We have used the ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
The best thing about my generator setup which is functionally the same as yours is that it is MAGICAL. Most of the times I've used it, right after selectively shutting off the water heater (I'm all-electric), dragging out the generator, connecting the cable, getting things cranked up...wait, I need to fill the tank completely up first to get maximum runtime, and usually all of this is in a downpour, and finally switching over the breakers, the MAGIC happens and line power immediately comes back on. It's turned into a meme in my family. "Dad! Get the generator out so the power will come back on!"
I've steered hurricanes away from my house with my generator. Might've lost power for a total of 15 minutes over the last 5 years after buying my generator.
I hear you. After rigging a series of hidden heavy duty extension cords to various parts of the house to use my generator, our first power outage lasted 15 minutes. I was so disappointed the power came back on and I wasn't able to really test the whole system.
How many amps does each lug pull. An AC is only about 1500w+ watts for a 3ton. Dryer is almost 6000w. When using other than gas, your watts and amps are less on generator specs.
In Texas the cost of electricity is getting insane . Would it be possible to run this generator 24/7 straight for 4 months? Would you expect that the cost of natural gas running this generator would be cheaper than what electric companies are now charging? Enjoyed the video and considering implementing this as my primary source during summer.
This is not a constant duty generator. Look at commercial grade diesel (Kubota, Cummins, etc) units for that capability. No, they will not be cheaper than grid power. If you want to keep cool in Texas, it's going to cost you. My brother is in McKinney. Over $300 power bill last month for their 40' motorhome with t/stat set at 80°. Ouch!
I wanna run a 4 ton ac and a 2500 square foot home. What size generator do i need? I currently have a 5500 watt duromax and i ran 8000 btu window unit fridge and few other things but i want to run my central ac next. Houston tx
@@diyhvacguy They are not available on Amazon but I found one on a different site I have a 3 ton at house but at my studio I would like to install one also. I guess the first one is a test. Thanks for the great info and video.
I’m in Texas and still recovering from Hurricane Beryl. I ran a gasoline-only generator, and finding an open gas station with available fuel was nearly impossible. I'll be switching to a natural gas generator.
I live in spring Texas , work in Jersey village 290 area. was lucky to go to advanced auto on jones and 290 where they had a few , also went to harbor freight where they had 2 to chose from 3500 and the 6500 . I got the 6500 . $479 plus tax. it runs window unit, refrigerator box fan small electronics like cell phone etc. initially I used the inverter in my Nissan titan to run the refrigerator all night did not even burn a 1/4 tank of gas.
@@deanowright359smart using an inverter from your vehicle. It’s good to have multiple options incase you need to use one temporarily or if one option fails.
Good Demonstration, BUT.....Be very concerned about potential damage you can do to sensitive electronic equipment ( AC , TV, Computer, etc.). I own the same generator and according to data posted on the Firman website it is rated at 11 to 14% THD. This is way higher than what is recommended for sensitive electronic equipment. The power supply for sensitive electronics should have < 5% THD. I would hate to damage the circuit board on my inverter based AC ...or even my two speed compressor as it would be a very costly fix. I like this generator, but wish it put out cleaner power. Any thoughts on how to address the PQ issue with this generator? I live in South Louisiana and ran multiple window units with the generator and didn't have an issue. Sure would be nice to be able to run one of my central AC units.
There is no way to clean up high THD at this size of generator. Its simply not economical in cost. You would need a sizable load reactor device that is matched to the loads in your house. This would basically absorb all the higher harmonic voltage/currents above 60HZ and convert it to waste heat but leave the 60hz power alone for your loads to use. Over time high THD can and WILL cause damage. The bigger enemy is actually voltage surges since portable generators at this level while many have brush type AVRs or brushless capacitor excited, the regulation will never be as "tight" as utility. A heavy load starts, the engine momentarily drops in speed before the engine governor responds, and the AVR drops in voltage and takes a moment to recover the voltage back to the preset level. The AVR can "overshoot" the recovery for a very brief time where high voltages can be seen by your devices and damage them. To your point thats not good. Sufficient surge suppression like MOVs in a circuit can help absorb these transients sacrificing themselves before your inverter based AC.
@@N-M424 not necessarily. I have tested generators with an amp probe meter and at half a load for a 6,500 watt generator with a 3000 watt resistive loan I've seen THD as high as 16%, and would only get worse from there. It comes down to the build quality of the powerhead.
I bought one of these from Costco 3 years ago. Ran it on propane the whole time. Had to run extension cords. I do not have the generator inlet box yet or a natural gas outlet yet. It is one of my goals to install soon. When we had our hard freeze, we were able to run medical devices and keep our fridge going. Very happy with our generator.
Please remember all generators are not created equal and to run electronics it is safest to have one with a Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of less than 6% or it can ruin computers, DVD players, and other sensitive electronics.
Yup that’s true. The only generator I can find out there that is 3% THD is a Westinghouse IGEN 4500DF but it’s only 120v. My outdoor Unitary Heat pump is a Coleman HMH7 with an inverter board. My natural gas furnace is a 2 speed variable ecm so it also has a board that requires good sign waves. I was going to buy that Firman he’s got but I think the THD on it is too high. I’m an Hvac tech as well and did this research with a help from the supplier tech support. I’m surprised that Firman powered up his minisplit as well but how do you guys feel about wear and tear on those boards with that high THD? Bad thing about this Westinghouse is it’s only 120v 30amps so it’s only good enough to give me natural gas heating but no AC is we’re out during the short summer here in Seattle. Great video, just my thoughts and also if anyone out there that knows any portable Generators like those that can do 240v 30amps any type of fuel with a low THD roughly 3-5% is what I’m trying to find. 👍
@@PaulCyclist I am worried about the electronics on just about everything and I have a 4,500 sqft home so I got the SUA10000EC from Costco for less than $800 and it has a THD of less than 5% plus it's big enough to run almost everything in my home if needed (of course not the washer and dryer). Luckily, I haven't had to use it for that but I have been happy with it for what I use it for.
@@TrungNguyen-jf2sg if the neutral is bonded to the frame of the generator make sure you wire in a disconnect before hooking it up to your breaker box or else it can mess up some stuff. Bonded to the frame is great for using it on its own, but your house is already grounded so I wired in a disconnect wire I can use to break the neutral free of the frame if I need to use it for my home.
@@TrungNguyen-jf2sg I got the SUA10000EC by iPower from Costco and it has less than 5% THD. It was a great buy at the time (less than $900 if I remember) and it will run 240V at 50A. Once I wired in the bonded neutral cut off it was good to go.
One thing to note with soft start devices, they lower the inrush current at startup. THEY DO NOT LOWER THE RUN CURRENT OF AN AC COMPRESSOR. Soft start devices do not save your money (in reality its very negligible) in electricity bill costs, but they greatly save your compressors life span minimizing wear and tear since it's not hard starting with a partially for fully locked rotor from the pressures inside. Great video!
@@Jeremy-vb6tv more complexity, added cost, manufacturers want to sell units and given this is about a $400 upgrade USD not many would opt to do it unless it was absolutely necessary.
Note: most modern units have time outs that generally keep compressors from starting with a pressure lock. Soft start units do reduce start amps, so batteries or generstor can start the unit
New subscriber here! Thank you for your willingness to share your knowledge. I am a trades instructor for one of our local colleges. Not for the money but because I feel there is a real need to pass on what we were fortunate to have others teach us. Thank you and I love you “down to earth” methods!
I am so glad you choose to do this. This "Old Timer' have a lot of knowledge we can share with the youngins . I would love to be able to pass on what I have learned over 50 yrs. Running a business. Also. Learning the People part. Not much I cant fix. Especially small engine stuff. Blessings to you and your students. I so Pray that some can learn the satisfaction that comes with a hard days work and seeing what you did that day.
