Gavin, many thanks for the “go with 50amp if you want to parallel down the line…” Thats what I’ll be doing - thanks

Excellent video, Gavin... my brother and I were just talking about the Predator line of generators and which one we should get to run a house in times of emergency.. you are right on time!

That's very cool. The problem would be finding gas in a grid down situation

Great video! This generator has been tempting me. And I already bought a soft start for my 5ton a while back. Haven't installed it yet. My plan is to maybe get this generator and install a natural gas kit. Gasoline is scarce after a hurricane. Right now I have a 6k diesel. Ran it with 3 window units after Ida, but ended up leaving town after a few days. Didn't want to do the gas station juggle for two weeks.

Thanks for another great video. I like how you showed the power of the generator. Having it connected to your house control panel, is really the only way to utilize all the power it has. Having the Micro-Air East Start (Soft Starter) is a must, for any AC system. I finally got around to installing the 368 on our 3-ton unit. It works great. I'll share the details, in the comments, on your East Start video.

Thanks for the good info on running the AC just what I was looking for.

Absolutely, 50 AMP always! Great video as usual, thank you for all of your effort and the great content.

Gavin, I received 50 to 30 watt adapter last week. I finally had time today to try it. Works like a dream! Thank you so much its powers the house basically with one predator 9500. I have two predator 9500s. Your other video about augmenting a Duramax parallel kit came in handy. I did have to build onto it. I couldn’t find the materials that you had. So I had to improvise. And I am in the process of finishing that up. As soon as I finish that I’m sure I will be able to parallel and use the air-conditioning unit without the soft start kit I hope? I mean two 9500s, should be more than enough to run a house. Thank you again for your wisdom and insight. You sure do make it easy for the average guy to understand how all this works!

Gavin, This is priceless information. Even though I do not have this particular generator, I do have one with the same wattage output and features. All I need to do then is get kitted out for the electrical hook up. Thanks for putting out this video!

Awesome thank you, after this storm in Florida this will be useful. Making a run to Harbor Freight :).

Very interesting! I have a 12k a-Ipower genny with a 4 ton & 2 ton a/c units. I would connect just the 4ton since that cools the downstairs where everyone stays. For winter I have natural gas and have both 120v air handler fans configured in with my 50amp inverter to give me full heating coverage in the winter time. Thanks for demo!!

Hello Gavin. Thank you for another great video. The demonstrations and info are awesome.

I don't know why but I really enjoy watching these videos!

Thanks Gavin, don’t know anything about electrical work, just got my predator and at least now I have a guide on what to buy and how to proceed to make it work with my a/c which is why I bought it in the first place. You earned a sub 👍🏼 also bought that magnetic dipstick, I saw it on other videos and thought it was worth mentioning

Excellent demonstration as usual. Hindsight was 20/20 in my part, I highly recommend a 50 amp generator input for your home. The materials cost now days is not that much compared to 8+ years ago, you can scale up if your needs change. The only limiting factor is your generator supplying the power, however in a grid down situation using less is definitely more when it comes to fuel consumption. If you're handy, I highly recommend that you build and install a digital electric monitor for both L1 and L2 next to main breaker panel for the generator input. That way you can monitor your energy usage in your home real time and staying within the power limits of your generator. For those who have grid tied solar, normally you have to disable your solar feed when on generator mode. If you're able to segment the arrays to bite sized pieces, most 120/240 inverter generators will accept and synchronize to it. In order to pull it off, your static load has to be more than what your solar is able deliver to your isolated home "grid" thus having a real time energy monitor comes to good use. I was able to run my 2.5 ton HVAC and critical loads in the house supplemented by my 3.2 kWp solar subarray. I did have to drop the thermostat to the lowest set temp so that the power load was constant while the solar subarray was online; if the A/C cycled off for any reason, it would've tripped the generator offline and put it into overload fault. As long as sun was still out, the generator pretty much ran at almost idle speed in ECO mode. I was able to ride it out for 4+ hours with A/C when it was 96°F outside with the feels like temperature around 119°F and hardly used any gas. My neighbors was not too thrilled about it to say the least...

