This is hands down the most intelligent, thought out, well produced instructional video on this subject I have found! It took me a week of internet searching and video browsing to learn what this one video provided. Congratulations and you have a well-earned sub. P.S. Would you think about a video of the blueprint and construction of your generator cabinet? It is top notch!
Thank You! It was kind of the same for me when I was trying to figure out the best way to go about all of this. I decided I'd make a few videos and save people some of the pain and mistakes I made, along the way.
Crazy the number of these videos I've seen and you're the first to explain the wiring of the breaker box with the alternating X/Y, the first to explain a number of things. Great job! My inlet box was done with 30A back when I had a 5kw genny, and now with the same Predator 9500 I'm thinking it's a little light, although the Predator has a 32A continuous output. I'm assuming a startup peak or surges are not going to cause a dangerous overload of the cable? Oddly, my 25-30ft cable from genny was custom made by an electrician years like twenty years ago, with 8g and L1430 on each end.
Based on what I'm seeing with online calculators, they seem to imply you're ok with that length and wire gauge setup. Breakers aren't usually "instant off" when you hit the max. There are a lot of factors that go into when it eventually trips (temp being a big one). Similarly, unless something is wired badly a 30amp inlet isn't going to instantly blow up if 32amps pass through. If 30amps is sufficient for your needs, it sounds like your setup should be pretty solid. If you have central AC or AC compressors that need to be run, you might look at the softstart video I made. Those things have some kind of hoo doo voodoo black magic, that makes all the difference in the world with being able to run them off generators.
FINALLY. A VIDEO EXPLAINING THE TYPE OF CONNECTORS!! As a DIYer, there are so many listing on Amazon and ebay for generator cords and inlet boxes, that i really had no idea which one works for my generator. Also, there are so many videos out there explainig how to install the inlet box, interlock, but they NEVER go over which types of cables will work or which type of inlet box you need. THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!!!!!
That sir was extremely well done video. I setup our predator 9500 generator about a year ago and I did it exactly the same way you did yours. Kudos to you and this video. 👏
For the longest time I couldn't wrap my head around how the 50A 3 prong inlets could possibly pass the 2 hot, neutral and ground through until I learned there was a 4th contact on the side of the connector. Thank you for explicitly making this fact known as everyone seemed to gloss over it as if everyone should just know the 78 different "standard" connector types and how to adapt them.
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!
Excellent video: Clear, concise and complete information presented in easy to understand and easy to follow manner and without any annoying babble. Thank you! Bernhard
Your video was the only helpful that I have found. Thank you. I have realized my limits and that I must be humble to hire professional help. Thank you.
If you've ever changed a light switch, or added an electrical outlet to your home, it's not much worse than that. But know your limits. Particularly as there is 200+ AMPS of 240VAC power in that box that can't be turned off.
Awesome video! Very good information here folks. Let's recognize the amount of time this man spent gathering part numbers and how simple the information was conveyed! I am A NEW SUSCRIBER
Thanks! I just went for give the info, minimal fluff. Basically I went for the most "anti-youtube style video" I could manage. No long professional intro followed by a VHS quality looking production... no begging for likes and "smashing that bell", I don't tell you what I had for lunch, my cat's name, and/or waste 75% of the video with useless fluff... and most importantly... no thumbnails with the most absurd expression I could manage on my cut out face with a cartoon explosion in the background.
Glad you found it helpful. Lots of people have "reviews" of the generators and such, but nothing seemed to explain the common questions and concerns. I basically explained what I learned, and the mistakes I made to save others the hassle. :-)
Since you hooked the generator to your house, how did you manage the grounding?Did u unhook the generator chassis ground or use a grounding rod or you did nothing but use the ground from the plugs on the generator. Thanks. Super video
What a great video this is. You put my foot in the door using my new Pred 9500. I knew this could be done without running a bunch of extension cords. Now at least I have some understanding of what this is about. I bought a whole house back-up generator and before installation I learned what a glutton it is for propane. And they wanted around $7,500 to install it. I’m going this route instead of burning 3 - 4 gallons of propane an hour. So thanks, your efforts are appreciated.
Glad it helped. In my case, natural gas isn't in my neighborhood, the whole place (my home included) is all electric. So bringing propane into the mix (making a pad, renting a tank, plumbing the line, etc) would have been a huge and expensive hassle. If you need a multi-fuel generator, take a look at the GENMAX GM9000iED on Amazon, it fixes all the shortcomings of the Predator and the Duromax. And is made by the same factory/people, and makes the same clean power.
Thank for the detailed explanation of how you choose to do yours. Funny how winter is coming and this was suggested, us Texas people remember how ERCOT essentially has done nothing since snowmageddon. I’m running my backup off a welding machine and prepared for this coming winter!
A welding machine would certainly work. It's gonna use more fuel and be old school windings, but it will get the job done for a temp solution for sure. And it serves a purpose when not needed for the house.
If I could thumbs up this video and your other generator videos 1,000 times I would. I just bought a house that has a generator inlet box and an interlock switch. Since the house was ready for a generator I went out and bought the predator 9500 in case the power goes out. I like to understand things before I use them so I’ve probably watched 4 hours worth of videos trying to understand how generators feed electricity to the panel at both 120/240V. I was able to piece together info here and there, then I ran into your videos that explains everything so clearly. I could have saved hours of frustrating poorly explained videos if I found yours first! Thank you!!!!!
I appreciate your honesty on the video. I'm a diy guy but other than running pigtails to add outlets or install simple switches I don't think I'd be comfortable enough to do most of this.
Frankly the breaker box was the easiest part. It took longer to get everything lined up where I wanted it than it took to do the actual install. The breakers just pop in, easy peasy. Just respect the top of the box (or wherever your street power comes in) because that can't be shut off. The inverter parallel box I made was more of a hassle, not so much complex, but the time and effort into planning and assembly to do it safely. But run at your comfort level. Hiring a professional is better than the alternative if you aren't confidently understanding or comfortable with what you're doing.
As part of my research regarding connecting a portable generator to my home, I have viewed many, many, video tutorials, some of them good, and many of them not so good. I would have to rate your video presentation as the best that I have seen. Your explanation is clear, your instructions are accurate, and you include a video list of all the items needed. You present a good balance between text and visuals. You show the finished project FIRST. You should consider training UA-camrs on the art of UA-cam presentations. Well Done, Sir!!
I kind of made them as the "anti-youtube" videos. Plus, no click-bait thumbnails with ridiculous facial expressions. :-) Glad you liked it, I appreciate the kind words.
You’ve made an excellent video here with lots of good advice. One step that is missing here is the requirement for a tie down on the generator breaker at the interlock location. Electric code requires that any breaker which is supplying power to the panel bus must be tied down in place such that removing the panel cover alone does not allow the breaker to be removed. There must be something else holding the breaker in place other than the panel cover. Luckily for you the Eaton CH type breakers have a part specifically for this purpose. It’s a single white piece of plastic and one screw. I think this is the part: Eaton Cutler Hammer CH125RB Breaker Retaining Hold Down Kit
@@Texas_DIY Your video was so careful to try and stay true to electrical code, including things such as using a fancy plate (interconnect lock out), that I would not be suggesting a zip tie. Electrical code (NEC) covers itself by saying, "As intended by the manufacturer." Whether it's using a drywall screw to hold your electrical duplex in place, or the height of a ceiling fan outside under a patio cover, this covers it because the manufacturer of the drywall screw meant it for drywall, and the fan instructions will say, "Minimum 7' from leading edge of blade to the ground," Hence, a zip tie instructions will not spell out a use as an electrical tie down. Just pony up the extra $$ for the Eaton kit, and the off chance code compliance ever takes an interest, you're more likely to come out ok. IDK, just my take on it. If I'm spending a couple grand on enclosure for generator, generator(s), conduit, etc.... I'm not going to suddenly get cheap over a few bucks. I used to work at Home Depot in the electrical department and it never ceased to amaze me, "I only need 3 conduit connectors, but this bag comes with 5". I'm thinking, "If you're quibbling over chump change or having 2 extra connectors at the end of the job, maybe you shouldn't be doing your electrical work." My favorite was those who said, "I don't want to run 10 gauge for my 30 amp. It's too expensive. Can I run 14?" Sure if you want your house to make the news."
Thank you for all the helpful information. I only have one 9500 predator and will try to do the 30 amp for now as I’m renting and need to run space heaters and essentials such as fridge/washer and hopefully dryer. I’ll definitely will be asking for professional help even tho you’ve made it very clear on how to do this. Thank you once again.
Yeah, a 30amp would cover the basics. Since you're renting, the landlord would probably be much more open to you installing a hookup if an professional electrician does the install vs. his/her tenant trying to do the work. I'd definitely go pro on that one, but get permission first.
Great info! This video was very helpful. I'm looking to do something similar here in Florida since we were hit by Hurricane Ian and was without power for a week. Thank you.
Thanks for reiterating the importance of being safety minded in regards to the power coming in not being able to be de-energized,that would be a fatal mistake
Yeah, I know what to avoid, and my butt still puckers when working in there. One time I had a guy come to change my meter (years back) and he just blindly reaches his fingers behind the meter, right next to the hot terminals, with his hand inches away from a grounded housing, and yanks it out. I actually yelled at him (not aggressively / mean, but more in a "dude what the hell, be careful" kind of a way) He was all casual, saying it won't hurt you, you're not completing the circuit, etc. "They give us gloves, but we don't use them". I'm convinced he's eventually gonna blow his hand off... but at least he didn't do it in my yard.
Thanks. I try to make it content based, and not about what I had for lunch, my cat's name, and 25 minutes of various other fluff filler... all for 10 seconds of actual useful content.... oh... and no click-bait thumbnails featuring my face with the most ridiculous expression I can manage... :-)
Step 1: install a Generlink transfer switch Step 2: attach generator to the Generlink Problem solved. I love the generator shed you've built. Very cool.
