I’m in the generator business, primarily home and commercial standby and emergency….great explanation about power management and discussion of limitations. Unsure what your background is but I think the video is well done and informative to a wide audience

All I can say is THANK YOU. Such a great explanation, especially to me, who knows very little.

Finally some straight functional talk about surges etc. and power management. Thank you !!

Load management is key! You Are correct. Somethings got to give.

Glad to see a Michigan page in the top three video on my search.

Great info and thanks for the list of appliances and their usage.

Thank you for sharing this information ! 👍 None of the other home generator videos that I’ve watched explained power management so throughly. Excellent job.

What up Doe!? Very good information on the difference between running watts and surge wattage and the different types of generator needed. Down here in Texas everyone has been getting prepared for another big power outage because of the February 21' winter storm that deviated our city. I was blessed with a 11,000 watt generator to power all the main essentials when or if the time comes. I'm looking to install a transfer switch or interlock kit very soon. Thanks again 👍🏻

Excellently explained, thank you

Nice video I sent this to one of my buddies who is hard headed and won’t listen. Living in hurricane central my whole life you don’t need much to get you buy for a week or two. We fill every gas tank up Cars, boats, and gas cans. Man that Fish Naked poster is awesome! Good video

Thank you for getting right to the point. Watch like 5 videos and I never got to where they explained what wattage I needed.

Great! Down to earth, simple and understandable. Thank you!

Thank you sir! My family and i live in MI and Ive been looking for this exact information!

Very informative, practical and useful information. Thank you

Good points👍 it boils down to managing which appliance will run at a certain given time and necessity.

Great info thank you for sharing

Great info! And thank you

WELL EXPLAINED when talking about power management, essential items, surge timing etc. VERY WELL EXPLAINED, sir...very well.

Finally someone with great information 🙌🏽

Great video straight to the point very informative thanks for sharing 👍

Very helpful, thanks.

Very helpful information. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you very much for this video! You explained very well and made it clear for us "eletrical dummies"

Nice thank you with this info i had a 50amp plug installed into the house to use 13000 watt duromax and a hardstart assist on my 3 ton ac that uses 1,440 watts and 2,571 watts but the hardstart assist sofftens the enitial startup hit to wattage and with all your recommondations my house runs great on the generator… thanks for the video brother

Very good stuff here pal thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas!

nice job sir thank you for the info

Awesome video that was very informative, thank you.

Thank you sir and have a good day.

It reminds me of the way they had to unplug one thing before they could use another on "Green Acres".

Good info for those unaware!

Well done. Thanks. Yours is the only video to explain power management when powering a house with a moderately sized generator.

Great video and I agree with your thoughts. I have a portable generator (5kw). With a propane furnace and water heater, I can run heat, well pump, all of the lights, microwave and refrigerators. Not AC or electric clothes dryer. Certainly enough to survive comfortably for a week or more. When we lost power for a week some years ago, I would run the generator 3 times a day for a few hours mainly to keep the refrigerators cold. I have thought about an EcoFlow for maintaining lights (and small electrical) when the generator isn't running, but it is still on my "wish list". Portable generators can also be used for power tools at remote locations or helping a friend that needs to keep a sump pump running during a power outage.

What a great little vid. Got all my questions answered in 5 mins. Thank you!

Best video! I’m in the market for my first generator. I feel more confident and choosing the right generator for my necessities in my home..

Great video. No-nonsense. Exactly what the average person needs when it comes to back-up power

Thank you

I have a 4000 watt harbor freight generator, and also a 12 volt 400 watt inverter that plugs into my generator. I use the inverter to power phones, IPads, etc, this way there is no need for a inverter generator. We don't lose power that often (2-3 times a year average length 4-6 hours) but my generator has paid for itself over the years. It's runs two refrigerators, lights, fans, and some other small appliances. Usually I am in the 2500-3000 watt range, but I carefully monitor if I need to add an appliance when it is running. Never saw that surge watt adapter, but it's pretty cool, as well as some other tips here. FLY NAVY!!!

Thank you, Sir.

Very good info. Thank you. Sounds like a 2200 Honda portable generator might be able to run a frig and a freezer with no problem. But good to have the electrician install one of those plugs into the breaker panel. Thanks again.

Thank you sir!

great video! ty

thank you for the tip.

Thanks so much

just what I needed!

I also have noticed that the base load of my house is quite low. I use solar so am constantly aware of my limitations and keep the loads under that limit I use a Growatt 5k and see that it uses 20 to 25 percent. That’s 3 refrigerators and a freezer,a 8kbtu window unit and LED lights. The other Solar System runs a rent house next door and also my water heater and dryer. It has 15 kw of inverter capacity so obviously we alternate days to use dryer. The generator pays for itself when you don’t lose a freezer full of food;off-grid solar pays u back every day. My bill for this month was $30.02. This is August 2023 in Texas. I sold one generator and gave the other one away. 50KWH of LFP batteries and a little discipline lets us wait for the sun.

