Time for a permanent solution, either connect to the grid or put in a family size solar array. I have been watching Lumnah Acres channel. About a year ago, before they bult their house, they put in a 17KwHr solar array, After they closed in their temporary home, they added the batteries -- no more generators needed.
I've never heard of Predator generators. I'm ALL for saving money, but when it comes to tools, I'm not a fan of Harbor Freight. I do my best to get higher quality tools. I've been burned on warranties a few times. First, the dealership wouldn't honor the extended warranty for my car. It's just a piece of paper. Second, Taurus wouldn't honor their warranty on a revolver I bought. I don't trust warranties. I've learned sometimes it might be best to just spend more up front. Good luck with that generator!
DUTCH CALL THE CORPORATE OFFICE FOR THE PREDATOR AND TELL THEM YOUR SITUATION AND HOW MANY OF THEM YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH AND MAKE SURE YOU TELL THEM WHAT HARBOR FREIGHT SAID ABOUT POSSIBLY NOT REPLACING YOUR GENERATOR WITH AN EXTENDED WARRANTY AND DONT FORGET TO TELL THEM YOU HAVE A UTUBE CHANNEL AND WHAT AN AMAZING FOLLOWING YOU HAVE...PRAYING FOR YOU GUYS❤
I worked in a butchers shop back in the late 80’s and it was the first time the owner had gone away for a few days. So at the close of the Saturday I had fri & sat takins so i vac packed it, it was a good amount of cash and went down to nothing. I panicked and cut it open to see where the money was lol. From that day on we always vac packed the cash notes.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Usually if it burns out like that it means u need a bigger one. Your running too much on it for too long. Has happened to me too. Harbor freight should transfer everything to a larger genny and u have to pay the difference. That's what everyone else does
We had 3 diesel generators at the hospital I worked at. We ran them once a month to test our transfer switches. We also took fuel samples and had them analyzed for funk that can grow in diesel. They ran elevators, commercial kitchens as well as emergency outlets lighting and AC. Yes they were a pain to maintain but they did save lives. They would have powered a train engine.
2400hr is the equivalent of a car with 150k + miles. Id say that that's probably the lifespan of what these non commercial, small engines, and generators are designed to run.
Tip to vacuuming fruit for freeze drying later ** freeze fruit one layer thick. Those clumped packages will need to thaw / nearly thaw, and freeze again in freeze dryer to ever be a single layer
Dallas isn't scared; the bucket is wide enough, but it's not deep enough for him to move his feet, except to walk around. He's big enough to want to swim, not just bathe himself. Or herself (whichever Dallas is).
Sean, I would take the gen back and fight for the replacement. THEN... Look on market place for a diesel powered gen, like a whole house 18KW or higher. I have seen them around here for pretty good prices. Get you a fuel tank that you can run a long time off of, and when you need more, they will deliver it to you. But in the long run, you know as we do(those who follow your channel) That you need to get the big solar array and system, batteries and all, up and running so you won't have these issues. Using your generator(the big one) only to recharge your battery bank. What would be nice is if you could have a water tower, 2000 gallons or more where you could fill it mainly when your gen was running to charge your batteries, have it filling your water tanks at the same time. and have gravity fed water boosted by a smaller water pump for pressure. I know money and time, but in the end, I think it would serve you well.
Harbor freight does not have the best quality tools for hard use. That said if it has a warranty unless specifically says not over so many hours, they should exchange with no complaint. They are the ones guarantying their product. That said maybe look for a military surplus diesel generator? The old ones were tough
I think I have mentioned to you before you should use a commercial generator that they sell for campers and motorhomes they last forever long as you change oil in them
Dallas wasn't taught to swim in the water as other ducks are. He'll learn, but it'll take jumping in and getting his feet wet...lol 😂😅😂😅 Harbor Freight will have to exchange or fix, no questions asked. If you buy the extended warranty, they have to honor it. Love ya'll ❤
We have been through 3 predictors. They are junk. We have a craftsman that we have had for 9 years with over 10,009 hrs. It still works. We also have a blue max 13500 working needs battery and starter rebuild but runs fine.
I have a 23kw propane whole house generator from Generac generator. Been using it for 6 years and just have it serviced by Certified Generac mechanic. It was a life saver here in SWFL during an after Ian Hurricane
Get 'em Tiger! You're going to bring success to Lester! I've been a subscriber of your channel much longer than Lester's vlog! Good luck trapping! ❤🤠🙏🎯💥❤️
We bought the Predator from Harbor Freight, we have had it about 8 years now. Last year we had to use it 24/7 for 7 days straight here in Florida as we had a situation with our builder. Thank you for helping Lester & Jami.
