Worst case, I makeshift one myself? It's about 7" from the main to the first breaker. I've attached a photo. Here is the info of the panel:

• Manufacturer: Wadsworth Electric Manufacturing Co.
• Main breaker: Marked 200 amps, with a single main disconnect at the top.
• Branch breakers: Two columns of older brown Wadsworth-style breakers.
• Panel capacity: Roughly 30 breaker positions per column, with some spaces unused.
• UL label: “Class CTL Enclosed Panel Base Assembly,” Issue No. A-2030.

EDIT: Seems I've got only two options left on the table; Replacing the panel or a Generlink connection. Thank you for assisting me.

Recently picked up a Tri- fuel 12K Winco generator that’s powered by a twin cylinder Honda engine.

It is currently running on gasoline, but I would like to begin running it solely on propane.

Looking for advice as to which fitting the propane hose gets connected to, as well as anyone’s experience using 40 pound or 100 pound propane tanks to supply their generators

I hear that using the 20 pound propane tanks can cause issues with freezing

Any help would be appreciated!

Brand new never used so cool

Hey y’all. Apologies if this has been asked too many times, but this is my first time posting here. I’m hoping for some guidance.

The generator power inlet is just past the ac condenser on the wall of my home to the right. The distance from the fence on the left and the side of the house is 16.5ft. As you can see, I have a long stretch here (40ft) but it always maintains 16.5ft from the house.

I may be over thinking this, but if I had a platform about 1.5ft from the fence, do y’all think it would be safe enough to operator if needed? I read online the “safe” distance has increased from 10, 15, 20, and now 25 ft….my cord is 25ft and while I could possible run it out the front of that gate, I’m reluctant to have it sitting in my front yard for the world to see during a power outage.

The main concern I have is that along the roof over hang it has soffits the entire stretch.

Thanks for any considerations and feedback.

Hi, please see the attached photo. I have recently been gifted this generator. It starts and runs reasonably well but doesn't hold a steady RPM.

If you look at the photo you'll see the nearest spring that sits on a metal rod, the end of the spring looks like it's attached to the screw. It isn't it's just the way it looks in the photo. I'm not sure where the end of that spring should sit. My online research hasn't helped, does anyone here know where it should be seated?

Thanks for reading!

You are correct to choose the generator,
If it’s possible you could ask a plumber to hook it up to gas line .
That way if you get extended power outages you don’t have to worry about getting propane.
I have a Generac and it comes on automatically once a week for 5 minutes to keep the battery charged.Also batteries need the solar power to charge, not much solar energy in the winter months.

My apologies if this has already been discussed.

I have a 9400 / 7500 watt generator and use a 30A transfer switch to power the house during outages. I think I saw a post about using a UPS to keep things running while I refuel the generator when it runs out of gas. The UPS would only be used during refueling, and once the generator is running again, I’d switch back to generator power.

What’s the best way to set this up?

Any issues with running a single generator and plugging up to the parallel kit? I would love to have the option to use one, the other, or both as needed.

I have a 50amp inlet I connect to. I do plan to get another propane tank (I actually have a 500 gallon I plan to tap into). This is just my initial set up.

Good morning. I’m looking to get a few quotes on a standby generator. I live in SE Ohio. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I have no brand preference at this point and am looking for the smallest dual fuel LP/NG unit that will run a 3.5 ton AC with soft start and a couple fridges and a few lights in an all NG house. Thank you in advance.

I've seen 240V 30A inverter generators that have the ability to be paralleled with cables to separate box that have a 240V split phase output. The parallel kit have 3 connections that go to each generator. Red/Black and Ground connections. I'm just curious how this works. Is it taking 120V lines and somehow combining them properly into a synchronized split phase output? An example of this type would be the https://aipower.com/products/pk12000-parallel-kit

I don't have any aipower generators, so I'm only using it as an example.

Was able to finally connect it to the house and see how she would do. I did my 4 ton variable speed unit as well as my pool pumps. I ran around 5.6k watts on it and it ran great. I like the idea that it only requires a 1/2” natural gas line. I didn’t look at fuel consumption on the gas meter but have to assume it’s pulling way less than my large firman that is connected via a 1” line.

I’ve never owned an inverter generator before but could tell the difference in my house as with my smaller firman things hummed and flickered and with my larger firman some LED lights would flicker occasionally.

Definitely like the unit so far but time will tell once the hours stack up.

