Torn between 1000w Generator & 2300w - for domestic use during power cut etc. Which is best.?

I want to be able to boil a kettle and run a TV and a light during power outages, Would 1000w be adequate and could it cope with a heater too during winter times. Also would it power a lawn mower occassionally, or would I be better off with a 2300w.

Torn between 1000w Generator %26amp; 2300w - for domestic use during power cut etc. Which is best.?girls myspace

Even the 2300 is cutting it close. Forget the 1000. (I am an electrician.)

:)

Torn between 1000w Generator %26amp; 2300w - for domestic use during power cut etc. Which is best.?skinny myspace myspace.com

Obviously, the more w, the more power -- but BE SURE TO CHECK out the transfer ability when the power comes back on! Some generators must be manually switched off and on, and if the power comes back when the generator is still on, you can blow the generator AND your electrical box!

Good luck!

:)
Bigger is better if you can afford it

2300w

Of course the proper way is to calculate your desired usage and buy the correct size.
Electric heat uses alot of current.Go big unless your going to power up your oil furnace with it.Just the element to boil water uses close to 1000w
Check with each appliance and add up the total watts.

100 watt light bulb (but you could use a compact fluorescent light that uses 18 watts)

Hot plate - I am guessing 750 watts (or a small microwave oven at 500 watts)

TV - depends on size, whether it is the conventional type with a glass tube, or an LCD, plasma or DLP. 200 watts and above.

You would be better off with a 2300 watt generator if you have the higher powered appliances.
At least with the 2300w, you can run a coffee pot.

Go with it.
A 20 amp circuit will handle 1600 watts,so buying a 2300 watt generator would be more than your circuit could handle. Electrical appliances such as tv,electric cooking stove ,convection ovens,toaster ovens electric fry pans,electric heaters all draw large amount of watts around 800 to 1200 watts by themselves,so running 2 or more at once would be taxing your circuit and possiable burned wires along with circuit breakers tripping constantly. I would contact your public service department they can give you better info and save you from a dangerous situation.
6500w generator would do nicely.
whatever you decide on, please inform your power company you are installing a generator.
USA The size of the generator you buy should be based on the amount of power you need. Add up the watts of all the appliances, lights, heaters, and anything else you might want to use if the power is out. Buy a generator that is at least 10% more than the load you added up. And check out the generator - many generators have two ratings - one rating , the higher one, is called a "peak" rating, which the generator can handle for a minute. The other rating is the continuous rating, which is the amount of power the generator can supply on a steady basis. You want the continuous rating to be at least 10% more than you need. Sometimes the power can be out for days - you might want to consider refrigeration and minimum heat in your calculations.
The top contributor Dave had good comments. I'll add to those.

If you think you might be out for a few days you might want to consider the refrigerator. Throwing away the entire contents can be expensive and smelly.

Anything with a motor will pull 3x it's normal power when starting. This is the peak power he was talking about. If you are going to have several things with motors (add the TV to that list) you should make sure that you have room for that surge.

As a point of comparison a hair dryer on high is about 1500w. That would be enough to kill the 1,000w unit all by itself. Your plug in hot plate or microwave will also be pulling a lot of power. Anything to do with heat and cold uses a lot of power.

You might want a few compact fluorescent lamps in the house for lighting. They give 100w of light for 18w of power.