3000W portable electric generator enough power for this?

[Nexenn]

I've been looking at buying a generator for emergencies and this is what I've been thinking.

I've got a 90 gallon tank w/30g sump. I wouldn't need to run the halides but I would run:
2X 54W T5s
2X 110W VHO
300W heater
One mp40w
~5 other small powerheads
Ocean runner 3500 (main return pump) @ 65W
Reef octopus 150

And besides these things on the tank the ONLY other thing in the house I would power is the Fan on my wood stove insert for my wood burning fireplace which can produce enough heat for the whole house (2bed 1bath). I'm not sure how many watts it uses but its just a fan so I wouldn't think much.

So far the tank would take ~1000W max with everything except my halides running and I could just guess the fireplace fan @ 500W which seems super high to me. My apex shows with everything on except the halides I draw about ~3-4 amps.

This is the generator I was going to get. Cost is an issue, I need the cheapest I can get that will work for a few days maybe every few years. Its cheap and the brand has decent reviews. Seems like MORE than enough power since I wont really be running anything in the house but the tank and an extra fan. The unit produces up to 22.5 amps and 3000watts.

Only other issue is noise, I live in a KC suburb and dont want to keep the neighbors up all night. Not sure how loud this is.


http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Alternative-Energy-Solutions-Generators-Portable-Generators/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xjlZbmgq/R-202514817/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[Nexenn]

bump

 

[agreeive?fish]

if its a power outage i dont think the neighbors are gonna be to concerned about the sou of a generator running, i know several years ago we had a major ice storm and people in town were a month or more waiting in line for electricians to reconnect the meter boxes to the house, the whole town was dead for a week as 70+ miles of transmission line had to be rebuilt, you could her generators for at least month


now if its because you forgot to pay the electric bill they may get real upset with the noise

 

[Nexenn]

lol, yeah we have ice storms with power losses about every 2 years in Kansas City. Usually doesn't take more than 1-3 days to restore power but I've seen it go longer. Any comments on the amount of power? I'm just concerned I guess about getting the right amount of juice. I want to spend as little as possible but still have the security knowing that if something happened my tank wouldn't crash

 

[Porcupinepuffer]

It should definitely be enough for what you want. I don't know what the deal is with your fireplace fan being 500watts. It really shouldn't draw much. Moving air doesn't take nearly the work it takes to move water... Also, I think they got the generator specs all a$$ backwards... it should 3000 PEAK watts. and 2700 continuous. It just makes no sense it can peak out at less watts then what it can do continuous....
Also, we had a huge ice storm up here in Ottawa Canada back in '97. First and only one we've ever had. I never heard of them before. Had no power for 3+ weeks when every hydro pole on the road snapped like dominos... I was kind of surprised to hear how far down south these have hit.

 

[jrapp13]

Wouldn't it make more sense to get a generator that could run your freezer/refrigerator and A/C unit for summer time outages as well? It wouldn't be a bad idea to be able to power your furnace as well, in addition to, your woodstove insert.

OT: What brand is your insert? I love those things.

 

[matttaylor]

We just had a 5 day outage. I ran my tank (150 gallon, all pumps, lights and heaters) the whole tv / dvd / satellite / surround sound and several lights all on a 2000 watt generator. The only time the generator went above idle (load) was when the coffee pot was being used. Even the vacuum didn't have an effect.

That generator would be fine. It wont be super quiet, but in an emergency situation, who cares? I'm actually upgrading to a 5000 watt generator just so i can run everything else (fridge, all lights, well pump) when it happens again.