AC guy coming today to look at the microair.

Contractor redoing our master bath in two weeks, 2 other projects after. By that time I should have my generator sorted out, know the dimensions for a housing and be able to scope out getting a pad poured for it. Man, this is just taking forever.

Microair gets delivered tomorrow, shouldn't be too hard. Eek out a few more amps

Man, he was a grouchy old guy, "what the hell is this?"

Turns out my AC unit had an older hard start capacitor on it and he was delighted to rip "this crappy chinese ****" out. New run capacitor as well.

Now to find a generator.

Alaskan, I think you answered a question I had. A few years ago, I put in a hard start, and have been curious if the system would be that much better off with both a hard and soft start? It seems from your experience, the answer is no?

I really don't know. My AC guy tested both capacitors and said the hard start was old and they don't last too long. He had never seen the microair, so I printed the instructions off and he installed it, replaced the run cap and tested my coolant levels so I should be good to go for awhile.

You'd have to talk to the micro air company to find out if their system can incorporate a hard start.

My gut says no as I read all the install instructions and it didn't say anything about a hard start being an option.

The guy said I'd need about an 8k generator to get the compressor going with this installed. And then he went off on a tangent *****ing about 'quiet' new AC units that incorporate a sound dampening blanket which just makes the unit run hotter and take longer to cool off, because it insulates the compressor (which makes sense).

I Emailed to ask. I would guess no since it'll mess up the etting to kick it off

Confirmed, no hard start with soft start

How much did the A/C guy charge you? Also, did he measure starting amps before and after? Just curious how much of a reduction you got.

He did not. I should have asked, but by the time I came back around the corner he had the whole thing buttoned back up, so I don't know where you measure it. From what I've read for my particular unit's tag, and what the website says is the average reduction, I can get away with the Westinghouse 15000DF and be ok. So I'm just going to ballpark it.

Anyone have an idea of just how long of a natural has line you can run?

My meter and panel are on opposite sides of the property

Centerpoint wants $750 to install a new meter behind my garage, panel is in garage.

Curious if I could T off the gas line for the pool heater and run a 50-75ft hose to hook up to the generator? I'm guessing I would need my meter adjusted.

For those looking at power usage, here are a few snapshots of my usage as an example. I bought the wiser energy monitor for $200. You can set it up to monitor your mains and the generator if you wire it correctly. Currently mine is down as I think the wires got crossed during reinstall (supposedly can be fixed with a software update).

One image shows just the ACs on while I believe the other has both ACs and the oven. Adding the oven and ACs is too much, but I should be able to run both ACs even with natural gas without a softstart.

Measured loads:
Peak/running
Upstairs AC 3350/1600
Downstairs AC 5400/2850
Base load 720-1,000
Coffee pot 1045/334
Oven 3000 +1200 on surge
Microwave 1665

How many tons for your upstairs and downstairs a/c units?

Not sure. I'll take a look when I get home. 3600 sf house. Carrier ACs

Im sure this has been asked, but about to move to a house with Generac whole home unit. It's plumbed into the gas line. Anyone have experience with these? How much maintenance do I need to be aware of?

CowtownAg06 said:

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Im sure this has been asked, but about to move to a house with Generac whole home unit. It's plumbed into the gas line. Anyone have experience with these? How much maintenance do I need to be aware of?

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Pretty sure my old man fired his up weekly. Just have to maintain oil and change out once per year.

That is a nifty little tool. I do not think I NEED this...but I might need this.

@CowtownAg06- only have second hand knowledge on this and the above is a pretty good start. IMO I would get a service person to give it a once over as they are moving in to make sure it is in good working condition and/or get it to that point and give you the OEM suggested maintenance

Yeah, I didn't NEED it either but it was on sale so I "saved" about 1/3 of the cost!

Also, very easy to install and it will identify and label different electronics.

WhoopRAB said:

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How many tons for your upstairs and downstairs a/c units?

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3-1/2 downstairs
2-1/2 upstairs

I did a test run the other day with my Pulsar g12kbn using gasoline and was able to power everything.

Only issue I had was if I ran the pool equipment too, it couldn't handle everything trying to click on at once. If I staggered turning it all on, it ran fine. However, after awhile you could tell the big appliances we're trying to click on, and the surge couldn't be supported.

I'm not really worried about it, as I don't need to run the pool in the hot months and worst case I can just go back and forth with AC and pool if needed.

In the winter I can run the furnace and pool no problem

In general, the MicroAir has where my lights dont dim when the AC kicks on, and the startup is noticeably quieter.

MrJonMan, to your last question, I do not believe you need to change out your meter or change service pressure. From my understanding, your gas line should be treated like electricity with voltage drop. There are tables out there showing diameter vs length. For the WGEN12000DF you need 3/4" service, and I think you can have a 3/4" line to like 20-25 ft, then to maybe 50 ft you need 1", then past that like 1-1/4". I would check the tables and see if anyone else here can chime in.