I like those, so much more simple. But there are some drawbacks. Pros: Super easy to hook up (even has surge protection) Automatic and safe switchover, no thought or process required If it's raining, you don't have to mess with your breakers in the wet raining weather (scary) Cons: Proprietary and expensive cable to connect to it. Can't use that cable for other purposes (Such as to hook up an RV, etc) Requires electric company to pull your meter so you can put this thing behind it Max 40A (unless there is a larger model I'm not seeing) Expensive at ~$800 - $1000 vs. around $100 to $200 total for the conventional way
I’m up here in Fort Worth, I have the little predator to just do the bedrooms. Before watching your video, had the electrician wire up the 50 amp plug to the house. Also installed a sub panel with all the bedrooms. Figured it would get me through the winter if needed (like you we lived through the stupid ice storm last year). I got a kerosene heater for heat if needed, and have 3 bottles of emergency propane to cook in an emergency. You hit the nail on the head do not get a 30 amp plug outside, go 50. For my setup (because I had the 3600 watt generator already and didn’t want to drop $4200 at once, I am ready to do exactly what you did when the time comes. I paid the electrician $800 for the breakers, sub panel, outside plug, and to have him hook it up. He wasn’t happy when I rolled the little 30 amp genny out there when he was done, but he did agree to build me a 20 foot 30 to 50 amp cord for it (included in the price). Smart move he said, I don’t need to come back when I get your setup running, even though I will to get him to move the A/C, dryer, and water heater breakers into the subpanel. Also, if you go my route, buy a large sub panel so you have room to add all those to the new panel. Excellent video man, no one knows what the heck is going on, and I did pick up quite a few things. No power for a day or 2….no problem. No power for 2 weeks is sub 20 degree temps…..yeah you’ll be watching this video, bet 3/4ths of the views are Texans on here, lol.
Excellent video. Just a couple of additional things to consider. A 30amp unit may easily handle a whole house ac IF something similar to an EasyStart by micro-air is attached to the ac unit. On my 3 ton unit the EasyStart reduced the starting current down to ~ 25 amps (run current is 11 amps). Start current rating on my generator is ~37 amps. Another thing to consider is whether the generator has a bonded neutral or a floating neutral. For residential hook-ups, the NEC code requires a floating neutral where generators that are used as stand alone units or connected to an RV require a bonded neutral. Many of the bigger gens have a bonded neutral. So verify (by physical measurement, the manual may not be correct) which neutral set-up is used on the chosen generator and how easy it is to convert, if required. Again, excellent video.
Yup. I have a few videos in the series, and one that deals specifically with the softstart. It's such an amazing game changer for central AC (or AC in and RV) on generator power. I have the same running amps, but your numbers seem better than mine were for the start. (I have a heat pump and it's been said they don't benefit quite as much for reasons I don't fully understand) The neutral thing comes up in comments. The general consensus is that with portable generators, it's no biggie to have the neutral bonded. But for permanently connected backup generators you should. I've not bothered to make changes to mine, but word is that if you want to, there is a cable directly behind the ground post on the front panel that can be unscrewed from the back of that terminal, and that will do the trick. The other videos can be seen here: ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html
I'm not big with the click bait thumbnails, and begging for likes and "smashing of bells". :-) Glad it was helpful to you. These are kind of my "pay it back / forward" for all the stuff I've learned on UA-cam over the years.
@@Texas_DIY Definitely! One question - you touched on the power transfer box, can something like this, in your opinion, be ideal or an option to use if your outside box where the power company power comes in doesn't have a main breaker? Replacing the box, as you may already know, it's an expensive job, so i'm back to researching alternative ways to get generator power setup and not having to drop so much money to get a whole new box. I'll certainly appreciate any suggestions! And thank you in advance!
I would consider adding a main breaker. You probably don't have 200amp service if there isn't a main... so you may be able to handle it as a larger amperage breaker just plugged in next to the others for where the power comes in. (instead of a load being on the breaker, you feed the incoming power through it) That would work, and give you something to turn off... but no idea if it would be legal/to code. That would really be a question for an electrician.
Hello Jason, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching your videos! Great recommendation for the magnetic dipstick! I have a Predator 9500 being delivered next week. Thanks to your tutorials, I feel ready to go! Your videos are the best I have seen. Well done and Thanks for your time and efforts! Jim
Much appreciated! I tried to make 'em helpful, and with very little fluff. Bonus points for cut out thumbnails of my face featuring a stupid or confused expression that has little to do with the video. :-)
Subscribed because: 1) you break things down in a non-boring non-monotonous way. 2) no fluff 3) you spend the right amount of time on the background with exactly what we needed to know.
I made it to be the anti-youtube style video. You didn't learn my cat's name, what I had for lunch, or some other 10 minutes of junk to get 10 seconds of content. And I refuse on principle to make a click-bait thumbnail containing my face with a stupid expression or an exaggerated image that has little to do with the actual content of the video (such as a mushroom cloud of exploding electricity) just to get clicks. I guess I'm not destined for youtube fame, but I can live with that if the videos still help folks out. :-)
@@Texas_DIY well, I'm still here 6 months later lol. You're you-tube king in my eyes. I would still keep making videos because your style is unmatched. I feel like your channel will catch on eventually. You're genuinely a good teacher and have a great thought process.
I enjoyed your video thanks ! Before seeing your video I had been bought the Predator 9000 and then to Lows this morning and purchased the 30RK Transfer switch kit 20amp /30 amp wish me luck I’m calling in a A professional electrician 😂
Glad it helped. I'd look closely at the interlock solution if you can make that work. If you're going transfer switch, I'd use an electrician too, it's a lot more complex than adding a breaker and a "slidey metal plate thing".
Nice 👍🏼 video. I have a similar setup. I have the option of connecting a 2000, 3500 or 8750 Predator generator. I wish I had one of the 9500s because they are quieter than the 8750 open frame inverter generators…
First I want to say you did a hell of a job explaining everything! My only question is how much would this cost to call out an electrician to hook this up? I just purchased a Predator 9500 a couple weeks ago for my sister and brother who constantly lose power.
I just did mine and it was pretty simple and easy. I had help from the guy next door. But it wasn't too bad and after we got everything done we both smiled and shook hands lol.
Jason, thanks for your great videos, I’m a big fan. I also plan to own two Predator 9500 inverters (so far, I only have one, but I am fishing for the second one), I will follow your advice and slightly modify an existing plastic shed… Any advice on the brand/type/model/size of a prebuilt plastic shed that can accommodate the two 9500 inverters?
There were a lot on Amazon, Walmart, etc. that would have been good for single units. But nothing that fit my particular needs for two units. I wanted something like a deck box, but that could accommodate two. (and not have to buy two separate boxes, for almost as much money as a generator itself) A shed (vs. a box) would have worked great, but the location I'd put it, would block a window or block sprinklers... but that was my situation. If you can swing it, I'd say look into more of a shed type enclosure that you could put other things in as well. (also look at the "all the technical tidbits" video I did on these.) ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html You will have to vent the generator exhaust out of the shed (both for safety and because they will shut off with too much Carbon Monoxide). Be careful attaching piping directly to the muffler, it vibrates a lot and will probably break the welds there. I show a link to some high temperature tubing that would be good as the junction between the muffler and the exhaust tubing to the outside air.
Very well said strught forward My genie don’t have an 50amp Plug in So im use the 30amp plug in my question is ? Can I still use a 50 amp breaker and 8 gage wire to connect my 30amp outlet to my breaker box and a 50 amp breaker ? Luke I said my genie don’t have a 50amp plug in . Any and all information is greatly appreciated
wow, really insightful video, I kept hearing you say over and over "hire a professional! if you do this you'll die, and it'll hurt the whole time!". I don't now, maybe that was just me lolol. seriously though, when I do make this upgrade I'm not touching it, I will let a professional do it lol.
LoL. I just don't want someone to get hurt. So if there is danger there I try to point it out. It's really not too crazy though, if you've ever replaced a plug or light switch, it's not far off from that. But if you're not confident or unsure, nothing is wrong with that, and hiring a pro is the better and safer choice.
Hey Jason great video. I have a couple questions I was wondering if you could help me with. I had a 50 amp interlock kit installed with a 50 amp inlet box. I want an inverter generator and none come with a 50 amp option unless you parallel two units. I would like to avoid this if possible as Invertor generators are already about double the cost as non invertor generators. I was looking at the duromax 9000 unit and wanted to know what you thought the best way to go about wiring it would be. Would it be better to get an adapter from my 50 amp cord to my 30 amp generator inlet or find a plug that goes from 50 amp to 30 amp. I will also be installing a soft start kit on my a/c as most of my other appliances are gas so 1 generator should be sufficient for my needs (and my 200 amp service) as my home is a fairly efficient new build last year. Any other advice or recommendations you have I’m very open for. Thanks so much!
I'm not aware of any inverter generators that are capable of generating 50amps alone. Some may have the 50amp plug (such as the Powerhorse 7500 / 6500 watt inverter generator). To make my parallel kit, I modified the parallel kit for this generator to use as the base wiring (it has the plugs I needed for the front panel). The Powerhorse parallel kit, is just the plugs, linking the two generators together and you actually use the front panel of one of the generators as the place to plug into (Vs. plugging into the parallel kit box at the junction point between them). So this unit has a 50amp plug, but can't actually generate that much without a second unit teamed up with it. In your case, it would depend on what you have. If you already installed a 50amp inlet, and already own a 50amp cord, then if you want to connect a 30amp plug into it, just buy an inexpensive adapter to convert the generator to plug into your existing cord. If you already have a 30amp cord/cable, then get the adapter to convert that to plug into your 50amp inlet. That method would be the much more economical approach, no need to repurchase a whole cable or inlet. If you're mostly all gas (including your water heater, that's at least 20amps of electrical power right there, Oven / Range, Central Heat, clothes dryer), then yeah, you can probably get by with one gen and a softstart on the AC. It usually only takes an amp or two to run the blower in your air handler when dealing with heat... so as long as you don't just go crazy with the home appliances, you'd probably be good. If you're gas across the board for heating stuff, your largest power draw will probably be the AC compressor, which depending on your unit, may burn roughly half of your capacity on a single gen. So depending on the how much you can save with the soft start, will decide how much you can have on in the house at the same time it starts up. (Once it's running though, you can turn things on again, cause the load to keep it going is still much less than the load to initially start) So you'll need to do some testing to see what your unit can handle. If you need to run the AC, you may or may not need to turn some stuff off first in the house to let it start.
Check the temps on the inclosure. Those fans may be too small. You could also add a temp switch to turn off the gens in case of overheating like I did in mine.
I like the idea of at least being notified if things get too hot. A temp switch would be good, but I think perhaps a basic wireless meat thermometer mounted in a way that is intended to stay in there. Set the heat notification low, and it will alarm in the house if any of the temps climb too high. This is what I used for my testing (but it's also for my smoker so it's not permanently mounted in the box. The machines themselves each have fairly powerful cooling fans that are mechanically linked to the engine. They draw cool air in through the intakes, and exhausts the hot air out of a vent located just above the engine exhaust. Since the box is otherwise sealed, by making a seal with that foam around the exhaust area, it forces the cooling fans in the generators to act as circulation fans, pulling incoming through the box. The idea being that even if the electric fans were to fail, the mechanical fans are always running, proportional to the engine speed, to draw in fresh outside air and actively blow heat out of the box. Hopefully this would avoid a major overheating (fire / meltdown) type of event In your enclosure, if your design allows for it, you might try making a seal around the exhaust / air exhaust to the outside on yours. So far with mine, the total guess work seems to have been close enough, and the temps have always remained roughly 2-3 degrees of ambient.