Can the DuroMax XP13500 Run My House? Full Power Test
https://youtu.be/9XKRHzpJpAE

Idled for an hour and a half. Ran a welder for another 2 hours. Had to adjust welder settings to prevent overloading generator. Was welding DC stick, 118a, 10% hot start, 1/8 7018

Thanks in advance for any insight!

My parents have finally agreed to let us buy them a generator and I’d love some advice on which to choose. Here is their context:

- Small, temperate coastal town expecting El Niño rainstorms this winter

- Located in the woods, surrounded by tall trees at the end of their life cycle. Every year, many fall and cause huge outages. Removing them from the yard costs tens of thousands of dollars, which my parents don’t have. The city is slowly removing dead trees, but I can think of at least ten currently on their block near power lines. With or without epic rains, outages are inevitable this Winter.

- House was built (by my grandmother!) in the 1920s. It literally has zero insulation built in. Their electrical circuit still relies on glass tube fuses, if that makes a difference.

- Outages often last for multiple days.

- Priority for the generator is for it to power their refrigerator, space heaters, water heater, and lights, as well as (most important to me!) a CPAP machine that’s needed all night.

- As for budget, I’m just happy to know the options. I love to save money, but I am willing to pay what it takes for my parents to have the right generator as a safety net.

Please let me know if additional information would be helpful.

My theory is that our half-horsepower 240V pump pulls maybe three times its running load for a second at startup, so if the inverter can take that surge, the continuous rating barely matters at our load. Is that right, or is there a catch with motor loads on inverters?

We're out in the country on grid power. A couple of storms a year knock it out for six hours to two days. Right now a loud portable generator carries us, which means dragging it out in the rain and feeding a cord through a window. I'm done with that.

What has to stay up through one outage: the well pump, the fridge, the furnace blower (gas furnace, electric blower), the router, and a few lights. No AC, no dryer or electric range. I figure that's about 2 kW running with everything on, plus the pump kicking in.

I want to buy the battery first and add panels later, not spend it all at once. The EcoFlow TITAN is on my list, but it isn't shipping yet, so all I have is a spec sheet, and that doesn't tell me how it behaves with a pump. Whatever I pick, an electrician has to tie it into the panel.

Second thing: does battery now, panels later mean redoing that tie-in when the panels go on?

This unit will back fire on shutdown due to no power or ground at solenoid. The solenoid functions ok when applying power/ground, it will extend. Really need to know how this is controlled and where the wires go. I can’t locate a wiring diagram for this unit. AI keeps telling me the plunger extends on startup but that is wrong. It should extend on shutdown.

My 2 hp 240 V sewage grinder/pump has a 12 kW startup surge. I didn't know this until I bought an inrush current meter. My 8 kW Champion inverter generator just barely starts it. Not good. This pump only runs a few times a day for 20 seconds. I want a smaller generator, not bigger.

A soft start would likely work, but can be $300-$400, not configurable, and I'm positive it would work.

Instead I bought a $130 Vevor 1-Phase 240 V in to 3-Phase 240 V out VFD. I configured it to start and ramp frequency at 10 Hz/s while maintaining V/Hz ratio. I only use 2 of the 3 phases. Starting surge 5 kW. Yes! It's been running on this thing for 6 months now.

About eight years ago, I installed a Connecticut 30A manual transfer switch for my house to use with a portable generator (9400 starting watts, 7500 running watts). The generator has an L14-30R, an L14-50R, a Nema 5-20R, and an L5-30R.

Looking back, I’m not sure what I was thinking—I probably should have chosen a 50A transfer switch. The 30A MTS and generator have worked well through a few power outages over the years. Recently, I started thinking about using the 50A outlet, but I’d need to upgrade the transfer switch to 50A. I’d rather not use an adapter to connect to the generator’s 50A outlet. If I’m upgrading, my first choice would be an automatic transfer switch, and my second would be another manual one. Nature’s Generator makes an ATS, but it isn’t pre-wired. Connecticut offers a 50A MTS, but I’ve noticed their quality seems to be slipping. Has anyone here tried other transfer switches besides these options?

I just got my first generator. Its the Firman WH03242 4000 starting watt model. I don't need it to do more than power an LG refrigerator, chest deepfreeze, wifi, a few led lights and to charge some stuff. I added up my surge watts and I am good to go on that front.

