Using a Predator 3500 Inverter/Generator to Power My House During a Blackout
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- Опубліковано 28 лип 2024
- If the power goes out, can you power your house using only a portable generator? That's what I'm finding out! In this video I'm using my Harbor Freight Predator 3500 inverter generator to energize my main electrical panel to provide electricity for my entire house. Spoiler alert: It works great!
Amazon Affiliate Links for the items in my video.
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Electrical panel generator interlock kit (buy the one that fits your panel) - amzn.to/3pzQ4Nv
3 to 4 prong adapter for Predator - amzn.to/3awVLHJ
Generator Extension Cord - amzn.to/3k4Dnt4 - Навчання та стиль
I'm in Texas and just went through the historic freeze and blackouts down here this week...I used this generator to basically power my RV in my driveway the entire week and it worked like a champ. Ended up getting around 10-11 hours or so in running all the lights, tv, fridge/freezer, main furnace and an electric fireplace. Great little generator. I have a large Champion generator in the garage that I didn't bother to take out as it's so noisy - the Predator is super quiet. Perfect for trying to be discreet when you're one of the only houses in the neighborhood with a generator running!
I have two friends that are linemen. They anticipate people feeding the grid with their generators during a power outage. They aren't caught by surprise and treat every circuit as live.
That's basic to treat all lines as hot from residential, industrial, linesman... I'm glad your friends informed you of this, they know you probably appreciate how they are are called out in a moment with hours of tedious work. I was an industrial maintenance technician and our only person qualified to do electrical overnight where I was. It is dangerous but fulfilling.
Got to say whoever put that filter box on your furnace is golden. Well done!
That is so cool ! That’s a very impressive piece of equipment.
Thank you!
Great info. I had just purchased it. I'm a former Minnesotan, smart enough to move south to OKLAHOMA. 👍
Oklahoma is great! I have family down there. But as a transplant TO Minnesota, I couldn't see myself living anywhere else.
This IS the video ive been looking for, thank you so much! I have this same generator that ive never used. Currently having a hurricane hitting us and have this ready just incase.
Thank you! Good luck with the hurricane! Stay safe.
Great video, answered all of my questions.
Thank you very much! I'm glad you found it helpful.
May sound dumb but I couldn’t have been happier hearing the safety tips a lot of people could care less but when you take the time to help people out it means a lot, it’s crazy the new models are coming with a carbon monoxide detector so it automatically shuts the unit off
Great video, I will have to check on the shared neutrals.
Thank you! It works like a charm in my situation but obviously every setup is different.
Nice review. I made my own "adapter" plug to go from 3 prong twist lock to 4. This jumps both legs giving the 120 volts to both legs in the panel. This is definitely a great option. I turn on all but the 240 volt breakers and manage my usage inside. The rules are: 1 major component at a time. Completely doable.
I absolutely agree! No AC, space heaters, or dryer and it's good to go.
Great video! I understood everything you did! Thanks 👍
Thank you!
Great video, lots of very good info.
Thank you!
Enjoyed your video. Thank you.
Thank you for the comment!
Thanks Mr MN, I’m looking at sim 3000W DC inverter for clean power, less fuel, quiet. We don’t require any 220V for temporary outage. I am pursuing propane dual fuel. I have 20 years experience/effort with an old AC gen, keeping automobile gas fresh and carb not gummed up, talking decades, what a drag, definitely wish to avoid auto gas this time, adding stabil and putting tiny amounts in tank to exercise it every few months and then running carb completely dry, all that smelly gas hoorah. (I’ve been given hint more recently to avoid any ethanol in gas, use recreational vehicle gas, remains volatile much longer). But, propane lasts and lasts, going for that. I hope to find several 30 lb. tanks instead of just 20 lb. We have a local refill station. My neighbor is licensed electrician, I’m going to chat with him on hook up options. Prior home, just two 12/2 regular house wiring lines, one for each 16A circuit and had several emergency power outlets to very simply plug necessaries in to, completely and totally SEPARATE from ANY regular power circuits. Everyone remember to exercise your generator every month or three to be sure all is “go” after the power goes out. Put recurring reminder on e-calendar.
Fantastic video BUT should mention to the viewers, so they don’t burn their house down, that the bridged cord adapter (3 prong to 4 prong) is only safe if the house has no shared neutral circuits. The neutral wire is not protected by a circuit breaker and can get overloaded and cause a fire in those circuits that use a shared neutral wire. On a regular 240v panel , the circuits are 180 degrees phase out from each other and are thus safe. This 120v generator is energizing the entire panel , all on the same phase , which it wasn’t designed to do…. The setup in the video can be safe if the house has no shared neutrals…. Around here almost all new construction uses shared neutrals as it lowers the cost by using less of the expensive copper wire used to wire up the house
How do you know if your house has shared neutrals?