Awesome thanks for real world numbers!!

awesome, love that display box you got plugged in there I wouldn't need it but its fantastic for your videos. Have a good one ;)

Keep in mind a lot of stuff in your home doesn't run continuously. The refrigerator, freezer, AC unit, etc. That stuff cycles on and off as the thermostats dictate them to, the dryer and oven is the same way, the heating elements cycle on and off as thermostats dictate. Its interesting to see how much a generator can handle and most likely you could run everything at once if you wanted and the generator would handle it as each appliance would cycle on and off at different times. Most times during a power outage you will not be using everything anyways, a few lights, maybe furnace or AC unit depending on the time of the year, a refrigerator, deep freeze, etc. I'd stop running a dryer and washer during a power outage anyways, its not necessary. I live out in the country, so my main things to keep running would be refrigerator and freezer, maybe the AC in the summer, water heater maybe, and the well pump. I have a wood stove for heat so wouldn't need to worry about running the furnace which would only be the fan portion as its a propane furnace. I only have a window AC unit unfortunately, but could certainly live without it in a power outage...wouldn't be the first time. I don't have a generator, and if I did, it would be a standby generator not a portable unit anyways, if I was going to spend the money I'd just have a stationary standby generator installed with a transfer switch and not have to worry about what I could or couldn't run. For an emergency a portable generator is a huge asset for sure, and like you were showing, you would definitely need to know what each appliance is pulling because you could certainly overload your portable generator in a hurry, especially the smaller units. I also have the ability to run a PTO powered generator from my tractor if I had a generator like that as I have a tractor...the issue with that is your tractor is now tied up powering your home, so in the case of a storm needing to plow snow you would then need to disconnect the tractor and be without power until you are done plowing LOL.

I’d never run the oven on my setup. But the top burners only pull 110. A lot of people just leave 220 breakers off which includes the stove when back-feeding. But you can definitely run the burners without dragging down the generator.

I have the same generator, and it works great for my home.

this is ONE OF BEST VIDEO i have ever seen . Thank you

Thank you for this video! Unfortunately got Hurricane Ian bearing down on us and my new 9500 Predator Generator is still in the box. So much for preparing ahead of time. Lol.

Great video answered my exact question. Selling my 3500 and getting this beast! Thanks and subscribed

Thanks, great information.

also a good way to charge up batteries - 3kw is equiv to what you will get out of about 12 pv panels #35 amp fuse

Super cool!! We love Harbor Freight and your videos-new subscribers here!! Thanks-Zack & Linda

I was looking at the power smart 4400 watts .looking forward of seeing that one on your show

Thank you so much! You have made this so easy! You make it simple and understandable for the average guy to do this. I am working on building my Parallel kit from your Duromax Parallel kit video. But now to know, I can still run my house with one of my Predator 9500’s. I am excited to know that. I am thinking that with two 9500s, I don’t need the soft start kit for my AC? Everything seems to be lining up. I will check and see what other videos you have out there about ACs and 9500’s. Thank you so much!

Thank you for another great video.

You’d be better hanging the clothes to dry when in a survival situation…. It’ll cost about 1.65 gallons of gas to dry one load of clothes this way with a standard electric dryer.

We have one of these. Runs our entire home, including a 4T variable speed AC unit. Variable speed AC basically has the soft-start built-in.

I bought a 9500 last year and had problems with it on day one mainly, the low oil sensor was bad. I found out which wires needed to be disconnected to bypass that sensor and a few days later, was boon docking in my camper for a week. Even without a soft-start on the compressor, it started and ran my A/C in the camper with no problems! I my only "real" complaint.... This thing is friggin' heavy!!! :) Great video!

