ttha_aggie_09 said:

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Picked up Westinghouse 13,000 trifuel today. Ran it off Natural Gas and went through the interlock process and powered on zones. Couldn't get ac started but I didn't really try shutting everything down and I don't have soft start yet.

So far, so good!

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AC will work perfectly once you put a soft start on it.

justsomeguy said:

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Diggity said:

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I tested the house on the generator. Can't run the back of the house with just the 2 ton AC without crapping out.

Not sure if it's a gas pressure issue or just a crappy unit but I'm getting frustrated. Might just return this thing and wait for the larger Duramax.

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Put a soft start on it. Even if it's a 2 ton, it still is drawing more amps at startup than your gen can output.

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I could buy that if it wouldn't start the AC at all, but it turned on fine, ran for a couple minutes, then died. Doesn't seem like it was the initial draw that killed it.

I think I was accomplishing the same thing using the fuel dial on the Westinghouse. I would put it in the "10 o'clock" position (between NG & off). It seemed to run a lot better in that spot than totally pointed towards NG. Issue is that I was obviously constricting the flow.

I'm going to test a 3/4" NG hose this week to see if that changes anything. I remain skeptical but not ready to give up just yet.

Diggity said:

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I tested the house on the generator. Can't run the back of the house with just the 2 ton AC without crapping out.

Not sure if it's a gas pressure issue or just a crappy unit but I'm getting frustrated. Might just return this thing and wait for the larger Duramax.

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Put it on propane and see what happens? Propane will get you higher KW than nat gas. That should help you narrow it down.

We are getting near the end of hurricane season, so if it's giving you this many problems, it might be worth returning it either way, just to make sure you have something more reliable than this unit sounds.

I'm actually thinking of trying gasoline. Wouldn't want to do that normally, but if I'm likely to return the thing anyway, I don't have much to lose. I only have a 20# propane tank, so I don't think that would be the best thing to test the whole house on.

My thought is if I can run (most of) the house on gasoline, then it's the NG supply or regulator that's the issue. Gas is more efficient, but I should be able to run more than 2 rooms and a 2-ton on NG, soft start or no.

Diggity said:

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I'm actually thinking of trying gasoline. Wouldn't want to do that normally, but if I'm likely to return the thing anyway, I don't have much to lose. I only have a 20# propane tank, so I don't think that would be the best thing to test the whole house on.

My thought is if I can run (most of) the house on gasoline, then it's the NG supply or regulator that's the issue. Gas is more efficient, but I should be able to run more than 2 rooms and a 2-ton on NG, soft start or no.

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Yeah...if you put gas in, I'd make sure to return it, especially if you plan to run nat gas later. No point in getting crap in the carb even if for just a minute.

The 20# would be fine to test though. I broke in my generator with those and we powered the whole house several times using them until we did the upgrade to nat gas.

I'm not holding out any hope for the propane, as it was giving me the exact same issue as the NG.

Diggity said:

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I'm actually thinking of trying gasoline. Wouldn't want to do that normally, but if I'm likely to return the thing anyway, I don't have much to lose. I only have a 20# propane tank, so I don't think that would be the best thing to test the whole house on.

My thought is if I can run (most of) the house on gasoline, then it's the NG supply or regulator that's the issue. Gas is more efficient, but I should be able to run more than 2 rooms and a 2-ton on NG, soft start or no.

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Definitely run it on gasoline. It'll have way more power

The posted power rating for NG should be fine to run a 2 ton, I ran mine on a 7.5kw predator

Diggity said:

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I'm actually thinking of trying gasoline. Wouldn't want to do that normally, but if I'm likely to return the thing anyway, I don't have much to lose. I only have a 20# propane tank, so I don't think that would be the best thing to test the whole house on.

My thought is if I can run (most of) the house on gasoline, then it's the NG supply or regulator that's the issue. Gas is more efficient, but I should be able to run more than 2 rooms and a 2-ton on NG, soft start or no.

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I've had to do that a few times and it's no problem. I just drain the carb and the tank, and use it in my car. Good way to troubleshoot things!

Yeah, I had the plumber confirm that the pressure isn't the issue

Think I'm just going to take the POS back.

I'm only buying duramax next time. I'm living on a Walmart Black Friday special - Pulsar

justsomeguy said:

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Diggity said:

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I'm actually thinking of trying gasoline. Wouldn't want to do that normally, but if I'm likely to return the thing anyway, I don't have much to lose. I only have a 20# propane tank, so I don't think that would be the best thing to test the whole house on.

My thought is if I can run (most of) the house on gasoline, then it's the NG supply or regulator that's the issue. Gas is more efficient, but I should be able to run more than 2 rooms and a 2-ton on NG, soft start or no.

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Definitely run it on gasoline. It'll have way more power

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Sure, but the massive downside of gasoline is availability in time of need. Most gas stations lost power and those that somehow had power were running out of gas left/right.

So you have an availability issue + you have to shut down the generator to refill it.