How's that airflow working out for longer runs? I just finished my XP9000ih in a Suncast shed but it's still too cold outside to know if the muffler residual heat will build up inside.
The front and rear of the predators are air intakes. (the front being the most important imho because that's where the heat sinks are for the inverter. There is a mechanical fan attached to the engine that pulls quite a bit of air through the housing, and out the side just under where the exhaust is. Just feeling around with my hands while it's running.... it seems that the area around the exhaust also seems to get some of that air flow as well, so it's not just building up heat with no air movement around the muffler. So the plan with the box, was to position the electric fans so the front of each machine has clean air being actively pumped in. (The rear of the 1st machine in line also receives air from the second fan). That left the rear of the 2nd machine with no active cooling. But I figured that the mechanical fans in the generators will outrun the fans, so I found some expanding foam tape (it expands up to 1") at Lowes, and used that around the exhaust exits from the housing. This effectively sealed / separated the air going out, from the air coming in, and will create a bit of a vacuum inside the housing. So there is a vent at the rear of the 2nd unit, and with the lid shut, there is indeed a slight vacuum there (just enough to pull up a piece of paper against the intake) I ran them for several hours, and used a 4 probe BBQ wireless temp monitor, positioning one probe on the outside as the ambient baseline, and the remaining three probes positioned at the front of machine one, between the rear of machine one and the front of machine two, and the rear of machine two. The internal temp of any of the probes never went even one degree higher than ambient... so I think I've got it balanced fairly well. And if there was just a super hot day, where things weren't cooling, I could always just leave the lid open, and let the fan in the machines pull air through normally.
L1 is usually Black and L2 is usually Red. In my box one leg was marked with red and the other with Black. (Neutral is white) I just kept the colors consistent through the whole thing. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter, they alternate back and forth 60 times per second. Just make sure you wire them the same in the parallel kit (red to red, black to black, white to white, etc. etc.)
You'd have to look at your overall power usage, but for an average totally GAS home? Yeah, one unit probably would work. Things to ask: Is your water heater gas as well? (that's 20amps for me alone, so if it's electric, that's half your power budget right there with one generator) What about your clothes dryer? (that one is a huge load for me there, that pretty much has to stay off unless I've turned off the heat and/or the water heater) If your stove/range Gas or Electric? (that's proportional, so you can only use one burner for example and not pull too much) Do you have a heat pump that is assisted by gas, or is the heat only gas and the AC is the only thing using the outside compressor? (A heat pump will pull more when it runs the compressor, and you'd benefit from a soft start (see my other video covering that) It's best if you get a meter and check these things. But pretty much if all the things I mentioned are gas (or just not used in an outage) you'd probably be ok assuming you don't have a ton of other appliances running (freezers, lots of computers, etc.) Also what your computers are doing actually matters a lot. My PC at idle or doing web browsing and such, not much juice at all... maybe 60-80watts... start coin mining with it, or heavy gaming, suddenly 200watts. Also worth considering, is how power much does your pool pump use? In freezing weather, I'd assume you'd definitely want to keep that on and circulating to not freeze up. All my stuff is electric, so while I can't totally go crazy and turn everything on... with the generator pair combined, I don't have to think about it too much, but without very heavy rationing, one just isn't enough.
Curious about this generator and the 240 volt references as I have a Westinghouse 9500 which has a 50 amp outlet and supplies 240 volts. It will run one of my AC condensers and attic blower.
A 50amp outlet doesn't mean the generator can make 50amps. That's just what the outlet is rated for. that generator will push 9500 watts continuous with 12500 peak. So it might just have enough to kick off the compressor and run it. Depends on your system and the specs. Note that's not an inverter generator though.
Hello.. thank you for your video.. I have noticed that many people don't mention anything about the Romex cable Guage. They only say 4 wire red, white, green, black, and ground. What Guage romex are you using?. Thanks
Double the power output. (when using inverter generators, they sync with each other) I have several other videos covering some of these aspects. ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html
Do they make a 50 amp inlet box with the plug on the bottom so the plug of the jumper cable is in a natural position and not sticking straight out from where you mount it.? Also, is there an inter lock device for your house breaker panel that you can lock out.? Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge?
Good video. I have a 30A generator, and was planning on installing at 30A output to connect it to the load center. I can see the advantage of making that 50A, so it's as you said, "future-proof". However for the circuit breaker that goes in the load center, am I okay with installing a 50A breaker? With a 30A generator, that should never trip; whereas if there was a 30A breaker, and there was an overload situation, I'd think it would trip, providing some extra protection. Swapping out a 30A for 50A breaker is $20, and the effort to change a breaker (minimal) That at least saves trying to repull and install 6G vs 10G wire and receptacle.
It's up to you. If it were me, I'd rate the breaker for the amperage the inlet plug can handle. The generator will still cut off on it's own if you exceed it's capabilities. Breakers are more to protect the wiring from becoming too hot and causing a fire in a wall or cable, when the available power would exceed what the wiring could handle. (the power company isn't limited to 30-40amps). But I'm not an electrician, and don't even play one on TV, so consult a professional, not a dude on the internet... :-)
Does the 50 amp breaker for the generator need to be double pole? I’ve seen some with 2 “poles” each with 50A on them, and others that are the same physical size of a double pole breaker but only have one switch.
I'm not an electrician, and don't even play one on TV. But I'd say Yes. Each leg to neutral is 120VAC, and the two hot legs to each other are 240VAC. So if the main breaker only switched one leg, then the other side would still be hot with at least 120VAC. So it would need to open the circuit for both legs of the incoming voltage to be safe.
Ideally yeah, so you can pull the max amperage of each leg (assuming you're just using 120V) Think of it almost like two 120V generators in one. Over 30Amps from each. (or if you're using 240 then over 30Amps of 240 with them combined)
Glad it was helpful. I can't stand click-bait headlines and ridiculous video icons of the person's face pulling the most stupid expression they can manage... You don't find out my cat's name, what I had for breakfast, or any other filler BS. Just the info, go go go, pause if you need to and back up. I won't ever have a million subscribers (don't beg for "smashing that bell" and subscriptions), but my videos (when I make them) try very hard to be useful and more about the subject matter than my ego. :-)
Working on doing this now after Ian, while it would be so nice to have 240v the Predator will use about 10 gallons of fuel a day, and in real disaster situations fuel can be scarce, and going out to get it is a major pain. So I decided to get two of the 4500w smaller generators with the parallel kit. I can run just one for basics like lights, fans, fridge etc (made it thru 5 days w/o power with a tiny 2000w doing this) but if say we want to watch TV, or I need to get on the computer I have the option to kick on the 2nd generator to get 50amp worth of power if needed. I also have the 2 is one, one is none backup in case of generator failure. I assume from all my research over the last several days, I just needed to ensure I do not have any MBEC's (I don't as far as I can tell) and it would be a good idea to turn off the breaker for all my 240v appliances as I will no longer be sending out of phase power while powering both sides of the box with 120v. The 4500w generator runs 14 hours off 2.3gallons of fuel vs the larger generators using about double that. So 1 5 gallon gas can will get me thru 24 hours no issues. I don't see myself using any of the 240v appliances during an emergency situation, propane stove/grill for cooking instead of the stove, fans instead of AC, suck it up for cold showers, and do laundry after the disaster is over (or if really needed the washer is 120v and line dry cloths). Since you seem to have done much of this research, does this sound like a good plan? Also HF has been increasing prices a lot the last couple of years that generator is now $2400, but they do have a VERY similar 8750w model for only $1300, runs kind of loud though at 75db, that is another slight advantage to the smaller generators only 61db vs the 9000w Predator at 67db.
You can do that. Turning off the 240/220 breakers would be best. I'm not sure what would happen with them if the same phase were fed into both legs. (better "off" than fried) When running in Eco mode, these things will throttle down quite a bit and use fuel proportional to the output. Unless the output is so low it's idle, in which case, just turn one off to save fuel. But yeah, larger engines will in general use large amounts of fuel. But if you're willing to make those compromises, it seems like a fair option. Also check out the GENMAX GM9000iED. It's the same manufacturer as the Duromax and the Predator, but with all the shortcomings of each fixed. Rear exhaust, has an oilfilter, the air filter is actually accessible, nice displays, natural gas option built-in, etc. Might be a good fit.
@@Texas_DIY Thanks for the quick reply, I might be in a bit of a bind actually. My indoor panel does not have a main breaker to use with a interlock, by the meter I have a single switch for the mains with nowhere to install a breaker to injest power from the generator. So that leaves me having to maybe use a transfer switch setup, harder to install, more cost. Still cheaper than using something like the generlink. Ideally with how hard fuel can be to come by in a real emergency I would prefer 2x 4500w generators to a single 9000w so I can have the extra power on demand if needed, but use less fuel when not needed, also having the extra generator if a failure happens, but it seems there are no 4500w 240v generators, and it's starting to look like the best way to hook them up for me requires 240v.
I noticed you installed an Eaton interlock into an Eaton panel. In the intelock kit they supply a lingvscrew and a holddown clip. I have heard when you add a breaker to switch backup feed NEC requires additional holddown for the breaker. Did you do this? If so how. If nnot, did it pass inspection?
You are supposed to have something on the inlet breaker that prevents it from being easily popped loose and moved. It can be something as simple as a zip tie, there doesn't seem to be a rule on what it is. I didn't add that, but if I sell the house or need to it's easily added.
Glad you liked it. Did links on some of the other videos, but they seem to change semi-frequently on Amazon, didn't want them to become invalid. Plus I'm not really trying to plug any particular merchant, just showing stuff I found useful.
Thank you for the explanation, i have a champion generator 11500 running 9,200, would it power my home , i have my inlet box 50 amp , just need my extension to hook to the generator, my electric guy say to buy 25 feet , but what wattage i buy?
Jay , love your video, setting my predator 9500 up very similar, Have had conversations on should I also ground the generator to the same grounding rod as the house for safety, would like to know your opinion, thanks
So many possibilities here… is the generator a floating neutral or a bonded neutral. Does your transfer switch maintain the main service panel neutral bond to the generator when switched in. If the generator is bonded and is supplying power to the bonded main panel in the house, this could create a circuit within a circuit that may be against code. There are other bond/no bond considerations. When in doubt give an electrician a shout.
Some people will disconnect the ground from the back of the panel on the generators. If it's a permanent install, it's accepted that this should be done. However for temp installs (easily disconnectable ones with portable generators) the consensus seems to be "do it if you want, but no biggie". I've not bothered and have no issues.
Excellent information. One question I have is, on the 9500 the outlet is 4 prong 30 amp (x, y, neutral, ground) but the 50 amp inlet is 3 prong (X, Y, neutral/ground?) Why is that? Thanks.
