Home Backup Generator

[Scorpion8]

I also have a Generac GP5500 for blackouts. Never had to use it, but every time I take it out for routine starts & runs it runs like a champ. I only plan a few vital circuits and not the whole-house.

[yeahbub]

I've been wondering about a Generac stand-by generator set up to run on propane with the transfer switching making the operation automatic, so I don't have to be at home when the grid goes down. It sounds like a great advantage. The refrigeration stays caught up and the sump pump keeps the basement from being a nasty mess.

I've read of people with portable generators buying numerous extension cords to hook up their refrigerators, etc. Aren't they already plugged in? As it is, I first turn off and LOCK OUT the main breaker to isolate the house from the grid (VERY IMPORTANT TO NOT BACK-FEED TO THE GRID and zap some poor lineman trying to fix the outage) and use a contractor grade 4400W surge/3800W continuous with a 240V, 30A receptacle jumpered to the welder receptacle (or dryer receptacle) in the house, thus using the existing breaker panel to distribute the power. It won't run the electric hot water heater, but it keeps the sump pump and refrigeration happy, as well as the ancient microwave, so it's all good. Just one 50A cord (50A for when I get a bigger one) with the correct male plugs on both ends and the whole house has access to power. Safety is everything, so there's a strict procedure to follow, but it works great. Does anyone else do this?

[Hossfly]

There is definitely a procedure to follow and make it as fool proof as possible. When is freezing cold and storming is the worse time to be trying to get something working. Be very careful of male end on each end of extension as it is live.

[elmacgyver0]

I bought a Westinghouse WGen9500DF portable generator.
I also bought a manual transfer switch I wired into my breaker box.
I bought the ST switch, which is supposed to start the generator in the event of a power outage.
Everything about the ST switch worked fine except it would not start the generator.
I bought all this on Amazon, they sent me a new ST switch and it had the same problem.
The good news is they refunded my money for the ST switch and let me keep both switches.
I determined the switches were actually sending the signal, but it was not of a long enough duration to start the generator.
To add insult to injury, there are two circuit boards inside the ST switch which are potted in black epoxy, so no adjusting the timing of the circuit.
Well, my friends didn't give the nickname of Macgyver for nothing!
I built up a little circuit to increase the duration of the start signal and it all works fine now.
I am kind of thinking there was a design change in the generator start circuit as the layout of the power outlets have changed recently due to not playing well with the proximity of the wheel.
If for some reason we are away from the house for an extended period I now don't need to worry about the fridge and freezer, etc.

[ulav8r]

Snip Safety is everything, so there's a strict procedure to follow, but it works great. Does anyone else do this?

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Illegal in many areas. There are safe, legal ways(in some areas) to do it. I will have a breaker next to the main breaker in my panel box. There will be a sliding plate on the cover that blocks either the generator breaker or the main breaker. Slide the plate to one position and the main is on but the generator has to be off. Turn the main off, slide the plate, and then the generator breaker can be turned on. I have a steel loop in the slab of the porch on my work shop and an outlet to plug the generator in to. The loop is to chain and ground the generator to, and the outlet goes to the breaker panel in the house. When I need the gen, I will go to the shop and hook the generator to the outlet and reset the breakers in the house. The gen will be under roof but the porch is open on two sides.

PS: Those plates are available for some breaker panels from Amazon. I am going to make my own plate. My power provider OK'ed this plan. I have a 50 amp breaker for the gen.

[fg-machine]

Any chance of a few pictures of that Detroit? We did manufacture stuff here once didn't we?

Pictures , it's in an enclosure so without taking it apart there isn't much to see except the dip stick radiator cap and air filter .

My unit came out of an Akron fire station and had 600 something hours on it , a person would guess it was well maintained coming from a fire station . The install date on the tag was 1976 .

It's kind of funny , when I bought it back in the 90's no one wanted it cause it's a 2 cycle Detroit . Now 30 years later people are interested in it because it's a 2 cycle detroit.

[MrWolf]

I've been wondering about a Generac stand-by generator set up to run on propane with the transfer switching making the operation automatic, so I don't have to be at home when the grid goes down. It sounds like a great advantage. The refrigeration stays caught up and the sump pump keeps the basement from being a nasty mess.

