portable generator

[hooD]

I recently inherited a portable electric generator. 

How good or powerful is this thing? 
What do these cost new? 
Should I be changing the oil in the engine?  It's been at least 5 years since it was last started. 
Any other tips I should know about?

[cudabeforeIdie]

That's a good machine, Tecumsah is a good engine. Plenty of power to run the important stuff in your house during a power failure. I have a Briggs and Stratton 5500/7500 for my home, will run the heat, fridge, TV/Sat/home theater, 1 light and either the microwave or coffee pot in the winter, or the aforementioned exchanging the heat for an air conditioner in the summer.

Will it start? Check the oil first, run for a few minutes then do an oil change, new plug, fresh gas and a air filter if it has one. Use Sta-Bil in the fuel. I do a tune up on my machine annually like this. I keep 3  5 gallon fuel tanks with Sta-Bil handy, date the tanks. When it gets close to a year on the fuel, put it in your car and re-fill the tanks. When its all tuned up put a meter on the outputs, make sure they're giving you what's promised.

I run my machine every month with some sort of load on it, sometimes the house, other times just a fan or hair dryer to keep the capacitors happy. These machines aren't cheap, my machine which I got 7 years ago was $450.

[Bullitt-]

Hey Larry,    Find out the load rating of the generator & then check the requirements of the key equipment you may need to run in an emergency so if that need arises you will know just how much you can count on running simultaneously.    You will also need to keep a good supply of fuel for that day, 5-gallons won't last as long you might think.

Good to see you around. 

[brads70]

Good advice above. I'll add in to remove the float bowl and clean it out and inspect. Run some fresh fuel though it with the float bowl off to flush out any old fuel and " nasty's" When installing the fuel bowl wipe a small amount of grease around the rim to keep the bowel gasket from drying out.  If the fuel line doesn't have a fuel shut off in it them add one! $10 max?  Yes change the oil.  add the fuel stabilizer and run the engine for at least 10 minutes, the idea here is to get the fuel into and through the carb. Many people just add it to the gas tank and don't run it, then the fuel in the carb goes bad then won't start when you need it to.
DON'T USE FUEL WITH ETHENOL!!!!!  It eats the rubber fuel lines and gaskets in the carb.

[cudabeforeIdie]

Ok, now I'm awake and am having coffee...

When I shut down my gen after a monthly run or actual use, I shut off the fuel line and let the gas run out of the carb.

Your machine is rated at 5K watts running, try to stay at a 4K load, that's what I did, and it will be enough for an 'emergency'.
You need to think in watts, not volts. For your fridge, they'll be info inside the door, amps, volts, etc. Multiply amps x volts to get the watts.
Do this for all the appliances you'll need in an emergency; heating, fridge, TV, microwave/coffee pot, "a" light, etc. Try to stay around 4K watts.

For feeding, there are 2 ways; you can get an octopus cable that will plug into your gen with a male polarized plug, the other side of the cable will be multiple female polarized plugs to plug your appliances in to. Another way, which is what I do, is an elaborate backfeed. This is dangerous and can kill you or burn down your house, YMMV. What I can't tell is how many amps the gen is rated at. Mine is 30 amp.

To set up a back feed, you'll need an outside plug rated for the amperage of the generator, the proper wiring (10/3,12/3, whatever) to the properly sized breaker (20a/30a) at your box, and a cable from the gen to the power inlet, again proper amperage and 'all weather'. You'll probably need to move some breakers around in your box in an effort to show the gen an 'even' load left and right. And always remember to shut off the generator breaker in the box when not in use, otherwise the plug outside is 'live' and deadly. And only connect and disconnect the cable from the gen to the house when the gen is off and the breaker is off, otherwise you have a 'suicide cable'.

Go with the octupus.....        If you have to use extension cords, be sure they are rated in amps for the power of the generator. Be cognizant of the gen's location when its running so you don't get carbon monoxide into the house through a window or door.

[Jamiez]

One thing to consider, is a lot of devices (those with electric motors) tend to consume a lot of power when they first start.  Dryers, AC units, furnace blowers, etc.  When running on the generator it's a good idea to start the devices slowly, and not all at once.

[HP_Cuda]

Ohms law I = V/R

hence

W = V X A

One way to track how much wattage your are pulling is to get a Watts Up meter and put it inline with your generator. It's better to know what's going on then not. As well choose power cords that are higher quality so you don't lose voltage on cheap multi-strand setups.

Enjoy!

[cudabeforeIdie]

One thing to consider, is a lot of devices (those with electric motors) tend to consume a lot of power when they first start.  Dryers, AC units, furnace blowers, etc.  When running on the generator it's a good idea to start the devices slowly, and not all at once.

That's where the 'surge' rating comes in with generators. I've had my fridge's compressor kick on at the same time the heat kicked in, there was an audible quick and miniscule drop in power but the surge rating ate it up.

I have a military style check list for my power ups and power downs.... I always show the gen the greatest draw first when powering up, like the heat breaker in the winter, etc. and reverse when powering down.