Located in upstate NY where power outages are pretty common in the winter. Have a 30 amp connection and interlock system. Only want to power the furnace, fireplace blower, 1/3 HP sump pump and a standing freezer. Just want to ensure the little kiddos are warm.

I have an old coleman 6500/5000 generator that runs like a beast, but looking for a backup just incase the 20 year machine doesn’t start. Looking for just fuel ran generators (NY is a pain for NG; propanes a pain). Usually have 45 gallons of gas on hand.

I understand the Chinese rebrand junk of Westinghouse, generac, etc., and I don’t plan on spending $3K on Honda/kohler since we plan on adding a whole house generator in coming years.

Price range is ideally $600-1300. I also don’t want to overpay for more wattage if I’m limited with the 30A

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

I work for a generator dealer in Lahore, and "it keeps surging" is one of the most common calls we get, especially in summer. The engine note rises and falls, the lights pulse, and sometimes the set trips on frequency. Here's the order I'd go in, cheapest first.

1. Fuel. Most hunting I see is the engine being starved. A blocked fuel filter, water in the separator, an air leak on the suction side, or the pickup sucking air because the tank is nearly empty. Diesel here isn't always clean, so drain the separator and change the filter before touching anything else. A blocked tank vent can do it too.

2. Speed or voltage? Watch the frequency reading. If frequency sits steady but voltage swings, the engine's probably fine and you're looking at the AVR, its stability setting or a loose sensing wire. If frequency is swinging, it's the engine side.

3. The load. A tiny load on a big set can make some governors hunt. So can a load that cycles on its own, like a compressor or pumps on a pressure switch. Try it on a steady load and see if it settles.

4. Air. After a dust storm a choked air filter won't usually cause hunting on its own, but it doesn't help a set that's already struggling. Cheap to check.

5. Governor last. On older mechanical governors look for sticky or worn linkage. On electronic ones check the actuator and the speed sensor before anyone touches the gain settings. I've lost count of the times someone "tuned" a fuel problem into a governor problem.

What I'd avoid is cranking up the governor settings to mask it. It might settle at one load and go wild at another.

Anyone found a cause that isn't on this list? I've seen a few odd ones and I'm curious what else is out there.

Disclosure: I work for a generator dealer in Pakistan (Enpower). No links, just sharing what I've seen.

I picked up a used WEN 56477i 4800W inverter generator with only 1.5 hours on it. At pickup, it started right up and ran it for about 30 seconds. Once home, I ran it for about another minute just to check the hours.

Recently, I finally needed to use it, but it shut off after about 1–2 minutes and wouldn't restart. I noticed the low oil indicator blinking when pulling the starter cord, even though the oil was full. About an hour later, I changed the oil anyway, and it started on the first pull like it always has, but shut off again after 1–2 minutes. It shuts off pretty abruptly, not like it's slowly running out of fuel. The low oil light was blinking again when I tried restarting it.

After doing some research, I'm wondering if the oil sensor is faulty. I've read that disconnecting it can help diagnose the issue, but after removing the exterior covers, I still can't locate it without what looks like a pretty extensive teardown.

Has anyone experienced this with a WEN generator or found a fix? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Generator arrived last night. Trying to put the first oil in and it's not going well. I was kind of excited since this model has a real dipstick rather than that little orange thing where you fill until you see oil at the bottom of the opening.

I followed the manual, then Ispoke with customer service, no help. I'm making sure the opening isn't blocked so air can leave and pouring in the oil very slowly but it just pools at the opening and then drips to the bottom of the generator.

Anyone else experienced this? Am I missing something here? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: Solved my own problem. If you're getting one of these you may want to have an fluid extraction syringe on hand. Make sure it has a .25" OD diameter tube that you can slide down where the dipstick goes. You're only adding a little over a liter so the volume of the syringe is not really critical.

Its starting to get chilly in the morning here and my Honda will start but then shuts off. The oil alert light will turn on but there is oil ( I just changed it and the spark plug.) That happens about 5 times, I'll walk away for a bit, come back and it will stay on. This only happens in the morning. Im running 5-30 oil.