Something VERY IMPORTANT that was not mentioned. You need a 240 v generator not 120v. Most generators are 120 volt. After buying 2 cosfco generators, a parallel kit and paying an electrician $1500 to do the electrical work to put in an inlet and an Interlock kit I found out the hard way, that my two firman generators would only power "every other circuit breaker". The electrician confirmed that the only way to power the whole house is that you have to have a 240 volt generator. Unfortunately 240 volt generators are expensive and I lost a lot of $$ since I waited too long before finishing the project and had to sell off my firman generators. Sure costco allows returns but if you return too many items or too many big items you risk getting your membership terminated.
You have the live line of your 120-volt generator feed both poles of a dual breaker. That way 120 volts feed into both phase A and B of your breaker box. all the 120 volt circuits will work. but the 240-volt circuits won't work. that is what we use as that is all you need for the furnace and fridge and tv set and fans and lights. The neutral line from the generator feeds to the combination ground neutral bar in your breaker box. Its pretty easy to do.
A setup like this should NOT be assumed to run an entire house. To think otherwise is foolish. This setup should be used for primary circuits (heating/cooling, food storage, some lighting in occupied areas). If you tax this setup to run the entire house IMO is risky. If there is a power failure your first thoughts should be conservation of energy until the system is restored. Don’t forget that your fuel sources may not have power as well and depending on how long that may be this setup may just delay the inevitable.
@@michaeldecker2725 Right, and btw not trying to power the entire house. Instead, I want the ability to power those specific circuits that need power. If you run 120 V, you'll only be able to power "every other circuit", so for example, if your freezer or fridge is not on the right circuit, it won't get power, even though the power consumption of that device is much lower than what you are able to generate.
Simply awesome, millions need this set up in TX, as we keep having issues with power grid, if it's a snow storm, tornado, hurricane, you named it, it happens in TX, have 1 house done, working on our next residence and no worries about power.. even looked at the wind turbine to keep ac and fridge running in the summer ⛱️⛱️😂
@@calvinbutler1681 I was lucky. I saw this generator in Costco last week and decided to buy this generator "just in case." Man am I glad I did. Now I'm hooking up an interlock and inlet plug. Good luck on getting your power back.
Just to clarify. It's centerpoint energy that sucks in TX. Which is mostly houston. All other power providers are just fine. I have midsouth and the power only goes out like once every 5-6 years. If you have centerpoint and your power goes out then you can expect up to a week maybe longer if its from a natural disaster. Midsouth in montgomery had me back up and running after just 27.5hrs and that was only becasue they had to replace a pole that fell.
@calvinbutler1681 right behind ya I'm definitely not the sharpest tool In the shed but I am sharp enough to know we are going to do this relative soon sadly
I live in Texas and after the big freeze 2.5 years ago that killed about 600 people, I decided to put in a generator inlet and interlock kit after that because I never wanted to be near freezing to deay again. I went with an inverter generator, which is much quieter and much more fuel efficient (though if you are running on NG, that is not so important), and while my generator is not big enough to run the AC even with a soft start kit, most of our extended power outages are in the winter and spring where keeping central heat is more important than AC. This past winter we were out of power for 3.5 days and I was one of the only people in the entire area that had power. My inverter generator is 5000 watts continuous, and this was more than enough to run everything in the home with the rare exception that I could not run both the microwave and toaster at the same time (we have a full fridge, mini fridge, and small chest freezer, and all of these were kept running as well.) It worked so well that five of my neighbors decided to put in 5000 watt generators with an inlet and interlock. They know they may never need them, but they now have the ability to keep their families worm for days at a time if the power is ever out again. If I lived where there were hurricanes, I would probably go with a standard backup generator, but for these 3-4 day outages, the interlock setup is fantastic.
Killed 600 people? In TEXAS? I went through the SAME freeze and didn’t hear of no 600 people dying. Unless you mean nationwide? Texas lost 28 people according to Tx officials
@heathchilders777 I spent $75 for the interlock kit (which is just a metal plate with some slots cut in it), I spent $175 for my electrician to install it, but I already had a 50 amp breaker in the right spot that was there to run an electric clothes dryer, and i use gas, so there was no need to move breakers.. I also spend about $50 for the interlock. Now in my case, it was a pretty simple install, but since the freeze in Austin this past year, several of my neighbors took the plunge and I think the average price for the setup was $600 or so. It is not that big a job if you have a spare dual breaker slot in your panel. This needs to be mounted in the top by the main cutoff, so if you don't have room there, the breakers need to be moved. Also, my inlet was only 12 feet from the panel, so if you need to go a long way, it could be more. If you have gas heat, you really only need about 4KW to run a typical home, but this will not run AC, only gas heat, but 4KW will easily run everything else in the house. If you have more questions, happy to answer.
Hey man I’m an HVAC guy in Salt Lake City and I have to say I’m pretty impressed with your set up. I’m sure this is a yes but did you have your refrigerator & deep freeze running? It’s not a huge load just curious. Great video my man. Keep up the good work!
FYI .... According to the T07571 manual, the maximum is 31.25A. I have the same generator. I have seen a 42A peak at startup using the Micro Air soft starter, but it is usually 36A. Then the A/C runs on 13A. When the A/C starts, I still have the refrigerator, HDTV, desktop PC, LED lights and other small devices on without a problem. I think that the generator is producing more watts on NG than what is stated in the manual.
Are you running a FIRMAN generator like he has or an Inverter? I have the same FIRMAN and was told not to run electronics off of it due to the dirty sine wave of electricity that could harm sensitive electronics
@@attimus02 Same generator, same model. It is not pure sine wave. I do have four UPS's on my HDTVs, computers, routers, external hard drives, Xfinity X1 box and have not had a problem except the UPS's will beep and click when using the generator. I have a stupid power strip plugged into the UPS battery backup side with items plugged into the strip. All I have to do is move one plug to the surge protector side. And then turn off UPS. Surge protector with EMI/RFI Filter will still work. APC PowerChute has a sensitivity setting which may help with the clicking. If I don't use a UPS then I do have APC surge protectors. My Fisher & Paykel Dishdrawers will beep. As a backup, I have two 1408Wh and two 666Wh power stations, and eight 100W rigid solar panels which I made into four suitcases to set up in the back yard. I could also use the generator to charge the power stations and use on anything sensitive.
I have the Pulsar 12kw dual fuel generator and my friend just bought one for $960 on Amazon. It runs at 9500 watts on gas and 8500 watts on propane. It runs my whole house, well and water heater. Couldn't be happier. Generators run best between 50% and 85% of rated watts. Cheers
Hi! Could you tell me whether or not Tri fuel generators have a safety feature where natural gas will be automatically shut off should generator stops running for whatever reason with no one around to notice? Another video mentioned needing a regulator to do that. Does Firmen Tri Fuel generator, or any Tri Fuel generator for that matter, have a regulator already build in the generator to sense disruptions in gas pressure? Thanks in advance
Couple of things. First, this is why you don’t take advice from people on UA-cam. Having that generator close to the door is extremely dangerous. Carbon monoxide poisoning happens and this is one of the main culprits. Second, you will regret using this generator for 2 days straight whether on natural gas, propane, or gasoline. It is not an inverter generator and will consume copious amounts of fuel while not providing clean power to your home. Your HVAC system motors/electroics, appliances, and anything like TV’s, computers, etc will not be happy with this power and you’ll effectively reduce the life of those items by using this generator.
If you spend enough money to buy whole-home backup power, then you're spending far too much money because you don't need whole-home backup power while the municipal power is down. It's silly to overspec your backup generator that way. Spec it instead only big enough to cover all your truly necessary equipment and no more. Water well pump, chest freezer(s), refrigerator, stove igniter, furnace... but not all at the same time, so priority-switch them. You'll never need all of them to be powered at the same time, but in the dead of winter you may need to run any one of those at the same time as your furnace. Only the very lazy and the very wasteful will have a whole-house backup generator that's really big enough to carry everything. That's 48KW, and it's far, far too much.
You really should let the generator idle for a few minutes before drawing power. My owners manual makes a big point of that as it will extend the life of the generator.
