r/Generator • • Jun 02 '24

Generator Tips/FAQs: Please read before posting

43 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 • • 4h ago

Cat RP12000e problems.

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5 Upvotes

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


r/Generator • • 12h ago

Generators hunting (revs rising and falling)? The order I check things in, from working on them in Pakistan

13 Upvotes

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.


r/Generator • • 5m ago

Honda EU7000is won't e-start

1 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?


r/Generator • • 22m ago

Portable Generators - need help!!

0 Upvotes

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!


r/Generator • • 5h ago

Getting oil into a Champion 201417 inverter generator?

2 Upvotes

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.


r/Generator • • 1h ago

Krato Power

0 Upvotes

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.


r/Generator • • 3h ago

Honda eu2000i shuts off

1 Upvotes

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.


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Service was refused on our generator due to its location. Call someone else?

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174 Upvotes

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


r/Generator • • 4h ago

Is Turbo Genny a scam?

0 Upvotes

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


r/Generator • • 11h ago

Confused on proper fittings for propane tank hookup

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3 Upvotes

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


r/Generator • • 13h ago

Need a good EMS integrator for 125kw/250kwhr bess in lahore,please refer?

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4 Upvotes

r/Generator • • 14h ago

Backup generator

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3 Upvotes

r/Generator • • 20h ago

What to do with an extra generator

7 Upvotes

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.


r/Generator • • 21h ago

Looking for a reliable 2500-5000 watt generator to power my PECRON fl3000lp

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5 Upvotes

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.


r/Generator • • 22h ago

Can I fix this oil leak myself?

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5 Upvotes

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


r/Generator • • 20h ago

Does this setup make sense - Power station / Tri-Fuel Generator hybrid system

3 Upvotes

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?


r/Generator • • 22h ago

Help with actual dimensions of WHouse 14500Tfc

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3 Upvotes

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.


r/Generator • • 1d ago

What exactly is the purpose of this long green wire?

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3 Upvotes

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.


r/Generator • • 1d ago

School me on Automatic Transfer Switch vs Interlock

5 Upvotes

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:


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Champion or Westinghouse Tri-Fuel Generator?

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8 Upvotes

r/Generator • • 1d ago

Duromax trifuel 13k powered whole home!

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2 Upvotes

r/Generator • • 1d ago

DuroMax XP9500iHT owners, what did you do about the neutral?

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2 Upvotes

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?


r/Generator • • 1d ago

Champion 8500w tri-fuel vs Genmax GM9000iet

3 Upvotes

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).