While this is correct, you would need to be using a very large amount of 120v power before this became an issue. More power than your typical inverter will put out.
In the video you can see him flipping on his split 15a breakers which would have shared neutrals for sure.
When my power went out the first problem was that it was completely dark, so a single permanently lit LED was a great guide til I found the first portable lantern.
If I was prepping for a Texas style power outage I'd want a gasoline generator AND a natural gas generator. A friend in CA had to take a generator to a gas station so that they could pump gasoline.
Your saving the world one led light bulb at a time , the biggest difference anyone can make 👍
Thank you very much! I'm definitely trying!
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos Have you thought about a battery bank/power wall and separate inverter to ease the peak loads on the generator 😉 thanks for reply PS I have the Loncin 3500 available here in UK
I would absolutely love to install a Powerwall. That would actually eliminate my need for the generator backup because I have a solar array on my roof. But unfortunately, the prices on those babies haven't come down enough to justify getting one considering we lose power maybe 1-2 times a year. And only for a few hours at a time.
My offgrid home draws about 3000 watts if i made an effort to get everything to come on at once. 3kw is a LOT of power. I run a generator 4 or 5 times a winter during those times when the wind isnt blowing or sun shining. I do the laundry, charge up every cordless tool, watch movies, anything to gobble up the excess.
Im using the (almost) same setup in my townhouse, but you dont actually need to use the 4 prong adapter and the double pole breaker. You can use a single pole 30 amp breaker and arrange your breakers to power your essentials. You just find out what breakers you want to use and place them "every other" position in the panel., your way is better but just throwing that out there if your on a budget.
The main reason why you would use a double pole breaker, is to feed power to both phases of the panel. If you only use a single pole you will only feed half the breaker panel. So if you want to feed both phases with a single pole. Use a jumper from one single pole to the next. Either above or below.
I bought the 2000 watt version right before the freeze,My power went off for about 6 hours,Used it to run my wall heater it worked great.
That smaller version is so quiet, it's insane!
For the money it works great.The only thing i don't is you have to take the side cover off to check the oil,but otherwise a great little unit.
Great video. I have a 3500 and am going to upgrade to the newer 9500. The 35 should be easy to move.
That 9500 looks amazing! I just don't see any reason I'd need that much power (unless it's a long term grid down scenario.)
Wow, I was going to purchase the 9500 as my first generator but you just showed that I might just need this or purchase 2 for redundancy. . Thanks.
The 9500 looks amazing but dang is it big. For my needs, it's overkill. If you are going for a long time without power and want to run your dryer or AC, then it's probably worth it. But the 3500 does well for backup purposes.
Coping this rn
You can not run any 240 volt. None at all. If you buy a 4 prong to 3 adapter, the 4 prong side will be " bridged" inside the plug. So you will get 120 volts to both legs at your service.
To confirm, you can do a continuity test with your DMM.
Turn off all 240 breakers at the service, and definitely use a generator interlock switch.
If people do exactly as you showed they will be fine. I've backfed 3 houses for 25+ years with no problems at all. Always remember,,, 1st thing is shut that main OFF and last thing AFTER generator is unplugged is turn main back on. I now have 2 of those Predators along with my bigger gens for 220 V. Same as you my Predator runs everything using about 17 amps but the water heater and well have to be powered by the bigger gen when I need them. You did everything just right. Great, common sense video. Thank you.
Thank you very much!
I have almost the exact set up as yours (without solar panels) and my GFI's will not work, which means no fridge and no sump pump.......i tried running a ground wire from Predator to a ground rod and that worked one time but since then it is not.......I'm stumped!!
I bought a Predator 3500 to have onhand for occasional power outage here in SoCal. I have gas heat, gas/tankless water heater, NO air-con, gas dryer, gas oven-stove, and of course the biggest draw a refrigerator. I too replaced all bulbs with LED. Had electrician install a transfer sub panel. I'm ready to go. For now the generator is gasoline only but I'm thinking about fitting a kit to allow it to run on propane/natural gas/gasoline. I have two cars in the garage so the gasoline in their tanks is available should I need extra fuel for any extended outage. Fortunately heat is not super necessary here unless there's a cold snap, my biggest concern was food storage (refrig), basic lighting, cooking, and water heating. I sleep better at night knowing I have this ready.