My 4 ton went from inrush of 120 Amps to 40 Amps for reference. I have a similar setup but don't run my Central A/C with my portable generator. It does run my entire inside breaker box. I do not have a main breaker or shutoff on the outside box, pulling the meter is the only way to disconnect power to the main outside box. I just shut off the inside box, outside, then run the inside box from the generator. My Central AC is on the outside box. Works great for me as I can run everything except Central, Oven, Hot Tub.
I love that generator, I have the previous version I bought a few years ago (gas and propane dual fuel) for $600, it gets more use in my business then it does at home but I haven't found anything it won't power as of yet. was looking at upgrading to this one because of natural gas, not having to fill up gas or replace propane bottles. been wanting to put this system together, thanks for showing us.
I had a great set up at my old house, but now I don’t have natural gas. I spent about $3,300 for everything including the electrician to install 50 amp outlet, natural gas conversion kit and hose, plumber to install gas outlet, MicroAir soft start and Duromax 13000eh generator. It ran a 4 ton AC just fine. This guy is only powering a 2 ton AC.
very impressed with your whole set up and your explanation of how it works and how to set it up was very clear and easy to follow, great vid! i didn't even know they had QD for natural gas!
There are some 220 volt, 9500 watt, inverter type generators, for those concerned about damaging electronics with a portable generator such as this Firman. But they are a lot more money and probably use gasoline only.
Bro. That is a bada** setup. Literally all you need. Once past the initial cost I'd say it pays for itself within the first couple times of use. Maybe even after the first time from a peace of mind type scenario. In gonna price it all out and see what's what. Good clip
Too bad it's so dang loud. I'm needing to get one that is inverter and quiter for house. Thinking about genmax new tri-fuel. Of course, much more expensive but much quieter and is inverter so cleaner power and will do around 10,500 watts on gas, 8460 on N gas. It's around 2800 but sitll much cheaper than the generac whole home generators.
Switch to grid power while your generator is running, don't power down your generator while running the house, You will supply a very low voltage to everything, with potential negative consequences. Full power on at turn on, full power off at turn off. - Electrician-
Sold my sticks and bricks end of 2019 - live full time in a 45' Grand Design "mansion on wheels" - I have a generator that is propane/gas powered just in case - there are soft start options for Rvs in case you need to run multiple AC's and everything else, which my home has 3 hence 3 soft starts needed - but - I can be completely off grid in moments if needed - good on you telling home owner's about soft start options - most people by a whole home Generac or solar at a MUCH higher price point for the same results HA! Next time there is a major hurricane etc. this video count will go way up!
Glad I did this when he released this video a year ago as I have the same generator. Generator has been running almost a week straight since Beyrl hit Monday and now Sunday and still no power. Already did 2 oil changes and will change spark plug when power comes back on. Been able to run 4 ton ac unit with micro air soft start , dishwasher , washer and gas dryer (not simultaneously) , 2 fridges and chest freezer , and small electronics like router and cable modem .
There is always a downside to running the HVAC through a generator. The power just isn't the same as grid power, but it's better than sitting in a hot house with no lights.
Whole home? What size home? Electric hot water and stove? These things matter when you size your generator! How about well water instead of city? That can be a 1 HP electric pump at 240 volt all by itself!
Good video. Only thing I would do different is sell that generator and buy an inverter generator. Your generator has 15% total harmonic distortion which can and will destroy circuit boards in your house. Check out the Champion 201176 tri fuel inverter 9000 watt generator. It has less than 3% distortion
Thanks for the content. Gathering information. I knew about the soft start boxes from the RV world and how they allow RV AC to run on much lower amps. Including a small generator. Good to see the generator is working to power Home AC. I have a NG pipeline at a new property but not electric service so I’m having to plan on doing a non grid tie solar array and a permanent NG generator tie in with a solar power cell for storage. Electric power equipment is in extreme shortage right now in USA and really expensive because of the shortage and the electric coop says it’s a year or more out to obtain a new line. They require a 25kva outdoor rated transformer and I have not been able to locate one in this state and one I did find in South Dakota was $7300. If I buy the equipment and the cables to run the lines I don’t get reimbursed, just donating the equipment in order to get a new line. I personally would rather invest my money in a NG generator and solar array and storage system. Keep these low budget low energy content coming.
The soft start does not reduce the running amperage, only the in-rush that lasts about 1/3rd of a second. If the AC takes 2000 watts to run, it can take up to 6000 watts to overcome the locked rotor amperage, which is what the compressor needs to overcome the static pressure in the system. The Locked Rotor Amperage (LRA) is written on the spec plate of the AC. For example, my 3.5 ton unit has an LRA of 109 amps, but once running, the system (including the circulation blower) runs about 4000 watts but even with a soft start, the draw starting draw is too much for my 5000 watt (6250 peak) inverter generator.
Good video and info. I’ve done 4 50 amp generator back up hook ups with the manual transfer switch. I’ve ran it on my house. I haven’t installed any of the soft starts but I may look into that.
This is a great idea, I wish I knew about this before my own budget whole home generator build. Fortunately for me, my generator runs my home including ac without this great device but I wasn’t sure until last week. I still may upgrade so thanks again
What kind of cable is that? I have this same generator that has a female NEMA 14-50 (I think). My electrician also installed a female NEMA 14-50 which meant I either had to do a suicide cord or rewire the inlet. Can you tell me how you solved this exactly?
So, you know, that generator has a bonded neutral and so does your main panel so using it as shown violates the code. You're supposed to convert the generator to floating neutral when hooked up to your panel through an interlock. It's easy. Firman has released instructions. Then, when used stand alone you're supposed to use a bonding plug.
Absolutely correct and it violates code because it can be dangerous. Most newer portable generators come from the factory with a bonded neutral. Your operators manual will state the neutral configuration from the factory.
From what I have read, if you use a generator power transfer switch instead of an interlock then you do not need to disconnect the bonded neutral on the generator. California requires that you use a generator power transfer switch and says it is safe to use with bonded neutral generator.
I am about to do all of this, thank you. Subscribed, bell rung, commented, upvoted, liked, shared, ... may the algorithm gods smile favorably upon your channel friend.
I have the Firman tri fuel and like it except for its high 25% THD rating. I've found a number of items won;'t work with it such as one of my garage door openers, all of my UPS units of various models and brands and micro wave oven. I don't see why Firman doesn't use a lower THD power head like Generac uses on their XP series.
Great job. I applaud your willingness to do a video like this. Engineers and electricians are a bunch of know-it-alls so you will definitely get tons of nitpicking.
Nope, middle is ground, one of the flats is neutral, and one is for power, so you have power coming in through one flat side and unused power going back out through the neutral. The ground acts as a safety in case there is some sort of short, it will take the path of least resistance (the ground wire) back to earth
For the price of the Easy Start; which is no longer selling the smaller ones, I would like to have more data. Like... How much electricity is it going to save me? If it doesn't then how many years is it going to add to my A/C unit? Don't have answer to these questions? Then just so I can use a smaller generator is not a good investment criteria. Easy Start priced themselves out of the market buy just selling the commercial units only. End of story.
To make sure I am understanding everything, you are running all of that (including the central air unit) with a generator that supplies 5500 Watts? Is this correct? I’m sitting without power due to a hurricane. I have a generator that outputs 5500 Watts, but wasn’t sure if I could run the central AC unit.
Hello, Thank you for the video. Do you think this particular setup with the soft start, 50A inlet switch and the Firman NG generator be enough to run a 4ton AC unit?
How much gas in 24 hours. It’s mostly about 15 gallons at what price per gallon are you paying 45 dollars a day. If you need for a week. Good for short term not long term. EST to have a battery backup with solar. Not cheap but yes I have the generator to charge my batteries. If you had to go two weeks with no power can you even buy gas or propane?? Something you should think about.
Please be careful. Looking at your "transfer switch setup", it seems you don't disconnect the neutral wire. This can potential be dangerous for you and for people working on the line. I totally appreciate people helping themselves, but we need to have safety in mind for others, and if the Generator is connected to the grid neutral, I assume this is a potential danger for people outside of your property... Or does your power grid not have a grid neutral, and you have your own transformer with a ground only? Then my concerns might be obsolete...
