Best Home Generator - Storm Generator 

Glad to see others talking Interlocks instead of costly and limiting transfer switches. If doc were feeding his panel I would agree. However, in this case he is running cords so there is no need. He runs a cord directly to the appliance he wants to power. I run a 12.5K watt Generac and run everything including AC so for that I have an external plug box with an interlock on my circuit panel to ensure as I power the panel to power all lines in the house no power back feeds to the grid.

One technical problem I've been thinking about is how to best connect a generator to a house, safely and affordably. It's surprisingly tricky. It's often either: safe OR affordable, but generally not both. Maybe with some thought and planning we could find ways to make it BOTH safe and affordable. The "interlock kits" might achieve this, but I've found it's surprisingly difficult to figure out: 1) whether they are legal in your state, 2) whether it is "listed" by an acceptable testing agency (like "UL"), and 3) which one to buy to fit your circuit panel and breakers, and 4) If the right one isn't available, what's your best recourse. A lot of people ghetto-hack it to backfeed a dryer outlet, which is somewhere between clever and dangerous. It does seem like it's the cheapest. If budget-considerations cause someone to do this, here's a way it might be made more safe and possibly made more legal. Either: 1) Install a cam lock on the circuit breaker panel (aka "load center"), or 2) Get a "lockout device" (not to be confused with an "interlock kit"), that goes over the main breaker and allows you to put a padlock on it to lock it in the off position for the duration of the "manual transfer" to generator power. I'm not a licensed electrician but AFAIK the code makes an exception to permit a "temporary" "manual transfer" with the use of a proper lockout device and installation. I'm not sure about all the details. These devices might have to be made of steel and/or be UL listed, yet unfortunately, most of the available products that take a padlock seem to contain plastic, so as I said I'm not sure about all those details. I guess there's a fine line between on the one hand: 1) offering advice to help people more safely and inexpensively hookup a generator to get emergency power using a "lockout device" in order to avoid an expensive ($1000?) professional installation, versus, on the other hand: 2) encouraging people to cut corners with a cheaper method that isn't as safe, instead of using a safer, more permanent "interlock kit" or "transfer switch" installation. I figure if people are going to ghetto wire it, especially in an emergency, you can't exactly stop them, so it might be better to help them do it more safely. The temporary solution to this might be a "lockout" device. A more permanent solution might be an "interlock". I'm of the opinion that maybe circuit panels should come with an interlock as standard equipment, but I'm not an electrician or a power engineer so I could be wrong. I do know that it's quite a hassle trying to purchase and retrofit an aftermarket one, so a lot of people won't do that because of the time required and difficulty of doing it. They'll just wire up the so called "suicide cord" or "widow maker" to connect through a dryer outlet or some other outlet.

Good thinking. When emergencies happen you will probably be needed else where (BTW - thanks). So ensuring the Fire Chief at home knows and is capable of handling that is critical. Nice. She's a keeper.

Yes I have same one it's not loud it's great love it we ran AC TV fridge lights some outlets love it

In the San Francisco East Bay every single house on my street has central heating with natural gas furnace. No 120 volts, no heat. We lost power yesterday for a bit. It got down to 38 degrees F last night so heat is welcome. My Honda 2000 Inverter generator runs the furnace easily and can't be heard in the house. I tried it during a 12 hour outage one year.

I saw this on eBay. Have you had to use it in an emergency yet and if so do you recommend this? Also, did you get the 600 series (analog dial) or the 700 series (digital tuner)? Thank you for sharing you thoughts on this.

We just got a Champion duel fuel 7500w (-ish, depends on fuel give or take) seems great in the 5 hours we have run it break-in. Got the bigger one because it can run a 240v well pump.

You don't understand how generators work.

You do not need to ground the generator if connected to a structural that is already grounded, i.e. a house, apartment or trailer that has electricity already installed. If recreational vehicle then you will need to ground the generator, if not attached to shore electrical.

Levi Allen It depends on how they are hooked up. If you have them legitimately connected via the 240 turn lock plug to your panel via either a interlock, or transfer switch- then the ground would be referenced back at your panel through the turn-lock connector. In this scenario You would not actually want to ground it as you might possibly create a ground loop. A ground loop is basically where you make everything a path to ground. You want the path to ground to be isolated. That's why the neutral, and ground can only be bonded at the main panel. If you are doing the extension cord running everywhere routine- then it is what is called a floating neutral. There is no actual ground reference. In that type of application Harold would be correct. If there was a fault- someone could easily be referenced to ground, and be shocked. Albeit- It would have to be a timing thing. Those volt regs in them little household units are not made to handle significant voltage irregularities. If a breaker on the gennie didn't pop- The volt reg would literally let the magic smoke out so fast, it would stop producing power either way.. Read the manuals. Source information online. It's all there- you just have to dig around for it...

