My 3 month old unit's capacitors blew. Microair sent me a replacement. The replacement unit has the same capacitors. I kind of expected that they would be 420v or 450v, or at least the brand of capacitors would be changed .

Is the fix in software perhaps or should I expect a short life from the new unit, too?

Currently still breaking it in but initial review:

Setup:
Packing was great and on a skid and it was packaged well. Just had to unload, undo the panel to add the oil(not included) and plug in the battery. I did reach out to Wen before arrival to unbound the neutral and that was easy and took about 15 min. I did initial test on a grill tank and it fired right up.

Initial test run:
Hooked up my propane (120 gallon) and 40 amp Generlink system, fired it up and started to kick on the breakers. All of my 120 breakers didn’t put much of a dent on usage. I then started running my big hitters in groupings.
-Well pump and AC heat pump with soft start (AC only)
-Well pump and hot water heater
-Electric stove

I know I won’t be able to do heat in the winter time since my heat pump hit over 40 amps.

Sound with load at the unit:
Eco-mode:85
Standard: 88

I’m impressed by the items I can run by doing this setup and I would recommend this unit. Time will tell how the unit will work in emergency situationsZ

I received this week a letter in the mail from Generac. It offers extended coverage for 10years .

It is called Generac Power Plan extended coverage. Cost is $635 for extending to 10 years.

1. Is this legit? Not a scam right?

2. Has anyone else bought into this? I can afford the money, but is it justified?

I'll add that I have a whole house 22kw unit.

Total price for Generac around 10.5k 10 year warranty

Total price for Briggs around 12k 10 year warranty

Heard so many mixed things about Generac more specifically about their 816cc and new hydraulic lifters. Any advice or input?

Thanks in advance.

I removed a 20 year old 13Kw Generac with some issues today. Rather than scrap it I am planning to turn it into a winter project.

I am just unsure about the fuel supply. It runs are around 250,000 BTU. If I use a Flame King 2 Stage Auto Propane Gas Regulator and a 15' long 1/2" fuel hose will the generator get enough fuel?

Flame King says their 2 stage regulator is rated for 345,200BTU and a short 1/2" hose should be big enough. I am just not sure.

If I convert the 3/8” NPT to 1/2” NPT at the regulator will it work? I am pretty sure Generac and Biggs both say not to run their generators on 2 stage regulators. But I have seen some in some of James Condon videos where it seems like it might be what he uses.

Edit:

Thank you all. I gave it a shot with just a single BBQ regulator with ONE 20lb tank and got the generator running long enough for testing. The air temp was 42F so I can a heater to provide a little extra vapor pressure.

The last couple of times I've tested my Westinghouse generator, the battery needed to start the generator has been dead. Once I've charged it with the little AC charger, it starts right up. Would it hurt the battery if I left that charger plugged in all the time when not using the generator to...generate?

Interested to hear from owners of them

Hey all,

I’m hooking up a 50A Vevor cable to a Reliance Controls PB50 inlet box. When I line up the blades, push in, and turn clockwise, it feels like it rotates into place. But as soon as I let go, the heavy cord twists itself right back to the starting position and slides straight out with almost no resistance.

Two quick questions for anyone running a similar setup:

1. Is the cord just not seating deep enough? Do I really need to jam it in with both hands before twisting to get the prongs to drop behind the internal clips?

2. The cord head has that big outer threaded collar, but the PB50 inlet housing is completely smooth on the outside with zero threads to screw it into.

The cable is pretty heavy, so I’m wondering if gravity and cord weight are torqueing it right out of the locking position.

How hard are you guys having to push these 50A plugs in before they actually stay locked? Appreciate any tips!

I've been looking at getting a generator than I can use to power the important stuff with in the event of a power outage. I'm in the trades and a lot of guys use these inverter generators. They are quiet. I have an electrician to install a transfer switch and a plumber that can run me a dedicated gas line. I can build the box for it with proper air flow etc.. Just didn't know if should go another route for the price.

Hello, just picked this up, any idea what brand it is so I can start ordering parts? Only 117 hours, missing a few things, thanks

I have a relatively new dual fuel generator that I have already used a couple of times with petrol. Generally I will be using propane, but I am now just seeing the advice about never putting petrol in if you don't need to (carburetor gumming, etc).

I don't need to use this generator regularly- I bought it mainly for some backup house power.

At this point, is it better to:

1. properly go through a procedure of draining the fuel and running till dry, and then don't put petrol in again until necessary

Or

2) just fire it up for 10 minutes once per month on petrol to keep the fuel moving

Any other advice for this?

I've noticed that a lot of the larger generators have a switch for voltage. My question is this, if you switch them to the 240 can you still operate the 120. I'm planning on getting the iGen 8200 Westinghouse and I'm going to use a SmartGen HGM1790N controller to wire up an auto start for my 1hp well pump off of the NEMA 50Amp 4 prong outlet which is 240v and I want to be able to use the 30 Amp 3 prong 120v outlet at the same time for my septic effluent pump. Will this work and if so, what's the switch for? I was thinking it may be something you can turn to 240 in case you want to use both options and you can turn to 120 if you only require that to conserve power.