Awesome… this was super informative in my particular case because #1 you can get refurb tri-fuel generators at a reasonable cost and #2 I (a novice) had no clue those quick release valves existed (it seems obvious though, I know). Now I’m thinking this is an awesome supplement to a more expensive setup too for whole home battery backups. If the power in the battery starts to get low, you could maybe use this to recharge your batteries for completely uninterrupted power supply over long term (cheaper too since that generator uses 72cuft/hr when completely idle but 101cuft on full load).
Is the generator setup as a floating or bonded neutral? I'm not an electrician, but I think it's supposed to be floating neutral if it's used to back feed the main panel. I'd love to replicate your setup, but I don't know what the risk is if it's setup incorrectly. Any advice would be helpful. thanks.
I just bought a similar Firman HO 7553, but it is only dual fuel -- gasoline and propane. I should have gotten the triple fuel model but I didn't see that model at Lowes and I had to have a generator. From what I understand these Firmans will not power my entire home.
Why did you need that special 50a cable again? I couldn't hear what you said in the video. I have a floating neutral Gen Max tri-fuel generator, but I do not know what 50A cable to purchase. Also, I have an electrical Interlock panel kit installed. I have A/C unit outside the house like you but no soft start kit. Do I really need that? Thank you.
Eff Firman generators!! Worst generators ever built with an even worse customer support. Or should I say customer no support. My Firman Gen right now is sittin out in the middle of my woods with over a hundred rounds of 556 in it. That's how much I hate those guns.
I have this exact set up except I do not have a soft start kit on my AC unit. I can run the entire house and it's clean and fantastic with this Firman tri fuel unit. I bought the generator on Ebay from the Firman store for $500 brand new - not a refurb.
So the 3/8" hose from the NG to the generator carried enough btu to run the generators a peak capacity if needed. My portable generator is calling for 3/4" hose .
I’m running my whole home in emergencies with a 9500 predator Microair easy start on 4 ton AC 3 fridges and two upright freezers 240 volt well pump and you can’t hear it running
In Palm beach FL, and I could not find anyone willing to install a soft start (already bought correct unit). Multiple AC guys said I need to call and electrician. Electrician said it's a job for AC guy. FF 3 years later, soft start in the box in the garage and lights still dim in the house when our 5 ton dual stage Goodman kicks on. Any ideas?
Doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, but the suicide cord is not something you want to mess with. It's not just linemen, but you, your family and friends, if they were to pull that cord from the wall when the generator is running, could lead to hazards related to electric shock as well as potential damage to the generator. Yes, you have an interlock kit but it's better to spend whatever it costs to get an electrician to do it the right way than (I'm assuming you're in the US) being liable to lawsuits and expensive hospital treatment as well as possible fines and incarceration related to criminal litigation. If something goes wrong with the electrician installed option then the electrician is liable and has to fix it.
People should call you out for a suicide plug… 240 at 50 a is known to jump and ground out, especially if you’re in the middle of a storm! Don’t think that someone else calling you out is petty, some of us know the reality of the situation and want you to see your family again. Or just be an idiot and not hardwire a grounded plug with a disconnect.
Ok, I got a question, so you have a small generator and this is running the whole house? I am looking for a generator and I have a 100 amp breaker. So how are you getting the power if the generator is small?
I have the same generator you have. My A/C will start. I have a soft start kit but I don’t think it was installed properly. It will start my central a/c but it clicks off after a few minutes. after watching your video I am convinced my soft start was not I staled properly. I am not going to buy a new generator until I buy a new soft start kit . I would appreciate any advice.
You should not start the generator after closing the breaker. You should start the generator and then close the breaker. When you switch back you should open the breaker and then turn the generator off. Generators should not be started or stopped under load. It can cause stator failure.
IMO this is a bit complicated for the average home user to build and operate. That complication comes from several steps needed to cross power usage from main to gen. I would not recommend this, especially since only a few can manage the process correctly.
One of the problems in the "snowpocalypse" here in Texas was that the natural gas pipelines froze. As to running the a/c, is it a heat pump? And if so, how would you run it in freezing weather?
How long will it run a natural gas furnace fan? Everybody shows it will run stuff but nobody except one says how long. I found 8 hours so far. I don't need anything that only lasts 8 hours.
Those looking to run on natural gas should be prepared to pay dearly to do so. The generator will use a LOT of natural gas, costing a fortune - a lot more per hour than when running gasoline. The wattage output is often derated when running on natural gas. I have gas jugs to stockpile fuel for a week or more at 12 hrs runtime per day.
1. would this all work for the furnace? would that need anything on it? 2. is your hose along way from the gas meter? I seen a video the guy said you need a big hose if it is..ever have trouble with it?
I wish this guy lived in GA, I'd hire him in a heartbeat
We have used the ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
The best thing about my generator setup which is functionally the same as yours is that it is MAGICAL. Most of the times I've used it, right after selectively shutting off the water heater (I'm all-electric), dragging out the generator, connecting the cable, getting things cranked up...wait, I need to fill the tank completely up first to get maximum runtime, and usually all of this is in a downpour, and finally switching over the breakers, the MAGIC happens and line power immediately comes back on.
It's turned into a meme in my family. "Dad! Get the generator out so the power will come back on!"
🤣 that’s awesome
what's taking you so long!! lol
I've steered hurricanes away from my house with my generator. Might've lost power for a total of 15 minutes over the last 5 years after buying my generator.
That is hilarious!😂 never heard that one before.
I hear you. After rigging a series of hidden heavy duty extension cords to various parts of the house to use my generator, our first power outage lasted 15 minutes. I was so disappointed the power came back on and I wasn't able to really test the whole system.
Awesome video Dave. Happy surprise to see this in my UA-cam suggested feed 😃
What’s up dude?! It’s been a minute! Send me an email I’d love to catch up! Diyhvacguy@gmail.com
How many amps does each lug pull.
An AC is only about 1500w+ watts for a 3ton.
Dryer is almost 6000w.
When using other than gas, your watts and amps are less on generator specs.
In Texas the cost of electricity is getting insane . Would it be possible to run this generator 24/7 straight for 4 months? Would you expect that the cost of natural gas running this generator would be cheaper than what electric companies are now charging? Enjoyed the video and considering implementing this as my primary source during summer.
This is not a constant duty generator. Look at commercial grade diesel (Kubota, Cummins, etc) units for that capability. No, they will not be cheaper than grid power.
If you want to keep cool in Texas, it's going to cost you. My brother is in McKinney. Over $300 power bill last month for their 40' motorhome with t/stat set at 80°. Ouch!
Hmmmm living in northern illinois ive had the power off a total of 3 weeks in 40 years
I wanna run a 4 ton ac and a 2500 square foot home. What size generator do i need? I currently have a 5500 watt duromax and i ran 8000 btu window unit fridge and few other things but i want to run my central ac next. Houston tx
Excellent video....
How much is one of those soft start units maybe I’m being impatient and you are going to tell us…
I have two videos on soft starts. The imc870 starts a $159, and the micro air is about $350
@@diyhvacguy They are not available on Amazon but I found one on a different site I have a 3 ton at house but at my studio I would like to install one also. I guess the first one is a test. Thanks for the great info and video.
I recommend a inverter Generator otherwise hand out ear plugs to everyone.
I’m in Texas and still recovering from Hurricane Beryl. I ran a gasoline-only generator, and finding an open gas station with available fuel was nearly impossible. I'll be switching to a natural gas generator.
I live in Katy. I have no back up generator. I’m definitely looking into something now.
I'm in Katy as well, and getting gas was a crap shoot. Will be switching to natural gas for sure with gas as a backup.
