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Home generator thread

56,442 Views | 546 Replies | Last: 2 days ago by AgLA06
AJ02
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AG
Seems like Duromax and Westinghouse are at the top of the list. Honda for smaller inverters.

We have a large Duromax inverter.
AgLiving06
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The general feedback is all the tri-fuels are made in the same factories in China so there is little difference,

What I've seen from others is that DuroMax seems to have the best customer service. Westinghouse seems to be struggling right now with that part.

Firman seems to be pretty good, but their generator is a bit smaller.

If you want the best, you probably want to go:

https://www.wincogenerator.com/product/winco-hps12000he-tri-fuel-portable-generator/

Honda engine, probably better parts, but 2-3x the price.

TC09
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AG
I have the Champion 9kW tri fuel inverter as I bought into the marketing hype of the cleaner power being better for sensitive electronics (no clue if this is actually true). It's been running my 3 ton upstairs AC (w/o soft start), a portable AC downstairs and everything else in the house on NG. Slightly cheaper than some of the other options and a 3 year warranty.

https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Power-Equipment-201176-9000-Watt/dp/B0C9KZCXBL/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=YPWC6&content-id=amzn1.sym.b6f63020-40c7-426a-9c3f-c15ee0c5d228%3Aamzn1.symc.2b06b7e8-a86c-4e6e-b02c-90d58278f4f1&pf_rd_p=b6f63020-40c7-426a-9c3f-c15ee0c5d228&pf_rd_r=TAHRTSMQ3BJ6SX32Z4FK&pd_rd_wg=A32rC&pd_rd_r=2fffc74d-13b1-459f-bfd5-9279329dd989&pd_rd_i=B0C9KZCXBL
aTm2004
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AG
One thing the inverters do is idle down to the RPMs needed to run the load to conserve fuel rather than run wide open all of the time.
jaggiemaggie
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Any experience with this soft start for the AC. It's a little cheaper than micro air

https://www.supplyhouse.com/ICM-Controls-ICM870-32A-ICM870-32A-Soft-Start-Built-in-Start-Capacitor-Over-Under-Voltage-Monitoring-Over-Current-Protection-Current-32A

TC09
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Champion doesn't appear to have enough umph to start the AC today. Tried the same start up sequencing but just gets bogged down. Thinking a soft start may be in my future.

Edit: realized I didn't have a chest freezer breaker off. Turned it off and AC started. Need to update my panel labeling.
TXTransplant
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BF figured out yesterday that his compressor wasn't running. So the A/C was on but not cooling. He has a brand new unit (with a soft start), so he texted the guy who installed it for some help, thinking that was the problem.

After I went to bed he got the compressor to start, so he just needs to be sure that's the first thing he gets running at start up.
LostInLA07
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AG
Does anyone have an extended run fuel kit for a Honda 2200 generator in the Tomball area I can buy or borrow?
Build It
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AG
I've been running a friends Amazon purchased 12000 watt Pulsar for 5 days. I've changed the oil 3 times. For a cheap Chinese generator it's a work horse running 1 of my A/C (5 ton) and 2 refrigerators , and lights.

I've ordered the same size Westinghouse from Lowes. Plug being installed next week when my guy can find one. I had to cut the end of friends cord to wire it to breaker box. Owe him a new cord as well. I'm ordering a 50 foot cord for mine.
drumboy
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AG
Electrician rec that does lots of work for Ags and installed my interlock

Brian Ziese (281) 770-6179
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rilloaggie
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AG
I have been waiting to post a writeup until my power came back on. Didn't want to jinx anything while things were still running on the generator. This post is a bit rambling so TLDR - Super pleased with my generator.

I bought the Westinghouse WGEN9500TFc tri-fuel generator about 2 weeks ago to get ready for hurricane season. Did not think I would be using it as quickly(or as long) as I did! We lost power around 6:00am on the 8th and got it back around 7:00pm on the 14th.

Here is the model I bought:
https://westinghouseoutdoorpower.com/products/wgen9500tfc-tri-fuel-with-co-sensor

Initial setup and prep:

At some point in the past my house had a hot tub so I already had a tee and valve at my gas meter and there was a empty 40-amp breaker located at the top right position of my breaker panel. This made it easy enough for me to install everything myself without and electrician or plumber. I swapped out the 40-amp for a 50-amp breaker, finished wiring up the inlet, and installed the interlock on Sunday before the storm. I installed a Microair soft start on my 5-ton AC unit 2-3 weeks ago which got my starting amps down to ~35.