MASTER IN DEED.... in such Understanding

Thank you so much awesome

Ran a 12000/9500 portable for 5 days, ran everything great EXCEPT when my wife went to take a shower, tankless hot water heater kicked off the generator breaker. In the future maybe we’ll try shutting off everything else and trying it again?

SuE awesome video thank you. Could you do a video on your recommendation for the top five generators going from 5000 to 10,000 rights? Or just one in general

I run a 9500 running watt gen.. It runs my 4 ton air, my freezer, refrigerator, all lights and 4 computers with no problem

Well stated ! Thank You for your video , I just bought a Generac GP 15000 E with 22500 surge watts & our house is 2,400 square feet , & is all electric including well & septic pump out with a water softener , & a stand alone fridge , & freezer ! I know I cant run everything but with proper management I don't believe that it is overkill .

Can you make a list of an average rural house wattage needs in each appliance? For instances, I have 40 gal water heater on 4 hour timer/day, 240 volt sub-well pump, washer/dryer, 22 cu fridge, 24 cu freezer, 4 slice toaster, micro, 50" tv, few LED lights, ph chargers, laptop

wow this was super helpful. thank you! what happens if the breaker does trip on the generator because you are over the max wattage?

I’ve got a Generac 22kw stand by generator and will put one in every house I own! I can run my whole house and not worry about overloading my generator. Best part about a stand by system is the equity it adds to your home, plus it turns on automatically

IK would say that with new inverter generators, it is better to meaningfully over-capacity the generator. Here is the reason. If you size on the lower end, that generator will have to spend more of its time in a high RPM state, and if it is a conventional generator, it is always running at full speed. With an inverter, when the load drops, the generator slows down. This means that the generator will last longer than a smaller generator that is running hard, and it will only use about the same fuel as the smaller generator working harder. The bigger tank means you can run longer between re-fueling stops. My neighbors had a smaller generator that was running almost full blast during our recent ice storm and he used almost as much fuel as I did in my larger generator, but he had to re-fuel about every 7 hours, where I could run almost 14 hours due to the larger gas tank. I was running everything in my home except the AC (the gas central heat was running) and I did trip the breaker twice when both the toaster and Microwave were used at the same time, and that was with a 5000 watt 6250 peak generator, but mostly, I was able to live a normal life. He on the other hand, had to ration every amp. After the 3.5 day outage, he ditched the smaller generator and decided to go with a 5000 watt generator because he saw how much better it was to have the extra capacity and not have to worry about refueling overnight. My own thinking is that one should get an inverter generator with more than "just enough" capacity to be selective when running things. (I have four other people in the neighborhood that also say me living a normal life during the prolonged outage. They all asked me what to get and I recommended an interlock setup and a 5000 watt closed frame inverter generator. If you are not using that additional capacity, the generator is loafing and makes less noise and uses about the same amount of fuel as the smaller generator running harder. For a given amperage draw, the amount of fuel used is roughly the same. Go bigger. It only costs a little more and in the long run, it is probably cheaper. I don't have to worry about what I turn on (except for the fours slice toaster, which uses 1200 watts, and the microwave, which uses 1700 watts. Those I can't run at the same time) and I can easily run all day or all night on a single fill-up.

I have a Ridgid 8,000/10,000 generator. Wired with a interlock switch on my panel what allows me to run whole house. The only thing I done use is my electric oven and if we need the stove I only run one burner. Other that than, I’ve ran 4 portable AC’s, dehumidifier, 8 ceiling, pool filter and countless LED lights without any issues during the summer. Also we have two 45,000 BTU pellet stoved in the winter months. At times we’ve lost power for a much as 5 days in the winter without any issues as well.

Bigger portable generator will have large amp outlets. Those usually 7500 watts or less will have a 30 or 20 amp outlet.

U did excellent o your video. Im in the market for a duel fuel / propane type generator. Any suggestions?

I have a 8000 watt generac portable. I want to buy the portable “electric generators” (inverter or giant rechargeable battery) for three freezers and a fridge. That can be charged off of portable solar panels.

I power my 2200 sq. ft. house with 5 ton central air on a portable 9500W (12K surge) gas/propane generator, hooked up to a 50A receptacle/50A breaker and interlock kit that runs the whole panel. I can do everything I normally do on utility power, on generator power. BUT… The Micro-Air Easy Start is what made it possible to run my AC. It took the starting amps (LRA) required to power the AC compressor from ~127A to ~31A! The Easy Start costs a little over $300 and is worth every penny. It will prolong the life of my AC too, since it doesn’t need such a huge blast of electricity now to get it going, which is harder on everything.