I live in spring Texas , work in Jersey village 290 area. was lucky to go to advanced auto on jones and 290 where they had a few , also went to harbor freight where they had 2 to chose from 3500 and the 6500 . I got the 6500 . $479 plus tax. it runs window unit, refrigerator box fan small electronics like cell phone etc. initially I used the inverter in my Nissan titan to run the refrigerator all night did not even burn a 1/4 tank of gas.
@@deanowright359smart using an inverter from your vehicle. It’s good to have multiple options incase you need to use one temporarily or if one option fails.
@@deanowright359I have a lifted 2019 Nissan Titan Pro4x. I love that V8.
Good Demonstration, BUT.....Be very concerned about potential damage you can do to sensitive electronic equipment ( AC , TV, Computer, etc.). I own the same generator and according to data posted on the Firman website it is rated at 11 to 14% THD. This is way higher than what is recommended for sensitive electronic equipment. The power supply for sensitive electronics should have < 5% THD. I would hate to damage the circuit board on my inverter based AC ...or even my two speed compressor as it would be a very costly fix. I like this generator, but wish it put out cleaner power. Any thoughts on how to address the PQ issue with this generator? I live in South Louisiana and ran multiple window units with the generator and didn't have an issue. Sure would be nice to be able to run one of my central AC units.
There is no way to clean up high THD at this size of generator. Its simply not economical in cost. You would need a sizable load reactor device that is matched to the loads in your house. This would basically absorb all the higher harmonic voltage/currents above 60HZ and convert it to waste heat but leave the 60hz power alone for your loads to use. Over time high THD can and WILL cause damage.
The bigger enemy is actually voltage surges since portable generators at this level while many have brush type AVRs or brushless capacitor excited, the regulation will never be as "tight" as utility. A heavy load starts, the engine momentarily drops in speed before the engine governor responds, and the AVR drops in voltage and takes a moment to recover the voltage back to the preset level. The AVR can "overshoot" the recovery for a very brief time where high voltages can be seen by your devices and damage them. To your point thats not good. Sufficient surge suppression like MOVs in a circuit can help absorb these transients sacrificing themselves before your inverter based AC.
@@N-M424 not necessarily. I have tested generators with an amp probe meter and at half a load for a 6,500 watt generator with a 3000 watt resistive loan I've seen THD as high as 16%, and would only get worse from there. It comes down to the build quality of the powerhead.
@@N-M424 it was a Generac GP6500. Full load it was closer to 20%. Doubtful it would be that low for the Firman.
@@N-M424 that is what the firman website says about the model yes, but Id be willing to bet with a resistive load that THD would be more.
@@N-M424 agreed. Between James Condon and myself we are testing THD one portable generator at a time!
This guy crushes! Don't know half of what he's talking about but man it's cool to see dudes who know what they're doing.
Oh me neither!! Still gives one hope, though!! Especially if my one remaining brain cell makes an appearance at the same time I'm watching!
Haha i was thinking the same. Cool to watch but I will hire a guy to do this for me
@@mfb6310😂😂😂😂😂 I can relate 😂😂😂😂 unfortunately 😮
Your vids are absolute gold for us average dudes who just need some guidance. Thank you for all your contributions.
This is one of the best HVAC - DIY channel on UA-cam. You have saved me a bundle. tks
I bought one of these from Costco 3 years ago. Ran it on propane the whole time. Had to run extension cords. I do not have the generator inlet box yet or a natural gas outlet yet. It is one of my goals to install soon. When we had our hard freeze, we were able to run medical devices and keep our fridge going. Very happy with our generator.
Do you have a video on splicing and replacing a bad or worn low-voltage wire on the outside unit?
How far is the gas generator from the gas meter?
How many amps draw is the Mr cool? Is the amp draw different in the Mr cool heat mode vs the cooling mode?
What was the size of generator ? How long did it run on a propane bottle before refill ?
@@caddothegreat 7500W from Firman. I could run it for at least 8 hours on a 5 lb tank.
Please remember all generators are not created equal and to run electronics it is safest to have one with a Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of less than 6% or it can ruin computers, DVD players, and other sensitive electronics.
Yup that’s true. The only generator I can find out there that is 3% THD is a Westinghouse IGEN 4500DF but it’s only 120v.
My outdoor Unitary Heat pump is a Coleman HMH7 with an inverter board.
My natural gas furnace is a 2 speed variable ecm so it also has a board that requires good sign waves.
I was going to buy that Firman he’s got but I think the THD on it is too high.
I’m an Hvac tech as well and did this research with a help from the supplier tech support.
I’m surprised that Firman powered up his minisplit as well but how do you guys feel about wear and tear on those boards with that high THD?
Bad thing about this Westinghouse is it’s only 120v 30amps so it’s only good enough to give me natural gas heating but no AC is we’re out during the short summer here in Seattle.
Great video, just my thoughts and also if anyone out there that knows any portable Generators like those that can do 240v 30amps any type of fuel with a low THD roughly 3-5% is what I’m trying to find. 👍
I added a $100 ups and my electric stuff is safe with the same gen set
@@PaulCyclist I am worried about the electronics on just about everything and I have a 4,500 sqft home so I got the SUA10000EC from Costco for less than $800 and it has a THD of less than 5% plus it's big enough to run almost everything in my home if needed (of course not the washer and dryer). Luckily, I haven't had to use it for that but I have been happy with it for what I use it for.
@@TrungNguyen-jf2sg if the neutral is bonded to the frame of the generator make sure you wire in a disconnect before hooking it up to your breaker box or else it can mess up some stuff. Bonded to the frame is great for using it on its own, but your house is already grounded so I wired in a disconnect wire I can use to break the neutral free of the frame if I need to use it for my home.
@@TrungNguyen-jf2sg I got the SUA10000EC by iPower from Costco and it has less than 5% THD. It was a great buy at the time (less than $900 if I remember) and it will run 240V at 50A. Once I wired in the bonded neutral cut off it was good to go.
One thing to note with soft start devices, they lower the inrush current at startup. THEY DO NOT LOWER THE RUN CURRENT OF AN AC COMPRESSOR. Soft start devices do not save your money (in reality its very negligible) in electricity bill costs, but they greatly save your compressors life span minimizing wear and tear since it's not hard starting with a partially for fully locked rotor from the pressures inside.
Great video!
👍
just curious, if soft start is beneficial that way, why don't the AC units come from the factory that way?
@@Jeremy-vb6tv more complexity, added cost, manufacturers want to sell units and given this is about a $400 upgrade USD not many would opt to do it unless it was absolutely necessary.
Note: most modern units have time outs that generally keep compressors from starting with a pressure lock. Soft start units do reduce start amps, so batteries or generstor can start the unit
@@greggpurviance7252 yes, a time delay on relay. I have a variable one 2-10min delay for my outside compressor.
New subscriber here! Thank you for your willingness to share your knowledge. I am a trades instructor for one of our local colleges. Not for the money but because I feel there is a real need to pass on what we were fortunate to have others teach us. Thank you and I love you “down to earth” methods!
Thanks man! That means a lot to me
I am so glad you choose to do this. This "Old Timer' have a lot of knowledge we can share with the youngins . I would love to be able to pass on what I have learned over 50 yrs.
Running a business. Also. Learning the People part. Not much I cant fix. Especially small engine stuff. Blessings to you and your students. I so Pray that some can learn the satisfaction that comes with a hard days work and seeing what you did that day.
Oh and I looked at a your web site. I 100% agree about getting rid of Qualified immunity.
@@diyhvacguyHow long can you run that generator without stopping?
Something VERY IMPORTANT that was not mentioned. You need a 240 v generator not 120v. Most generators are 120 volt. After buying 2 cosfco generators, a parallel kit and paying an electrician $1500 to do the electrical work to put in an inlet and an Interlock kit I found out the hard way, that my two firman generators would only power "every other circuit breaker". The electrician confirmed that the only way to power the whole house is that you have to have a 240 volt generator. Unfortunately 240 volt generators are expensive and I lost a lot of $$ since I waited too long before finishing the project and had to sell off my firman generators. Sure costco allows returns but if you return too many items or too many big items you risk getting your membership terminated.