Something to think about when getting things set up, the location of your electrical panel and natural gas connections. My power enters the house on the left side of a semi-detached garage. The natural gas meter is on the right side of my house. As a crow flies they are about 75' apart. I used about 30' of wire and conduit to install my generator inlet as close as possible in the direction of the gas meter. The factory 1/2" diameter natural gas hose that came with the generator is 20' long and I bought a 50' long 50amp extension cord. I had almost no slack to get them both connected and no options on where to place the generator except where they met in the middle. Better than nothing but having the generator running right off of the back patio non-stop is a noisy affair. The rumble was very noticeable in the living room and master bedroom.

Running the generator:

I ran the generator on NG for about an hour to break in for the first oil change on Sunday. Started up and ran perfectly. Oil changes were simple enough and I used an old citronella candle container that slid under the frame to catch oil as it came out the drain plug. Definitely want to find a reservoir that is small enough to fit under the frame so you aren't having to balance it on blocks or something to drain it. I wish I would have marked the bottle that came with the generator with the oil fill level. It uses 1.1 liters of oil and I pretty much had to slowly fill and measure with the dipstick constantly since I the bottle didn't have any markings showing how much 1.1L of oil was. I Ran it for about 4 hours on propane again before changing the oil a second time. Once the storm died down I hooked up the natural gas hose again and ran it on NG for the rest of the outage. I think I did another oil change at 24hrs. and then roughly every 48hrs. after that. Probably overkill but better safe than sorry. I was worried initially that the 1/2" hose might not give it enough fuel but had zero issues throughout the storm. I may buy a longer 3/4" hose to give me more flexibility as to where I place the generator in the future.

We kept the AC and fridge on throughout the outage and were able to use all the other lights and small electronics we wanted. The dishwasher ran, although I didn't run the dry cycle as I wasn't sure how much juice that would pull. I turned on the electric stove just to test the ability but did most of my cooking on the blackstone outside. We have a Breville espresso machine that is 1,560 watts and we used that several times with the AC running. Wife was able to use her 900 watt hair tool with no issues. Didn't try to run the dryer because although I know we'd have had the electricity to run it, I was not sure how using a gas clothes dryer would effect the generator running outside also running on NG. All in this generator ran several stretches of 18 hours+ and I put over 120 hours total on it. No issues starting the unit or keeping it running. Not having to chase gasoline or propane made this week so much less of a pain in the tail. We had no issues with the various electronics in the house not liking the power. The display on the generator shows the Hz output and it usually bounced between 60 and 62. Most of our lights are on smart switches and have dimmers with LED lights. Other thank some flickering, all worked fine.

Closing thoughts:

I'll probably invest in a tent of some sort to keep the unit covered in the future. I harnessed my inner Eagle Scout to pitch a 4x6 tarp over it this time and while sufficient, I think a little pop-up would be simpler to take up and down. Not sure if I will spring for the gen-tent but who knows. The grass where the exhaust exited the unit is completely toast. I'm happy to trade that patch of grass for having AC for the past 6 1/2 days but I'd be leery if I was parking this thing on artificial turf or a composite deck. The exhaust puts out tons of heat. Consider the path your hose and cord take to get to one another. I lost a branch Tuesday morning that fell directly on the generator cord and yanked it out of the outlet. I was able to repair the head of the cord but it was a close call that would have screwed up the entire setup. I may invest in a spare cord or at least some way to repair the ends of the cable to have on hand just in case. All told, the generator was a workhorse. I told the wife when we got power back that I haven't been this pleased with a purchase in a long time. We don't have family nearby that we could have stayed with and with 2 kids under 3, we would have ended up in a hotel without the generator. I feel like I already broke even on the purchase after the first time we used it.
htxag09
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AG
How big is your AC unit. I've been eyeing that generator but want something a little bigger….
rilloaggie
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AG
I've got a 5-Ton American standard unit.
TXTransplant
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Did you notice any differences in running on propane vs nat gas? BF's unit ran a little rough on nat gas at first, so he switched back to propane. Then the propane bottle froze, so he went back to nat gas and it ran fine.