Hi Jim, I just stumbled upon you KZfaq page and, since I have been interested in backup power since the 1980's, so thought I would add my 2 cents that I have learned through several long term blackouts. Surge current is very important because, generators have virtually no surge current overhead, whereas starting high power motors can have many times the running wattage. The worst culprit in the typical house is the standard kitchen refrigerator. You need 2,400 watts for 5 seconds to cleanly start the kitchen frig in the US. After it gets running, it only requires about 120 watts! US Refrigerators manufactured in the late 1990's to the present have an electronic defrost control. When this circuit initiates a defrost cycle (which happens 2 to 3 times per day), it turns off the compressor and turns on a 600 to 720 watt heating element under the evaporator coil in the freezer. The heater runs for 5 to 20 minutes to melt ice, then the compressor is switched back on for 30 to 45 minutes to remove the heat. This is of course is a huge waste of power when you are running off backup power. Also, the electronic defrost gets triggered (as a test mode) whenever power is removed from the frig for 1 to 15 minutes so, wait at least 20 minutes before powering up your frig when power goes out. Powering your water heater is a huge power hog when using generator power. To greatly reduce this limitation, you can connect both heating elements in the water heater in series using the bottom thermostat, which half the wattage draw, at the expense of taking twice as long to heat the water. This is not ideal but, slow heat is better than no heat. The same thing can be done with the oven. With backup power, you definitely need to budget your power, as the average person is spoiled, being used to the idea they can turn on anything in the house simultaneously and not have to worry about running out of power. To do that, the average house needs about 100 HP of generator power to cover the demands.

What size generator will I need for four tops rcf 735s rated 700watts rms and two subs rated at 1100 watts rms?

You need at less a 2000 watt generator. To take camping with ect. Can use electric power tools on it. Lights, 1 space heater and 1 window unit. A house can get buy with a 7500 watt generator. No it want run every thing! but most things 1 at a time or 3 or 4 What i love about these gas generator is QUIT EASY BACK UP's and every body should have ? At less 2 for back up's I would highly recommend 1 2000 watt, and 1 7500 watt GENERATORS

Thanks for the video. Let's say we buy a conventional portable generator with 6000 W output but our load is 3000W. Should we change the engine throttling to adjust to a new lower load?

I have a question if you mind. I have a brand new 2400w inverter generator, power went out and I tried to use it for my sump pump. I did use a extension cord and when I plugged it in the generator slowed down alot and the pump sounded like it tried to turn on but it did not. I figured it wasn't strong enough to run it. When I looked at the generator a red light came on so I just unplugged it and didn't try it again. Did I do something wrong using the extension? Is it possible I fried the generator? Started the gen ,plugged the pump in the cord then into the started gen.

You need a floating NEUTRAL on your generator!!! to wire into your panel its easy to make it a FLOATING NEUTRAL if it is not just have to remove a wire utube this if u are running a generator ur manual will tell u if it is a floating NEUTRAL or bonded

My question really is if there's a way to have 2 or more plugs installed in the event I needed a smal bit more than the usual.

I can get buy with the deep freezer off for at less a week. Refrigerator 3 or 4 days. These Central Air and Heat, Hot Water Tank, Electric Oven, Electric Stove is your biggest uses. Cause all they runs on 240 volts ~ 110 volt can run a lot of things at once on> window units, space heater, tv, computer ect ect If your generator starts over loading, laboring and surging YOU GOT TO MUCH ON IT

I bought a fireman diesel generator that has a small soundproof canopy. Max power - 10.0kw Rated power - 9.5KW AC Voltage - 220V Current - 25 Amps Speed - 3000rpm I run one freezer and a fridge. Three air-conditioners ( Two inverter Ac's 1.5HP, 1HP, one conventional 1HP non inverter AC, one 65" QLED TV, one LG smart inverter microwave, a ninja blender, and 15 rooms with LED Bulbs. 6 rooms with ceiling fans. Note** I run the inverter AC'S at the same time with the freezer and fridge.. then I run others conservatively.. Ah nearly forgot, I've a 1.5Hp sumo water pump that I run aswell and again conservatively.. This generator drains about 5 liters of diesel every 5hrs of operation..

Nice video and info. I have a Champion 4000 peak/3500 run generator, and it does the job fine for my house, but one thing it can’t do is run my gas dryer, it always struggles/ bogs down when I try to start it. ( even if that’s the only load on the generator) The draw is 6 amps according to the tag/plate and the surge I am sure is well below the 4,000 watts my generator is rated for, any ideas?