Then of course, you have to make sure to keep the gas from going bad in the generator and causing that.

Nat Gas is by far the best fuel available, and when Diggity gets a working generator, he won't have issues powering his house. Even the two AC's won't be an issue for at 13kw Duromax.

Why do you have to shut down the generator to refill it? Just open the cap and pour more in.

Plus if you know a storm is coming, you stock up on gas. I have a 15 gallon tank on wheels and another 5 gallon gas can. Plus a little 2 gallon I use for my lawn mower. That's enough to run my portable non stop for almost 2 days. By that time enough gas stations were open so I didn't have to wait in line or pay cash.

AgLiving06 said:

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justsomeguy said:

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Diggity said:

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I'm actually thinking of trying gasoline. Wouldn't want to do that normally, but if I'm likely to return the thing anyway, I don't have much to lose. I only have a 20# propane tank, so I don't think that would be the best thing to test the whole house on.

My thought is if I can run (most of) the house on gasoline, then it's the NG supply or regulator that's the issue. Gas is more efficient, but I should be able to run more than 2 rooms and a 2-ton on NG, soft start or no.

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Definitely run it on gasoline. It'll have way more power

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Sure, but the massive downside of gasoline is availability in time of need. Most gas stations lost power and those that somehow had power were running out of gas left/right.

So you have an availability issue + you have to shut down the generator to refill it.

Then of course, you have to make sure to keep the gas from going bad in the generator and causing that.

Nat Gas is by far the best fuel available, and when Diggity gets a working generator, he won't have issues powering his house. Even the two AC's won't be an issue for at 13kw Duromax.

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You know it amazes me that people are so fragile they cannot fathom being inconvenienced in the slightest.

You do know with a portable you're going to have to shut it down to change the oil/filter, right?

I keep 40g on hand year round. I add Stabil to each 5 gallon can. At the 1 year mark I run it through my vehicles and start over. If I see a storm coming with a high probability of a hit, I'll put 10g in the generator, then go fill up the cans again before it hits.

If no big deal, then I drain the genny and continue as usual. That's just the cost of preparation. If you have a multi fuel generator it'll pay to keep several types on hand in the event 1 fails. There's no guarantee that nat gas will always be available either.

In the end, I wasn't as worried about putting fuel in the generator (since the ultimate plan is to return it) but I just decided there wasn't much point. Even if the thing ran great on gas, that wasn't what I bought a tri-fuel for, so it was going to go back.

Has anyone ever returned a generator to Home Depot? I have no boxes, so I will literally be wheeling that POS up to the counter with a bag of accessories. They were no help online.

Been meaning to post this for those of you with Duromax units. I got this email from Duromax a couple of weeks ago. When I started this thread during the hurricane, I posted about how mine didn't want to start the first time. We think it was the battery.

I need to get mine registered and ask them for a battery replacement.


Thank you for shopping with us. Another customer has posted the following question about 13,000 Watt Tri Fuel Portable HXT Generator w/ CO Alert. Would you be able to help out with an answer?

After 1 month of my purchase of the DX13000HXT the Battery light went out resulting in the unit not starting. Customer Service is shipping me a replacement battery. *Is it normal for a "new" DX13000HXT to have a dead battery? Shelf life?

Diggity said:

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In the end, I wasn't as worried about putting fuel in the generator (since the ultimate plan is to return it) but I just decided there wasn't much point. Even if the thing ran great on gas, that wasn't what I bought a tri-fuel for, so it was going to go back.

Has anyone ever returned a generator to Home Depot? I have no boxes, so I will literally be wheeling that POS up to the counter with a bag of accessories. They were no help online.

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iirc, HD and Lowes require generators to be new in box, never run in order to return.

Is Westinghouse managing the warranty return?

yeah, that was my confusion. Westinghouse repair rep told me to take it back to HD. I told her it was out of the box. Will need to confirm that.

AlaskanAg99 said:

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AgLiving06 said:

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justsomeguy said:

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Diggity said:

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I'm actually thinking of trying gasoline. Wouldn't want to do that normally, but if I'm likely to return the thing anyway, I don't have much to lose. I only have a 20# propane tank, so I don't think that would be the best thing to test the whole house on.

My thought is if I can run (most of) the house on gasoline, then it's the NG supply or regulator that's the issue. Gas is more efficient, but I should be able to run more than 2 rooms and a 2-ton on NG, soft start or no.

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Definitely run it on gasoline. It'll have way more power

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Sure, but the massive downside of gasoline is availability in time of need. Most gas stations lost power and those that somehow had power were running out of gas left/right.

So you have an availability issue + you have to shut down the generator to refill it.

Then of course, you have to make sure to keep the gas from going bad in the generator and causing that.

Nat Gas is by far the best fuel available, and when Diggity gets a working generator, he won't have issues powering his house. Even the two AC's won't be an issue for at 13kw Duromax.

