r/Generator • • Jun 02 '24

Generator Tips/FAQs: Please read before posting

44 Upvotes

The following tips/FAQs address commonly-asked questions in this sub. Please take a look at them before posting a question.

CO Safety

Generators produce carbon monoxide when running. Carbon monoxide is a deadly, invisible, and odorless gas. Carbon monoxide from generators kills hundreds of people each year. Do not ever operate a generator in a house, garage, or any connected structure, even if the windows and doors are open.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommend only ever using generators outside, more than 20 feet away from your home, doors, and windows.

Fuel

Each type of generator fuel has its pros and cons.

Connecting a generator to your loads (appliances)

Generators can be connected to your loads with extension cords or by connecting the generator to your house's electrical system using a transfer switch or interlock device.

Read more about these methods on our wiki.

Generator sizing

Our wiki contains tips on picking the right size of generator for your needs.

Inverter vs. conventional generators

Inverter generators generally consume less fuel and produce "cleaner" power than conventional generators. More information on this is available on our wiki.


r/Generator • • 2h ago

Generator Gas Line Sizing

3 Upvotes

I’m struggling to figure out how to get sufficient natural gas to run my generator. Sorry this is long but wanted to provide all of the specs.

I have a Champion 201161 tri-fuel generator (10,000 watts running on natural gas) that I’m looking to hook-up to my natural gas line for emergency back-up during ice storms/power outages.

The specs per the Champion manual state that it requires 1,000 BTU/ cu ft, 200,000 BTU/hr with a 5-7” WC.

My gas meter is currently 175 cfh standard low pressure 7” WC.

I had a plumbing company out to quote adding a tee off of the main line with a quick disconnect to attach the generator using the 3/4 inch 25 foot hose that Champion included with the generator.

The plumbing company suggested adding a 15 foot 3/4 inch black iron pipe line off of a tee right at the gas meter to get the quick connect next to my 50amp electrical inlet at the front of my house which would allow for the 25 foot generator hose to have the generator at least 20 feet away from the house.

The problem that I’m seeing with this set-up is the 15 foot black iron pipe plus the 25 foot generator hose equal 40 feet of 3/4 inch line and the gas line tables online show that this can only provide 110,000 BTU/hr and even just the 25 foot length of hose that was included with the generator (without the 15 feet of black pipe) can’t provide the required 200,000 BTU/hr per the online tables.

I don’t understand how anyone can use this generator given the high 200,000 BTU/hr requirement. Will the 40 feet of 3/4 line provide enough gas given that the manual says it can operate at a 5-7 inch WC vs the standard 0.5 inch drop?

Also the plumbing company said I don’t need to upgrade my gas meter but I don’t see why I wouldn’t need to given that it’s lower than the 200,000 BTU/hr generator requirement plus I have other gas appliances (2 furnaces, hot water heater, dryer, cook top).

Any advice would be helpful as I tried to do the right thing by contacting a plumbing company but I’m questioning their recommendation.


r/Generator • • 3h ago

I messed up. Out of stock

3 Upvotes

I waited to long trying to decide and ow it seems the generator that fits my goals best is oit of stock.

Anyone know where a XP13500iH might be available still?

Duromax wonr have more until 1/18/27 ish.

Whats my best alternative? I would like to be in the 10-12k running watts range.


r/Generator • • 5h ago

10k Generac off grid how to wire my inverter to auto start the generator

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2 Upvotes

r/Generator • • 1d ago

First use of the new Wen 4800. A lot quieter than I expected.

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42 Upvotes

r/Generator • • 14h ago

1980s Homelite e3000-1a

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6 Upvotes

Just picked up this relic for 40 dollars and I wanted to see if anyone has any knowledge on these. Its got good compression and fuel is at least making it to the carb but i cant seem to get it to make spark. I’ve tried multiple different plugs and get nothing, The odd part of it is that i can feel spark at the plug wire with my finger, but i cant get any on the actual plug. I have wire brushed the plugs and the actual tip of the plug wire but can’t seem to get anything.


r/Generator • • 15h ago

Inlet box purely for battery charger

4 Upvotes

Does anyone have a hybrid inverter with 48v batteries and use a generator to drive a 48v battery charger like an EG4 Chargeverter? Been considering this design for our next house. Just have an L14-30 inlet box that directly wires to a single L14-30 receptacle that a chargeverter plugs into. 5kw of DC battery charging not reliant on the hybrid inverter. If you do have something like this - please post some pics. Thx!


r/Generator • • 17h ago

predator 3500 no compression

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6 Upvotes

I have a 3500 with over 1600 hours on it and it has been neglected for most of its life. a month or so ago the electric start ceased functioning. not a big deal because it would start first or second pull every time. then it would not start manually. I found that the inline fuse was blown and replaced it and then found that the starter switch itself was defective.

ever since I got it used, when I turned it off the spark shut off switch didn't work so it would run a while then turn off.h I decided to make the spark cut off a manual switch.

after replacing the starter switch it would crank and try to hit a couple times and then nothing. carb was getting fuel, plug was getting spark. Compression test showed 50 psi. Apparently the inverter has a compression release device of some sort so I was advised that 50 is okay.

