Time for a whole house generator

[gaston13]

With the ice storm coming we could loose electric. No problem, drag out the trusty generator. Problem, no start my fault I didn't test run it this summer due to China brain fog. Remember if anything goes wrong blame it on China. Run to ACE hdw. for new filter after starting fluid fires up motor. Still no start. Old school siphon gas out without getting poisoned and dump in 5 gals of fresh gas. The old stuff smelled bad even though it was treated with ethanol additive. No start. Diagnosed as gummed up carb.. Put all back where I started and inform loving wife. Open beer and inform loving wife we getting a Propane whole house generator. F this BS.

[Donnieb]

Got one about 10 years ago, one of the best investments I ever made.

[lakefolk]

you might get one just in time for summer.......

[EarlK]

I've had mine about 11 years now and still consider it one of the best investments I've ever made.

[nowakezone]

Check the muffler for an obstruction,idk if you have dirt dauber where you live, but thats what prevented my generator from cranking last time I needed it.

[Commanche20]

Check oil level most gen sets have low oil sensor, if low it won't start, sure hope this helps

[fishin couillon]

Got one installed back in April last year......so far so good......used a few times for power outage during storms but no hurricanes yet.....

Had a buddy that order his thru his electrical contractor (during his home build) in summer of 2020.....wife and i talked to several contractors and all said, about 8 mths to 1 yr wait........went to Home Depot, they told us they have priority purchasing with Generac, which i didnt believe, told the wife they are full of BS but she wanted to order one thru them......from the day it was ordered to the day i picked it up, it was about 27 days.....fast forward to this pas November, my buddy called me to say he had his generator in hand BUT it was not thru his contractor but ended up going thru Lowe's and came in with a few months.......

You might want to spend money with a local contractor, but if they cant get them, then check with the big box stores.......

[RonCat]

With the ice storm coming we could loose electric. No problem, drag out the trusty generator. Problem, no start my fault I didn't test run it this summer due to China brain fog. Remember if anything goes wrong blame it on China. Run to ACE hdw. for new filter after starting fluid fires up motor. Still no start. Old school siphon gas out without getting poisoned and dump in 5 gals of fresh gas. The old stuff smelled bad even though it was treated with ethanol additive. No start. Diagnosed as gummed up carb.. Put all back where I started and inform loving wife. Open beer and inform loving wife we getting a Propane whole house generator. F this BS.

I feel ya, not far from where you are. Tried yesterday and dead battery, was getting dark so figured I would do it this AM. No joy with cordless battery charger, wife gave me “the look” when I came in to get truck keys. Jumped with truck, no problem, now hoping for not much ice and now power outage.

[MichPhoenix77]

You won’t think about it until you use it, then you will never regret spending the money after that.

[rb]

If you guys have tractors you may want to look at ones that hook up to the PTO on the tractor. I know its not automatic switching but our runs our house and the chicken house. And it will save you some money

[gaston13]

Check oil level most gen sets have low oil sensor, if low it won't start, sure hope this helps

I'll check that never know but I did change oil and only used it one time after that. Thanks, got to get it running before the For Sale sign goes up.

[Fish.Team.Rose]

We looked at a big 200 amp service one and a 100 amp service one. Both would clean out our 500 gallon tank fairly fast. We bought a portable 50 amp, that runs on gas and propane. Have it hooked to house. Its enough to run ac, heat, wells, our propane range, the whole house within reason. And it does not use all that much.

the cons are i have to manually start it (key) and disconnect our main breaker.

[CTSS]

Got Generac 17KW 11 years ago, one of the best investments I ever made. Changed battery once, change mobil 1 5w30 oil and filter every 2 years.

[keeferfish]

You guys saying best investment you've made in the last 10+ years, How many times have you lost power in 10 years? I bet it's only been 2 or 3 for me all lasting less than an hour or two.......

Buy the way anything that runs on gas like portable generator, motorcycles, ATV that will not bee used often I always shut off the gas and let it run out of fuel before I store, no more gumming up issues here.

[BOATS]

I use only non ethanol and even then run all gas out of it when hurricane season is over.

[JK-fishchaser]

You guys saying best investment you've made in the last 10+ years, How many times have you lost power in 10 years? I bet it's only been 2 or 3 for me all lasting less than an hour or two.......

Buy the way anything that runs on gas like portable generator, motorcycles, ATV that will not bee used often I always shut off the gas and let it run out of fuel before I store, no more gumming up issues here.

This^

Always close the fuel valve and burn the fuel in carb before storing. This will prevent gumming and make life easier the next time you need it.

[TMG]

I'd keep spraying stater fluid in it and see if it will clear the carb. I got 2 snowblowers and a generator going last year that way. Just kept at it for a little while then eventually they didn't stall anymore.

[NorthLanier]

You guys saying best investment you've made in the last 10+ years, How many times have you lost power in 10 years? I bet it's only been 2 or 3 for me all lasting less than an hour or two.......

Buy the way anything that runs on gas like portable generator, motorcycles, ATV that will not bee used often I always shut off the gas and let it run out of fuel before I store, no more gumming up issues here.

When I lived in North Carolina, I lost power for eight days on two separate occasions. Most folks around the country don’t have to deal with ice. When iced up tree limbs take down hundreds if not thousands of power lines, it’s more than a two hour fix.

4500 households in my county are currently without power and the storm is just starting. They won’t even send the line trucks out in 35mph winds and iced over roads so those folks likely will be without power until tomorrow at the earliest.

[AirForceAngler]

You guys saying best investment you've made in the last 10+ years, How many times have you lost power in 10 years? I bet it's only been 2 or 3 for me all lasting less than an hour or two.......

Buy the way anything that runs on gas like portable generator, motorcycles, ATV that will not bee used often I always shut off the gas and let it run out of fuel before I store, no more gumming up issues here.

For many, it's more than just keeping the lights and the TV on for a few hours. More than once, I've lost power for a couple of days, up to 5 days once. Our house has a very active sump in the finished basement. If I were to go without for more than a day, there's a good chance my basement would flood. Not to mention food that may be lost in the fridge/freezers. Or water pipes freezing and bursting.

Many of the automatic, whole-home generators are either natural gas or propane powered, so there's not need to run the gas out of the carb, either.

[okiebass]

Use ONLY Non Ethanolfuel and a fuel stabilizer. Start the thing and let it run five minutes every 3--4 months. Problem solved .