It's just the way they designed the standard plugs. On the larger 50amp plug, the ground is on the outside of the barrel, so it has all 4, it's just in a different place.
Jason great video...thank you! I bought a Duromax 9000 and it comes with only one 240v 14/30r 30AMP outlet. I followed your advice and I bought a Reliance PBN50 50AMP power inlet box. My cord coming from the generator is a 30AMP 14-30r 8/4 gauge. Can I safely connect my 30AMP cord into the 50AMP home power inlet? Thanks!
240v is 240v in this context, it's just what the max amps that your cord and socket are rated for. A single generator will usually just have a 30amp female socket. Mine is the same. It's up to you how you want to adapt it to fit your 50a inlet. They make adapters that will convert the 50a inlet into a 30a inlet, or you could go the other direction and adapt the 30a socket to a 50a socket at the generator side, and use a 50a cord. Personally, I would opt for the 50a cable/cord that plugs directly into your inlet, and ends in the dryer plug. And then use an adapter from there to make it plug into your 30a generator. This way, you have everything you need should you want to upgrade to two generators, or connect in a larger 50a generator, without having to buy a new extension cable. An example of an inexpensive adapter to do that: www.amazon.com/RVGUARD-Generator-Adapter-L14-30P-Indicator/dp/B085H7BPM7
Up to you and your needs. My opinion would be to use a 50a cord, and a cheap adapter to convert it at the generator. That way you can upgrade or use different more powerful generators, without having to also upgrade your cable/cord.
9500 is the surge rating. Running normally it's pushing around 30A of 240VAC. I have several videos in this series, that go into the parallel kit I used, and how it connects to the house. It should answer all your questions and more. ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html
Not sure. The main "competition" seems to be one from Duromax, and another, the GENMAX GM9000iED. All are ultimately made by the same factory, so the internals are pretty much the same with minor variations. But the factory seems to have taken and eliminated the shortcomings of both the Duromax and the Predator with the GenMax model. It's dual fuel, has a readily accessible air filter, has an oil filter, and does rear exhaust so the units can run side by side, and has the auto-start goodies.
I had a question. What if I need more than 50amps. How do you use the total of 15000wAtts (the two of them in parallel) running through the 50amp outlet?
Technically, you should get a bigger outlet. The problem is, above 50amps, you start getting into strange, unique plugs and connection stuff. Over 50amp inlets and connectors are not really standardized that I've seen for residential use. If you really needed, consistently, more than 60amps, you'd need a 3rd generator, and you'd just hard wire everything in, ideally combining everything together in the breaker box, and feeding it in via a single, interlocked appropriate breaker. Such that there is no quick disconnect, and you just have parallel cables. In my case, the combined continuous output capability is closer to 60amps, but you really shouldn't be maxing out the generators in that way, cause you're hanging just on the edge of them shutting down. So I'm comfortable with my setup in this way as I don't expect more than 50 to 55 amps to be pulled from it continuously for any significant length of time. A 50amp socket won't instantly self-destruct if you pull 55 or 60amps through it, but it's not something that should be done continuously. Really, though if you need that much juice (70, 80+amps), you're well past portable generator territory, and firmly into a proper whole house generator setup, and needing a professional installation.
Hi JayTX, if I don't need a 50A plug can I simply use the Powerhorse Parallel Cable Kit witout all the additional DIY steps you've shown in this video?
The Powerhorse cable just gives you the plugs to hook into the parallel ports on the generators. You've still got to get the power out of them. And the outlets on the front face of these units tap out at 30a, so you'd not have a means of getting two generator's worth of power, from an outlet that has a breaker that trips at one generator's worth of power. That's what the parallel kit did, taking the connection/power from both, and providing a single 50a outlet with the combined power. Some generators like these ARE equipped with a 50a plug on the front face, so when you use a cable like the Powerhorse one, you don't need a parallel kit, because the front panel does it for you. Unfortunately, the harbor freight ones are not like that, and the voltage / amperage has to be combined externally. The videos where I cover the parallel kit are on this playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html
@@Texas_DIY Thanks for the reply, in my situation I do not need a 50A plug. I am powering a rather large audio system and a 30A plug will work for me but I need more power than just one of the 9,500 gen will produce which is why I am paralleling them. As I understand it, the L5-30 plug is 30A but for the L14-30 is 2 x 30A, so 60A. The L14-30 has 2 hot legs, a neutral and a ground. Each hot leg has access to 30A on opposite poles of the phase swing. The L5-30 has one hot and one neutral, so only one 30A circuit is accessed through that socket. So I should be able to use the Powerhorse kit and plug directly into the Predatopr 30A L14-30 plug - I am a neophyte and just learning and appreciate your help if I a missing something
I'm not an electrician, and don't even play one on TV... and it may be wrong, particularly with regard to the very unbalanced loads on 120, that said, this is my understanding and what I've observed on mine: The L530 is 120V. 3 pins. Hot Neutral Ground So there isn't a pin for the other leg to make it 240. it's going to get all of it's 120V from either X or Y, so you are limited to 30a of 120V, full stop. The L14-30 is 240V. 4 Pins Hot, Hot, Neutral, Ground. So you can get 240 and/or 2 legs of 120 from it. You could get 30a of 240v (which is using X and Y) or you could get 30a from X, and another separate 30a from Y (assuming there were no 240v loads). The breaker on the front panel "watches" each leg, of the L14 socket, preventing no more than 30amps from passing through any one leg at any given time. If you were running only 120V devices, you could pull 30a from X, and another 30a from Y... so yeah, 60a TOTAL of 120V, but no more than 30 from each side. So if your amplifier were 120V, and was super crazy and somehow needed MORE than 30a, your out of luck, cause 120 has to come from either x or y, and it can't be more than 30 on either single one. But, if your amp needed say 17amps, and you had lights needing 10amps, and a fog machine needing 15amps, you could split them up, and put the lights and fog machine (25a total) on X, and the Amp (17a) on Y. But you couldn't put the Amp and the fog machine together on one leg/circuit, because that would be 32a which is too much for the breaker to allow. If you had a 240V AMP, and it used 20a, (out of 30 available) that would mean you still had 10a of available 120v power on X and on Y, so yes, 20a of 120v is available in TOTAL... But you could not plug in a 120v 20a fog machine because you only had 10a left on any one leg. So wherever you plugged in the fog machine, it would be trying to pull a total of 40amps (20 + 20) from that leg, and it would trip the breaker. So merging two Predator generators directly together won't help you in this case you are describing. Because you are still limited by the max output of the breaker on that front panel. If you just used the powerhorse cable, and hooked the two together, then yes they'd sync, and your combined generators would be CAPABLE of making more than 30a, but, the breaker still won't allow more than 30a to pass through any one leg without shutting off... so you are still no better off than you were with one generator that was capable of making 30a all by itself. When you use a parallel kit on these with a 50a plug, the parallel ports on the generators are bypassing the breakers and the outlets on the front. The parallel kit still works even if you turn off all the breakers on the front panel. So it's taking the full power from each machine, and since they sync with each other, it's double the output of one machine, and since you are supplying a new plug that is not protected by a 30a breaker, and so you now have roughly 60a available (and thus you need that more substantial plug, in my case, the 50a dryer plug to handle that). (NOTE: If you are not feeding this into a food truck, or house, via an inlet and a breaker, and just running AV stuff directly from it, you REALLY need to have a breaker in the parallel kit. There should always be a breaker involved, in the videos I made on this, there is a box I called out that can do breakers, use that one if you make a kit)
The best description of power to a box and house I have ever seen!
This is hands down the most intelligent, thought out, well produced instructional video on this subject I have found! It took me a week of internet searching and video browsing to learn what this one video provided. Congratulations and you have a well-earned sub.
P.S. Would you think about a video of the blueprint and construction of your generator cabinet? It is top notch!
Thank You! It was kind of the same for me when I was trying to figure out the best way to go about all of this.
I decided I'd make a few videos and save people some of the pain and mistakes I made, along the way.
You got yourself a sub, great work!
Crazy the number of these videos I've seen and you're the first to explain the wiring of the breaker box with the alternating X/Y, the first to explain a number of things. Great job! My inlet box was done with 30A back when I had a 5kw genny, and now with the same Predator 9500 I'm thinking it's a little light, although the Predator has a 32A continuous output. I'm assuming a startup peak or surges are not going to cause a dangerous overload of the cable? Oddly, my 25-30ft cable from genny was custom made by an electrician years like twenty years ago, with 8g and L1430 on each end.
Based on what I'm seeing with online calculators, they seem to imply you're ok with that length and wire gauge setup. Breakers aren't usually "instant off" when you hit the max. There are a lot of factors that go into when it eventually trips (temp being a big one). Similarly, unless something is wired badly a 30amp inlet isn't going to instantly blow up if 32amps pass through.
If 30amps is sufficient for your needs, it sounds like your setup should be pretty solid. If you have central AC or AC compressors that need to be run, you might look at the softstart video I made. Those things have some kind of hoo doo voodoo black magic, that makes all the difference in the world with being able to run them off generators.
Completely agree. Every other video talks about how easy this is to do the skips a critical step. Thank you Jason Wallace for this excellent video.
FINALLY. A VIDEO EXPLAINING THE TYPE OF CONNECTORS!! As a DIYer, there are so many listing on Amazon and ebay for generator cords and inlet boxes, that i really had no idea which one works for my generator. Also, there are so many videos out there explainig how to install the inlet box, interlock, but they NEVER go over which types of cables will work or which type of inlet box you need. THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!!!!!
My pleasure. Glad it helped out. I tried to take what was frustrating for me to figure out and learn, and pass that along.
That sir was extremely well done video. I setup our predator 9500 generator about a year ago and I did it exactly the same way you did yours. Kudos to you and this video. 👏
thanks!
For the longest time I couldn't wrap my head around how the 50A 3 prong inlets could possibly pass the 2 hot, neutral and ground through until I learned there was a 4th contact on the side of the connector. Thank you for explicitly making this fact known as everyone seemed to gloss over it as if everyone should just know the 78 different "standard" connector types and how to adapt them.
I too was curious about that from the photos, until I noticed the side ground. Glad it helped to clear things up.
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!
Excellent video: Clear, concise and complete information presented in easy to understand and easy to follow manner and without any annoying babble.
Thank you!
Bernhard
Thanks!
Also carefully avoiding the thumbnail featuring a cut out picture of my face, managing the dumbest expression I can come up with. :-)
😊😊😊
Your video was the only helpful that I have found. Thank you. I have realized my limits and that I must be humble to hire professional help. Thank you.
If you've ever changed a light switch, or added an electrical outlet to your home, it's not much worse than that. But know your limits. Particularly as there is 200+ AMPS of 240VAC power in that box that can't be turned off.