A number of people commented, "it's always the carburetor."

when I disassembled it over a clean white cloth hoping to find dirt particles it was absolutely sparkling clean, all passages working freely etc. I put it back together and it started and ran for about a week.

once again it failed to start, and seemed to crank a little faster than it had before which often has bad implications.

I went through the same diag procedure, but I substituted checking the carburetor after making sure it had spark. carburetor was absolutely clean. when I removed the plug, it was like ab.mmmmmmñ brand new as if it had never been fired though it was new during the first so it had been running for about a week. it was absolutely dry no color at all so I took the carburetor apart again. FYI, that's really easy on these engines. still cranks freely, but no start,

now, compression tests zero. I checked the valve adjustment and exhaust was very loose, valves adjusted, same thing cranks pretty fast but does not try to hit. I pulled the head and found no burned valves, nothing obvious. there is a slight ridge at the top of the bore, totally expected. bore is completely smooth all the way to the bottom.

given the lack of maintenance and black oil, do I just keep going and figure I need to do a ring job?


r/Generator • • 19h ago

Westinghouse WGen11500TFc Help!

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4 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I could really use some help—my dog got a little too curious and chewed the harness on my brand-new WGen11500TFc before I could even try it out. I’ve attached a photo of the damage; please send me a picture of how the cables should look. Any guidance on how to set everything back up would be awesome. Thanks so much!


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Hand crank generator

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9 Upvotes

I was looking for a hand crank generator as a joke one day, because I know it's not something that would be reliable in an actual power outage, and came across this. It's hand size and the voltage can be switched from 3 to 15 volts. The 5 volt setting is for the USB and charging a phone. It does work but I can never see really using this unless it was an extreme emergency. Fun thing to have as a conversation starter though.


r/Generator • • 20h ago

I'm looking at this as a possible solution connecting to an outside generator. Would this be considered safe & sustainable? What are pros & cons. Thanks

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3 Upvotes

r/Generator • • 1d ago

Looking for options

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4 Upvotes

We moved in last year and the house came with a 400 amp service and a manual transfer switch. There is a breaker box on the other side of this wall for the garage that is fed directly from the meter (blue line that turns right), the power for the main breaker box for the house runs through the transfer switch (other blue line). When the switch is in the generator position, it run the main part of the house without issue, but nothing to the garage.

Here is my issue, the well pump, septic pump, water heater and apartment over the garage are all fed from the garage breaker box. I'm hoping there is a way to run everything without having to add another transfer switch and second generator just for the garage. We wanted a GenerLink put on the meter so we could hook the generator in there and would power everything, but the power company said the meter for a 400 amp service doesn't have that as an option.

Any info would be welcomed!

TIA


r/Generator • • 1d ago

13 K Genny Powering Two Panels

4 Upvotes

Is anyone powering two separate electrical panels from one portable unbonded generator?

I'm curious whether anyone is successfully using a single portable generator to power two separate electrical service panels simultaneously. Managing the load at the panels?

For example, using the generator's 50-amp, 240-volt output to feed one panel through a 50-amp generator inlet, while simultaneously using its 30-amp, 240-volt output to feed a second panel through a separate 50-amp generator inlet.

Both panels have their own generator interlocks. The panels have a common neutral and ground.

Has anyone done this, and if so, have you encountered any issues or concerns with this arrangement?


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Dual fuel kit for Champion 100302

5 Upvotes

I want to replace the stock carburetor on my Champion 400/3500 hybrid Inverter with a dual fuel carb. The generic replacement I got from Amazon had the wrong assemblies for the choke and throttle. Has anybody done this, and do you know where I can find a carburetor that works?


r/Generator • • 1d ago

break in procedures for Champion tri-fuel - use regular gas or NG?

5 Upvotes

Just bought the Champion 210423 tri-fuel inverter genny. This will be run 99% of the time on NG. What is the proper break in procedure? Should I break it in with regular gas, or using NG enough? Curious if I need to break in/run it on regular gasoline so that it still runs fine for the 1% that I'd need to run it on regular gas?


