DartAg1970 said:

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How much should I expect for an electrician to install a 50 amp inlet box?

Same question for HVAC to install a soft start on a 5 ton unit?

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For a simple install of a inlet box and interlock ~$500

For a soft start, Wise Guys will do it: micro air soft start | TexAgs

Be very careful with the Micro-Air soft start.

The Flex has not held up in the Houston weather. I've seen some posts that say their new batches have been hardened to handle the weather, but I'd be concerned.

I actually returned mine because it was definitely part of the bad batch.

I installed my Micro-Air Flex a couple months ago, and *knock on wood* have had no issues. However, if I were shopping for soft starts now, given all of the failures, I would look elsewhere.

ICM870
Hyper Engineering SureStart
Airgo

drumboy said:

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terradactylexpress said:

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I've heard far enough stories of generacs going out that I would have gone for Cummins or one of the other brands. Yes a lot are maintenance related but not all

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I've heard a few stories but folks I know w/ them haven't had issues. I guess when you pay $20K for backup power you expect the backup power to work when needed.

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The issue with the Generacs is the low oil censor. I know of multiple friends/neighbors who tripped a "low oil code" when it was actually full. After the tech came out it was nothing more than the censor causing the code.

Other than that I haven't heard about any issues with Generacs. I'm still a fan of Kohler over Generac, but they're both great when considering a full service upgrade.




Switching gears, for those who decided to get a full service gen set, what's the turn around time for install? Just curious as I suspect demand is high.

4 months from payment to install (quoted, not actual) for a kohler liquid cooled

Quote:

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Switching gears, for those who decided to get a full service gen set, what's the turn around time for install? Just curious as I suspect demand is high.

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I haven't done the math completely, but mine was about 4 months as well.

However, we also had Beryl in the middle of that and lots of weeks of rain which threw off their installation schedule.

So don't go with the micro air soft start?

Dill-Ag13 said:

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4 months from payment to install (quoted, not actual) for a kohler liquid cooled

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That's not bad at all considering wee just went through a major weather event. I was honestly expecting it to be significantly longer than 4 months.

Kohler liquid cooled is the way to go. So glad we went with that option last year as it saved my butt multiple times this year. First the Jericho then Beryl.

No joke I was shocked!

My soft start was installed on Tuesday. Since then I've noticed that sometimes when the unit cycles on/off, my lights flicker or dim. It doesn't seem to happen every time, and when I intentionally cycled the unit on/off last night, I couldn't replicate it.

I have had chronic problems with Centerpoint and my power, so this could just be coincidence.

Anyone else notice this after a soft start install?

No. But I installed my MicroAir softstart start several years ago.

TXTransplant said:

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My soft start was installed on Tuesday. Since then I've noticed that sometimes when the unit cycles on/off, my lights flicker or dim. It doesn't seem to happen every time, and when I intentionally cycled the unit on/off last night, I couldn't replicate it.

I have had chronic problems with Centerpoint and my power, so this could just be coincidence.

Anyone else notice this after a soft start install?

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I would have expected the opposite to be honest. Since it shouldn't be surging amps anymore, the lights flickering should be less and the AC should be quieter on start up.

AgLiving06 said:

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TXTransplant said:

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My soft start was installed on Tuesday. Since then I've noticed that sometimes when the unit cycles on/off, my lights flicker or dim. It doesn't seem to happen every time, and when I intentionally cycled the unit on/off last night, I couldn't replicate it.

I have had chronic problems with Centerpoint and my power, so this could just be coincidence.

Anyone else notice this after a soft start install?

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I would have expected the opposite to be honest. Since it shouldn't be surging amps anymore, the lights flickering should be less and the AC should be quieter on start up.

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Agreed. I've experienced less flickering. Been installed 2 years now.

AgLiving06 said:

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TXTransplant said:

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My soft start was installed on Tuesday. Since then I've noticed that sometimes when the unit cycles on/off, my lights flicker or dim. It doesn't seem to happen every time, and when I intentionally cycled the unit on/off last night, I couldn't replicate it.

I have had chronic problems with Centerpoint and my power, so this could just be coincidence.

Anyone else notice this after a soft start install?

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I would have expected the opposite to be honest. Since it shouldn't be surging amps anymore, the lights flickering should be less and the AC should be quieter on start up.

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I had the exact same thought and also would have expected the soft start to reduce any power fluctuations.

Given my history with Centerpoint, the flickering probably wouldn't have even caught my attention. But the BF was over on Tuesday after it was installed and saw the lights flicker. And he immediately wondered if the soft start had something to do with it.

How many amps is your electrical service? 200A?

Do you have any big power draw items? Tankless water heater?

As mentioned, soft start should be having the opposite effect. Was a new capacitor installed with the soft start?

Flaith said:

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How many amps is your electrical service? 200A?

Do you have any big power draw items? Tankless water heater?

As mentioned, soft start should be having the opposite effect. Was a new capacitor installed with the soft start?

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No clue how many amps my electrical service is. How would I determine this?

Water heater is not tankless - just old school tank that uses gas. Also, no other major appliances (dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, etc) were running when the lights flickered.

Got a new capacitor a few years ago. Not sure exactly how long it's been. I think maybe 3-ish (because that's almost how long my BF and I have been together, and he would have chastised me for paying as much as I did).

Open your electric panel and see what size the main breakers are.

The one this finger is touching in this picture - you can see the number on there.



Honestly, this is irrelevant. No way your AC is pulling too many amps to blink your lights on grid power. Something else is going on.

BF said the A/C guy measured my amps after installing the soft start and it's only pulling 11 (don't know what it was pulling before).

Lights flickering isn't an unusual occurrence at my house, which is why I didn't make any connection to the soft start install.

