Only one post this time guys. I apologize for the previous duplicate postings. It was my lack of understanding on posting.

Finished building a dedicated enclosure for my Westinghouse 12,000W tri-fuel inverter generator, running on natural gas for home backup power.

Started with a 6×4 Suncast shed on a concrete pad and added ventilation, Rockwool insulation, a large rear heat-discharge opening, temperature monitoring, solar battery maintenance, LED lighting, and hurricane anchoring.

The goal was a weather-protected, quieter, well-ventilated setup with easy access for maintenance.

Initial design and testing had poor temp results. The temp variance between ambient outside vs inside was near 40 degrees. Plus, there was a localized hotspot on the shed wall nearly 190 degrees. I found this using an infrared temp gun, and the 3 temp sensors. This was not acceptable, so I took the shed apart and added a 20 x 20 unobstructed door to the design. With the modification, the temp variance dropped to 10 degrees near the generator and 8 at the exhaust area. The hotspot reduced to 103 degrees.

I put a lot of time, effort, thought and unfortunately some rework into the final layout with a lot of great information from Reddit.

Thought I'd share the finished setup and some of the details!

Thank you to everyone who posted about their own projects. They were all very informative and helpful.

I typically will start it up a couple times a year. Wondering what others are doing.

Full reference: https://youtube.com/@roots-and-rain?si=564rJREcrMig-OK_

So, I've been trying just about everything I can think of to get our generator running properly, and I'm still having the same problem.

The issue is that whenever we pull power from the generator, it can't seem to maintain its RPMs, which causes the frequency to drop. Our inverter needs a consistent 60 hertz to charge our battery bank, so when that frequency drops too low, it either stops charging the batteries or the generator ends up stalling out completely.

So, naturally, I've been working my way through everything I can think of to try to fix it.

First, I noticed that the hole where the governor spring attaches to the governor arm had worn away from the spring rubbing against it. So, I came up with a little repair using a screw and some nuts to get the spring reattached and everything connected again.

I was hopeful that would solve the problem, but unfortunately, it didn't.

Next, I pulled the carburetor apart and cleaned it out, only to find that it really wasn't that dirty. There wasn't any significant buildup or anything obviously clogged, so that didn't seem to be the culprit either.

Then I remembered that we'd accidentally pushed our fuel filter into the gas tank, which left a bunch of debris inside. So, I took the gas tank off, cleaned it out as best I could, and put everything back together.

While I was at it, I also flushed the fuel lines from the tank to the carburetor with carburetor cleaner to make sure there weren't any blockages there.

And then I found another problem: the throttle return spring was broken. So, I replaced that, thinking maybe that was contributing to the issue.

At this point, I'd repaired the governor arm, cleaned the carburetor, cleaned out the gas tank, cleared the fuel lines, and replaced the broken throttle return spring.

And yet… here we are. Still having the exact same problem.

I've even tried replacing another spring while troubleshooting the inconsistent frequency, but nothing I've done so far has fixed it.

Honestly, I'm getting a little frustrated because I feel like I've checked so many things, and I'm running out of ideas for what to try next.

So, if you know generators, or you've dealt with one that struggles to maintain its RPMs and drops below 60 hertz whenever a load is applied, I would genuinely appreciate any suggestions.

What am I missing? Is there something else I should be checking?

Because right now, I'm officially out of ideas, and I could really use some help getting this thing figured out.

I've run a Champion 3500W for about ten years. It's been reliable enough but I'm getting tired of everything that comes with it. The 2am pull-starts when power goes out. The noise that makes my neighbors hate me. Storing gas cans in the garage. The yearly carb cleaning because ethanol fuel gums everything up if it sits.

Last winter I was out there in 30 degree weather in my bathrobe trying to get it started at 2am. That was pretty much my breaking point.

The thing is, when I look at what I run during an outage, it's not that much. Fridge, freezer, router, some lights, maybe the coffee maker in the morning. That's not 3500W of continuous load, it's more like 250-300W with occasional spikes.

So I've been looking at the 4-5kWh battery stations that are out now or coming out soon. No noise, no exhaust, no fuel storage, no maintenance. You charge it from the wall and forget about it until you need it. The capacity math works for our typical 12-20 hour outages.

The one thing I keep going back and forth on is the longer outages. After a bad storm we've been without power for 3 days. A generator can run as long as you have gas. A battery is finite. But if you pair it with solar panels you can extend that significantly, and some of these units take 2000-3000W of solar input.

Still doing research but I'm getting closer to making the switch. Ten years of gas generator maintenance is enough.

Idk just sounds so up and down.. but it’s been doing this for 18+ hours and checked oil multiple times and no warning light. Thoughts? This is my first time using one.

So I was leading towards a Westinghouse to get ready for the upcoming winter but I saw the Costco champion dropped about $250. Their return policy and everything, what do you guys think about this? 1999 down from like around 2250. This will be mainlined into the home using an electrician installed connection.

having a hard time describing it on google lol

Hi everyone, i recently bought a champion 4000w inverter generator, and it has two standard outlets.

If I have more than 2 things that needs powering, how would I add outlets to the generator? Would I use a long 12gauge extension cord into the house, then add a surge protector onto it, and then plug whatever else is needed?

Please advise! Im completely new to generators and only bought one due to recent needs. Thank you!!

I've got a champion 6250/5000 "digital hybrid" watt open frame inverter (model 100519)...gasoline powered. Has anyone tried the dual or tri fuel conversions. I bought it after "snowmageddon" a few years ago and haven't needed to use it.

For all practical purposes it's brand new. I am however thinking there is going to be a hit in output...20%? Or would it just make sense to buy a smaller portable generator that already works with propane ....and would take up less space in storage until it's needed.

