Generator Issues

[TBone]

I've got a similar generator that plugs into a L14-30 outlet just like yours does. I have my outlet wired into my inside panel that contains all of my 120v circuits and have a lock-out device on my panel so that it is fed from either my outside panel or my generator but cannot be fed from both. This protects the generator and also prevents an accidental backfeed into the the power grid. Since my inside panel supplies all of my 120v circuits I can turn the breakers on one at the time and isolate a problem circuit if I have one. You should not have a problem running your microwave and a few other low draw items. The problem might be the microwave not liking the power your generator is producing, like someone else already said.

 

[Jchonline]

Could your well have been running as well? Yes 100ft vs 40 ft will have quite a bit more resistance and therefore V drop. Test it again with the same loads at 40ft and see how it works.

 

[TBone]

Could your well have been running as well? Yes 100ft vs 40 ft will have quite a bit more resistance and therefore V drop. Test it again with the same loads at 40ft and see how it works.

OP stated that the well was NOT running at the time.

 

[Jchonline]

KillaWatt is great if you have a 2 or 3 prong standard plug to plug into it. If we are talking direct wired appliances/mechanicals it won't help. The generator will tell you the % load correct? At least mine does.

 

[Jchonline]

OP stated that the well was NOT running at the time.

I see that farther down now.

It sounds like the OP really doesn't know what was running. I would start with figuring out the actual loads and try to plug 1 at a time up to re-create the issue. You can also use a multimeter (the caliper type are great for putting over 1 cable) to check the Volts/Amps then calculate the total watts.

A coffee maker will pull 1000-1500 watts a piece. A microwave about the same. Being off grid I think about loads all the time.

 

[Topzide]

10 ga is rated for 30 amps and at 100 + feet, that's quite the strain on generator! I would use 8/4 so cord on that long of a run. I use 6/4 so on a 10k - 12k surge at 50 ft and have run my hvac to cut humidity after a tropical storm. Had everything else turned off. It's a 3 ton unit. Was a bit of a struggle but managed it! Coffee pots, toasters, electric water heaters are heavy hard loads due to elements for heating! Could've been a fluke but need to know loads you need to run when off the grid on backup power.

 

[grsthegreat]

The instructions I post on all my portable gen installs with interlock say to shut off ALL 2 pole breakers, and to cycle them as needed. You never know when an automatic device decides to turn on.

 

[s219]

Regardless, we know the 100' cord won't help things. It doesn't take much voltage drop to result in a bottleneck. Because the appliance/load/whatever wants to pull a certain amount of watts, when voltage drops the current will try to ramp up to compensate and then the cord becomes like a restricted pipe.

 

[travisbb]

Since the cord is one thing you know you've changed, if you still have the old cord you could try again with that.

However, unless there was a surprisingly high load on the generator (I don't know what it could be though) that sounds like a more than adequate generator. Have you eliminated things like a dirty carb (not run in a while?), bad gas (ditto), and forgetting to turn the choke off (everybody's done it)? Those are the sorts of things which will make the engine weaker than its rating and struggle at much lower power usage.

A guy I know once had low power and high fuel consumption with his generator because the spark plug came loose. It sounded fine with no load, but struggled under load.

 

[PILOON]

Another handy tool to measure loads is a clamp on ammeter.
Decent units on the web are quite affordable.
Unlike 'kill a watt' it will also measure 220 vac.