Awesome video! Very good information here folks. Let's recognize the amount of time this man spent gathering part numbers and how simple the information was conveyed! I am A NEW SUSCRIBER
Thanks! I just went for give the info, minimal fluff.
Basically I went for the most "anti-youtube style video" I could manage. No long professional intro followed by a VHS quality looking production... no begging for likes and "smashing that bell", I don't tell you what I had for lunch, my cat's name, and/or waste 75% of the video with useless fluff... and most importantly... no thumbnails with the most absurd expression I could manage on my cut out face with a cartoon explosion in the background.
Hands down the best video on this subject I have seen. Great job of making a clearly explained video with easy to understand subject matter.👍
Glad you found it helpful. Lots of people have "reviews" of the generators and such, but nothing seemed to explain the common questions and concerns. I basically explained what I learned, and the mistakes I made to save others the hassle. :-)
Since you hooked the generator to your house, how did you manage the grounding?Did u unhook the generator chassis ground or use a grounding rod or you did nothing but use the ground from the plugs on the generator. Thanks. Super video
What a great video this is. You put my foot in the door using my new Pred 9500. I knew this could be done without running a bunch of extension cords. Now at least I have some understanding of what this is about.
I bought a whole house back-up generator and before installation I learned what a glutton it is for propane. And they wanted around $7,500 to install it. I’m going this route instead of burning 3 - 4 gallons of propane an hour.
So thanks, your efforts are appreciated.
Glad it helped. In my case, natural gas isn't in my neighborhood, the whole place (my home included) is all electric. So bringing propane into the mix (making a pad, renting a tank, plumbing the line, etc) would have been a huge and expensive hassle.
If you need a multi-fuel generator, take a look at the GENMAX GM9000iED on Amazon, it fixes all the shortcomings of the Predator and the Duromax. And is made by the same factory/people, and makes the same clean power.
Thank for the detailed explanation of how you choose to do yours. Funny how winter is coming and this was suggested, us Texas people remember how ERCOT essentially has done nothing since snowmageddon. I’m running my backup off a welding machine and prepared for this coming winter!
A welding machine would certainly work. It's gonna use more fuel and be old school windings, but it will get the job done for a temp solution for sure. And it serves a purpose when not needed for the house.
If I could thumbs up this video and your other generator videos 1,000 times I would. I just bought a house that has a generator inlet box and an interlock switch. Since the house was ready for a generator I went out and bought the predator 9500 in case the power goes out. I like to understand things before I use them so I’ve probably watched 4 hours worth of videos trying to understand how generators feed electricity to the panel at both 120/240V. I was able to piece together info here and there, then I ran into your videos that explains everything so clearly. I could have saved hours of frustrating poorly explained videos if I found yours first! Thank you!!!!!
Happy it helped you. These are kind of my "pay it back" / "pay it forward" for all the other helpful videos I've come across.
This is the best video on this subject, hands down,thank you!!!
Glad it was helpful!
I appreciate your honesty on the video. I'm a diy guy but other than running pigtails to add outlets or install simple switches I don't think I'd be comfortable enough to do most of this.
Frankly the breaker box was the easiest part. It took longer to get everything lined up where I wanted it than it took to do the actual install. The breakers just pop in, easy peasy. Just respect the top of the box (or wherever your street power comes in) because that can't be shut off.
The inverter parallel box I made was more of a hassle, not so much complex, but the time and effort into planning and assembly to do it safely.
But run at your comfort level. Hiring a professional is better than the alternative if you aren't confidently understanding or comfortable with what you're doing.
As part of my research regarding connecting a portable generator to my home, I have viewed many, many, video tutorials, some of them good, and many of them not so good. I would have to rate your video presentation as the best that I have seen. Your explanation is clear, your instructions are accurate, and you include a video list of all the items needed. You present a good balance between text and visuals. You show the finished project FIRST. You should consider training UA-camrs on the art of UA-cam presentations. Well Done, Sir!!
I kind of made them as the "anti-youtube" videos. Plus, no click-bait thumbnails with ridiculous facial expressions. :-) Glad you liked it, I appreciate the kind words.
You’ve made an excellent video here with lots of good advice. One step that is missing here is the requirement for a tie down on the generator breaker at the interlock location. Electric code requires that any breaker which is supplying power to the panel bus must be tied down in place such that removing the panel cover alone does not allow the breaker to be removed. There must be something else holding the breaker in place other than the panel cover. Luckily for you the Eaton CH type breakers have a part specifically for this purpose. It’s a single white piece of plastic and one screw. I think this is the part: Eaton Cutler Hammer CH125RB Breaker Retaining Hold Down Kit
Correct. Lots of people solve that with a simple zip tie around the breaker. Code doesn't specify what it is that holds it in place. :-)
@@Texas_DIY Your video was so careful to try and stay true to electrical code, including things such as using a fancy plate (interconnect lock out), that I would not be suggesting a zip tie. Electrical code (NEC) covers itself by saying, "As intended by the manufacturer." Whether it's using a drywall screw to hold your electrical duplex in place, or the height of a ceiling fan outside under a patio cover, this covers it because the manufacturer of the drywall screw meant it for drywall, and the fan instructions will say, "Minimum 7' from leading edge of blade to the ground," Hence, a zip tie instructions will not spell out a use as an electrical tie down. Just pony up the extra $$ for the Eaton kit, and the off chance code compliance ever takes an interest, you're more likely to come out ok. IDK, just my take on it. If I'm spending a couple grand on enclosure for generator, generator(s), conduit, etc.... I'm not going to suddenly get cheap over a few bucks. I used to work at Home Depot in the electrical department and it never ceased to amaze me, "I only need 3 conduit connectors, but this bag comes with 5". I'm thinking, "If you're quibbling over chump change or having 2 extra connectors at the end of the job, maybe you shouldn't be doing your electrical work." My favorite was those who said, "I don't want to run 10 gauge for my 30 amp. It's too expensive. Can I run 14?" Sure if you want your house to make the news."
Thank you for all the helpful information.
I only have one 9500 predator and will try to do the 30 amp for now as I’m renting and need to run space heaters and essentials such as fridge/washer and hopefully dryer. I’ll definitely will be asking for professional help even tho you’ve made it very clear on how to do this.
Thank you once again.
Yeah, a 30amp would cover the basics.
Since you're renting, the landlord would probably be much more open to you installing a hookup if an professional electrician does the install vs. his/her tenant trying to do the work. I'd definitely go pro on that one, but get permission first.
Great info! This video was very helpful. I'm looking to do something similar here in Florida since we were hit by Hurricane Ian and was without power for a week. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
*New Subscriber* (only 6 months late) 😁
Great video! You've simplified what can usually be a very complicated subject for most ~ Great job! 😎
Thanks!
Thanks for reiterating the importance of being safety minded in regards to the power coming in not being able to be de-energized,that would be a fatal mistake
Yeah, I know what to avoid, and my butt still puckers when working in there.
One time I had a guy come to change my meter (years back) and he just blindly reaches his fingers behind the meter, right next to the hot terminals, with his hand inches away from a grounded housing, and yanks it out. I actually yelled at him (not aggressively / mean, but more in a "dude what the hell, be careful" kind of a way) He was all casual, saying it won't hurt you, you're not completing the circuit, etc. "They give us gloves, but we don't use them".
I'm convinced he's eventually gonna blow his hand off... but at least he didn't do it in my yard.
Best explanation on UA-cam!
Thanks. I try to make it content based, and not about what I had for lunch, my cat's name, and 25 minutes of various other fluff filler... all for 10 seconds of actual useful content.... oh... and no click-bait thumbnails featuring my face with the most ridiculous expression I can manage... :-)
Step 1: install a Generlink transfer switch
Step 2: attach generator to the Generlink
Problem solved.
I love the generator shed you've built. Very cool.
I like those, so much more simple. But there are some drawbacks.
Pros:
Super easy to hook up (even has surge protection)
Automatic and safe switchover, no thought or process required
If it's raining, you don't have to mess with your breakers in the wet raining weather (scary)
Cons:
Proprietary and expensive cable to connect to it.
Can't use that cable for other purposes (Such as to hook up an RV, etc)
Requires electric company to pull your meter so you can put this thing behind it
Max 40A (unless there is a larger model I'm not seeing)
Expensive at ~$800 - $1000 vs. around $100 to $200 total for the conventional way
This is an excellent video, thanks! Covers everything you need to know!
Thanks!
I’m up here in Fort Worth, I have the little predator to just do the bedrooms. Before watching your video, had the electrician wire up the 50 amp plug to the house. Also installed a sub panel with all the bedrooms. Figured it would get me through the winter if needed (like you we lived through the stupid ice storm last year). I got a kerosene heater for heat if needed, and have 3 bottles of emergency propane to cook in an emergency. You hit the nail on the head do not get a 30 amp plug outside, go 50. For my setup (because I had the 3600 watt generator already and didn’t want to drop $4200 at once, I am ready to do exactly what you did when the time comes. I paid the electrician $800 for the breakers, sub panel, outside plug, and to have him hook it up. He wasn’t happy when I rolled the little 30 amp genny out there when he was done, but he did agree to build me a 20 foot 30 to 50 amp cord for it (included in the price). Smart move he said, I don’t need to come back when I get your setup running, even though I will to get him to move the A/C, dryer, and water heater breakers into the subpanel. Also, if you go my route, buy a large sub panel so you have room to add all those to the new panel. Excellent video man, no one knows what the heck is going on, and I did pick up quite a few things. No power for a day or 2….no problem. No power for 2 weeks is sub 20 degree temps…..yeah you’ll be watching this video, bet 3/4ths of the views are Texans on here, lol.
Good. Now you have flexibility. Glad it helped you out. Be sure you have ventilation handled for the heater.
Interlock is probably one of the most elegant inventions of all time.
Simple and effective. But they are proud (Cost-wise) of their little strip of metal.
Very educative and elaborated
Thanks
Glad it was helpful! Much appreciated.
Excellent explanation, thanks for the great info!
Glad it was helpful!
Very informative. Thank you so much.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video. There are a bunch of videos that are REALLY BAD out there, but yours is really good.
Thanks!
Excellent! All questions answered!
Glad it was helpful!
Great video! Thanks!
Great video. Thanks
Very good, Thank You!
Great voice. love the way you explain it. Thanks
Thanks!
Excellent job. Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Best video on this topic I've seen 👏
Thanks! Glad it was helpful for you.