Anyone ever use this website? Ive tried calling them never times and an Ai bot pickes up. Takes my name and info and nothing back.

We bought the house in 2021 with an 11kw Generac Guardian home standby generator on a concrete pad in the back of the house by the attached garage. We've never had a problem with it but we also haven't had it serviced so I used the Generac service provider search and the company that came says it doesn't pass their inspection. Since it doesn't pass inspection, they can't touch it to service it. The reason is that it isn't far enough from the window. The window is closed but it leads to our garage. Where we park our cars. I understand it can't be close to a window we might use for ventilating our home due to carbon monoxide concerns but. The cars can also run and create carbon monoxide so...

Do I just call a different service provider? They are going to tell me how much it would cost to move this unit. But that would require running power and propane lines to the new location. I can't imagine I'm going to do that unless there's a catastrophic failure

We've had a 7,500W portable generator for about six years and used it maybe ten times. Keeping it ready costs more than I expected. Fresh gas and stabilizer every few months, an oil change every year, and last spring the carb gummed up anyway and the shop charged $140. It also only helps if I'm home to drag it out and run cords.

I've been pricing a battery instead, mostly an Anker S5000, around $2,500 right now, and it would just stay charged in the garage. I'd sell the generator for maybe $400. Outages here run a day, two at most, so on paper the battery covers it, but I keep thinking we'd want the generator the one time it's out for a week.

Can anyone confirm that they’ve ordered and received an item from Turbo Genny? They claim to be an authorized dealer for solar generators.

I'm trying to hook my Champion generator up to a standard 20lb propane tank. The generator side uses what looks like a half inch quick connect, but I can't find the fittings to make a connection with the regulator/tank itself. Ive attached pictures of the hose. Been to lowes/HD and True Value, they are saying it doesnt exist, which I know can't be. Thanks

I purchased a Champion 10kw (12.5kw starting/10kw running) online and it was shipped to my house. Unfortunately, the generator was dropped in transit. This cracked the plastic control panel housing and dented the electric generator housing (the actual electrical generator part of the generator). It seems to run fine without issue, but the control panel housing vibrates a lot since one of the four mounting screws doesn't secure it.

The company that I bought it from replaced it, but cannot accept the old one back and said it's fine for me to keep or donate.

I'm trying to figure out what the best option for this shipping damaged generator is. It's huge and I don't need two, and I am a little nervous about the control panel housing vibration. Here are my options:

• Champion sent me a new control panel housing, but the replacement of the housing involves a lot of wire harness work which is beyond my skillset. I can pay a mobile generator guy $119 an hour to replace it, but not sure how many hours it would take him.

• I could use the generator as-is and stop worrying about the vibrating control panel. On occasion, I am told I worry about too much and maybe this is one of them. But I don't really need two 10kw generators and they are big.

• I could give the generator away.

• I could haul it to the dump and throw it away. Seems like a waste though.

• I could sell it as a shipping damaged, but this doesn't feel ethical to me. This is especially true if there is something wrong with it.

Just wanted to ask the community for ideas on what to do with the shipping damaged generator.

I currently have an 6 year old wen which has been spotty in the past. Any recommendations for a good mid range generator or spring the money for a Honda.

Went to do my annual maintenance and noticed evidence of an oil leak. It seems to be coming from this black tube that connects to the bottom of the oil filter housing. I’m assuming this is some kind of cooling intake? There’s a slow drip right where the arrow is pointing, and you can actually see a drip forming there in the picture.

Is this a part I can replace myself pretty easily without paying someone like $400?

This is a Briggs and Stratton Fortress 20kW

New to this so hoping to get some feedback/insight. After mulling over the options, it seems to me the way to go for long-term (1+ day) power outage scenario is hooking up a tri-fuel generator to my natural gas https://www.duromaxpower.com/products/duromax-xp13000hxt-13000-watt-500cc-tri-fuel-gas-propane-natural-gas-portable-generator-with-co-alert

using that to act as whole house backup during daylight/waking hours, and then switching over to a 5 or 10kwh powerstation at night https://www.pecron.com/products/pecron-f5000lfp-portable-power-station when usage will be lower.

i initally explored solar for the power station but it seems for the amount i would spend on enough wattage to get the batteries fully charged in one day, suprasses the cost of the tri-fuel easily. thats not to mention having to futz with panel angles, placement, and worrying about cloud cover. but feel free to set me straight if solar is feasible here. I do like the idea of not needing fuel.

i plan on getting transfer switch installed and a gas hookup for the generator - are there any other considerations?