You have the live line of your 120-volt generator feed both poles of a dual breaker. That way 120 volts feed into both phase A and B of your breaker box. all the 120 volt circuits will work. but the 240-volt circuits won't work. that is what we use as that is all you need for the furnace and fridge and tv set and fans and lights. The neutral line from the generator feeds to the combination ground neutral bar in your breaker box. Its pretty easy to do.
A setup like this should NOT be assumed to run an entire house. To think otherwise is foolish. This setup should be used for primary circuits (heating/cooling, food storage, some lighting in occupied areas). If you tax this setup to run the entire house IMO is risky. If there is a power failure your first thoughts should be conservation of energy until the system is restored. Don’t forget that your fuel sources may not have power as well and depending on how long that may be this setup may just delay the inevitable.
@@michaeldecker2725 Right, and btw not trying to power the entire house. Instead, I want the ability to power those specific circuits that need power. If you run 120 V, you'll only be able to power "every other circuit", so for example, if your freezer or fridge is not on the right circuit, it won't get power, even though the power consumption of that device is much lower than what you are able to generate.
@@wrestlerstudmuffin Thanks, appreciate the idea. It's been a while since I posted this. I ended up buying two 240v 9500w generators.
Simply awesome, millions need this set up in TX, as we keep having issues with power grid, if it's a snow storm, tornado, hurricane, you named it, it happens in TX, have 1 house done, working on our next residence and no worries about power.. even looked at the wind turbine to keep ac and fridge running in the summer ⛱️⛱️😂
I live in Houston and I just purchased this like 10 minutes ago. We’ve been without power since Tuesday and it Friday! 🥵🥵🥵
@@calvinbutler1681 I was lucky. I saw this generator in Costco last week and decided to buy this generator "just in case." Man am I glad I did. Now I'm hooking up an interlock and inlet plug.
Good luck on getting your power back.
You arent kidding. No power for 5 days, two times in 2024.
Just to clarify. It's centerpoint energy that sucks in TX. Which is mostly houston. All other power providers are just fine. I have midsouth and the power only goes out like once every 5-6 years. If you have centerpoint and your power goes out then you can expect up to a week maybe longer if its from a natural disaster.
Midsouth in montgomery had me back up and running after just 27.5hrs and that was only becasue they had to replace a pole that fell.
@calvinbutler1681 right behind ya I'm definitely not the sharpest tool In the shed but I am sharp enough to know we are going to do this relative soon sadly
Great Video. Thanks! I wish I had this set up before the hurricane last week. I had never heard of soft start kit. Great information!
I live in Texas and after the big freeze 2.5 years ago that killed about 600 people, I decided to put in a generator inlet and interlock kit after that because I never wanted to be near freezing to deay again. I went with an inverter generator, which is much quieter and much more fuel efficient (though if you are running on NG, that is not so important), and while my generator is not big enough to run the AC even with a soft start kit, most of our extended power outages are in the winter and spring where keeping central heat is more important than AC. This past winter we were out of power for 3.5 days and I was one of the only people in the entire area that had power. My inverter generator is 5000 watts continuous, and this was more than enough to run everything in the home with the rare exception that I could not run both the microwave and toaster at the same time (we have a full fridge, mini fridge, and small chest freezer, and all of these were kept running as well.) It worked so well that five of my neighbors decided to put in 5000 watt generators with an inlet and interlock. They know they may never need them, but they now have the ability to keep their families worm for days at a time if the power is ever out again. If I lived where there were hurricanes, I would probably go with a standard backup generator, but for these 3-4 day outages, the interlock setup is fantastic.
Killed 600 people? In TEXAS? I went through the SAME freeze and didn’t hear of no 600 people dying. Unless you mean nationwide? Texas lost 28 people according to Tx officials
@heathchilders777 I spent $75 for the interlock kit (which is just a metal plate with some slots cut in it), I spent $175 for my electrician to install it, but I already had a 50 amp breaker in the right spot that was there to run an electric clothes dryer, and i use gas, so there was no need to move breakers.. I also spend about $50 for the interlock. Now in my case, it was a pretty simple install, but since the freeze in Austin this past year, several of my neighbors took the plunge and I think the average price for the setup was $600 or so. It is not that big a job if you have a spare dual breaker slot in your panel. This needs to be mounted in the top by the main cutoff, so if you don't have room there, the breakers need to be moved. Also, my inlet was only 12 feet from the panel, so if you need to go a long way, it could be more. If you have gas heat, you really only need about 4KW to run a typical home, but this will not run AC, only gas heat, but 4KW will easily run everything else in the house. If you have more questions, happy to answer.
Hey man I’m an HVAC guy in Salt Lake City and I have to say I’m pretty impressed with your set up. I’m sure this is a yes but did you have your refrigerator & deep freeze running? It’s not a huge load just curious. Great video my man. Keep up the good work!
Yes, I had two regular fridges (home and garage beer fridge) AND my deep freeze running 👍🏼
I was told it’s a bad idea to run a portable generator with A/C systems. Voltage can spike, as there’s no regulator. Is this true?
FYI .... According to the T07571 manual, the maximum is 31.25A. I have the same generator. I have seen a 42A peak at startup using the Micro Air soft starter, but it is usually 36A. Then the A/C runs on 13A. When the A/C starts, I still have the refrigerator, HDTV, desktop PC, LED lights and other small devices on without a problem. I think that the generator is producing more watts on NG than what is stated in the manual.
Are you running a FIRMAN generator like he has or an Inverter? I have the same FIRMAN and was told not to run electronics off of it due to the dirty sine wave of electricity that could harm sensitive electronics
@@attimus02 Same generator, same model. It is not pure sine wave. I do have four UPS's on my HDTVs, computers, routers, external hard drives, Xfinity X1 box and have not had a problem except the UPS's will beep and click when using the generator. I have a stupid power strip plugged into the UPS battery backup side with items plugged into the strip. All I have to do is move one plug to the surge protector side. And then turn off UPS. Surge protector with EMI/RFI Filter will still work. APC PowerChute has a sensitivity setting which may help with the clicking. If I don't use a UPS then I do have APC surge protectors. My Fisher & Paykel Dishdrawers will beep. As a backup, I have two 1408Wh and two 666Wh power stations, and eight 100W rigid solar panels which I made into four suitcases to set up in the back yard. I could also use the generator to charge the power stations and use on anything sensitive.
I have the Pulsar 12kw dual fuel generator and my friend just bought one for $960 on Amazon. It runs at 9500 watts on gas and 8500 watts on propane. It runs my whole house, well and water heater. Couldn't be happier. Generators run best between 50% and 85% of rated watts. Cheers
50% gasoline/Propane/Natural Gas
75% to 85% ( tops ) Diesel Generators
I’m a generator tech and personally own two Firman gennies.
Hi! Could you tell me whether or not Tri fuel generators have a safety feature where natural gas will be automatically shut off should generator stops running for whatever reason with no one around to notice? Another video mentioned needing a regulator to do that. Does Firmen Tri Fuel generator, or any Tri Fuel generator for that matter, have a regulator already build in the generator to sense disruptions in gas pressure? Thanks in advance
Think this generator on propane would run a 4 ton ac with soft start kit already installed?
Couple of things.
First, this is why you don’t take advice from people on UA-cam. Having that generator close to the door is extremely dangerous. Carbon monoxide poisoning happens and this is one of the main culprits.
Second, you will regret using this generator for 2 days straight whether on natural gas, propane, or gasoline. It is not an inverter generator and will consume copious amounts of fuel while not providing clean power to your home. Your HVAC system motors/electroics, appliances, and anything like TV’s, computers, etc will not be happy with this power and you’ll effectively reduce the life of those items by using this generator.
If you spend enough money to buy whole-home backup power, then you're spending far too much money because you don't need whole-home backup power while the municipal power is down. It's silly to overspec your backup generator that way. Spec it instead only big enough to cover all your truly necessary equipment and no more. Water well pump, chest freezer(s), refrigerator, stove igniter, furnace... but not all at the same time, so priority-switch them. You'll never need all of them to be powered at the same time, but in the dead of winter you may need to run any one of those at the same time as your furnace.