Excellent video. Just a couple of additional things to consider. A 30amp unit may easily handle a whole house ac IF something similar to an EasyStart by micro-air is attached to the ac unit. On my 3 ton unit the EasyStart reduced the starting current down to ~ 25 amps (run current is 11 amps). Start current rating on my generator is ~37 amps. Another thing to consider is whether the generator has a bonded neutral or a floating neutral. For residential hook-ups, the NEC code requires a floating neutral where generators that are used as stand alone units or connected to an RV require a bonded neutral. Many of the bigger gens have a bonded neutral. So verify (by physical measurement, the manual may not be correct) which neutral set-up is used on the chosen generator and how easy it is to convert, if required. Again, excellent video.
Yup. I have a few videos in the series, and one that deals specifically with the softstart. It's such an amazing game changer for central AC (or AC in and RV) on generator power. I have the same running amps, but your numbers seem better than mine were for the start. (I have a heat pump and it's been said they don't benefit quite as much for reasons I don't fully understand)
The neutral thing comes up in comments. The general consensus is that with portable generators, it's no biggie to have the neutral bonded. But for permanently connected backup generators you should. I've not bothered to make changes to mine, but word is that if you want to, there is a cable directly behind the ground post on the front panel that can be unscrewed from the back of that terminal, and that will do the trick.
The other videos can be seen here: ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html
Hi Jim. Do you have the EasyStart on your home air conditioner? Did it require an electrician to install? Thank you.
@@brucefreeman5207 Yes I do. It was installed by my HVAC guy.
Thank you, very helpful.
You're welcome!
That was/is excellent information!! Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
I learned today , thanks so much
The XY and alternating on the legs poof mind blown❤
LoL. It makes perfect sense once you know, but no one ever really explains it. :-) Glad it helped.
Holy crap, why is this video doesnt' have like a million view lol...this is so informative!
I'm not big with the click bait thumbnails, and begging for likes and "smashing of bells". :-)
Glad it was helpful to you. These are kind of my "pay it back / forward" for all the stuff I've learned on UA-cam over the years.
@@Texas_DIY Definitely! One question - you touched on the power transfer box, can something like this, in your opinion, be ideal or an option to use if your outside box where the power company power comes in doesn't have a main breaker? Replacing the box, as you may already know, it's an expensive job, so i'm back to researching alternative ways to get generator power setup and not having to drop so much money to get a whole new box. I'll certainly appreciate any suggestions! And thank you in advance!
I would consider adding a main breaker. You probably don't have 200amp service if there isn't a main... so you may be able to handle it as a larger amperage breaker just plugged in next to the others for where the power comes in. (instead of a load being on the breaker, you feed the incoming power through it) That would work, and give you something to turn off... but no idea if it would be legal/to code. That would really be a question for an electrician.
What a great video! Well done
Thank you very much!
Thanks great video thanks for the time you take for the video
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hello Jason,
I have thoroughly enjoyed watching your videos! Great recommendation for the magnetic dipstick!
I have a Predator 9500 being delivered next week.
Thanks to your tutorials, I feel ready to go!
Your videos are the best I have seen.
Well done and Thanks for your time and efforts!
Jim
Much appreciated!
I tried to make 'em helpful, and with very little fluff. Bonus points for cut out thumbnails of my face featuring a stupid or confused expression that has little to do with the video. :-)
Subscribed because:
1) you break things down in a non-boring non-monotonous way.
2) no fluff
3) you spend the right amount of time on the background with exactly what we needed to know.
I made it to be the anti-youtube style video. You didn't learn my cat's name, what I had for lunch, or some other 10 minutes of junk to get 10 seconds of content. And I refuse on principle to make a click-bait thumbnail containing my face with a stupid expression or an exaggerated image that has little to do with the actual content of the video (such as a mushroom cloud of exploding electricity) just to get clicks. I guess I'm not destined for youtube fame, but I can live with that if the videos still help folks out. :-)
@@Texas_DIY well, I'm still here 6 months later lol. You're you-tube king in my eyes. I would still keep making videos because your style is unmatched. I feel like your channel will catch on eventually. You're genuinely a good teacher and have a great thought process.
Good info, I plan on taking on this endeavor soon :-)
Thanks. Other videos in the series cover the rest of my journey for this project.
Excellent video!!!
Thank you very much!
I enjoyed your video thanks ! Before seeing your video I had been bought the Predator 9000 and then to Lows this morning and purchased the 30RK Transfer switch kit 20amp /30 amp wish me luck I’m calling in a A professional electrician 😂
Glad it helped. I'd look closely at the interlock solution if you can make that work. If you're going transfer switch, I'd use an electrician too, it's a lot more complex than adding a breaker and a "slidey metal plate thing".
Really great video!
Thank you!
Perfection.
Awesome very well done video
Thank you very much!
NEW SUSCRIBER!, Very informative and smart!.
Thanks for subbing. I don't put out a ton of content, but when I do I try to take the time to make it good stuff.
@@Texas_DIY Thank You, Keep up the good work!.
thanks! looking for a video like this!
Glad it was helpful!
Great info 👍🏼👍🏼
Glad it was helpful!
Nice 👍🏼 video. I have a similar setup. I have the option of connecting a 2000, 3500 or 8750 Predator generator. I wish I had one of the 9500s because they are quieter than the 8750 open frame inverter generators…
Kinda with I could have gotten away with only one 9500... but with all electric, it just wasn't enough.
Excellent f*king video! This was helpful, thanks Wallace.. 😊
Glad you found it useful, cheers!
First I want to say you did a hell of a job explaining everything! My only question is how much would this cost to call out an electrician to hook this up? I just purchased a Predator 9500 a couple weeks ago for my sister and brother who constantly lose power.
I just did mine and it was pretty simple and easy. I had help from the guy next door. But it wasn't too bad and after we got everything done we both smiled and shook hands lol.
Yeah, it's not too crazy. I just keep a wary eye on the 200amp feed at the top that can't be turned off. :-)
Exactly why I had an electrician set my whole system up. Costly but safe.
Yup. If you're not pretty confident if what you're doing, roll with the pro.
Thank You.
Welcome!
A lot of Questions Answered
Jason, thanks for your great videos, I’m a big fan. I also plan to own two Predator 9500 inverters (so far, I only have one, but I am fishing for the second one), I will follow your advice and slightly modify an existing plastic shed… Any advice on the brand/type/model/size of a prebuilt plastic shed that can accommodate the two 9500 inverters?
There were a lot on Amazon, Walmart, etc. that would have been good for single units. But nothing that fit my particular needs for two units. I wanted something like a deck box, but that could accommodate two. (and not have to buy two separate boxes, for almost as much money as a generator itself)
A shed (vs. a box) would have worked great, but the location I'd put it, would block a window or block sprinklers... but that was my situation. If you can swing it, I'd say look into more of a shed type enclosure that you could put other things in as well. (also look at the "all the technical tidbits" video I did on these.)
ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html
You will have to vent the generator exhaust out of the shed (both for safety and because they will shut off with too much Carbon Monoxide). Be careful attaching piping directly to the muffler, it vibrates a lot and will probably break the welds there. I show a link to some high temperature tubing that would be good as the junction between the muffler and the exhaust tubing to the outside air.
I did a 50A inlet plug with 6 gauge wire into a 30A ciricuit breaker since my current Champion invertor generator can only do 30A at this time
Very well said strught forward
My genie don’t have an 50amp
Plug in
So im use the 30amp plug in my question is
? Can I still use a 50 amp breaker and 8 gage wire to connect my 30amp outlet to my breaker box and a 50 amp breaker ? Luke I said my genie don’t have a 50amp plug in . Any and all information is greatly appreciated
I have to, somehow save this into my brain...
wow, really insightful video, I kept hearing you say over and over "hire a professional! if you do this you'll die, and it'll hurt the whole time!". I don't now, maybe that was just me lolol. seriously though, when I do make this upgrade I'm not touching it, I will let a professional do it lol.
LoL. I just don't want someone to get hurt. So if there is danger there I try to point it out. It's really not too crazy though, if you've ever replaced a plug or light switch, it's not far off from that.
But if you're not confident or unsure, nothing is wrong with that, and hiring a pro is the better and safer choice.
@@Texas_DIY the only thing I k ow about electricity, current and Voltage is that it hurts. Call the pros for sure!
Hey Jason great video. I have a couple questions I was wondering if you could help me with. I had a 50 amp interlock kit installed with a 50 amp inlet box. I want an inverter generator and none come with a 50 amp option unless you parallel two units. I would like to avoid this if possible as Invertor generators are already about double the cost as non invertor generators. I was looking at the duromax 9000 unit and wanted to know what you thought the best way to go about wiring it would be. Would it be better to get an adapter from my 50 amp cord to my 30 amp generator inlet or find a plug that goes from 50 amp to 30 amp. I will also be installing a soft start kit on my a/c as most of my other appliances are gas so 1 generator should be sufficient for my needs (and my 200 amp service) as my home is a fairly efficient new build last year. Any other advice or recommendations you have I’m very open for. Thanks so much!
I'm not aware of any inverter generators that are capable of generating 50amps alone. Some may have the 50amp plug (such as the Powerhorse 7500 / 6500 watt inverter generator). To make my parallel kit, I modified the parallel kit for this generator to use as the base wiring (it has the plugs I needed for the front panel). The Powerhorse parallel kit, is just the plugs, linking the two generators together and you actually use the front panel of one of the generators as the place to plug into (Vs. plugging into the parallel kit box at the junction point between them). So this unit has a 50amp plug, but can't actually generate that much without a second unit teamed up with it.
In your case, it would depend on what you have. If you already installed a 50amp inlet, and already own a 50amp cord, then if you want to connect a 30amp plug into it, just buy an inexpensive adapter to convert the generator to plug into your existing cord. If you already have a 30amp cord/cable, then get the adapter to convert that to plug into your 50amp inlet. That method would be the much more economical approach, no need to repurchase a whole cable or inlet.
If you're mostly all gas (including your water heater, that's at least 20amps of electrical power right there, Oven / Range, Central Heat, clothes dryer), then yeah, you can probably get by with one gen and a softstart on the AC. It usually only takes an amp or two to run the blower in your air handler when dealing with heat... so as long as you don't just go crazy with the home appliances, you'd probably be good. If you're gas across the board for heating stuff, your largest power draw will probably be the AC compressor, which depending on your unit, may burn roughly half of your capacity on a single gen. So depending on the how much you can save with the soft start, will decide how much you can have on in the house at the same time it starts up. (Once it's running though, you can turn things on again, cause the load to keep it going is still much less than the load to initially start)
So you'll need to do some testing to see what your unit can handle. If you need to run the AC, you may or may not need to turn some stuff off first in the house to let it start.
Check the temps on the inclosure. Those fans may be too small. You could also add a temp switch to turn off the gens in case of overheating like I did in mine.
I like the idea of at least being notified if things get too hot. A temp switch would be good, but I think perhaps a basic wireless meat thermometer mounted in a way that is intended to stay in there. Set the heat notification low, and it will alarm in the house if any of the temps climb too high. This is what I used for my testing (but it's also for my smoker so it's not permanently mounted in the box.