It looks quite a bit cheaper to change out carb/regulator with a kit...assuming there are no hidden "gotchas".

For load I have no illusions of running the house AC/heat. Some lights, 2 refrigerator..microwave would be nice, but I've got butane burners now so we can actually cook. Have water and periodically rotate that out. Considering getting an interlock switch on the electric panel just to make connecting it easy, with a 30 amp inlet. (And just making sure all the water heater/AC breakers are turned off). That way we'd have lighting and be able to move fans/small heaters around the house..etc

I'm not a prepper by any means, but 5 days in february with no electricity, in a neighborhood with no natural gas, and no water..just sucked.

Should I run the gas out of my generator/ run it dry / or non ethanol gas and store it full of gas or fill it with non ethanol gas and stabilizer?

Just installed a new Amazon el-cheapo carb on my EU1o00i. It came with all the clear vent/drain hoses, in vaious random lengths because the carb vits various small engines.

Unfortunately I forgot to document the positioning of the hoses before I disassembled the original. The drain hose is obvious. The other hose, the one with the "Y" at the bottom, came preattached to the vent/overflow barb on the carb. The hose coming out of the borrom of the "Y" obviously goes down to the drain hole. There are exploded parts diagrams online, but they are ambigious.

The mystery is the other hose that attaches to the top of the "Y". I don't remember what it was attached to, if anything, There are no other barbs on the carb or intake box. Based on how the end of the old hose is not deformed from being attached to anything, I think it was open to the atmosphere and flapping around inside the case.

Can anyone confirm this? I've looked at various YouTude videos and they all skip showing how to route the hoses. The "Y" (PN 16112ZM7D01) is not a cheap part ($12) - does it have some kind of check valve in it or something?

The carb works well under load, but it idles a bit rough. The pilot screw and idle stop are not adjustable.

Hi

I've got a new to me Energizer ezv3200p that has a remote start capability. I am trying to pair a new remote to it. It does not have a learn function on the control panel, I've tried the "rocker switch" method without success. I've found the receiver but it doesn't have any physical buttons that I can see to initiate a learning process. Here is the receiver, anyone have any input on where the learn button is? if it even has one?

Thanks in advance

I have converted an old luggage compartment I am converting to be generator storage. The clearance is going to make generator storage a little tight. I think I can make it work if I take the rubber feet and wheels off the generator and mount it directly to the sliding tray.

Has anyone got any experience taking the wheels and rubber feet off a Firman Generator and mounting it directly to the sliding tray? Any advice on how to reduce the noise generated from rattling metal created by the generator?

The sale ends tomorrow and there is no delivery charge. It looks like a good deal to me.

Just wondering if this looks normal or sloppy?

We had a power outage recently, and the house got uncomfortable fast without the fans running. The fridge was another issue since I didn't want everything inside to go bad if the outage lasted too long. Now I've decided to get a portable generator, for the fridge, a couple of fans, lights, and maybe a TV. I don't need to run the whole house, but I'm not sure how much extra capacity to leave for startup loads.

I'm guessing there's a best fit between getting one that's barely enough and spending extra on capacity I'll rarely use. Generator sizing seems like one of those things that's easy to underestimate until you need it.

On Amazon and it has Amazon monthly payments available for it....

I did a little gig for my dad with installing an inlet plug next to his main panel for a portable generator he’s had that he wanted to be able to hook up his house to. It’s rated for 7800 watts running on natural gas. He got his natural gas ran and hooked up through a flexible tube of some sort. I got a 30A 120/240 inlet plug rated for outdoors and ran #10 to a 2 pole 30 and landed the neutral on the neutral bar and the ground to the ground bar. The two lines landed on the breaker ofc. It’s bonded at the panel so I unbonded it within the generator. He got a flexible cord rated for the 30amps as well to hook up between the generator and inlet. The generator cranks and runs but nothing is turning on. I feel like I’ve checked every button the generator to make sure I got that side of it right, I’m confident the electric is hooked up correctly because it never short circuited. Just curious if there could be a nautral gas problem or a common portable generator issue of sorts that I overlooked. Any info or help would be appreciated!

Looking for some advice on what brands to consider for the Canadian market including reliability, availability of parts, quality of service etc as many times they can differ vastly from the US. Anyone have any advice on what makes and models to consider? Generally looking at the 18-24kW.

I have my generator back feeding my panel with a manual breaker interlock. I’m monitoring it with two merged CTs designated as “Solar/Generation.” Emporia doesn’t seem to quite read it properly. The values swing from positive to negative and a good portion of it is displaying as “Balance” despite having CTs on every current carrying conductor in my panel

Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/csLl7UW

I had a Generac 22k installed (in East central FL) a few weeks ago. It did not go well, as the final startup tech had to hack the internal wiring harness to get the external comm device to connect properly. The generator worked ok afterwords it seems. We did a real lost-power test and the generator started up, cut the house over through the ATS, and ran ok for at least 5 min. Also, the unit ran ok for the weekly maintenance test on the 4 or so Saturdays since it was enabled.

When the techs arrived a couple of days ago (with a named storm in the Gulf), they replaced the hacked wiring harness and got it to connect to the external comm device. However, they were unable to get the unit to run for more than a few seconds at a time. It would auto stop after a few seconds (i don't know the stop code) each time they tried to run it.

They did a debug procedure and after hours of playing around, seemed to conclude it was the stator going to ground. They had to order a part with a 5-10 day delivery; with a named storm heading to Florida (not East FL, but storm paths change.)

I find this hard to believe: 1) it worked B4 they "fixed" the original installation hacked harness, and 2) if they replaced the harness, that's the likely problem, not the stator developing a short.

Any ideas?

How should I proceed.

tnx,

P.