That's the perfect setup! I've looked into the LP conversion kits also. Mine runs like a champion to power my entire house aside from the dryer or AC.
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos I've had it ready for the last 18 months, and every 3 months I run the generator to ensure it's operating. I'm actually looking forward to an outage, preferably at night, so I can be the only house on the block with lights!
Nice, thanks for the video. I was thinking about how this would work with solar panels. It appears that you uploaded this video 3 days ago, did you notice any changes with your solar panel set up? Meaning nothing broke, everything is back to normal. Did you try using your Sense app to see how many watts you were using? Again thanks.
I shut them down for the test in this video but once I turned them back on, everything is normal. I thought about putting my Sense clamps on the generator breaker to see the usage in real time but I didn't feel like taking my entire electrical panel apart again.
GREAT VIDEO! This video was the best and most informative video I have seen yet on powering a home on a smaller generator! I will need to run my air conditioner here in FL in my newly constructed, energy efficient, 2 month old, 1540 sq ft home. Will the 3500 still be powerful enough for my home? Thanks!
Thank you for the comment!
An AC system requires 2 phases of 120v, the 3500 only has one phase. You would need a more expensive generator. The Predator 8750 open frame should work.
www.harborfreight.com/8750-watt-inverter-generator-with-co-secure-technology-57480.html
@@gregconroy5189 Thank you for responding. I went with the Westinghouse 9500 Dual Fuel generator & had a licensed electrician hook it up to my outside electrical box yesterday.
I will be posting a video soon of how I did this with my 240 v central air with two honDa eu2000s and a transformer, and a soft start, the predator 3500 would also work. The trick is the soft start and the transformer but it did indeed work.
Great video. I’m having an interlock switch installed by an electrician in a week or two. I’m trying to decide which size inverter generator to buy. I was thinking a 5500 but now I’m wondering. Thanks. For the info.
I like the Predator 5000 with 3900 watts continuous. Your 30 amp 120 volt breaker mates well with this by limiting any load over 3600 watts. If you throw a bit more load at it than that, the breaker will flip. With a 3500 model that provides 3000 watts continuous, a smaller 3400 watt load will shut down the generator. Just thinking out loud and I'm Not an electrician.
Biggest fish heater I could find is only 300 w 50 gallon tank only needs 50 Watts so there's no way you would have to shut that off.
Short answer: If you have your grid interactive solar is still connected and you're on backup generator. After about 5 or more minutes, your solar system will attempt to qualify the power that it sees and attempt to produce power. Any power that your house don't consume will end up being pushed to your generator since it thinks its the utility grid. Best case scenario, it trips out the generator and the power goes out. Worse case, it'll damage solar system and/or generator.
Long answer: If you're using a 120/240 split phase inverter generator like a Predator 9500 or a Honda EU7000is. Second, if your solar grid interactive maximum wattage output is slighly less than the constant power needed in your home being used 24/7. In theory they can work together creating an offset where the generator will be in eco/idle mode just to maintain a "grid" reference. When there is more draw that the solar system can produce, the generator will idle up to help maintain that load. At anytime that a load drops and the solar system is now producing more power than the home is able to consume, the excess power will be push back to your generator and bad things may happen.
I'm thinking about buying one of these Incase power goes out in Texas heat. I'll need to power a 10,000 BTU window unit, a fridge, and TV
Check the amp and watts on that AC. Otherwise, the generator will definitely handle the rest no sweat.
how did you create the jump box to go from the generator to the control panel
I installed a 50 amp breaker on the main panel and ran heavy gauge wire through the wall. It was originally used for a hot tub but i modified the box and installed a plug in for the generator extension cable.
I'm confused. I thought going from 120 to 240 only half of your circuits would work. I know the 240v circuits definitely don't, but wouldn't half of the 120v circuits not work?
How did it do under eco mode, or do you recommend using eco mode
Eco mode is great for when it's hooked up to my RV but if it's hooked up to the house, I shut it off. It wouldn't cycle down that low anyways since my "always on" load is around 500 watts.
I called a local electrician to ask about hooking something up for me but he said if my generator didn't have a 220v twist lock that I couldn't use it? I just bought a westinghouse igen4500df it has a 30amp rv plug but no twist lock and no 220v outlet. So did this guy not know what he's talking about or am I missing something..... thanks for any help you can give me
All of the generators I've seen hooked up for home use (or home backup use) had the twist lock. Unfortunately I'm not an electrician so I can't answer the question 100%. But he might be onto something there.