The machines themselves each have fairly powerful cooling fans that are mechanically linked to the engine. They draw cool air in through the intakes, and exhausts the hot air out of a vent located just above the engine exhaust. Since the box is otherwise sealed, by making a seal with that foam around the exhaust area, it forces the cooling fans in the generators to act as circulation fans, pulling incoming through the box. The idea being that even if the electric fans were to fail, the mechanical fans are always running, proportional to the engine speed, to draw in fresh outside air and actively blow heat out of the box. Hopefully this would avoid a major overheating (fire / meltdown) type of event
In your enclosure, if your design allows for it, you might try making a seal around the exhaust / air exhaust to the outside on yours. So far with mine, the total guess work seems to have been close enough, and the temps have always remained roughly 2-3 degrees of ambient.
How's that airflow working out for longer runs? I just finished my XP9000ih in a Suncast shed but it's still too cold outside to know if the muffler residual heat will build up inside.
The front and rear of the predators are air intakes. (the front being the most important imho because that's where the heat sinks are for the inverter. There is a mechanical fan attached to the engine that pulls quite a bit of air through the housing, and out the side just under where the exhaust is. Just feeling around with my hands while it's running.... it seems that the area around the exhaust also seems to get some of that air flow as well, so it's not just building up heat with no air movement around the muffler.
So the plan with the box, was to position the electric fans so the front of each machine has clean air being actively pumped in. (The rear of the 1st machine in line also receives air from the second fan). That left the rear of the 2nd machine with no active cooling. But I figured that the mechanical fans in the generators will outrun the fans, so I found some expanding foam tape (it expands up to 1") at Lowes, and used that around the exhaust exits from the housing. This effectively sealed / separated the air going out, from the air coming in, and will create a bit of a vacuum inside the housing. So there is a vent at the rear of the 2nd unit, and with the lid shut, there is indeed a slight vacuum there (just enough to pull up a piece of paper against the intake)
I ran them for several hours, and used a 4 probe BBQ wireless temp monitor, positioning one probe on the outside as the ambient baseline, and the remaining three probes positioned at the front of machine one, between the rear of machine one and the front of machine two, and the rear of machine two. The internal temp of any of the probes never went even one degree higher than ambient... so I think I've got it balanced fairly well.
And if there was just a super hot day, where things weren't cooling, I could always just leave the lid open, and let the fan in the machines pull air through normally.
Thank you for video.
Could you tell, how to find phases Y and X on generator for connect into home electric box to phases Y and X .
L1 is usually Black and L2 is usually Red. In my box one leg was marked with red and the other with Black. (Neutral is white) I just kept the colors consistent through the whole thing.
But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter, they alternate back and forth 60 times per second. Just make sure you wire them the same in the parallel kit (red to red, black to black, white to white, etc. etc.)
What if you have a nat gas furnace for home and for a pool? Do you think it'll be able to power those + everything else?
You'd have to look at your overall power usage, but for an average totally GAS home? Yeah, one unit probably would work.
Things to ask:
Is your water heater gas as well? (that's 20amps for me alone, so if it's electric, that's half your power budget right there with one generator)
What about your clothes dryer? (that one is a huge load for me there, that pretty much has to stay off unless I've turned off the heat and/or the water heater)
If your stove/range Gas or Electric? (that's proportional, so you can only use one burner for example and not pull too much)
Do you have a heat pump that is assisted by gas, or is the heat only gas and the AC is the only thing using the outside compressor? (A heat pump will pull more when it runs the compressor, and you'd benefit from a soft start (see my other video covering that)
It's best if you get a meter and check these things. But pretty much if all the things I mentioned are gas (or just not used in an outage) you'd probably be ok assuming you don't have a ton of other appliances running (freezers, lots of computers, etc.) Also what your computers are doing actually matters a lot. My PC at idle or doing web browsing and such, not much juice at all... maybe 60-80watts... start coin mining with it, or heavy gaming, suddenly 200watts. Also worth considering, is how power much does your pool pump use? In freezing weather, I'd assume you'd definitely want to keep that on and circulating to not freeze up.
All my stuff is electric, so while I can't totally go crazy and turn everything on... with the generator pair combined, I don't have to think about it too much, but without very heavy rationing, one just isn't enough.
Nice !!!!
Thanks!!
Damn good video.
Thanks!
Curious about this generator and the 240 volt references as I have a Westinghouse 9500 which has a 50 amp outlet and supplies 240 volts. It will run one of my AC condensers and attic blower.
A 50amp outlet doesn't mean the generator can make 50amps. That's just what the outlet is rated for. that generator will push 9500 watts continuous with 12500 peak. So it might just have enough to kick off the compressor and run it. Depends on your system and the specs. Note that's not an inverter generator though.
Hello.. thank you for your video.. I have noticed that many people don't mention anything about the Romex cable Guage. They only say 4 wire red, white, green, black, and ground.
What Guage romex are you using?.
Thanks
Pretty sure I used 6 gauge. There are calculators online you can use to determine what you should do (longer runs need thicker cable).
Are the Predator 9500 Inverter Generators neutral bonded?
Very well-done video. Just curious why you went with 2 generators. Is there any benefit to running 2 in parallel?
Double the power output. (when using inverter generators, they sync with each other) I have several other videos covering some of these aspects.
ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html
Great video and great setup! Do you have a link to the electric fans you used for your box? Thanks!
I don't have a link or model number, I'd had them for several years. They're standard common automotive fans that you can get in most any parts store.
Do they make a 50 amp inlet box with the plug on the bottom so the plug of the jumper cable is in a natural position and not sticking straight out from where you mount it.? Also, is there an inter lock device for your house breaker panel that you can lock out.? Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge?
That really would be a design improvement, kinda wish it faced down. Would be better all around.
Good video. I have a 30A generator, and was planning on installing at 30A output to connect it to the load center. I can see the advantage of making that 50A, so it's as you said, "future-proof".
However for the circuit breaker that goes in the load center, am I okay with installing a 50A breaker? With a 30A generator, that should never trip; whereas if there was a 30A breaker, and there was an overload situation, I'd think it would trip, providing some extra protection.
Swapping out a 30A for 50A breaker is $20, and the effort to change a breaker (minimal) That at least saves trying to repull and install 6G vs 10G wire and receptacle.
It's up to you. If it were me, I'd rate the breaker for the amperage the inlet plug can handle. The generator will still cut off on it's own if you exceed it's capabilities. Breakers are more to protect the wiring from becoming too hot and causing a fire in a wall or cable, when the available power would exceed what the wiring could handle. (the power company isn't limited to 30-40amps). But I'm not an electrician, and don't even play one on TV, so consult a professional, not a dude on the internet... :-)
Does the 50 amp breaker for the generator need to be double pole? I’ve seen some with 2 “poles” each with 50A on them, and others that are the same physical size of a double pole breaker but only have one switch.
I'm not an electrician, and don't even play one on TV. But I'd say Yes. Each leg to neutral is 120VAC, and the two hot legs to each other are 240VAC. So if the main breaker only switched one leg, then the other side would still be hot with at least 120VAC. So it would need to open the circuit for both legs of the incoming voltage to be safe.
Don't you need to use both the 120V and the 240V 30A circuits on the predator to utilize the max power output from one of these generators?
Ideally yeah, so you can pull the max amperage of each leg (assuming you're just using 120V)
Think of it almost like two 120V generators in one. Over 30Amps from each. (or if you're using 240 then over 30Amps of 240 with them combined)
2 years old...BUT direct, to the point and complete.......NO BULL$sh!t. this is what i like
Glad it was helpful. I can't stand click-bait headlines and ridiculous video icons of the person's face pulling the most stupid expression they can manage... You don't find out my cat's name, what I had for breakfast, or any other filler BS. Just the info, go go go, pause if you need to and back up.
I won't ever have a million subscribers (don't beg for "smashing that bell" and subscriptions), but my videos (when I make them) try very hard to be useful and more about the subject matter than my ego. :-)
Awesome....You mentioned having your generators connected inline...How did you do that to obtain the 240V. Great video tutorial...
The generators are both 240V. I have several videos in the series that explain:
ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html
Working on doing this now after Ian, while it would be so nice to have 240v the Predator will use about 10 gallons of fuel a day, and in real disaster situations fuel can be scarce, and going out to get it is a major pain. So I decided to get two of the 4500w smaller generators with the parallel kit. I can run just one for basics like lights, fans, fridge etc (made it thru 5 days w/o power with a tiny 2000w doing this) but if say we want to watch TV, or I need to get on the computer I have the option to kick on the 2nd generator to get 50amp worth of power if needed. I also have the 2 is one, one is none backup in case of generator failure.
I assume from all my research over the last several days, I just needed to ensure I do not have any MBEC's (I don't as far as I can tell) and it would be a good idea to turn off the breaker for all my 240v appliances as I will no longer be sending out of phase power while powering both sides of the box with 120v.
The 4500w generator runs 14 hours off 2.3gallons of fuel vs the larger generators using about double that. So 1 5 gallon gas can will get me thru 24 hours no issues.
I don't see myself using any of the 240v appliances during an emergency situation, propane stove/grill for cooking instead of the stove, fans instead of AC, suck it up for cold showers, and do laundry after the disaster is over (or if really needed the washer is 120v and line dry cloths).
Since you seem to have done much of this research, does this sound like a good plan?
Also HF has been increasing prices a lot the last couple of years that generator is now $2400, but they do have a VERY similar 8750w model for only $1300, runs kind of loud though at 75db, that is another slight advantage to the smaller generators only 61db vs the 9000w Predator at 67db.
You can do that. Turning off the 240/220 breakers would be best. I'm not sure what would happen with them if the same phase were fed into both legs. (better "off" than fried)
When running in Eco mode, these things will throttle down quite a bit and use fuel proportional to the output. Unless the output is so low it's idle, in which case, just turn one off to save fuel. But yeah, larger engines will in general use large amounts of fuel.
But if you're willing to make those compromises, it seems like a fair option.
Also check out the GENMAX GM9000iED. It's the same manufacturer as the Duromax and the Predator, but with all the shortcomings of each fixed. Rear exhaust, has an oilfilter, the air filter is actually accessible, nice displays, natural gas option built-in, etc. Might be a good fit.
@@Texas_DIY Thanks for the quick reply, I might be in a bit of a bind actually. My indoor panel does not have a main breaker to use with a interlock, by the meter I have a single switch for the mains with nowhere to install a breaker to injest power from the generator.
So that leaves me having to maybe use a transfer switch setup, harder to install, more cost. Still cheaper than using something like the generlink.