Thanks for making this. This video is gold information to those of us planning to buy and install a home generator system. For comparison, we ut in a Kohler 20K whole house unit on my mom's house several years ago but service is a bitch, especially this last time when it's 4 months and 3 (count them three) pro companies still can't figure out how to fix it. I would never go that route again! Setting up a system where the generator is a separate unit that could be changed out if needed is a much better way to go.

I like that current box! I hope you made a video for that!

I ran 12 hours the other day at my house with 5 ton ac (with micro air hard start) , 1 upright freezer , 2 full size refrigerators, 1 beverage frig , and two frigs in our travel trailer. Worked all of it on our 9500 predator. Very impressed with ours. I noticed your getting around 18 amps continuously with your 5 ton ac. I’m seeing around 15 amps on mine. 2018 13 seer unit. I also had a similar LRA start up like yours around 43amps.

Thank you for the video brother 💪🏼

Excellent video...thanks!

Yea this is what i was looking for good video!!!!!

The soft start helps with high locked rotor amps starting. I wish you would provide more details. I would be reluctant to connect that for fear of warranty issues. Cheers

Thank you 😊

Great video, though I have to say living in Florida where storm power outages are common, I can’t say running a washer and dryer or oven was ever a priority during an outage, though I suppose every situation is different. Give me my lights, refrigerator and AC and I’m happy.

Further, some notes on our load: (1) 4T American Standard VS air conditioner (2) Fridge (3) Gas stove (4) Dishwasher (5) Microwave (6) Wine fridge (7) Tivo Roamio (8-10) 3x Vizio HDTVs (32-65") (11) Network core (router, switches, APs, IoT hubs) (12) HP desktop & monitor (13) about 24 LED light bulbs (14) Laundry - Gas dryer (15) Laundry - Washing machine (16) American Standard gas furnace with VS blower (17) Teknivorm coffee maker RLA on the AC unit is just 10A. We can live normally on about 40-50% of the Predator's rated output. We cannot use literally everything at once. But we did test doing laundry on a hot day while cooking and watching TV. No issues at all.

Does the job perfect, wish I would have gotten the one with wheels

Great video thank you!

Living in a rv makes it easier. Electricity out unplug and replug and start

So definitely need the easy start on the condenser unit outdoors

Great video Gavin! Show us your skills doing the same test with 2-4500 watt generators in parallel. That's the video I'm waiting on. 🙂

You should add a plug to the generator that doesn't go through the generator brakers and let the house do all the work. Should also do a load bank test vs sound

Nice video! Keep up the good work.

The dryer is some thing as the oven, both will cycle on & off. The only good thing is they are purely resistive loads so there is no inrush of current like a Heat Pump or A/C compressor. Fridges & Freezers are so small that inrush current isn't a big deal.

Excellent!

Gavin, YOU are THE MAN! How hard is it for a DIYer to install that AC soft start? Your generator didn't sound that loud. Please keep up your videos.

Just saw one of these with 2,000hrs running a food truck at BWI Airport.

Awesome video.

Great video Gavin. I wanted to get your opinion on Westinghouse Wgen12000DF. To me that seems like the best bang for the buck. It isn’t an inverter generator but it does put out clean power under 5% it has 15,000 peak and 12,000 running watts on gasoline. It has the 50 amp plug and can be purchased for $2500 or less.

Great content! !!

Good video 🇺🇸💥💪🙏

Great video, Gavin. In just a few short months you have solved about 95% of my unanswered issues. This lat question should do it...I saw a video where a Eton CHSPTULTRA surge protector was installed at the panel, but I also saw a guy use a surge protector on the generator side but I think that was when powering an RV....Do I need a protector on both ends? I am only using the generator for home power. Thanks

Hey Gavin! Another GREAT video! I love the detail all the way down to the watts. Might be a good idea to share ohms law (E=I*E and P=I*E) so your fans can follow just how you get where you go!

I have a 5 ton AC unit so it would be nice to have AC in a power outage!