Only the very lazy and the very wasteful will have a whole-house backup generator that's really big enough to carry everything. That's 48KW, and it's far, far too much.
“68”? Holy crap! I live in Phoenix and I have my Ecobee set for 82! 🤣
Yikes. You like the sauna feeling eh?
@@heyitsbroski He just doesn't like the feeling of his bank account being drained.
You really should let the generator idle for a few minutes before drawing power. My owners manual makes a big point of that as it will extend the life of the generator.
My 4 ton went from inrush of 120 Amps to 40 Amps for reference. I have a similar setup but don't run my Central A/C with my portable generator. It does run my entire inside breaker box. I do not have a main breaker or shutoff on the outside box, pulling the meter is the only way to disconnect power to the main outside box. I just shut off the inside box, outside, then run the inside box from the generator. My Central AC is on the outside box. Works great for me as I can run everything except Central, Oven, Hot Tub.
Is there a solution for a well pump soft start to reduce the start pump Amp draw?
I love that generator, I have the previous version I bought a few years ago (gas and propane dual fuel) for $600, it gets more use in my business then it does at home but I haven't found anything it won't power as of yet. was looking at upgrading to this one because of natural gas, not having to fill up gas or replace propane bottles. been wanting to put this system together, thanks for showing us.
The portable Generator I found that puts out 5% THD is the Westinghouse WGen11500TFc - Tri- fuel which retails for $1700
I had a great set up at my old house, but now I don’t have natural gas. I spent about $3,300 for everything including the electrician to install 50 amp outlet, natural gas conversion kit and hose, plumber to install gas outlet, MicroAir soft start and Duromax 13000eh generator. It ran a 4 ton AC just fine. This guy is only powering a 2 ton AC.
You could of spent a few bucks more and got a solar roof
@@jmatt98isnt a solar roof like 11k without installation cost
very impressed with your whole set up and your explanation of how it works and how to set it up was very clear and easy to follow, great vid! i didn't even know they had QD for natural gas!
There are some 220 volt, 9500 watt, inverter type generators, for those concerned about damaging electronics with a portable generator such as this Firman. But they are a lot more money and probably use gasoline only.
Champion model 201176 is a 9000 watt tri-fuel inverter generator. Wen also makes and sells one. As does Pulsar and Duromax
Bro. That is a bada** setup. Literally all you need.
Once past the initial cost I'd say it pays for itself within the first couple times of use. Maybe even after the first time from a peace of mind type scenario. In gonna price it all out and see what's what.
Good clip
Too bad it's so dang loud. I'm needing to get one that is inverter and quiter for house. Thinking about genmax new tri-fuel. Of course, much more expensive but much quieter and is inverter so cleaner power and will do around 10,500 watts on gas, 8460 on N gas. It's around 2800 but sitll much cheaper than the generac whole home generators.
Your doggo was the star of the show. LOL
Switch to grid power while your generator is running, don't power down your generator while running the house, You will supply a very low voltage to everything, with potential negative consequences. Full power on at turn on, full power off at turn off. - Electrician-
Thanks for sharing!! That makes a lot of sense. Cheers man
That's the cheapest best way IMO, I have same setup on 3ton HP.
If I install a softstart kit on my brand new condensor will it void the warranty? The system was installed by local professionals.
No this will not void your warranty.
How do you know when power is restored?
Power back alarm 🚨 duh 🙄 😆 I love it, just used it last week and I was able to switch back to utility power within 3 minutes of power being restored.
Every Generator must be built a Generator Shed to protect from Bad Weather and Sound Reduction 😂😅
When running on natural gas do you need a pressure regulator? If you used propane would you need a pressure regulator?
Sold my sticks and bricks end of 2019 - live full time in a 45' Grand Design "mansion on wheels" - I have a generator that is propane/gas powered just in case - there are soft start options for Rvs in case you need to run multiple AC's and everything else, which my home has 3 hence 3 soft starts needed - but - I can be completely off grid in moments if needed - good on you telling home owner's about soft start options - most people by a whole home Generac or solar at a MUCH higher price point for the same results HA! Next time there is a major hurricane etc. this video count will go way up!
Glad I did this when he released this video a year ago as I have the same generator. Generator has been running almost a week straight since Beyrl hit Monday and now Sunday and still no power. Already did 2 oil changes and will change spark plug when power comes back on. Been able to run 4 ton ac unit with micro air soft start , dishwasher , washer and gas dryer (not simultaneously) , 2 fridges and chest freezer , and small electronics like router and cable modem .
There is always a downside to running the HVAC through a generator. The power just isn't the same as grid power, but it's better than sitting in a hot house with no lights.
Whole home? What size home? Electric hot water and stove? These things matter when you size your generator! How about well water instead of city? That can be a 1 HP electric pump at 240 volt all by itself!
Awesome vid ! Setting this up here in Texas. The last few years have been brutal on both extremes hot and cold.
Good video. Only thing I would do different is sell that generator and buy an inverter generator. Your generator has 15% total harmonic distortion which can and will destroy circuit boards in your house. Check out the Champion 201176 tri fuel inverter 9000 watt generator. It has less than 3% distortion
Thanks for the content. Gathering information. I knew about the soft start boxes from the RV world and how they allow RV AC to run on much lower amps. Including a small generator.
Good to see the generator is working to power Home AC. I have a NG pipeline at a new property but not electric service so I’m having to plan on doing a non grid tie solar array and a permanent NG generator tie in with a solar power cell for storage.
Electric power equipment is in extreme shortage right now in USA and really expensive because of the shortage and the electric coop says it’s a year or more out to obtain a new line. They require a 25kva outdoor rated transformer and I have not been able to locate one in this state and one I did find in South Dakota was $7300. If I buy the equipment and the cables to run the lines I don’t get reimbursed, just donating the equipment in order to get a new line. I personally would rather invest my money in a NG generator and solar array and storage system. Keep these low budget low energy content coming.
The soft start does not reduce the running amperage, only the in-rush that lasts about 1/3rd of a second. If the AC takes 2000 watts to run, it can take up to 6000 watts to overcome the locked rotor amperage, which is what the compressor needs to overcome the static pressure in the system. The Locked Rotor Amperage (LRA) is written on the spec plate of the AC. For example, my 3.5 ton unit has an LRA of 109 amps, but once running, the system (including the circulation blower) runs about 4000 watts but even with a soft start, the draw starting draw is too much for my 5000 watt (6250 peak) inverter generator.
Good video and info. I’ve done 4 50 amp generator back up hook ups with the manual transfer switch. I’ve ran it on my house. I haven’t installed any of the soft starts but I may look into that.
Learning especially with what just happened in Texas. A coworker was telling me about this, and this video popped up in my feed. Thank you
That's how we know "they're " listening!
This is a great idea, I wish I knew about this before my own budget whole home generator build. Fortunately for me, my generator runs my home including ac without this great device but I wasn’t sure until last week. I still may upgrade so thanks again
What kind of cable is that? I have this same generator that has a female NEMA 14-50 (I think). My electrician also installed a female NEMA 14-50 which meant I either had to do a suicide cord or rewire the inlet. Can you tell me how you solved this exactly?
This setup is a cost-effective option for people who only occasionally use emergency power.
So, you know, that generator has a bonded neutral and so does your main panel so using it as shown violates the code. You're supposed to convert the generator to floating neutral when hooked up to your panel through an interlock. It's easy. Firman has released instructions. Then, when used stand alone you're supposed to use a bonding plug.
Absolutely correct and it violates code because it can be dangerous. Most newer portable generators come from the factory with a bonded neutral. Your operators manual will state the neutral configuration from the factory.
From what I have read, if you use a generator power transfer switch instead of an interlock then you do not need to disconnect the bonded neutral on the generator. California requires that you use a generator power transfer switch and says it is safe to use with bonded neutral generator.
