Thanks for the feedback! Even before Ida, I was having trouble sourcing them. Westinghouse shows it as a current model, but some retailers are saying its discontinued. Its low THD, power ratings and price make it the ideal choice for me, so I hope to get my hands on one.

I took a look at the 9500DF and like all the specs except for the THD. I would be worried about accidentally frying my non-UPS backed electronics. So many appliances beyond computers have circuit boards these days (tv, cell phones, tankless water heater, fridge, washer, smart thermostats, wifi cameras, etc.)

Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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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.

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Happy with mine so far. Fortunately I haven't had to use it in an emergency yet so time will tell I guess. During breakin time its done really well.

Ended up buying me a Micro-Air EasyStart (soft start) to replace my hard start kit on my Trane 5 ton AC. My LRA rating on the nameplate is 152.9 amps. With the hard start, multi-meter was maxing out at about 93 amps. My peak start-up amps with the EasyStart has been 48.4 amps thus far! During my trial runs, my Westinghouse 12000DF didn't seem to have a problem getting the AC going even with the hard start kit, but I now have even further peace of mind especially more things are running around the house.

For those following, if you get the century natgas adapter, it is highly recommended to either ask for an additional fitting (non set screw) or source one yourself if you already have one. A buddy of mine is doing the same and could not get it to start with the default fitting but with an elbow it turns on first crank. FYI

Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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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.

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https://www.homedepot.com/p/Westinghouse-WPro8500-11-500-8-500-Watt-Industrial-Gas-Powered-Portable-Generator-with-Remote-Start-GFCI-Protection-and-Lift-Hook-WPro8500/306545964

The Wpro 8500 is back in stock at home depot. I think I saw 9 were available. I ordered mine back in the spring and had it delivered for free to the local home depot.

Thanks! I thought I was covered by a restock alert from HD but none was received so i would've missed it. Snagged one.

Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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Thanks! I thought I was covered by a restock alert from HD but none was received so i would've missed it. Snagged one.

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Glad it worked out! I remember you saying they were out of stock earlier this week so I decided to search homedepot.com(while waiting for the football game to start) and see what the generator situation looked like just out of curiosity. Happened to see they were in stock.

So I failed to test my system befor the storm. Have a westinghouse 8500 with 50a plug. GFI pops every time I apply power to my panel.

Any quick tips on the cause?

Mdub00 said:

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So I failed to test my system befor the storm. Have a westinghouse 8500 with 50a plug. GFI pops every time I apply power to my panel.

Any quick tips on the cause?

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Maybe something to do with the floating vs. bonded neutral you need to change?

edit: bad bull didn't want to put any bad info out there

My 12000DF manual has a section called "How to Float the Neutral" under "OPERATION" section. I'm not sure if this is your problem, but I seem to recall reading that could cause what you were experiencing. Don't trust me on this though cause I've got very basic electrical skills.

https://westinghouseoutdoorpower.com/blogs/westinghouse-blog/float-the-neutral-wpro8500-wpro12000-wgen12000

Mdub00 said:

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Neutral is tied in the panel. So I guess that is bonded. Flipping through the Manuel not finding much yet.

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Quoting you to make sure you see the link posted above. It's an easy fix.

thanks, floated it, fixed it! Tested it, ran downstairs AC (5 ton with hard/soft start) + 2 refrige + 1 freezer

fyi.. centerpoint got power going 5 min before i fixed the generator, so i failed

Edit: 5 Ton / 15 SEAR

I moved to a new house with a big boy 48kw whole home Generac unit about a month ago. I don't think I could paid sticker price for this thing, but as part of a depreciated asset, it's really nice to have.

Mdub00 said:

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thanks, floated it, fixed it! Tested it, ran downstairs AC (15 ton with hard/soft start) + 2 refrige + 1 freezer

fyi.. centerpoint got power going 5 min before i fixed the generator, so i failed

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Do you have a hard or soft start? I didn't think you could have both.

i put a hard start kit on it. they call it a hard start, but it makes it a soft start. hate the marketing.

Used a Kickstart KS1, purchased at Johnstone on Shepard in Houston, was less than 50 bucks. I installed it myself.

5 Ton Unit, not 15.... it is 15 SEAR, my mistake

Was curious which route you went. From my post above, this was my experience:

Quote:

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Ended up buying me a Micro-Air EasyStart (soft start) to replace my hard start kit on my Trane 5 ton AC. My LRA rating on the nameplate is 152.9 amps. With the hard start, multi-meter was maxing out at about 93 amps. My peak start-up amps with the EasyStart has been 48.4 amps thus far! During my trial runs, my Westinghouse 12000DF didn't seem to have a problem getting the AC going even with the hard start kit, but I now have even further peace of mind especially more things are running around the house.

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Was ready with my generator ready to go and plenty of gas on hand and was fortunate to not lose power for more than a few seconds. (Not sure what grid I'm on as I never lose power). A bunch of Lake Jackson/Clute is still without power.

