.7 hp air cooled engine if you’re also independently piping the combustion exhaust outside but not doing any other heat mitigation. I tend to overthink things so we play a lot of tricks to vent our enclosure with a much smaller fan. If you had preferred to tap into your retirement funds, there are ways to spend your money. Like this. Steve 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 74,703 #15 Posted September 20 9 hours ago, wh500special said: care for a benchmark datapoint, the manufacturer we buy engines from at work recommends a 650 CFM fan to evacuate an enclosure for their 6.7 hp air cooled engine if you’re also independently piping the combustion exhaust outside but not doing any other heat mitigation I'm definitely open to ideas for heat removal here. Our thought is to leave the roof panel propped up a few inches but not wide open so most of the rain & snow won't land on the generator. The front door would be mostly open. We're not set on cable route yet. We've discussed burial and attaching it to the deck by the house. Burial can only be 1 to 1 1/2 feet here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ML3 1,960 #16 Posted September 20 7 hours ago, ebinmaine said: I'm definitely open to ideas for heat removal here. Our thought is to leave the roof panel propped up a few inches but not wide open so most of the rain & snow won't land on the generator. The front door would be mostly open. We're not set on cable route yet. We've discussed burial and attaching it to the deck by the house. Burial can only be 1 to 1 1/2 feet here. Attic fan like I used along with a pusher fan on opposite side of generator so its constantly pushing air across. The vents like I did help also. I've monitored the temps in shed & nothing nowhere near dangerous. If you notice I have a halon fire ball mounted just in case. Cheap insurance in my opinion. Most the time I've been able to run with the shed doors open. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