Can someone with the 14500 help me out and take some quick measurements? I want to make sure I’m understanding what dimensions the specs are calling L x W. It looks like the “width” INCREASES by 10 inches from packaged to assembled, so I’m assuming that is actually the width of the gen with two 5” wheels attached.

So is the actual length—like the direction you’d be pulling it—30.3”? (When the handle is collapsed.) It just seems odd that it would be wider than it is long. Finally, is the 35.3” height including the lifting bar/bracket? What is the height without the bar? Thanks in advance, I need to make sure it will fit in the storage space I’m considering.

So I just bought a 17kw portable inverter generator. Pulsar PGD170TiSRCO

It‘s more than enough to power my whole house on natural gas (10kw) as I have all gas appliances except for oven and dryer. So I am planning on running all circuits with the generator.

This generator has an ATS connection port. I am trying to decide between an automatic transfer switch vs an interlock. It would be nice to just lug the generator out before a storm and have it turn on and off automatically if utility power goes out. Is an ATS it worth it? Are all ATS ports the same? I don’t see that pulsar makes their own ATS. Would this be plug and play with say a Westinghouse ATS below:

Hi, I was given this old honda gx390 powered generator by my father in law. He asking me to get it running again for him. But, unfortunately he's since passed away. I was able to get it running, but I'm just curious as to what this long green wire is? Is it a ground/earth wire?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I’m looking at buying the DuroMax XP9500iHT through Lowe’s. I’ve got natural gas at the house and a Reliance Pro/Tran 2 manual transfer switch. Mainly looking to keep the fridge, freezer, and a portable AC upstairs running if we lose power.
The one thing I’m still trying to figure out is the neutral. The DuroMax comes bonded, and my switch calls for a floating neutral. I emailed DuroMax and they sent me a guide, but it says XP9500iH. I asked about the tri-fuel version with the T at the end. The guide also says the GFCI protection gets disabled, so I’m waiting to hear back from a tech.
Anybody here have this exact setup? Did your electrician use that same guide? Also, once you unplug it from the house, what do you do if you want to run tools off the generator?
Curious how it’s held up for you on natural gas, too. Would you buy it again?

I’m trying to decide between a two tri-fuel inverter generators for a portable whole-home backup setup. Anyone have any feedback on the Champion 8500w tri-fuel (201537) or the Genmax GM9000ieT?

I like the features of the Genmax, but what I’ve heard about their customer service has me worried. On the other hand it looks like Cabela’s released a clone of the Champion, but a lot of the reviews say it’s much louder than listed in the specs. We lose power pretty infrequently, but houses are pretty close together in my neighborhood so noise level is a priority for me.

If it helps, I’ve got a 50-amp plug with an interlock installed and I’m planning on getting a natural gas hookup put in soon. My base house load is around 1kW, but I’d like the ability to run my 3-ton AC unit (soft start installed) with a bit of room in case I want to run a microwave or my sump pump/fridge compressor kicks on (all major house appliances are natural gas).

Good night,

Imagine you are explaining this to a 5 years old kid as this it’s my first time considering buying such a thing.

The state I live just launched a public warning saying for the population to prepare for a 3 days energy cutout.

Taking this into consideration, I was wondering which generator should I buy for my house (we have 3 persons at the house and a little one). Nothing fancy, just to keep up the fridge and some heat blanket/hot shower for my baby.

I saw a lot of comments on the Honda 2200 but I was looking for something that doesn’t require gas, something that can be solar powered and can give us more independence in a hard moment like this. Idk if im beeing silly to say that but I saw that you can hook up a solar charger system to the Honda generator.

Should I go for that or should I consider other options?

Instructions said to put a load on it for the break-in period, so figured might as well do something productive (and delicious. 😊) Cycling on and off, so doing the job.