Yes I agree call the cooperate office and tell them everything and especially how the harbor freight store is treating you. Also how many people follow your your RU-vid channel especially for these generators, hopefully they will stand by their Warrenty
Gasoline Generators are not made to run continuously For what you need with all hours all the time I drive over the road truck driving most trucks run APU’s In these big sleeper’s they use a lot of Diesel engines in all APU’s I have a Onnan Cummins Generator I believe is 8000 watts With built in inverter I also know that every time I’ve been in hurricane hit areas when Marshal law is in effect the government shutdown all Gasoline pumps They do leave diesel side of truck stops open so you can buy diesel for your generators & diesel pickups
Lester has a Generac unit at LHL and I think at ISS as well. He doesn't live off grid but has it as a backup in case the power goes out and he needs to water the animals or anything else. They seem to be a very worthwhile investment. Thank you so much for helping Lester with the coyote issue. I've seen several of your videos over the past few years but just subscribed after watching your adventures with Lester. ❤
I'm glad to see that you got a vivore vacuum system and you already have a freeze dried system, with those together you can make many years of food. Enzo far as the generator they're only going to stand behind their work and guarantees for so many times. They build stuff that will break down and guarantee it but if you do over and over and over again they're not going to stand behind it
I'm impressed you got that many hours out of the genset. How many hours between oil changes and which oil do y'all use? I use a 24 volt gopower 2kw pure sine wave inverter with solar. It'll run a midea 8000 BTU window unit (800 watts) and small chest deep freezer and refrigerator ( about 130 watts each). We also have a 12 volt renogy 3 kw inverter for backup in case I want to run it off my truck or tractor battery . The renogy cost less than the harbor freight warranty you purchased - just for reference. You're doing very well for your family, I'm proud of all of y'all. Take care
Dutch I have the same vacuum sealer from Vevor. It works great but you don't have to lock the lid while vacuuming. Just make sure the lid is unlocked & open before turning it on.
You may be better off with a diesel gen. Not hard to build. Find a old gleaner combine with a diesel. Ms are good ones. The engine set up is basically a self contained power unit. Get a PTO generator for a tractor. Belt drive it from the engine. Figure your ratio so you can run your engine about 1200rpm. It has enough power to run a decent size generator at its 540 requirement. Wont be bad on fuel either.
Yup. I grew up in southern CA and on any given day the inside of our garage door always had that many full grown black widows the size of a 50 cent piece.
Those are not made to run that much. Yes they say for maybe 2000 hours but that by normal people is over a period of a year or two. Not meaning this as negative towards you at all. Like you said it doesn’t say you can’t just keep it running. Until they put that on the box they should cover it.
Oh myyyy, how the heck were you raised in Oklahoma? My okie Dad wouldn’t allow all us girls to be afraid of stuff ! He was just ignore us and act like we were silly girls ! He was a war hero and tough as nails. I miss him.. 😢
I bought a POWERHORSE generator at Northern Tool. It’s a clone of the Predator but comes with a three year warranty and more output. Same engine and panels even interchangeable.
Your duck probably needs another duck to watch and learn how to swim since chickens dont swim lol. I also am not a huge fan of harbor freight. Fingers crossed that you get them both working.
Yeah my son had trouble with harbor freight . They canceled his account for no good reason. There response was he hadn’t used the account in awhile and his employment had changed and his pay went down . Apparently there is a new law that these credit card companies can look into your account and determine that maybe you aren’t credit worthy anymore. Even though your not misusing the account and pay on time, so much BS.
Harbor Freight probably want him to buy a bigger one that might last longer, from a business standpoint, he makes them look bad because he has to replace generators.
@@roseeckstein6534because a comparable sized generator in a different brand would probably be about three times as much. Harbor freight offers an unconditional exchange policy. Even if a screw comes loose you can take it back and exchange it for a new one. His local harbor freight is in the wrong. All he needs to do is contact corporate about it and they will set them straight hopefully.
You might look into a Caterpillar generator. Larger initial investment, but built for harder/longer use that household backup generators. Generac also sells great generators.
