Running on Generator

Kamper · 12-26-2022, 10:22 AM

Two trees came down about 5pm Friday night, about 1/2 mile from me. We had to go out so decided to just bundle up for the night, when we got back.

For the first time since I got it in 2010, my big genny wouldn't start even though it seemed ok on my pre-season equipment check. The apparent problem was no spark. I decided to not take time for it now and made a dash for Harbor Freight and got there at 925am Saturday. All they had left were 2000w inverter portables.

Since I was told my new furnace should only use clean power, I blessed my luck (and stifled my disappointment they wouldn't sell me one of the bigger floor models). The only issue was the diagram and instructions aren't quite right on where the oil plug is. If you get one, it's on the opposite side from the pull start.

The unit started right up and after the house was hot, I switched the line from the furnace (transfer switch) to my two refrigerators using a tap (heavy duty cords and tap).

I am happy with this item and may not bother to get a bigger unit even if I can't fix my old Chicago unit.

Many thanks to Clean Harbor for hazmat cleanup from the transformer that was involved and the line crews that got my lights on around midnight.

chachee52 · 12-26-2022, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamper

Two trees came down about 5pm Friday night, about 1/2 mile from me. We had to go out so decided to just bundle up for the night, when we got back.

For the first time since I got it in 2010, my big genny wouldn't start even though it seemed ok on my pre-season equipment check. The apparent problem was no spark. I decided to not take time for it now and made a dash for Harbor Freight and got there at 925am Saturday. All they had left were 2000w inverter portables.

Since I was told my new furnace should only use clean power, I blessed my luck (and stifled my disappointment they wouldn't sell me one of the bigger floor models). The only issue was the diagram and instructions aren't quite right on where the oil plug is. If you get one, it's on the opposite side from the pull start.

The unit started right up and after the house was hot, I switched the line from the furnace (transfer switch) to my two refrigerators using a tap (heavy duty cords and tap).

I am happy with this item and may not bother to get a bigger unit even if I can't fix my old Chicago unit.

Many thanks to Clean Harbor for hazmat cleanup from the transformer that was involved and the line crews that got my lights on around midnight.

When I first bought my house, lost my power for over a week for 3 years in a row. My brother in law had the Honda 2000 portable. We ran the hot air furnace and the frig together without any issue. All depends on how big of a furnace of course. But worth looking into the specs of both to see if you could run both at the same time.

Kamper · 12-27-2022, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chachee52

... worth looking into the specs of both to see if you could run both at the same time.

Thanks for the suggestion and comparison. I have 2 full size fridges (1 dumb and 1 'smart') and a bar fridge. I may try the furnace and smart fridge together because my wife is addicted to crushed ice with Pepsi, and tag team the furnace with the dumb fridge. The bar fridge can be left alone since we seldom put anything perishable in it.

tummyman · 12-27-2022, 11:35 AM

We run our boiler, fridge, power strip for battery recharge as well as cell phones, plus a nice LED light on the kitchen island and one on the second floor, all with our Honda 2000 ! Works perfect. Have a male receptacle on the outside of the house that i plug the generator feed into, then this feed goes to a double wall receptacle. Does everything we need except well pump that is 220. In the late fall, we leave three 5 gallon pails filled with water in our bathtub for flushing should the lake be frozen. Love my Honda...runs terrific with nice clean power and uses little gas. Did a little creative wiring in my boiler room and now it takes me 10 seconds to convert from house power to generator power. When power comes back, it again only take 10 seconds to remove the generator feed and go back to house power. Used to open up wire boxes and splice into a extension cord...not practical.

12-26-2022, 10:22 AM	#1
Kamper Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Thornton's Ferry Posts: 1,309 Thanks: 67 Thanked 172 Times in 128 Posts	Two trees came down about 5pm Friday night, about 1/2 mile from me. We had to go out so decided to just bundle up for the night, when we got back. For the first time since I got it in 2010, my big genny wouldn't start even though it seemed ok on my pre-season equipment check. The apparent problem was no spark. I decided to not take time for it now and made a dash for Harbor Freight and got there at 925am Saturday. All they had left were 2000w inverter portables. Since I was told my new furnace should only use clean power, I blessed my luck (and stifled my disappointment they wouldn't sell me one of the bigger floor models). The only issue was the diagram and instructions aren't quite right on where the oil plug is. If you get one, it's on the opposite side from the pull start. The unit started right up and after the house was hot, I switched the line from the furnace (transfer switch) to my two refrigerators using a tap (heavy duty cords and tap). I am happy with this item and may not bother to get a bigger unit even if I can't fix my old Chicago unit. Many thanks to Clean Harbor for hazmat cleanup from the transformer that was involved and the line crews that got my lights on around midnight.

12-27-2022, 11:35 AM	#4
tummyman Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 845 Thanks: 261 Thanked 698 Times in 246 Posts	We run our boiler, fridge, power strip for battery recharge as well as cell phones, plus a nice LED light on the kitchen island and one on the second floor, all with our Honda 2000 ! Works perfect. Have a male receptacle on the outside of the house that i plug the generator feed into, then this feed goes to a double wall receptacle. Does everything we need except well pump that is 220. In the late fall, we leave three 5 gallon pails filled with water in our bathtub for flushing should the lake be frozen. Love my Honda...runs terrific with nice clean power and uses little gas. Did a little creative wiring in my boiler room and now it takes me 10 seconds to convert from house power to generator power. When power comes back, it again only take 10 seconds to remove the generator feed and go back to house power. Used to open up wire boxes and splice into a extension cord...not practical.