Ended up loaning mine to my grandparents.

On a semi-related note, for those on the west side of Houston (Energy Corridor, Spring Branch, Westchase, etc.), the new Phillips 66 on Westheimer just outside the tollway has ethanol-free gas.

I saw it on the Pure-Gas.org site on Sunday, but didn't believe it and drove out to the Katy Buccee's to get gas for my generator. I drove by yesterday and sure enough they have it at every pump that doesn't have diesel.

Still waiting for the Westinghouse to come back up for sale, but I did buy a Jackery 1500 for running my cpap. It should go 3 days without a charge. Not having that was the worst part, not sleeping just makes everything horrible.

I will never go through that again.

I bought a Champion 6250 generator and had a manual 30A transfer switch installed. My goal is run minimal lights/outlets, refrigerators, and portable AC at night. When I tested it a few weeks back, everything worked as expected except my portable AC. It was plugged into a GFCI protected circuit and kept tripping the breaker on my panel. The generator has enough to fire this portable up (max draw is 4200 Watts) and I did it with nothing else on. I was concerned maybe I was losing significant watts through the transfer from generator to panel, but maybe I have a neutral issue??

Am I possibly running into a similar issue with grounding? Not very electrically smart here.

Is it a GFCI breaker or GFCI outlet that protects the circuit?

GFCI circuit breaker.

I'm not sure that is your issue. Does the portable AC work fine on that circuit when your main power is on (along with everything else)? And you said it works on the generator with nothing else on- was it plugged directly into generator or through home circuit?

The portable AC works fine on that circuit under normal power - AC went out a few weeks ago and we used it to cool the bedroom off for a night.

I had the unit plugged into that circuit when I was testing the generator. Generator was connected to panel through a manual transfer switch. I had already shut all the other things I was testing off, so the generator had no load on it. Started the unit and as soon as the compressor kicked on, the breaker would trip on the panel.

I have also tested the AC unit plugged directly to generator and it fired up fine. I can always do that, but running cords all over sort of defeats the purpose of the transfer switch I guess.

Still waiting on my WPro8500 to arrive. Home Depot's freight company is worthless. Tracking info shows the unit has been in Houston for four days and "out for delivery" for two days now. Cant get ahold of anyone who knows where the unit is or ETA. I assume it's just going to "disappear".

Need help with something I don't know the answer to...

Our house is on a well and the electric for the well is supplied through a breaker in our house. We want to be sure we're going to have water running in the event of an outage. Do I need to be running a generator into our meter box, so that it's power the whole home, then we can select what items we're running to keep our amperage within the constraints of the generator, or is there another work around where I can just have a portable generator and bypass the breaker?

Not sure on the workaround. I'm sure there's a way, but I would go with your first option.

Get an interlock kit and power inlet box installed. You can manage the power and have other power without scrambling with extension cords.

Furnace would also require a workaround if you don't go with interlock or similar option.

ag_pete09 said:

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Not sure on the workaround. I'm sure there's a way, but I would go with your first option.

Get an interlock kit and power inlet box installed. You can manage the power and have other power without scrambling with extension cords.

Furnace would also require a workaround if you don't go with interlock or similar option.

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We've got a wood stove in addition to furnace, but planning on going with a 50amp generator, so I think I'd be good with running furnace and well and the fridge. We're in Montana, so presumably it'll be cold enough to either not need the furnace or we can put the freezers outside and let mother nature keep our food frozen.

Spoke with my electrician yesterday and he said he'd have to probably replace the meter box and install the interlock there. Rough estimate he said 2-3k for that work, which I have no real idea on whether that's reasonable, but I assume that would be a lot more in Texas.

Plan A, wire into the main panel using a lockout. Then you can select which circuits you want on based on amperage of your generator and what you need to run. You just have to budget enough amp capacity in the event everything clicks on at once.

Plan B: determine the size of generator needed to run your well. Have an electrician install an inlet and transfer switch.

Have to have a lockout so your don't backfeed your home and or the powerlines feeding your home.

$500 for 50A interlock install without cord. Several bids I had were $300+ more.

Another option I looked at was installing myself and paying a commissioning/inspection fee. I think that was going to run me $150 plus parts for the actual install.

Handyman offered to do it for 300-350. I wanted a certified master electrician to approve it though.

Neighborhood electrician gave me one quote until he realized I lived in the neighborhood and $400 magically dropped off his quote.

Call around, you will be amazed at the variability in pricing. Just tell them you want a 50A power inlet with interlock kit. They may want a picture of your panel.

I just have a hard time believing $2000-$3000 for something like that. Maybe he just doesn't want to be bothered. Or maybe your setup is super complicated somehow.

I don't have a main disconnect on my electrical panel/breaker box and my brand panel has some issues with breakers not tripping properly so I want and need to replace it. To replace it all and install the hardware for hooking up my generator is going to be 2-3k in Texas as well. The biggest cost is labor.