Need Help from you or your viewers. Thanks...
I need 240 to run my Well during power outages.
The power for the Well is coming off a RV Hookup that's 240 volt 50amp breaker.
I have a Conversion Cord for the RV Hook Up to give me 4 Power Oulets at 110.
Can I use the 2 Oulets on the Predator 3500 Inverter to back feed through the coversion cord to opetate some of my house and have the 240 for the Well?
Hurricane Ian heading my way.
Thanks... Dwayne
I unfortunately don't have an answer for that because the generator isn't rated for 240 so I haven't tried it. The bigger question is what sort of power does the well draw? How many watts and amps on that 240?
You are running everything on 120v right?
Yep. I shut off all the 240 breakers.
I was told by an electrician that only one leg of my breaker box will work when connected to 120 power from the generator. Is that not correct?
My whole house powers up the way my panel is configured. I didn't do anything extra to it.
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos I am amazed, how did you get yours to work this way? I am being told something very different
I wired the input into an existing 240v connection that was there from my old hot tub. The 2 120v breakers that power it span both sides of my breaker box.
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos what happens if you forgot to turn off your other 240 devices
Your adapter plug/pigtail has the hot leg shared/jumped feeding the other 120v pin giving it a false 240v or 2 phase condition. This is why it’s able to back feed through your 240 breaker and down to all of your 120v breakers. Pretty simple honestly. Just watch your draw and do not operate any 240v appliances ie electric range or electric water heater ect and you’ll be fine
Quick question for you. Being your generator is only putting out on 110. Your house being 220. The basics as i understand them. Half your breakers run in one lug at 110 the other half run exactly opposite on the other 110 coming into your house. I noticed you had a couple 220 breakers in your box. Maybe for the AC or a well pump. Do your 220 appliances somehow work? Even though you are feeding both lugs with the same 110 phase? Sorry if my terminology isn't quite correct. Hopefully you can grasp what I'm asking? Id be concerned with frying something?
I left the 220's off because the generator couldn't handle them. That's for the clothes dryer and air conditioning. I'm not sure if they would even operate with a larger generator but I can't test it since both the ac and the dryer pull too many watts for my generator.
I leave all 240 volt breakers turned off during backup power. Then, you can tie both 120 volt legs together so all circuits have power. Of course, the main breaker is off.
I run a 10k peek 8k continuous duromax generator. It will run 220v at 30amps, it runs my two and a half ton air conditioner just fine plus everything else in the house; 2 deep freezers, 2 refrigerators, lights, TV's, routers. I keep the dryer off too when the generator is running.
Where did you tie the two 110 volt lugs together? In the outside input box or in the generator extension cord?
@@BBQMike7108 the problem with a really big machine is the fuel issue. The generator he is using will use less than 5 gallons per day. A larger generator will use 12 gallons or more per day. I’m not concerned with efficiency, I’m concerned about resupply. If whatever left you in the dark, also takes out your local gas station, you won’t be able to store enough fuel. You will be standing in line at one of the few stations that was prepared, with the 1000 other folks that have to buy fuel every day.
Does going from a 4 prong down to a 3 prong with an adapter cause problems?
None that I've had so far.
I’m experiencing that I only have one hot wire instead of two going from the 3 prong to the 4 prong . With a 2 pole 30 amp breaker for the interlock is causing it to only energizing every other breaker on a 2 phase panel.
Do you have the outlet wired correctly? I definitely had 2 hot coming out of the 4 prong "inlet" on the side of my house.
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos Thanks for the reply! Not sure if it is the generator or the L5 to L14 adapter. I checked the voltage on the generator receptacle and I am reading around 60 volt between ground - neutral and ground - hot. The only 120 volt is between hot and neutral. I would thing that ground and neutral would read zero volts.
I ordered the adapter you have listed. That one bridges the x and y, so this should work..hopefully 🤞
Did you get the warranty for that? I've seen mixed reviews about the Predator.
I did not but I know Harbor Freight has a pretty amazing extended warranty available for their stuff. I've had it for over 5 years and she's still running strong!
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos Thanks for the reply, glad it's still running strong! I am torn between this and a Westinghouse inverter/generator. Westinghouse has a 3-year warranty, but I have heard mixed things about them as well.
I know that the Predator is a fan favorite amongst the RV community because of its cost, reliability, and just how quiet it is. I can't speak for the other brand unfortunately but I can definitely put my stamp of approval on the Predator.