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You know it amazes me that people are so fragile they cannot fathom being inconvenienced in the slightest.

You do know with a portable you're going to have to shut it down to change the oil/filter, right?

I keep 40g on hand year round. I add Stabil to each 5 gallon can. At the 1 year mark I run it through my vehicles and start over. If I see a storm coming with a high probability of a hit, I'll put 10g in the generator, then go fill up the cans again before it hits.

If no big deal, then I drain the genny and continue as usual. That's just the cost of preparation. If you have a multi fuel generator it'll pay to keep several types on hand in the event 1 fails. There's no guarantee that nat gas will always be available either.

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You want to complain about people not wanting to be inconvenienced, and then go on about how you keep tons of gasoline on hand so you aren't inconvenienced. Is it only that people's level of inconvenience needs to match yours to be acceptable? You hold 40-50 gallons of gasoline. I'm sure somebody thinks your fragile for doing that.

My whole point is gasoline is fine, but Nat. gas is better for backup supply. You'll pay more for gasoline, it will be harder to find, and you do have to shut down to refill. You may take the risk and not shut down, but that's your call.

And of course, you shut down to change the oil on a nat gas generator...at 100 hours. there's no filter to change.

But to call people fragile for utilizing a generator that allows us to be more efficient than what you are choosing to be seems silly.

TXTransplant said:

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Been meaning to post this for those of you with Duromax units. I got this email from Duromax a couple of weeks ago. When I started this thread during the hurricane, I posted about how mine didn't want to start the first time. We think it was the battery.

I need to get mine registered and ask them for a battery replacement.


Thank you for shopping with us. Another customer has posted the following question about 13,000 Watt Tri Fuel Portable HXT Generator w/ CO Alert. Would you be able to help out with an answer?

After 1 month of my purchase of the DX13000HXT the Battery light went out resulting in the unit not starting. Customer Service is shipping me a replacement battery. *Is it normal for a "new" DX13000HXT to have a dead battery? Shelf life?

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It's always possible the battery was just a bad battery. I'm sure they are just buying them bulk.

I know my battery has died a couple times due to lack of charging, but I throw a trickle charge on overnight and the push button works again.

I just think there's a little NG buildup you're getting and that's why it's not starting on it. Once I ran mine on gasoline, I shut it off and ran it on NG and it's been totally fine on NG ever since.

Fired up the amazon special WEN inverter gen the other day for the first time in 2 yrs. Added gas, connected battery, and it cranked up on third try with pushbutton. I was half expecting to need carb cleanup and battery charge. Storms moving out, so time to drain it dry again...

I know all of you care so much, so I'll tell ya, I got my whole home generator commissioned yesterday. Everything worked as expected.

The cost clamps the nads a bit, but I don't have to do squat if the power goes out.

I put my first third of payment down a week after the direcho, and it was installed a couple of weeks ago. Beryl messed up the timeline a bit, and work kept me from commissioning last week.

So, if you're interested in Generator Supercenter installing one for you, it will be about 8-10 weeks from first payment to ready for use.

terradactylexpress said:

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I can't wait for the cdub aneurysm when you generac ****s itself during the next outage

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It's kind of funny how you assume Generac has a near 100% failure rate. I know you're smarter than this hyperbole.

My gen may very well give out at some point, but in talking with the various people throughout this process, almost every one of them said nearly all failures go back to the owner not keeping up with the oil.

We shall see what happens. I'd rather us not have another big-ass storm where it's needed for days, but it seems inevitable.

My folks have a Generac for the last 5-6 years, it fires up and works like a charm. Just make sure you do all the maintenance.

CDUB98 said:

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I know all of you care so much, so I'll tell ya, I got my whole home generator commissioned yesterday. Everything worked as expected.

The cost clamps the nads a bit, but I don't have to do squat if the power goes out.

I put my first third of payment down a week after the direcho, and it was installed a couple of weeks ago. Beryl messed up the timeline a bit, and work kept me from commissioning last week.

So, if you're interested in Generator Supercenter installing one for you, it will be about 8-10 weeks from first payment to ready for use.

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Honestly that lead time impresses me

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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These days I feel like pretty much any large purchase is going to be a crapshoot. Sure, most will work as anticipated but I mentally prepare myself that anything I buy might be a headache POS. I have the same generator that's been giving Diggity hell, mine runs like a top. Look no further than any ford/chevy/dodge thread on the auto board. Doesn't matter the brand, somebody has a turd they're unhappy with. I'm sure as cummins or Kohler become more prolific you'll see more crappy reviews on those.

For those of you on the north or northwest sides, our quote to commission took about a week and a half through Northside Pools. Didn't have to run but about 8 feet to the breakers and the nat gas line so we were out for just under $14k all in on a 26 kWh Generac.

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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Generator SuperStore crapped the bed during Beryl. They were overwhelmed with people calling in service requests and issues that they stopped responding. My neighbor was just emailing them what he was doing so that they wouldn't void the service warranty.

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?