Time for a new portable generator

[grsthegreat]

everyone here has their own transformer. mine sits in my front yard by the 400 amp service main.

 

[blee03]

to use the correct term. your looking for a "Double Conversion" type of ups.

Anyone have any recommendations on a good double conversion UPS?

 

[LittleBill21]

everyone here has their own transformer. mine sits in my front yard by the 400 amp service main.

guess its a distance thing, makes sense now that i think about it. most of our neighbors are pretty close.

 

[fried1765]

i had one customer , a few years back, that used his portable gen with a suicide cord WITHOUT A MANUAL INTERLOCK... did it for years without any issues.

i got involved as i sold him and installed a new auto start backup generator. reason he bought it was because he forgot to unplug generator, and forgot to shut off main breaker, when power came back up. blew the generator to pieces.

I do the connection manually, without any sort of interlock.
I have an identical checklist attached to both the generator, and the service entrance box.
I am the ONLY person to use the generator!
I spent my entire working life using checklists, and in 30,000 hours never once landed gear up!

 

[grsthegreat]

but seriously, an interlock is about $69.00

 

[LittleBill21]

but seriously, an interlock is about $69.00

if your panel accepts it.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

You can always find a CO2/propane sensor at an RV online store.

Those on an RV have a 7-year shelf life if I remember correctly. There will be a label on the back to verify that. IF you have one, look on the back to see if it has expired. You can also test it by triggering a bbq or cig lighter. Light it up, blow it out but continue to depress the button.

Also, they tend to get gummed up if there are aerosol cans being used in the area. PAM spray, hair spray etc. will set them off but also degrade them faster.
Be safe everyone.

Just replaced mine in the rv. Trouble is the new one i ordered online is already 3-4 yrs old.

 

[Root Cause]

Just replaced mine in the rv. Trouble is the new one i ordered online is already 3-4 yrs old.

I know returns are a pain and sometimes can't be done but I would complain about it being 50% used up. At the least, they should let you keep it and return the full amount. That sucks. I can almost guess where it was bought.

That said, you have a functioning, life-saving device and that is priceless.

 

[LittleBill21]

just tested the 21 year old propane detector in the rv, went off with no trouble. good to go i guess

 

[newbury]

Around here an ethanol free gas station is like looking for a needle in a haystack. However, according to this website, there are 16211 in the USA.

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

That list is only a rough guideline. In my neck of the woods in Mississippi it misses at least 3 stations and also lists several that have stopped selling ethanol free.