This video was very helpful, Hurricane Beryl just came through Houston and I was wondering if the 9500 would run my AC. Quick question that I guess I did not see, how many running watts and starting watts is being consumed by the AC so I know what I have in remaining wattage to use for other household items. I'd have two freezer/fridges, TV, Cable, internet with ceiling lights left to power.

Nice review. Would be interesting to know if you could put a conversion kit on theses to run on natural gas for endless fuel supply and still get the same results.

I had a 4-ton AC unit with the Micro-Air and was never able to get the peak amp under 40 according to their Easy Start app. I'm extremely envious of you guys who can that that with a 5-ton😳

Hello my friend, so smart thanks for the insight. Very good straightforward intelligent video. Stay thirsty my friend

Thanks for doing this video. Ive been hoping to see something like this. Question though. Im assuming you have the air handler turned on inside with the fan blowing the cold air around the house so how many startup watts did you pull with both the condenser and the air handler kicking on? Thats the important part. Thanks

Gavin…would love info on how you built the monitor especially as far as parts used etc. Maybe you can do a video on it and link the items you used. I’ve been looking for one but can’t locate one.

We have the exact same washer and dryer! LOL!!!

I believe that sooner or later, - 100 miles range city cars should not only move people around during the day, - but also they should be able to power houses if electricity is out.

I'm so glad you tested this out with the microair. I am getting the duromax 9000xp inverter. Any chance you tested that AC without the microair?

Saw couple year ago believe was on Gavin's site a setup using Predator 9500 Inverter using a short adapter cord with two plugs into inverter, four pronged 240 and three pronged 120 stepped down into one cord that plugs into house. Can not remember name of this short 2 to 1 cord need one for my 9500 Inverter, that has a three prong and a four prong male setup that steps down into four prong 30 amp female plug . We had bad storm power was out for over 5 days, our Predator 9500 did good but using only one 240 30 amp plug had to be careful, am thinking if could get one of those 2 to 1 adapter cords it would help next time run more without overload problems. My cord goes to a 60 amp breaker into house.

Consulta tengo un generador predator 9500. El aire acondicionado tiene que ser inverte????? Para poderlos conectar al generador???

Nice job. I have an easy start coming. I wish I had installed a 5 ton instead of a 4 ton last year. I didn’t because I knew my generator wouldn’t start it. At the time I hadn’t heard of an easy start. The builder put 4 tons on all these homes but a lot of people went up to a 5. It can take 5 or more hours to drop the temperature at night during the summer with the 4. 🤬

This generator is just like my old muscle cars. It will pass anything but a gas station.

Yessir

Will I need to disable the emergency heat off the thermostat?

Great video! How did the AC 43amp startup not trip the 30amp breaker on the generator?

Great video Gavin!! Thanks for the video, I have this generator and all gas appliance's so it was very interesting to see the difference in loads with all electric appliance's. I haven't installed a home backup plug yet but now I have more information to decide what I want to do so thanks again for another awesome video, please keep them coming 👍👌🤘

Gavin, I just purchased the Predator 9500 last night after considering many others. I really wanted the Genmax but I saw so many negative comments about lack of tech support and customer support when problems arose which seemed pretty frequent for lots of buyers so I bought this instead. My question is…I looked for a parallel kit for this unit and found that Harbor Freight does NOT offer one. What parallel kit do I use should I decide to purchase a second one in the future? Any help would be great. Thanks. Great videos! I love how informative they are. Would love to see them dumbed down some more on connection cords, adapters and inlet boxes for guys like me who are very unknowledgeable about electric. I can tear a Harley engine down with my eyes closed and put it back together. But big 50amp electricity makes me nervous. Lol

Good video, question did you shut off the washer and dryer and everything else to start the AC unit? Thanks Michael 😊

Been looking at whole house standby generators, but really don't like the $500 per year maintenance expense. Over the life of the generator, I would have to spend another $13k in maintenance. Having a portable with the ability to scale to 50 amp at the inlet port is a great idea.

Gavin, great video. Where did you get your digital gauges?