Ideally with how hard fuel can be to come by in a real emergency I would prefer 2x 4500w generators to a single 9000w so I can have the extra power on demand if needed, but use less fuel when not needed, also having the extra generator if a failure happens, but it seems there are no 4500w 240v generators, and it's starting to look like the best way to hook them up for me requires 240v.
You rule!
lol Thanks. Glad you liked it.
I noticed you installed an Eaton interlock into an Eaton panel. In the intelock kit they supply a lingvscrew and a holddown clip. I have heard when you add a breaker to switch backup feed NEC requires additional holddown for the breaker. Did you do this? If so how. If nnot, did it pass inspection?
You are supposed to have something on the inlet breaker that prevents it from being easily popped loose and moved. It can be something as simple as a zip tie, there doesn't seem to be a rule on what it is. I didn't add that, but if I sell the house or need to it's easily added.
wish you would have added amazon links - but thanks very informative 👍🏻
Glad you liked it. Did links on some of the other videos, but they seem to change semi-frequently on Amazon, didn't want them to become invalid. Plus I'm not really trying to plug any particular merchant, just showing stuff I found useful.
Hell yeah 👍
There are several videos in the playlist / series that cover the whole project. (Soft Start for the AC, parallel kit for the generators, etc.)
Thank you for the explanation, i have a champion generator 11500 running 9,200, would it power my home , i have my inlet box 50 amp , just need my extension to hook to the generator, my electric guy say to buy 25 feet , but what wattage i buy?
If you're buying a pre-made cable, just get one rated for the 50 amps you're connecting to, going higher will never be a bad thing.
I use a Micro-Air Easy Start soft start kit to reduce starting watts from 73 to 26 on my 2 1/2 ton hvac with my Champion tri fuel and NG.
Nice. You got some good numbers off that one.
@@Texas_DIY 👍🏼
Jay , love your video, setting my predator 9500 up very similar, Have had conversations on should I also ground the generator to the same grounding rod as the house for safety, would like to know your opinion, thanks
So many possibilities here… is the generator a floating neutral or a bonded neutral. Does your transfer switch maintain the main service panel neutral bond to the generator when switched in. If the generator is bonded and is supplying power to the bonded main panel in the house, this could create a circuit within a circuit that may be against code. There are other bond/no bond considerations. When in doubt give an electrician a shout.
Some people will disconnect the ground from the back of the panel on the generators. If it's a permanent install, it's accepted that this should be done. However for temp installs (easily disconnectable ones with portable generators) the consensus seems to be "do it if you want, but no biggie". I've not bothered and have no issues.
Excellent information. One question I have is, on the 9500 the outlet is 4 prong 30 amp (x, y, neutral, ground) but the 50 amp inlet is 3 prong (X, Y, neutral/ground?) Why is that? Thanks.
It's just the way they designed the standard plugs. On the larger 50amp plug, the ground is on the outside of the barrel, so it has all 4, it's just in a different place.
@@Texas_DIY Got it thanks
Jason great video...thank you! I bought a Duromax 9000 and it comes with only one 240v 14/30r 30AMP outlet. I followed your advice and I bought a Reliance PBN50 50AMP power inlet box. My cord coming from the generator is a 30AMP 14-30r 8/4 gauge. Can I safely connect my 30AMP cord into the 50AMP home power inlet? Thanks!
Also should I keep the same cord or upgrade to a 30AMP 14-30R 6/4 gauge 75 feet generator cord?
240v is 240v in this context, it's just what the max amps that your cord and socket are rated for. A single generator will usually just have a 30amp female socket. Mine is the same. It's up to you how you want to adapt it to fit your 50a inlet. They make adapters that will convert the 50a inlet into a 30a inlet, or you could go the other direction and adapt the 30a socket to a 50a socket at the generator side, and use a 50a cord.
Personally, I would opt for the 50a cable/cord that plugs directly into your inlet, and ends in the dryer plug. And then use an adapter from there to make it plug into your 30a generator. This way, you have everything you need should you want to upgrade to two generators, or connect in a larger 50a generator, without having to buy a new extension cable.
An example of an inexpensive adapter to do that:
www.amazon.com/RVGUARD-Generator-Adapter-L14-30P-Indicator/dp/B085H7BPM7
Up to you and your needs. My opinion would be to use a 50a cord, and a cheap adapter to convert it at the generator. That way you can upgrade or use different more powerful generators, without having to also upgrade your cable/cord.
@@Texas_DIY Thank you!!! I'm going to return my 30amp cord and look for a good 50amp one and an adapter
The HF 9500 has 30A 220V sockets but no 50A - how did you get the whole 9,500W into your panel pls? Great video!
9500 is the surge rating. Running normally it's pushing around 30A of 240VAC. I have several videos in this series, that go into the parallel kit I used, and how it connects to the house. It should answer all your questions and more.
ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html
Great information! How does the Predator compare to Westinghouse?
Not sure. The main "competition" seems to be one from Duromax, and another, the GENMAX GM9000iED. All are ultimately made by the same factory, so the internals are pretty much the same with minor variations.
But the factory seems to have taken and eliminated the shortcomings of both the Duromax and the Predator with the GenMax model. It's dual fuel, has a readily accessible air filter, has an oil filter, and does rear exhaust so the units can run side by side, and has the auto-start goodies.
I had a question. What if I need more than 50amps. How do you use the total of 15000wAtts (the two of them in parallel) running through the 50amp outlet?
Technically, you should get a bigger outlet. The problem is, above 50amps, you start getting into strange, unique plugs and connection stuff. Over 50amp inlets and connectors are not really standardized that I've seen for residential use.
If you really needed, consistently, more than 60amps, you'd need a 3rd generator, and you'd just hard wire everything in, ideally combining everything together in the breaker box, and feeding it in via a single, interlocked appropriate breaker. Such that there is no quick disconnect, and you just have parallel cables.
In my case, the combined continuous output capability is closer to 60amps, but you really shouldn't be maxing out the generators in that way, cause you're hanging just on the edge of them shutting down. So I'm comfortable with my setup in this way as I don't expect more than 50 to 55 amps to be pulled from it continuously for any significant length of time. A 50amp socket won't instantly self-destruct if you pull 55 or 60amps through it, but it's not something that should be done continuously.
Really, though if you need that much juice (70, 80+amps), you're well past portable generator territory, and firmly into a proper whole house generator setup, and needing a professional installation.
Hi JayTX, if I don't need a 50A plug can I simply use the Powerhorse Parallel Cable Kit witout all the additional DIY steps you've shown in this video?
The Powerhorse cable just gives you the plugs to hook into the parallel ports on the generators. You've still got to get the power out of them. And the outlets on the front face of these units tap out at 30a, so you'd not have a means of getting two generator's worth of power, from an outlet that has a breaker that trips at one generator's worth of power.
That's what the parallel kit did, taking the connection/power from both, and providing a single 50a outlet with the combined power.
Some generators like these ARE equipped with a 50a plug on the front face, so when you use a cable like the Powerhorse one, you don't need a parallel kit, because the front panel does it for you. Unfortunately, the harbor freight ones are not like that, and the voltage / amperage has to be combined externally.
The videos where I cover the parallel kit are on this playlist:
ua-cam.com/play/PLzoNthJzzMFQ877vyCfoc53oDQqGFAIKN.html
@@Texas_DIY Thanks for the reply, in my situation I do not need a 50A plug. I am powering a rather large audio system and a 30A plug will work for me but I need more power than just one of the 9,500 gen will produce which is why I am paralleling them.
As I understand it, the L5-30 plug is 30A but for the L14-30 is 2 x 30A, so 60A. The L14-30 has 2 hot legs, a neutral and a ground. Each hot leg has access to 30A on opposite poles of the phase swing. The L5-30 has one hot and one neutral, so only one 30A circuit is accessed through that socket.
So I should be able to use the Powerhorse kit and plug directly into the Predatopr 30A L14-30 plug - I am a neophyte and just learning and appreciate your help if I a missing something
I'm not an electrician, and don't even play one on TV... and it may be wrong, particularly with regard to the very unbalanced loads on 120, that said, this is my understanding and what I've observed on mine:
The L530 is 120V. 3 pins. Hot Neutral Ground So there isn't a pin for the other leg to make it 240. it's going to get all of it's 120V from either X or Y, so you are limited to 30a of 120V, full stop.
The L14-30 is 240V. 4 Pins Hot, Hot, Neutral, Ground. So you can get 240 and/or 2 legs of 120 from it. You could get 30a of 240v (which is using X and Y) or you could get 30a from X, and another separate 30a from Y (assuming there were no 240v loads).
The breaker on the front panel "watches" each leg, of the L14 socket, preventing no more than 30amps from passing through any one leg at any given time. If you were running only 120V devices, you could pull 30a from X, and another 30a from Y... so yeah, 60a TOTAL of 120V, but no more than 30 from each side.
So if your amplifier were 120V, and was super crazy and somehow needed MORE than 30a, your out of luck, cause 120 has to come from either x or y, and it can't be more than 30 on either single one. But, if your amp needed say 17amps, and you had lights needing 10amps, and a fog machine needing 15amps, you could split them up, and put the lights and fog machine (25a total) on X, and the Amp (17a) on Y.
But you couldn't put the Amp and the fog machine together on one leg/circuit, because that would be 32a which is too much for the breaker to allow.
If you had a 240V AMP, and it used 20a, (out of 30 available) that would mean you still had 10a of available 120v power on X and on Y, so yes, 20a of 120v is available in TOTAL... But you could not plug in a 120v 20a fog machine because you only had 10a left on any one leg. So wherever you plugged in the fog machine, it would be trying to pull a total of 40amps (20 + 20) from that leg, and it would trip the breaker.
So merging two Predator generators directly together won't help you in this case you are describing. Because you are still limited by the max output of the breaker on that front panel. If you just used the powerhorse cable, and hooked the two together, then yes they'd sync, and your combined generators would be CAPABLE of making more than 30a, but, the breaker still won't allow more than 30a to pass through any one leg without shutting off... so you are still no better off than you were with one generator that was capable of making 30a all by itself.
When you use a parallel kit on these with a 50a plug, the parallel ports on the generators are bypassing the breakers and the outlets on the front. The parallel kit still works even if you turn off all the breakers on the front panel. So it's taking the full power from each machine, and since they sync with each other, it's double the output of one machine, and since you are supplying a new plug that is not protected by a 30a breaker, and so you now have roughly 60a available (and thus you need that more substantial plug, in my case, the 50a dryer plug to handle that).
(NOTE: If you are not feeding this into a food truck, or house, via an inlet and a breaker, and just running AV stuff directly from it, you REALLY need to have a breaker in the parallel kit. There should always be a breaker involved, in the videos I made on this, there is a box I called out that can do breakers, use that one if you make a kit)