As a side note, same guy installed a soft start on my BF's A/C, and his is still pulling 21 amps. He had trouble getting his A/C to start on the generator back in July. He got it to run once, but when he turned the gen off, he couldn't get the A/C to come back on again.

21 is nothing. Seems like a problem on the generator end.

Your lights should definitely not be flickering with such a small draw.

I'm definitely paying attention now and will keep track of how often the flickers happen and what else is running when they do.

It seems like it's only the can/recessed lights in the kitchen that are flickering when it happens. However, it's not unusual for those to be the only lights on in the main part of the house. So, I'm not sure that really tells me anything.

Random power outage this evening. Fun stuff.

My Westinghouse 11500 is due for delivery today, so I'm running my NG converted DuraMax 12k for one last hurrah.

Have most of our setup complete. The electrician came today and set up the switch in the box, ran wiring down the side of the house inside conduit, and mounted the plug on the back side of the house. We have a tri-fuel Westinghouse 9500, and we have a gas connection for a grill on our back patio that only needed a $15 in parts to set up for the generator. The A/C soft start gets installed Monday, and I think we're all set.

Okay, got the A/C soft start in. Final tally, including the generator, is just under $3,000. It's maybe a little more than I expected since we didn't have to call out a plumber, but not completely unreasonable. And we added to the cost ourselves by having the electrician put the plug at the back of of the house and run wires through conduit down the side. That setup saved us having to get an extra-long cord from the generator to the plug, so the cost was probably a wash. I'm pretty happy to have it all done.

Let us know how the AC works, what tonnage? Are you going to make an enclosure for it or wheel it back and forth if you need it? And which soft-start?

I tend to think the enclosure option runs a lot of risk. These generators need lots of ventilation, and many of the newer models have CO sensors that shut down the generator if the levels get too high.

Most are having to modify any enclosure to either have fans running or a pipe on the exhaust to vent the air out.

Something like a GenTent is typically a cheaper option.

The air conditioner is 4-ton Lennox about three years old. The air conditioning guy picked the soft start, which is an ICM 870 32A. Our plan right now is to wheel the generator back and forth. We have a covered patio, and we plan to put it on the corner furthest from the door and run the patio ceiling fan. We are also considering getting a tent for generator, because part of the patio is uncovered, so we could put it a little farther from the house.

After the electrician installed everything and before we got the soft start, the electrician had us run the house on generator power and start the A/C. The was a sharp increase in the pull when it started, but generator seemed to handle it fine. And the air conditioner started and ran fine. The electrician said the soft start will smooth the generator surge as startup, so it should be even better now than when we tested it. He did say to avoid running the A/C and the washer or dryer at the same time. He was going to say the same for the oven, but we have a gas oven and stove.

Your patio may be big enough, but I've been pretty surprised how far away from the house I've had to move my portable generator to ensure no fumes were getting inside. Be careful and make sure your indoor CO detectors are working.

BBRex said:

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The air conditioner is 4-ton Lennox about three years old. The air conditioning guy picked the soft start, which is an ICM 870 32A. Our plan right now is to wheel the generator back and forth. We have a covered patio, and we plan to put it on the corner furthest from the door and run the patio ceiling fan. We are also considering getting a tent for generator, because part of the patio is uncovered, so we could put it a little farther from the house.

After the electrician installed everything and before we got the soft start, the electrician had us run the house on generator power and start the A/C. The was a sharp increase in the pull when it started, but generator seemed to handle it fine. And the air conditioner started and ran fine. The electrician said the soft start will smooth the generator surge as startup, so it should be even better now than when we tested it. He did say to avoid running the A/C and the washer or dryer at the same time. He was going to say the same for the oven, but we have a gas oven and stove.

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Thanks for the info. We have a good spot for a genny (where are busted pool heater is) but there are pipes and filters on either side, so we can't put a standby genny there due to the 3ft each side regulation. And there's already a gas line and it's also right by the electrical box. So looking into one like you got is our best option, as we really only need to run our downstairs 3-ton, 2 fridges, some lights and the pool equipment.

Finally in stock alert!!!

WGen14500TFc - Tri-Fuel with CO Sensor

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Westinghouse-18-000-14-500-Watt-Tri-Fuel-Gas-Propane-Natural-Gas-Powered-Portable-Generator-with-Remote-Electric-Start-50A-Outlet-WGen14500TFc/331241026

I've been waiting on this to come out from Westinghouse since my Duromax **** the bed during the derecho and they couldn't diagnose a fix.

Supposedly the max watts into the house through a 50amp breaker on NG on the market. Also <5% THD.

Mine arrives Friday. Interlock and 50amp receptacle are installed. Plumber is coming today to install the gas tap. I am mucho excited.

Nice! I had to run my house on my new WGen 11500Tfc this week due to a random power outage on my whole street for a couple of hours.

I was able to monitor my loads with the GearIT Wifi monitor plug. 4-ton AC with soft start, two fridges, and some other random plugged-in stuff (small air compressor, TVs, etc), and I maxed out at ~6,000W usage and typically around 4,800-5,200W with AC on. Right in the wheelhouse of the 12,000/9,500W natural gas output of the generator.

I definitely see the benefits of going with the bigger 14500TFc if I had 1) pool, 2) tankless water heater, 3) multiple AC units such that the run wattage with everything on would exceed 50-60% of the generator's capacity.

I have two of the three. Pool and two AC units. Have the Easystarts on both.

Genny arrived this morning. Wheels and lift hook installed. Now I need to find some help getting this thing off the pallet. My goto buddy just had an appendectomy so he's out for a bit lol.

Was able to get the sawzall in there, cut the retainer blocks out and slid it down.

It's perty.