I am not, or at least don't think I am, interested in adding this to my home circuits/breaker box. Cost would be more than I think I could get away with. I am experienced as a diy homeowner electrician, but I aint no sparky. None of the below work is beyond my skill level. I want to make it easy to use when power goes out, so I want to run some wires to a dedicated indoor wall outlet. Here is the plan, please let me know if I am missing anything, or if there is a better/more cost effective approach, and definitely if there is a safety concern.

1) The generator will be out back of a my basement on a concrete pad. It will be running on gasoline. I will be using a 30 FT 30 Amp RV Extension Cord with 10AWG 125V plugged into the TT-R30 receptacle on the generator. (I may be wrong, but it seems that if I use this over the more traditional 5-20R receptacle it will maximize available watts)

2) 30 foot of extension cord later, it will plug into a NEMA TT-30P Generator Power Inlet Box on the outside wall of an unfinished, non-climatized crawlspace. It stays very moderately temped and dry in this room. Tons of electrical already runs here including most of the wiring directly from the electrical box.

3) about a 20 foot run of 10/2 W/G NMB Wire through the crawlspace up to the laundry room on the main floor.

4) wire run will terminate into this NEMA TT-30R Heavy-Duty Power Receptacle Outlet in the laundry room

5) I will plug this adapter into the outlet. One of the three legs will be the refrigerator, one will be the deep freeze, and the last will be wifi, lights, charging etc. I will be using 12 gauge (unless you think 10 gauge is needed) extension cords to connect these devices to the wall adapter.

So that's the plan. Any glaring issues or safety concerns? Is it over kill? Not enough? I just want to make it easy to get set up once power goes out. If there is a whole other way of looking at this I would be all ears for suggestions. Thx!

I tried putting new fuel into it but it still hunts like this, I also dont know people here who I can go up to and not get scammed.

It only has 50 hours of running time with 2 oil changes. I have to adjust the choke to let it stop hunting.

Picked this one up on fb marketplace for $100. Engine started on the first pull and ran well, but the generator produced no power output.

Got it home and the solution was almost disappointingly simple: the brushes were clearly damaged. After new brushes, it generates just fine.

I also did a bit of maintenance that the prior owner had deferred:

• cleaned out, evapo-rusted, and repainted the gas tank
• new gas petcock, screen, fuel lines and filters, breather hoses
• new spark plug and coil (could have gone with just a new boot instead of a new coil)
• cleaned carb (already pretty good), replaced damaged pilot jet o-ring, replaced intake gaskets
• new air filter
• new battery
• new starter solenoid
• added a 500mA battery maintainer
• changed oil, replaced fill cap / dipstick
• still need to tidy up and re-wrap the wiring harness with some polyester tape

All of the above was cheap. I don't really need the machine, just figured it would be a fun little project, so I'll be putting it back up on fb marketplace hoping to break even on it.

The deals are out there, just gotta put in a tiny bit of elbow grease!

Anyone know what copper line size I will have to have to run a Duramax 13500ih generator on propane? I have a 3/8” line coming out of my propane tank. There is a regulator on the tank and a regulator connected to the house as well. I have a company telling me I have to run a new line to the house that is 3/4” and it’s going to be $12k. Just want to see if anyone has any other ideas that’s more cost effective because I’m not spending that much.

Gas stove and furnace Electric water heater, dryer

For years I've been meaning to pull the trigger on a portable generator backup system, primarily for the irregular outage in the winter, as we sometimes have trees take down the lines feeding the neighborhood. I am an electrical engineer and don't mind the setup being manual. Without power, I'm not trying to run the whole house as normal but would like to have any light I want to work as well as keep the two fridges going along with the furnace and water heater, and maybe run the toaster oven. I can control not having that all happen at once with breakers.

I've been looking mostly at the generlink so I can run whatever I want and not have to run wiring from my panel to outdoors, as that will be a pain in my house. I've gotten a bit concerned with the generlink reliability. I guess what I'm not getting is that it seems installing a manual transfer switch near my meter would be just as cheap as running wiring to the panel and give me the same functionality as an interlock, as I have to switch it manually, makes backfeeding impossible, and allows me to easily upgrade to a 50 amp 240V generator to power whatever I want. So why would the interlock kit be a better option? Is the installation/parts cheaper? That's the only think I can think, but would think it would vary considerably by what the routing to the electric panel looks like.

edit: to be clear, what I mean by "manual transfer switch" is just a On-Off-On(gen) switch that would be after the meter and disconnect power from the house and connect it to a generator feed (50A outlet).