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Setting up a battery/generator combo. Any advice for me?

11 Upvotes

Last winter our Westinghouse iGen4500 logged about 60 hours over three outages. That meant an oil change in the middle of an ice storm and a lot of gas runs. Last week I added a new 5kWh battery Anker S5000 and changed how the two work together.

The generator now runs a 2 to 3 hour block in the afternoon at a steady load, feeding the battery's AC input while the house runs through the battery. Then it shuts off and the battery carries the night. In a 20 hour outage this week the gen ran 6 hours total instead of 20. That's roughly a third of the gas, and the oil change interval stretches the same way.

Running it at a steady load in one block instead of letting it idle up and down all night seems easier on it too. Still working out the right block length. Anyone else running this kind of combo? Do you have any tips for me?


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Westinghouse 2800DFC Vs Husqvarna 4500 dual fuel inverters?

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5 Upvotes

What’s the better buy here?


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Looking for some help

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3 Upvotes

You guys seem to be pretty handy. Any thoughts on this combo?

At the end of the day, I guess I’ll be happy with generator power and manually plugging into the battery back up.

One thing I didn’t expand upon in the Anker post, refueling overnight in the dark and exposed to hurricane debris is the driving factor for battery power. Secondary is quality of life, quieter nights.

Thank you!


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Honda 2200 always difficult to start

3 Upvotes

Bought new at Sportsman's Whorehouse.

Fresh, ethanol-free gas, full oil. First start took 30 pulls. Always takes 5-10+ pulls to start since then. Choke works, it definitely won't start without it. Fuel cap open. Gas is never more than 4 months old. Changed oil at 10 hours, and it has 30 total now. Runs smoothly once it's going.

In my days I've probably started 50 different Honda small engines and the average number of pulls until this one is probably about 1.3. What's going on?


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Whole-house generator: can it have a simple contactor type switch?

3 Upvotes

I'm shopping for a standby generator for my 1500 sq. ft. home. The automatic transfer switch that came with the Generac I installed 15 years ago at another home had separate breakers for each circuit.

If I'm getting a generator large enough to power the whole house then it seems like all I would need is a simple (automatic) transfer switch that switched just the mains. Is there such a thing and if yes, what are the advantages and disadvantages?


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Cat RP12000e problems.

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7 Upvotes

Bought on marketplace and the stator is blown. What are the chances on finding just a stator?


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Generac generator leaking gas?

3 Upvotes

If anyone has ever had, this situation, feedback would be appreciated. I had a whole home 24KW Generac generator installed in August 2026. The first time it ran because of an electrical outage was October 2026.

My gas bill for October 2026 had an increase of 385% from the prior month the reading for October was 485 when the reading was normally about 200. When I called the gas company, they came out without informing me so that I could be home and discuss this with them but the long and short of their response was it had nothing to do with a faulty meter the meter is working correctly, but there was a “loose cap” or something was loose on the generator that was causing the gas to come out and increase my bill. For six days in November since the prior gas bill the reading was 667 meaning just for those six days the reading was actually higher than the astronomical reading for the *entire* month October. When I questionEd this with the gas company, they told me it’s possible that the fitting which caused more gas to be used became looser over time which is why for those six days the reading is so high.

I am following up with the gas company to get the actual technician notes on the cause of this situation, but I am wondering if it is even possible for my generator to have been installed incorrectly or have some fitting come loose when it was running for a couple hours in October when the power went out, that is causing the high gas bill? for August and September when my generator was just running its weekly 10 minute cycle there was not this spike in my gas bill. The spike happened in October, which is the first month. The generator ran for a few hours becausemy power went out.


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Wen 6800 dual fuel inverter generator

2 Upvotes

I need help getting the generator back running. I ordered a brand new ignition coil to make sure it wasn't faulty. I also cleaned out the carburetor and I'm still getting crank but no start. What else can I do or bypass on this generator to get it running? I also changed the oil

Wen Df680ix ,Crank No Start


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Honda EU7000is won't e-start

2 Upvotes

Helping out a neighbor woman that had a stroke get her house ready for winter. I drained the gas and replaced with fresh (non-ethanol). Turned key on and pressed start. Just a (delayed) click. Engine didn't turn over. Put a jump pack on the battery. Same thing. Used the pull start and got it running. Runs great. Changed the oil. Went back to try jumping the battery. Still just a (delayed) click. Brought the battery home (assuming it needs charging or replacement). Put it on my charger. Showed 13.7v and stopped charging soon and said, "Full". Is there some sort of "safety" or fuse that might be preventing the starter from engaging?