His soft start also crapped out. Unit started up twice, but he could not get the compressor to run yesterday. He waited it out through several 15 min cycles, and then the power came back on last night.
BCOBQ98
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AG
I like the model you have but it isn't an inverter unit right?
rilloaggie
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AG
It took probably 1 extra crank from the starter to get it fired up when I had the NG hose disconnected. Didn't notice any difference when running.
rilloaggie
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AG
Correct, it's an open frame non/inverter.
jaggiemaggie
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I keep going back and forth on whether to get a tri fuel inverter like the champion for the cleaner power or the Westinghouse trifuel 14500 for the higher output.
BCOBQ98
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AG
You and me both. I need to determine if I want to try and run my central air or just stick with a couple of window units. Both have advantages but then I have to keep a couple of small window units around and hope they work every 10-15 years when this happens.

Ike was 15 days in 2008
Harvey was 3 days
Ice Storm was 1 day and not an issue with AC (obviously) and I was able to run my central gas heater
Beryl is probably going to be 9-10 days
Ezra Brooks
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AG
BCOBQ98 said:

You and me both. I need to determine if I want to try and run my central air or just stick with a couple of window units. Both have advantages but then I have to keep a couple of small window units around and hope they work every 10-15 years when this happens.

Ike was 15 days in 2008
Harvey was 3 days
Ice Storm was 1 day and not an issue with AC (obviously) and I was able to run my central gas heater
Beryl is probably going to be 9-10 days
I've decided on the Westinghouse - but I'm not without dilemma...

My panel is full - already has quite a few "double breakers" in it - so I'm looking at a new panel or sub-panel in order to install the interlock.

Air conditioners are also already held together by bailing wire and bubble gum - expense of adding soft start could be wasted if/when I replace, hopefully with variable speed.

I think my plan is going to be to get the generator ASAP and get it up and working on natural gas - then explore the options on my panel.

If another hurricane pops up, I'll pull the trigger on some portable units.
digging tunnels
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I live in a townhouse. My neighbor is an arm's length away from my house. My backyard is 2 armlengths long.

I just bought a 9400 kW tri-fuel generator but kinda concerned about my limited space. And ive read that this is really loud. Should/can I still use one when the time comes?
drumboy
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AG
jaggiemaggie said:

I keep going back and forth on whether to get a tri fuel inverter like the champion for the cleaner power or the Westinghouse trifuel 14500 for the higher output.
I have the gas only Champion open frame 8750 (surge) / 7000 watt inverter and it ran my house w/ AC nonstop going through 10 gallons of gas a day.

I have 2 5 gallon jugs will be ordering 2 more this week.

Amazon has it for $830 still.

https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Power-Equipment-100520-8750-Watt/dp/B083V8VNGL
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AJ02
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AG
jaggiemaggie said:

I keep going back and forth on whether to get a tri fuel inverter like the champion for the cleaner power or the Westinghouse trifuel 14500 for the higher output.


I have the Duromax 16000 inverter. It is always running on 60 hz on the nose. No issues whatsoever with our UPS, LED lights, etc. We wanted an inverted to protect our ridiculously sensitive/expensive new Carrier Infinity AC.
TXAG 05
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AG
drumboy said:

jaggiemaggie said:

I keep going back and forth on whether to get a tri fuel inverter like the champion for the cleaner power or the Westinghouse trifuel 14500 for the higher output.
I have the gas only Champion open frame 8750 (surge) / 7000 watt inverter and it ran my house w/ AC nonstop going through 10 gallons of gas a day.

I have 2 5 gallon jugs will be ordering 2 more this week.