My husband said the cost of an extended warranty should be 1/3 or less than the cost of the product. If it more then your not getting a product from a unreliable company.
try cleaning the spark arrester that is a screen on the exhaust that gets a carbon build-up and does not let it exhaust properly and it is to keep sparks from coming out , get a torch heat it until it turns white then brush with a soft metal brush ,put it back on , i don't worry about the sparks i just left it off but in with my generator tools in case i am in an area that requires it
The thing with generators is, they're NOT meant to be used as much as you are using them. You can't rely on the warranty when you're using them as your power source for more than a weekend or a week at a time
Do you do the break in procedure to them? Do the valves get adjusted every 300 hours? Do you use amsoil full synthetic small engine oil? I recommend all those things to help prevent failures. Get rid of the spark arrester, it will cake up and clog the exhaust with carbon.
I think its time to get your solar setup going, that's probably something that needs to be at the top of the list. Doesn't sound like a generator is going to be reliable enough to run your household.
Yeah, that is crazy. I have a little 3500 predator inverter. I only use it every great once in a while mainly use it for back up if power goes out at night time so I don’t disturb my neighbors. I’ve had it for two years and I’ve only put 64 hours on it.
Dutch I fill you we are moving Saturday and the high for that day is 107 with a heat index of 112. We are moving from Texas to Michigan the high there Saturday is 76.
I put in a 11k kilowatt generator that runs off propane. We bought my wife’s childhood home and that area the power grid was always down like in the dead of winter. The cost was significant and in 6 years I think it’s run 1.5 hours. I even paid for an automatic switch so if the grid went down it switched over in 3-5 seconds. Again Only 1.5 hours in 6 years. So it hasn’t even paid for the 2 120 gallon propane tanks….
@Keeping It Dutch.... the Harbor Freight generators and such are not designed for the use that you and other YT Homesteaders are putting them through. They are not quality equipment. If you need to run them the way you are you need to invest in better quality equipment
Hi Dutch love your new vacuum sealer, I have heard V Vore is pretty good for quality and price. Hope you make a really good camera girl, you do very well. Love your videos guys. Good luck with the Preditor generator Dutch.👍👍❤️❤️🇨🇦
I looked this up because I was curious. I was thinking a generator should last a long time, for years, with high use. That is my thinking having never even owned one. Out of curiosity to find out the true hours a genny is rated to be used in its lifetime, I looked it up and here was the answer I found: So, depending on the current state of your machine, 150 to 200 hours, which is well over a week, is what you should consider as high hours on your generator. But that doesn’t mean that your generator will break down after you put 200-plus hours in it. A well-maintained generator can last you an average of 2000 to 3000 hours in its lifetime.
We are sweating with y’all here in Southern Michigan. God bless you and your family and your homestead 🙋🏻♀️♥️🇺🇸 PS Harbor freight better be careful I have been referring them about the generators. My friend bought one because of what I learned about it from you, she has a amazing food trailer that she bought it for. I stand with Dutch!!! Sick you subscribers on them. 😊God bless
My son has a Predator generator with about 2.5 hours on it, all testing. He purchased it to run the fridge and freezer after we where without electricity for 5 days 3 years ago due to a tornado hitting our city back then. We haven't had to run it since even though we have had a few power outages during the winter. Face it, Harbour Freight sells cheaply made Chinese junk and won't stand by their product if the flaws are shown them.
Long term it may be worth installing the electric grid for at least for the well and batteries charging. When you look at the cost of gasoline unreliable generators 4-5 failed in what 18 months!
I said that along time ago. It would be much cheaper than the gas he is buying. Generators are not meant to be run 24/7, but he just can't get that through his head.
Keep your predator gen sets for backup and go ahead and invest in a prime power generator. You can get a 11000 watt diesel Kobota for under $10000. There are many others too. I would stick to diesel or propane fuel.
You mentioned recently that you may hook up to electricity some day. Maybe the time is now to save a lot of aggravation. You could still use solar to keep the electric cost down.
When we lived in Kansas. We were doing siding, sofit, and facia. Pulling the siding off of our first house there and they had so many black widows that the owner of the company we were working with stopped the job and told the homeowners they had to do something or we wouldn't be doing their siding.
The way I see it is you are using a small emergency generator to power the whole show there. I live in SouthEastern Louisiana and after a Hurricane you may be without power for weeks so we use a HOME STANDBY GENERATOR , that can run off propane or natural gas. You need something that can run all your power needs at one time, I've use an 8750 watt emergency generator for backup but I can't run everything. The A/C draws to much juice, so we use fans and that one we can take camping. My house needs a 30 KW Standby system , it doesn't use that much so it is easier on the equipment. Still I change the oil after about 14 - 21 days of steady use 24/7. Overkill yes, but I think it's better to be safe than sorry, and it only takes about 5 mins. Harbor Freight does have a PTO Chicago Electric Generator 15KW that is if you have a tractor, I don't recall.