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos I know what you mean, and I have seen it be praised mainly for RV's and for some using it for home outages. I appreciate the info, I may just pull the trigger on this Predator. I would be using it for my home like you did in the video.
New Sub, I gotta question, can those predator 3500 W generators run two 1500 Watt space heaters simultaneously?
Yes! But that'll be pretty much it.
@dontburnthehousedownvideos That's kinda what I thought. Let me ask you a question. I heard that these predator generators could be combined for extra power. Have you experimented with that yet?
I haven't done anything with the parallel kit as I only have one generator. But Harbor Freight JUST released a 5000w dual fuel inverter in the same family. Runs on LP and Gas and only costs $200 more. If you need a little more juice, I would go that route.
@dontburnthehousedownvideos Thanks, buddy, you got some great videos. Keep up the good work & keep em coming.
Thank you very much man. I appreciate it!
I want to see you wire it to everything.
How do you mean?
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos hooking the outlet to the house, wiring the panel
In the near future I'm actually going to rewire that outlet so I will be sure to make a video on it!
With all due respect i am watching this great Video. The main thing i have notice is your heavy breathing with you just walking from room to room. PLEASE look into this. I am a father of three and i want to be with them as long as possible, Thanks
Walking and talking has never been my strong suit. 😂 Actually, I suffered some lung trauma back in 2018 that left some scaring so I get out of breath quickly. On top of that I'm fat, but I'm working hard on getting that down. Thank you for the comment! I do appreciate the respectful concern.
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos I noticed that too, but just thought you were excited to be wielding that power from a machine called predator. haha.
Can you parallel the 3500 Predator with 2K Honda?
I don't believe so.
You would not want to parallel with different size generators, as your load will exceed the 2k before exceeding the 3500.
I just watched you turn on a 240V breaker. and that is dangerous, because the Predator is a 120V generator and doesn't do 240v . I don't think you know exactly what you are doing.
Breakers aren't dangerous. What's attached to them is. I thought i Ieft them all off but regardless, I know not to try and operate the dryer or AC on generator power.
You can turn the breakers on of course, but not any 240v appliance.
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos Your AC most likely has a 220v/24v Transformer that you will feed 110v to if you turn on the Breaker. 220v Oven has electronics that feed off the 220v line. I turn ALL my 220V breakers OFF.
Each side is a different 120volt phase. The power from the electric lines is 180 degrees of dual 120volt. As the Predator 3500 only generates 1 phase of 120 volts it can not power any double breaker circuits. Do not turn on any double breakers as the 4 prong to 3 prong adapter bridges both sides of the breaker box.
DO NOT turn your solar panels on when using the generator. Make sure there OFF BEFORE connecting the generator
Thanks for the comment. That's definitely what I figured but can you explain a little more in depth as to why that is?
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos I think your solar system is Grid Tie. If you had an Off Grid System and a Battery bank you could have your solar system and your generator going at the same time. Meaning your solar system would have what is called a Charge Controller and then you could have an Inverter/ Charger connected to the battery bank and have that running off your Generator to charge the battery bank faster. You need a place to store the electricity your solar is making or the current will back up into the generator and that's bad. That would burn up your generators inverter unit $$$
That was kind of what I thought as well. Thanks for clarifying!
@@dontburnthehousedownvideos Also with Off Grid System you can use the power from the grid to charge your batteries at the same time providing your using your Inver/Charger to charge the batteries.
When it comes to backup power for houses, I would prefer to have a battery backup as a part of my system.
Definitely don't connect generator to your grid-tied solar system. Excess solar power not consumed by house loads will damage the generator. Why didn't you add a home battery system? It would allow you to use your solar system during grid outages.
Cost is the main reason. Powerwalls are expensive.
WE came within an inch of losing the Texas grid a couple of days ago on a drop dead blue sky gorgeous day High temp was 77f low was 62f. Texas Ercot sent out warnings. This is April. So it's not the weather it's Power Plant / Day Trader Greed and mismanagement of the system by Ercot. My Predator 3500, runs everything in my house but the central ac/10KW heater, electric water heater and stove. It also runs the AC in the RV at the same time. We now have backup Propane heat in the house. And enough propane to run 8 days at lows of 2F. I can see the Texas Grid not being that reliable for the foreseeable future. Power goes out here we simply go into camp mode. Predator now has a little shed of it's own next to my shed, can be tied into the house in minutes, and can be easily rolled into the bed of my pickemup truck to provide Boondocking RV camping AC in the Texas heat.