And that sounds right, you are going to have to juggle your bigger appliances for start surge (AC, fridge, freezer, pool), unless you can add them all and keep them running to keep them all on run amps...

On my gas bill (Centerpoint) there is a fixed monthly charge and a variable charge based on use. I believe the new meter would be a new account so then you would be paying two fixed charges a month instead of just one.

Our house was built in 2014 so it has pretty good insulation and doubke pane windows.

Thanks. I'll look at the oil. I bought the Costco synthetic because it was cheaper than the mobil 1 even with the Lowe's 50% rebate if you have the extended warranty. Maybe if I can combine both it would be worth it.

Lowe's extended warranty:
How does the Payback Reward work?
When your contract expires, you can request 30% of the protection plan cost back if you never made a service claim requiring a repair on your major appliance. Usage of the Keep It Running Reward's 50% preventative maintenance reimbursement doesn't qualify as a service claim, so you can still request Payback Reward.

Correct, it's $18 a month minimum

Yes I put a Rectorseal hard start on my 5 ton AC and it made a big difference.

Good to know about the gas line. It's quite the distance to go all the way behind my garage with it so not sure it would be plausible to have that much line laid out

I think out past 100', you need 1-1/4" line, but I waive liability, go give it a look. Also, I am not sure what the implications may be if the line you are tying into is less than 1-1/4". I do have that size but have an adapter down to 3/4" due to only a 15' run

Since I can't leave well enough alone, I'm thinking about running wires from the breaker to the generator, so I don't have to move it when needed to use the cord, but I can. So it's about 50' and the breaker has 125A service. Since the additional cost to have this line as full service rated is nominal, I figure go ahead and run the conduit and wire for 125 A. So I plan to use rigid metal conduit, 1-1/2" for (3) 1/0 wires and (1) 6AWG ground. From what I can tell this needs to be at least 6" deep and 4" below the cement patio that will be tunneled (I will do the greater depth of the two). Beween the length, conduit, depths and wire, am I missing anything that will prevent this being to code?

Bump for the previous

No clue on that.

Did you ever get the modified conversion kit installed to try out or are you still running the upside down piece?

They just sent me out a 90 when I talked to them. A buddy of mine is way behind us on progress and apparently Century had been getting feedback that their kit didn't work. I explained to century what I had done to get it to work and he offered a 90 without a set screw, which worked just as it had with the inverted set screw. So it did not really change anything, but I appreciate having a more correct fitting. You could either source your own or get century to send you one. Maybe offer a report on how it works out for you

Sasappis said:

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I got the Wpro8500 in today and got it running. It was pretty easy to assemble by pushing it to the edge of the pallet and adding the wheels there. I am sure the 12000 is heavier but I think I could do the same with that one without stressing out about getting the wheel kit on.


I was pretty freaked out when it came off the truck because the packaging shows the old plug configuration. I was going to be pissed if it did not have the 50amp plug, but once I got the box open it has the correct plugs. I guess they updated the plugs for v2, but did not redo their marketing or packaging materials.

The electric start kicked off immediately once I added gas and oil.

I talked to the guy with the tri fuel conversion kits. He will not guaranty it, but we are both pretty sure this is the right kit for it. https://pngtec.com/westinghouse/westinghouse_3.htm

The Wpro8500 and Wgen9500 appear to be the same engine and frame configuration. I think the only difference is going to be GFI protection, steel fuel tank, low thd, and lift hook on the OSHA approved Wpro. I am not sure that 1000 watts is really material, but I am not sure how you actually would measure the output of the generators to be certain one way or the other.

I think I am going to order the kit. My only concern is that the regulator has to bolt onto the side of the frame and sticks out a little further than a lot of the other kits. There is some sort of "carbon" box that has hoses that run to the fuel tank and the back side of the carb. I assume this is some sort of clean air/CARB compliant addition to the small engine. If that thing was not there the regulator would sit nicely inside the frame and be a much better looking installation. I do not really intend to have this generator for any other purpose than whole house backup, so this is a marginal issue. If I was using on a work site or hauling it around a lot, I would be afraid the reg would get wacked off or snag on something.

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You end up liking your purchase? Unfortunately it looks like WPro8500 are sold out everywhere.

Bought the Honda 2200 Companion to run in parallel with my other 2200.

Yesterday at closing time, Landsdowne Moody in Webster had another 2200 Companion on the shelf for those of you that may be looking for that one.

I had been trying to find one for a few weeks in Houston with no luck until yesterday.

Dad and I both have the 9500 (I have the 9500DF). Haven't had to use mine to run the house yet, but I've tested it (50 amp connection). Dad probably has 400 hours on his (boondocking with a big 5th wheel) and loves it.

I went with the DF simply because I always have 2-3 full propane tanks around the house. I don't have to keep as much petrol around going stale, and if I'm just running it for a little while I'll use propane rather than risk keeping residual fuel in the gas tank.

Amazon & Walmart both have them online frequently.