Amazon has it for $830 still.

https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Power-Equipment-100520-8750-Watt/dp/B083V8VNGL



Instead of the 5 gallon cans, I recommend the 14 gallon ones on wheels with the pump. Makes it a lot easier.
P.H. Dexippus
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AG
If you want inverter tech and higher output, but aren't willing to drop $5000 on the Duromax, you could get a pair of Westinghouse EcoGen10000s for $2300 total, slap a couple of snorkel kits on for another $350, and run them in parallel.

https://a.co/d/1RvDzjV


https://store.nashfuel.com/products/tri-fuel-propane-natural-gas-fits-westinghouse-ecogen10000-alt-fuel
AJ02
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AG
Except for trying to get 14 gallons of gas into the bed of my truck. That's what...about 85 lbs?
htxag09
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Is champion the only tri fuel inverter around the 10-15kw range?
TXAG 05
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AJ02 said:

Except for trying to get 14 gallons of gas into the bed of my truck. That's what...about 85 lbs?


That's the only downside. I can do it by myself, but it's not light.
TXAG 05
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AG
digging tunnels said:

I live in a townhouse. My neighbor is an arm's length away from my house. My backyard is 2 armlengths long.

I just bought a 9400 kW tri-fuel generator but kinda concerned about my limited space. And ive read that this is really loud. Should/can I still use one when the time comes?


When you are sitting in your house with A/C watching tv, you get over the noise. Plus if it's like my neighborhood, every other house or so has a generator running too, so there is a constant drone going at all times anyway.

That said, I'm looking into mufflers/quiet boxes for the next time power goes out, more of a luxury than anything.
drumboy
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AG
TXAG 05 said:

drumboy said:

jaggiemaggie said:

I keep going back and forth on whether to get a tri fuel inverter like the champion for the cleaner power or the Westinghouse trifuel 14500 for the higher output.
I have the gas only Champion open frame 8750 (surge) / 7000 watt inverter and it ran my house w/ AC nonstop going through 10 gallons of gas a day.

I have 2 5 gallon jugs will be ordering 2 more this week.

Amazon has it for $830 still.

https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Power-Equipment-100520-8750-Watt/dp/B083V8VNGL



Instead of the 5 gallon cans, I recommend the 14 gallon ones on wheels with the pump. Makes it a lot easier.

I thought about that….but I already have 2 and I like the option to use them separately.

All but 1 stay empty stored in the shed rafters until a storm is coming.
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digging tunnels
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AG
TXAG 05 said:

digging tunnels said:

I live in a townhouse. My neighbor is an arm's length away from my house. My backyard is 2 armlengths long.

I just bought a 9400 kW tri-fuel generator but kinda concerned about my limited space. And ive read that this is really loud. Should/can I still use one when the time comes?


When you are sitting in your house with A/C watching tv, you get over the noise. Plus if it's like my neighborhood, every other house or so has a generator running too, so there is a constant drone going at all times anyway.

That said, I'm looking into mufflers/quiet boxes for the next time power goes out, more of a luxury than anything.


Sorry. I Should have been more clear. I was more concerned about the safety of it being so close to the house. I have been reading that it should be placed 20 ft away from house but obviously I don't have that space
Diggity
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AG
username is the answer
TXAG 05
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AG
digging tunnels said:

TXAG 05 said:

digging tunnels said:

I live in a townhouse. My neighbor is an arm's length away from my house. My backyard is 2 armlengths long.

I just bought a 9400 kW tri-fuel generator but kinda concerned about my limited space. And ive read that this is really loud. Should/can I still use one when the time comes?


When you are sitting in your house with A/C watching tv, you get over the noise. Plus if it's like my neighborhood, every other house or so has a generator running too, so there is a constant drone going at all times anyway.

That said, I'm looking into mufflers/quiet boxes for the next time power goes out, more of a luxury than anything.


Sorry. I Should have been more clear. I was more concerned about the safety of it being so close to the house. I have been reading that it should be placed 20 ft away from house but obviously I don't have that space


Gotcha. That's probably too close for the exhaust.
terradactylexpress
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jaggiemaggie said:

I keep going back and forth on whether to get a tri fuel inverter like the champion for the cleaner power or the Westinghouse trifuel 14500 for the higher output.


Pretty sure the 14.5kw has been discontinued... I've had one on order for months
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aarontx
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You were running central HVAC and only burning 10gal/24 hours? If so, makes me want to pull the trigger on a ~10kw inverter.

I was burning ~12gal/24 hours running two 2500 watt inverters in parallel plugged into my panel via 50 amp inlet. No central air, but two fridges, a freezer, lights, fans, tv, router, and a portable 12k btu AC unit.
 
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