Thanks for another great video Gavin. I currently have the Honda EU7000is and I can't get my 5-ton A/C to start. I installed the easy start 368 and my in rush amps average between 39-44 amps. I use the 120/240 30 amp outlet plug from the generator and I have a 30 amp inlet to power my home. Tried to run my A/C during our last power outage here in California but no luck. All I heard was a click when the compressor tried to start on the 5-Ton A/C. Have you started your A/C with the Honda EU7000is yet. If so did your A/C start. Thanks , Eric

Great video Gavin. I'm interested in the meters you plugged in line to gather some data. Can you post some info about those? Thanks again!

Great video! Our you running everything at once the washer and dryer and Air Conditioner?

Great video Gavin, crazy question why do you recommend having the circuit breaker off on the generator when starting it up is there a reason for that or just good practice to do it for safety

I'm assuming in addition to these large appliances you had running you also had your refrigerator and some lights on or no? I want to run a 2 refrigerators, an HVAC unit (not sure how many tons) a few lights, ceiling fans and be able to cook on an electric stove during an extended power outage. I was looking at a westinghouse unit that peaks at 12500 watts with a continuous 9500 running watts and was wondering if that would do the trick? The unit has a 50amp plug.

Great video.....I was asking the same question the other day. I have 2 of the 9500 preds and was wondering how one would run my 5ton ac on my house

Watt a good video.

Was size breaker in your panel?? Great video 🤙🏽

Just to be on the safe side. Im probably going to buy 2 of those generators with the parallel kit. I should be able to run everything in my house correct? With the 3.5 ton ac unit. Our house has all LED lighting and it’s about 2000 square ft.

Once that dryer gets to temp it will cycle in and out like oven as well.

I Enjoy your videos hopefully I will be able to use my predator inverter generator for home backup power how can I get a voltmeter testing box that I can monitor the load on each leg and adapted to a 30 amp switch is it something that can be purchased or is something that you designed yourself hey Willie wants to know 😂

Awesome demo! How long could it run that ac unit on one two of gas?

Hey Gavin, Great video. Can you tell where you buy your meter or parts of the meter and if there are a meter with back light? Thank you for doing this.

Apologies if this has been asked and answered already. Is that 9500 starting watts or running watts. Also, what size wiring and breaker did you use for the generator input to the breaker panel? Was it 6 gauge/50 Amp, or 10 gauge/30 Amp? I'm guessing the former. I've got a Champion 7500 running watt generator with a 30 Amp connection to the house. I know it'd never run my 4 ton AC. Kind of regretting not getting a bigger generator with a 50 Amp output. A 9500 watt inverter generator is pretty damn impressive! I don't think I've ever seen an inverter generator that big. And it actually sounded pretty quiet, at that! I've always felt kind of derisive towards Harbor Freight, but I keep hearing pretty good things about their Predator engines and generators.

I am looking into a generator for a new build with 3 ton ducted heat pump, hot water tank, drilled well pump. According to one generac salesperson I will need their largest 26 k watt system. Seems like overkill when you show this much smaller generator doing so well.

Thanks Gavin....:) I think you might have answered this question already, but I was wondering if you can parallel to different size/wattage generators....? Just curious. That way if you wanted to save a little money you could just buy a smaller generator to make up difference for your power needs. Question and thought....:) Thanks.

Nice 2nd time I watched the video....

With that kind of load, what is your fuel burn? Gal / Hr ? - would re *really* nice if they made that dual fuel with Nat Gas option (assuming you have that option) I'd think it would be awesome to run my 4 ton AC (16 SEER) unit with refrigerator and deep freezer plus TV's, computers, and mostly all LED lights in my house. My concern would be stocking enough fuel to keep the AC going 24x7 on a *hot* Texas summer day/night. Seems like that would be a lot of gasoline per 24 hrs at 70-80% load. I've currently got a Champion 2500 watt inverter (dual fuel) to run gas furnace in winter + all applicances & electronics.

At 4:07: Which volt/amp/kw read outs did you use?