I am about to do all of this, thank you. Subscribed, bell rung, commented, upvoted, liked, shared, ... may the algorithm gods smile favorably upon your channel friend.
I have the Firman tri fuel and like it except for its high 25% THD rating. I've found a number of items won;'t work with it such as one of my garage door openers, all of my UPS units of various models and brands and micro wave oven. I don't see why Firman doesn't use a lower THD power head like Generac uses on their XP series.
We literally just had our first major storm in years that took the cities power for about a week.
I have a 13000 watt generator, running load is 9750 watts. No soft start kit, runs fine
Are you running the central AC
Great job. I applaud your willingness to do a video like this. Engineers and electricians are a bunch of know-it-alls so you will definitely get tons of nitpicking.
For the inlet plug, I thought the ground was on the side and the middle “pin” is for alignment?
Nope, middle is ground, one of the flats is neutral, and one is for power, so you have power coming in through one flat side and unused power going back out through the neutral. The ground acts as a safety in case there is some sort of short, it will take the path of least resistance (the ground wire) back to earth
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For the price of the Easy Start; which is no longer selling the smaller ones, I would like to have more data. Like... How much electricity is it going to save me? If it doesn't then how many years is it going to add to my A/C unit? Don't have answer to these questions? Then just so I can use a smaller generator is not a good investment criteria. Easy Start priced themselves out of the market buy just selling the commercial units only. End of story.
To make sure I am understanding everything, you are running all of that (including the central air unit) with a generator that supplies 5500 Watts? Is this correct? I’m sitting without power due to a hurricane. I have a generator that outputs 5500 Watts, but wasn’t sure if I could run the central AC unit.
How does this ICM 870 differ from a 5-2-1 hard start kit? I'm seeing some crazy low in-rush current measurements here.......
Hello, Thank you for the video. Do you think this particular setup with the soft start, 50A inlet switch and the Firman NG generator be enough to run a 4ton AC unit?
How much gas in 24 hours. It’s mostly about 15 gallons at what price per gallon are you paying 45 dollars a day. If you need for a week. Good for short term not long term. EST to have a battery backup with solar. Not cheap but yes I have the generator to charge my batteries. If you had to go two weeks with no power can you even buy gas or propane?? Something you should think about.
u should only run the basic items on a generator.... and a few outlets...
Please be careful. Looking at your "transfer switch setup", it seems you don't disconnect the neutral wire. This can potential be dangerous for you and for people working on the line.
I totally appreciate people helping themselves, but we need to have safety in mind for others, and if the Generator is connected to the grid neutral, I assume this is a potential danger for people outside of your property... Or does your power grid not have a grid neutral, and you have your own transformer with a ground only? Then my concerns might be obsolete...
Awesome… this was super informative in my particular case because #1 you can get refurb tri-fuel generators at a reasonable cost and #2 I (a novice) had no clue those quick release valves existed (it seems obvious though, I know). Now I’m thinking this is an awesome supplement to a more expensive setup too for whole home battery backups. If the power in the battery starts to get low, you could maybe use this to recharge your batteries for completely uninterrupted power supply over long term (cheaper too since that generator uses 72cuft/hr when completely idle but 101cuft on full load).
Helpful Information, HOWEVER !!! A 2 ton AC Condenser is nothing. TRY doing this demonstration with at least a 4 ton Condensor.
Is the generator setup as a floating or bonded neutral? I'm not an electrician, but I think it's supposed to be floating neutral if it's used to back feed the main panel. I'd love to replicate your setup, but I don't know what the risk is if it's setup incorrectly. Any advice would be helpful. thanks.
I believe it is floating.
@@diyhvacguyDid you build generator Shed for Emergency ❓❓
I just bought a similar Firman HO 7553, but it is only dual fuel -- gasoline and propane. I should have gotten the triple fuel model but I didn't see that model at Lowes and I had to have a generator. From what I understand these Firmans will not power my entire home.
Why did you need that special 50a cable again? I couldn't hear what you said in the video. I have a floating neutral Gen Max tri-fuel generator, but I do not know what 50A cable to purchase. Also, I have an electrical Interlock panel kit installed. I have A/C unit outside the house like you but no soft start kit. Do I really need that? Thank you.
Eff Firman generators!! Worst generators ever built with an even worse customer support. Or should I say customer no support. My Firman Gen right now is sittin out in the middle of my woods with over a hundred rounds of 556 in it. That's how much I hate those guns.
I have this exact set up except I do not have a soft start kit on my AC unit. I can run the entire house and it's clean and fantastic with this Firman tri fuel unit. I bought the generator on Ebay from the Firman store for $500 brand new - not a refurb.
So the 3/8" hose from the NG to the generator carried enough btu to run the generators a peak capacity if needed. My portable generator is calling for 3/4" hose .
I’m running my whole home in emergencies with a 9500 predator Microair easy start on 4 ton AC 3 fridges and two upright freezers 240 volt well pump and you can’t hear it running
In Palm beach FL, and I could not find anyone willing to install a soft start (already bought correct unit). Multiple AC guys said I need to call and electrician. Electrician said it's a job for AC guy. FF 3 years later, soft start in the box in the garage and lights still dim in the house when our 5 ton dual stage Goodman kicks on. Any ideas?
Doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, but the suicide cord is not something you want to mess with. It's not just linemen, but you, your family and friends, if they were to pull that cord from the wall when the generator is running, could lead to hazards related to electric shock as well as potential damage to the generator. Yes, you have an interlock kit but it's better to spend whatever it costs to get an electrician to do it the right way than (I'm assuming you're in the US) being liable to lawsuits and expensive hospital treatment as well as possible fines and incarceration related to criminal litigation. If something goes wrong with the electrician installed option then the electrician is liable and has to fix it.
People should call you out for a suicide plug… 240 at 50 a is known to jump and ground out, especially if you’re in the middle of a storm! Don’t think that someone else calling you out is petty, some of us know the reality of the situation and want you to see your family again.
Or just be an idiot and not hardwire a grounded plug with a disconnect.
Great Video.
So my question is... does the soft start on the a/c stay hooked up when converting to regular power? Does it hurt or help in anyway?
Ok, I got a question, so you have a small generator and this is running the whole house? I am looking for a generator and I have a 100 amp breaker. So how are you getting the power if the generator is small?
I have the same generator you have. My A/C will start. I have a soft start kit but I don’t think it was installed properly. It will start my central a/c but it clicks off after a few minutes. after watching your video I am convinced my soft start was not I staled properly. I am not going to buy a new generator until I buy a new soft start kit . I would appreciate any advice.
You should not start the generator after closing the breaker. You should start the generator and then close the breaker. When you switch back you should open the breaker and then turn the generator off. Generators should not be started or stopped under load. It can cause stator failure.
It wasn't started under load. The power delivery switch was in the off position on the generator when he fired it up.
Firman is a shite brand. Go with Champion if you're looking for an inexpensive brand, or a Japanese model if you have the money.
IMO this is a bit complicated for the average home user to build and operate. That complication comes from several steps needed to cross power usage from main to gen. I would not recommend this, especially since only a few can manage the process correctly.
You're a wealth of great information!
One of the problems in the "snowpocalypse" here in Texas was that the natural gas pipelines froze. As to running the a/c, is it a heat pump? And if so, how would you run it in freezing weather?
How long will it run a natural gas furnace fan? Everybody shows it will run stuff but nobody except one says how long. I found 8 hours so far. I don't need anything that only lasts 8 hours.
Can you recommend an 8kw diesel inverter/generator non-chinese?
Those looking to run on natural gas should be prepared to pay dearly to do so. The generator will use a LOT of natural gas, costing a fortune - a lot more per hour than when running gasoline. The wattage output is often derated when running on natural gas. I have gas jugs to stockpile fuel for a week or more at 12 hrs runtime per day.
1. would this all work for the furnace? would that need anything on it?
2. is your hose along way from the gas meter? I seen a video the guy said you need a big hose if it is..ever have trouble with it?