If you do not plug the generator power cord to a grounded source you should connect a separate ground. It is optional but if the gen grounds to the frame you are going to wish you did. Mike C explained it well. Maybe Levi doesn't know how a generator works, or at least not how a ground functions if the unit is not grounded.

I'm an electronics engineer, and I gave some thought to the grounding-issue, but I haven't researched it so I could be wrong and just talking out my %&^#, sorry about that, so please take this with a grain of salt. The main thing to remember in general is to not combine water with high-voltage electricity, because if you have wet hands and/or feet in particular, (or the generator is wet and you grab it) this creates a low resistance path through your body. It basically makes all the difference between a mild harmless shock and a possibly very dangerous shock. Of course this isn't always possible because to prevent carbon monoxide indoors, generators are supposed to be used outdoors and often in stormy conditions. Also they don't seem to use "GFCI" ground-fault protection, as are used now on any outlet in your home near water (e.g. bathroom, kitchen, and by a laundry sink). Also the metal case may or may not be connected in various ways to earth-ground and/or neutral, at one or more points, and you might not even know which one it is or if it changes. So there are potentially many different kinds of faults that could occur. From a safety point of view it's surprising that it's so common and so easy for a generator to be potentially unsafe. This is an issue that might need some consideration, because it isn't so obvious, nor easy to simplify, so this makes me think that design work is needed to make it more intuitive/automated and more fail-safe. Generators aren't like other outdoor equipment. If you're using a power tool outside with a 3-prong cord then it's relatively safe to assume it's grounded because the same extension cord that delivers 120 volts also makes the ground connection. A generator isn't like that, because it basically generates its own voltage regardless of what ground-wire is or isn't connected to. So it's riskier to assume it's safely grounded, because the power cord containing the grounding wire could be disconnected or intermittent somewhere and you wouldn't know. Sooner or later generators will probably be on a GFCI, and/or have other safety features, but who knows when we'll all get around to doing that... There's probably a way to (inexpensively) put some kind of safety-indicator light on the generator to indicate whether the generator frame is grounded or not before the user potentially grabs onto it with wet hands (especially while standing on wet ground with wet feet), but I'd have to give a bit of thought as to how that might best be done. One way might be for a circuit to automatically measure the resistance between the ground connection and another conductor like the neutral (assuming they aren't hard-wired at the generator). If a test circuit is able to pass a test current along the ground wire, say no more than a small number of milliamps (with an appropriate duty-cycle and frequency), and the voltage between the neutral and ground remains low, say some small number of volts (particularly if measured at the same gating-time or frequency as the test signal), then by ohm's law the ratio of voltage to current is a measure of resistance or impedance, and if this measured resistance is below some threshold, then hopefully this might be a more reliable indication that the generator has a good connection to earth-ground, say less than 1 kohm, which I'd guess has a lower probability of being an open-circuit. From what I gather it's considered good practice to run the generator for a few minutes before connecting the load to it. However, depending on how it's done, there's a risk the generator would be generating a voltage yet be un-grounded during that time. This suggests that the extension cord / power cable containing the ground wire ought to be connected back to the earth-ground connection before starting the generator. But this requires that the load be switched with either a back-fed circuit breaker or a transfer switch, instead of using the plug & socket connection to connect and disconnect the load. I've noticed that in many cases, during the generator startup and shutdown procedure, it can be important for safety that the operator completes all of the steps in the procedure and in the correct order. It's a very good idea to have this procedure written down, (perhaps even in checklist form or with some other indicator as to which step they're on), so that the procedure need-not be recalled from memory without error to be safe, and so that the procedure is easy to follow even in conditions where a person might be hurried, stressed, tired or sleep-deprived, etc. To the issue of ground-loops, there are all sorts of ways that might occur. This makes me wonder if it's even safe to have an exposed metal case on the top and sides where a user might touch it, because regardless of how it's connected there could be unsafe current paths. Assuming that the chassis is going to be made of electrically conductive material like steel, and that this is going to be "grounded", or attempted to be "grounded", then this suggests that maybe that conductive chassis shouldn't be exposed to where a user could so easily contact it, because it isn't reliably known for all circumstances where the conduction paths are.