They have generators now with 50 amp breaker. Could that run a hot water heater. I live in a single wide with 100 amp service. I'm looking at generators from 9500 to 14.500 . Which would you suggest

Thanks for video, my father in law got scammed and bought a chinese generator dressed as a honda generator, is there a way to check whats the real wattage of the generator instead of plugging and see if it surges

Here is a great question. I have a champion 100155 that has 7kW running. It also has a 120/240V 30 amp connector on it which i am assuming can only flow 30 amps at either 120V or 240V which means it can ONLY flow 3600 watts at 120V because its limited to 30 amps. Assuming that i cannot run 7kW at 120V because that would mean 58A of current and its only a 30A plug. Am i calculating this wrong ???

my portable generator is 12000 running 15000 peak with a 50 amp plug, 6/3 extension cord, i don't need this big of a set up ,but the genny is just purring and the wires are cold to the touch, over size it for safety

Sir good day, actually i'm planning to buy a generator with 750 watts and i'm planning to plug my refrigerator with power input of 100 watts, my question is that the generator is capable to run my refrigerator as you said that every appliances has a surcharge every start up. Please do recognize my message. Thank you and very informative vlog you have. More power.

How much wattage would it take to run a fridgerator freezer a window ac and 1 TV and a heater

im sorry for this dumb question and im not in the industry but when you are saying the total watts of all the items you are using, is that total per hour?

Hi Sir, I have a 5500 Watt shower Water heater, Is it possible to use a socket plug to run it? I can't seem to find a 2 pin power plug to install it with that doesn't heat up. the 2 pin plug is a13amp. Wh8ile I think I need is a 30 Amp plug which doesn't exist for a 2 pin plug.

Does every item running need its own individual plug or can you plug in a power strip and run off of that?

1. When talking about surge wattage, you mentioned that if all of your appliances turned on at the same time, that could pop the breaker on your generator. What would cause all your appliances to turn on at the same time? 2. At 8:48, you talk about 4 outlets having 20 amps. When determining if a generator can power some appliance, in addition to considering the wattage, do you also have to consider the amps? Would I have to look at how many amps my appliance is rated at then make sure it is above 20 amps (or below 20 amps)? I'm confused as to how and when we need to take amps into account (and voltage as well). 3. You said your refrigerator uses 800 watts. Does that mean it uses 800 watts in 1 hour or does that mean something else?

$26. For that measurement device? That seems a bit steep. The Sonoff s40 sells for about $5.00 when you buy 4.

We have used the kzfaq.infoUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!

I'am slowly going to solar power as prices drops. Right now i'am saving 150 a month from 5 electric street lights, I got 6 solar power streets light i cut that 150 dollar a month off my bill NOW EVEN IN THE POWER OUTAGE I STILL HAVE LIGHTS. I set these streets lights where can come in the window inside and give me light in the house to move around in. My house is totally LIGHTED UP NOW! 👍👍😁😁in 2 months the solar power street lights done paid for them selves 👍👍😁😁 Now its FREE LIGHTING

I got a quote for having a plug and transfer switch installed, and it was $2,500. WTF

Oh, but it does happen. People burn up wiring/gens by overloading the gens. Easier to sell them a much larger genset than have them come back with destroyed genset/appliances screaming "Warranty" !!!

The better way to word the title would be "How many Watts does your load require?" We have a 20KW Caterpillar for our home but a "scream'in Jimmy" would be cool.

"THERE IS NO REPLACEMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT"

50.000W charging batteries and heatting our water. Running the generator it has to do work.

Will it run an AC unit?

I know What I Need 12000 Winco Tri Fuel AWESOME !

Kind Sir...IF your generator; which is very Popular; like the #1 "Champion TRI Fuel Power; 10000 Watts surge/8000 Watts normal...bugged me. Because at first I felt; that ONLY 30 AMPS; is going to be a problem with say, a 3 Ton AC, a refrigerator, a water heater; oven and stove; at the same time. So I did the math. And limited to ONLY 30 Amps X 240 Volts=7200 Watts. Oh indeed. Yet my big AC only draws 2475 Watts turning on. And then 1700 watts; when it is running. So there is NO problem. Because all of those items together with my AC; does not eat-up 7200 Watts. And why on the outside of the box it came in; it listed the many things it could do at the same time. Wow! And one of the reason that people ALL over America is buying this Generator. And I have NO arrangement with that company at all. Just an old home-owner.

I'm not going to run around and unplug things, I'm not a caveman...so, now how much power do I need?

Ask not what your generator needs. But what you need to get by.. Can you wear your clothes an extra day without risking the lives of your neighbours.

how much ? ... just check your electric bill ... it'll show you how many watts you used ...

Well, we can talk about this and that all day oooor maybe talk about what your title says? DOH!

get a generator with twice the wattage than you need, that way its not running wide open, it won't be as noisy, half as hard on fuel, and just over all not as hard on it, do you want the thing screaming the whole time ?

Internet want b their the grid its got a virous that they can t get rid of

Damn. The best way to avoid using a generator is to stay out of Detroit.

I’m installing portables with tri fuel and the necessary switches at 5k. You can easily do it!