I've read of people with portable generators buying numerous extension cords to hook up their refrigerators, etc. Aren't they already plugged in? As it is, I first turn off and LOCK OUT the main breaker to isolate the house from the grid (VERY IMPORTANT TO NOT BACK-FEED TO THE GRID and zap some poor lineman trying to fix the outage) and use a contractor grade 4400W surge/3800W continuous with a 240V, 30A receptacle jumpered to the welder receptacle (or dryer receptacle) in the house, thus using the existing breaker panel to distribute the power. It won't run the electric hot water heater, but it keeps the sump pump and refrigeration happy, as well as the ancient microwave, so it's all good. Just one 50A cord (50A for when I get a bigger one) with the correct male plugs on both ends and the whole house has access to power. Safety is everything, so there's a strict procedure to follow, but it works great. Does anyone else do this?

That is how my unit is setup. Disabled and freezing cold, snow, rain, etc becomes to much on me. Five seconds after power goes out the generator kicks in. Here in the mountains it happens a lot more than you think and we have had more trees dropping lines causing power outages than we would have thought. I am also 3/4 mile from the main road.

[Thin Man]

SWMBO and I considered buying a generator last year. A neighbor 2 doors away has one, a full size Generac. About 4 years ago we had a really bad snow storm that cost most of this town their electric service for 4-6 weeks, depending on each's location. The neighbor claimed to have bought his unit for about $8K before we started our search. The lowest asking price we found for the same size as his is now $13K. That price stopped us in our search. Losing power locally is rather rare so we will keep the firewood stack topped out and hope for the best.

[ascast]

Lost power yesterday for a few hours. It was still daylight when it lifted so no big deal. I did pull out a couple oil lamps. Need flash batteries. Some mentioned cords. Yes, well my water pump is on a 50 ft'r that is"installed" for that job alone and never gets pulled out. Over my lifetime it is money well spent. My freezer and frig are both within 25 ft of the garage door, where I hang cords anyway. It is really no big deal to hook them up. I did have my breaker box set up for direct feed. One circuit for te welder could be used to power the whole panel. But that only leaves one disconnect to grid so do not use that. Safety always come first.

[compass will]

I have a 3500 and 2000 inverter generators. Mainly for my camper, but I can power stuff in the house. The trick is to run them empty when done with them than run something like trufuel or vpracing small engine fuel for a couple of minutes before storage. I start them for a couple of minutes every month or 2. In central florida, we know beforehand when we might need them, so for fuel, we run out and buy non ethonel before the event. I have a 13 gallon tank with wheels i use to fill the boat. If i dont use the generator, i burn the fuel in the pontoon boat.

[farmbif]

I like the idea of those solar powered things. in past couple weeks I refreshed my generated power an old Lincoln ranger 8 welder, changed the filters, oil, fuel, lines and polished the slip rings, that puts out I think 8000 watts with a peak at 10000. but gas generators are hungry and even if I put cheap gas with ethanol in it it still goes through up to a gallon an hour. but its worth it to keep the freezer frozen by running if a few hours if needed if power goes out for a few days. but the power company guys here are top notch and its never been out for more than a few hours.

[czgunner]

I've been wondering about a Generac stand-by generator set up to run on propane with the transfer switching making the operation automatic, so I don't have to be at home when the grid goes down. It sounds like a great advantage. The refrigeration stays caught up and the sump pump keeps the basement from being a nasty mess.

I've read of people with portable generators buying numerous extension cords to hook up their refrigerators, etc. Aren't they already plugged in? As it is, I first turn off and LOCK OUT the main breaker to isolate the house from the grid (VERY IMPORTANT TO NOT BACK-FEED TO THE GRID and zap some poor lineman trying to fix the outage) and use a contractor grade 4400W surge/3800W continuous with a 240V, 30A receptacle jumpered to the welder receptacle (or dryer receptacle) in the house, thus using the existing breaker panel to distribute the power. It won't run the electric hot water heater, but it keeps the sump pump and refrigeration happy, as well as the ancient microwave, so it's all good. Just one 50A cord (50A for when I get a bigger one) with the correct male plugs on both ends and the whole house has access to power. Safety is everything, so there's a strict procedure to follow, but it works great. Does anyone else do this?

I run an interlock. Very inexpensive to buy and install. Like you I have power to the entire house and can just shut off circuits I don't want running.

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[Moleman-]

I run an interlock. Very inexpensive to buy and install. Like you I have power to the entire house and can just shut off circuits I don't want running.

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We also use a lockout plate and shut off things we don't need like the 50amp hot tub breaker. They're simple enough you can make your own if you want. We added it when the line to the house was burried, so it was inspected at that time and meets the code here in MI. Not our lockout plate, one I found online with a similar setup.