The problem is the "..." in the middle of the URL in the description for this video. If I edit that out and spell out the word generators I can get to your web page. Other than that - great job as always.

Thanks... I THINK we fixed it. It keeps wanting to shorten.

not fixed, your site is down as of Tue the 11th at 11:48 et

different issue... that was server.

The Dynast Queen I’m guessing you live in Florida waiting for Dorian

Use the calc... or sheet of paper to calc. I would go with larger for two fridges.

Thanks Doc!

I was concerned about the 202 LBs as you said it is a beast!

Yes, having two frigs sucks... :) That kind of pushes you over the edge.

When u check out change ur shipping address, there may be a shipping charge.

Both of the units on the website can be yes.

@@HowTowithDoc I like it more now what is cheaper to run ? & Is there an hour running difference? Thank you I'm new to this

It's on the page. www.howtowithdoc.com/best-home-generators-hurricane-prep/

Large propane tanks are a plus but cost. I bought 2 used off craigslist and cleaned, repainted and connected them together. Ran a line for the generator and now I can run for days, if needed.

The generator he talks about hasnt got 220 volts which I need to run my well. His old B&G gen. did have -should have kept it.

We have run them for years on these types. If you're concerned get a conditioner like shown on the page. www.howtowithdoc.com/best-home-generators-hurricane-prep/

Sure you can. Recommend making sure you allow you generator a good warm up time before connecting and if possible use a laptop to charge battery and your battery will power the computer. You can also plug your sensitive devices into a surge protector to protect from unexpected surges or spikes.

It doesn't matter if it's reliable. Plus it's free and has more power than the probable new one. I'm sure she will be happy

Or... maybe he doesn't like her that much.... 😂😂😂

Says right in the owner's manual... do not run in wet conditions. Kind of a CYA clause but it also keeps water out of the fuel tanks which are always located on top for some dumb reason.

Water and electricity don't mix so well. That is a chance I am not will to take when my family is counting on me to make the right call. My kids say I am thinking ahead to provide shelter for our generator while still ensure plenty of airflow. Now I catch them doing it. My 12 yr old was doing a school science project and while I was helping she stopped and said, "What if ..." The idea was horrible as she saw the potential but not the risk, but she was thinking outside the box. My girl.

I too have a protected area from weather. I built a slant top with Marine grade plywood. This folds up or down to cover the gen. runs water and other weather elements off of it in use. A cover protects it from weather when not in use. I live in NC near Charlotte, NC. We just suffered with FLO for several days an ton's of rain. Kind of like a Boy Scout....... prepare for the worse and hope for the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once we decide we need the gen running, we leave the fridge plugged in all the time..

I run my gen 4 hours on, 1 hour off during prolonged outages. Longest was 3 days after Mathew. That only used half of my propane.

Hope you don't need to use it soon but glad to hear you have it if needed.

Nice Bob. Glad to hear you got through and your set up worked for you. Perfect example - just survive and guessing no loss of refrigerated/frozen items.

YES! Another successful generator story. I fear power outages due to hurricanes and heavy storms here in FL but I think winter storms taking out the ability to heat is an even scarier situation.

ALL generators, regardless of price can produce spikes, surges, etc. Even home outlets can do it. That's why we posted up and run CONDITIONERS. www.howtowithdoc.com/best-home-generators-hurricane-prep/

Run it through a ups and you should be a-ok!

I wonder if that has anything to do with the change to the electrical code a few years ago to require a surge protector.

lol.................. now that's.... funny.

CanesFan65 you need the totals for each ones surge and running watts. If you only run one at a time that’s all you need to worry about

Nice

Caged generators don't need grounding... Solid wall with no venting on that side of the house.

I use a 7'x7' pop up canopy. When I run my gen I like to plug a fan into it to assist with airflow so by no raising the canopy high I get plenty of airflow but no rain, even when it is blowing hard. I just steak the corners. I do not set up until after hurricanes have passed but staking this down it has withstood 30 MPH gusts. I have found the key for me is to not set it all the way up or the wind catches it. When your putting out 240 V, 50 Amp rain/water is a bad idea.

We love you too...…….💜💜💜💜💜💜

Mike....best advice ever! I shut fuel valves off then let EVERYTHING run out of fuel, then shut the ignition off. Years can go by and they start easily again. Well I do that to everything except the Onan diesel gen set......