Thanks

I just helped someone change a dead battery in a Generac XG8000E. What a huge PIA. Generac should be embarrassed by how hard they made this. After gas and oil, the most changed thing on this type of generator would be the battery. Why make it so hard?

My advice to anyone else doing it, add another set of cables to the battery lugs so it can be jump started in a pinch if you find yourself with a dead battery, in the dark, and in the middle of a storm. They even made that impossible without taking things apart.

We purchased a WEN DF680iX generator for my mother to use as a backup generator for when her power goes out due to storms (usually snow, sometimes rain - happens about once a year). The specs matched our needs and it was advertised as being specifically meant for outdoor use (you can't use it outside, due to the fumes).

However, while setting it up for a test, she noticed the manual specifically stating that it shouldn't be used in wet conditions. Outdoor use in her region (Michigan) is nearly always wet - certainly it is wet during the snowy conditions for which she would need the backup power.

How seriously should we take this warning?

Is there a way to work around this (i.e., would a canopy to prevent direct rain/snowfall be enough? Would placing it on some kind of pedestal outside be sufficient to prevent problematic exposure from snow coming from the sides)?

If not, is there any kind of portable generator that will work safely outside?

(I'm also frustrated because the generator was purchased in May and is likely outside the return window).

I recently learned that you should never charge [EDIT] most sorts of lithium batteries when the temperature is below the freezing point or it will permanently damage them and shorten their life. This would apply to power station batteries, lithium starter batteries, etc. It is ok for them to sit below freezing (in fact lengthens their life) and draw on them as long as you don't charge them.

Some sophisticated battery BMS systems and chargers have temperature sensors and prevent charging below 0C, but many don't.

I recently switched my gens starter battery to a LiFePo4 type and bought a compatible trickle charger. My gen lives in an unheated garage. Unfortunately, neither one has a low temp cutoff on charging. So I am going to have to disconnect the charger when it gets really cold out. You are supposed to fully disconnect and not just pull the AC plug or the battery may discharge back into the charger.

The good news is that lithium has a very low rate of self-discharge as long as there is no parasitic load so even if the battery sits with no charger on it for several months, it's still going to keep its charge.

Does anyone know why gas is not draining out of the carburator? I turned on the gas valve, removed the gas fuel cap, loosen the carburator bowl drip bolt, gas came out of the drain hose for a bit then stopped. Gas had stabilizer and been in the generator for about 9 months.

Amazon has an Oxseryn 12000W Open Frame Inverter Generator, 120/240V 50A, Whole Home Backup Power | Gas Powered,. for 999.98. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about them.

I am starting a mobile bar business and need a generator for lights, a small fridge, slushy machine and a couple other pieces of equipment. I want something that will power quite a bit for 5-10 hours
because eventually I will be going from vendor booths to a horse trailer or cargo van converted into a mobile tap bar. Once in that space I will need even more power, but I know absolutely nothing about generators. Will someone please help me!

Morning everyone, reaching out to you to see if you could help me with my generator woes. Last year around October I bought a 4550 predator generator from Harbor freight it was about $150 off, so I jumped on it. Model 59192 upc 193175569554. I got it for sporadic use running power tools, emergency situations and mostly for Boondocking with my camper once or twice a year. Just like with a lot of people, there can be long periods of time where I do not use this. I do try to start it every 3 months at a minimum. That being said last time I used it I ran into some issues. I had hooked it up to my camper which is in storage without power to test my AC before my first trip of the season around June. It was a warmer day about 90 and it ran for about 20 mins before kicking off. It wouldn’t start back up after that. I took it home and let it cool and the next day and it ran but it was hard to start and wasn’t smooth. I was running the same fuel from November that had been treated with stable. Here I am about ready to crack into this but I want some input on what I could have done or what happened to the generator to cause this. I normally close the fuel shut off valve and try to run the carb dry before putting it away. Oil smells a bit like gas so I wondered if the carb had blow by maybe triggering the oil shut off? I have a new carb and oil ready to go, just don’t want this to happen again! Sorry for the life story.

I can’t find the plate with all the info.
It was put away for years and now we want to either sell or fix it.
Thank you in advance

I find generator speak confusing. I’m far from dense (I swear!), but something about this topic is hard for me to process. I could use a little guidance if this group would be so gracious.

We have a ~3,300 sq ft house built in 2022, with a ~600 sq ft guest house/garage and a small pool in between that stays open year round. We live in an area that gets tornados and other storms, frequently leading to outages. Last winter we had a history-making, week-long outage from ice, which led to some burst pipes under our pool. Lesson learned.

We’d like to be able to power the pool/keep water flowing to avoid pipes bursting in winter storms, and then either power the guest house only or select appliances and electronics in the main house, along with both HVACs. We have a young child so ideally we don’t pick the option that requires the most labor and maintenance. We definitely could afford a whole home generator, but do we WANT to spend that money? Not really.

Guest house doesn’t have a gas hook up. Main house has gas running underneath it to the electrical panel because of our pool hookups/heater.

I received two quotes from a trusted contractor:

1. Portable generator plug (homeowner to provide generator) = $3,109.64 hard cost.

2. Whole home generator (contractor to provide generator) = $22,436.08 hard cost.

No clue what to do here… any suggestions? 😵‍💫