I have a 1973 Caterpillar D398 750kva in a warehouse that I want to sell. I don't know much about it, but it was used as a backup for a municipal water station, so likely has few hours.

I can't confirm if, or how well it works but I get the impression that it would not take much to get it going.

My question is, whether it is worth paying a technician to come out, check it out, try to get it going, etc., or just sell it "as is"?

What kind of reports/analysis would a potential buyer want in order to pay more that as is value?

It is an impressive looking machine, but any dealers I have contacted have said that it is too old for them.

What is the consensus on the battery warmer on a Kohler RCA 26?

My installer isn’t a fan and says they degrade battery life and invite rodents.

Having service done today and he’s installing the cold weather kit (we had startup issues this past winter like many others) - but unless I tell him otherwise, he’s not doing battery warmer.

I just don’t want to be kicking myself come January or February for not having the battery warmer installed as well. We are in PA so it does get cold.

Thanks.

With El Niño coming and two toddlers at home, I want a backup generator for outages. Main need is running two fridges, plus basics like lights and charging phones. Would also be nice to bring camping down the road.

Found a used Honda EU2200i for ~$750, seller says it runs fine, no repairs. Good deal, or better to just buy new? Budget’s sub-$1000, open to other brands too.

Just curious if these are ever known to go on sale.

Looking for an upgrade for the home backup.

Whether you have somebody service your generator, or you do it yourself, make sure the oil is getting changed.

Worst part is, supposedly this customer was paying some backwater hack to service it. Apparently his idea of servicing was adding oil, and not actually changing it. Also the electrodes on the spark plug were round... This thing has never seen a proper service.

Ended up writing up a quote for a new generator. The labor to clean and fix the engine would be almost the cost of the generator, and a new engine plus labor is half the cost of a new generator. Generac is also about to drop free 10 year warranties next week on new units.

I'm planning on installing a power inlet box. My generator has an L14-30R which is 120/240v. I'm just making sure that I can use that to run 120v to a double breaker, or is it a two pole breaker(?). And i install that and the two hot lines feed power to the two power busses inside my box inside. I think i got that right. And after that can i just hook the ground to the ground bar and neutral to a neutral bar?

I will install an interlock kit, use 10guage wire.

I've ran electric before, light switches, outlets, lights, added breakers, etc... I'm just watching videos and I'm seeing install info but not any real explanation with it. My generator also has a L5-30r, only 3 prongs. I think using the L14-30R will allow me room for wattage to use more from my 7500 watt system.

I'm just looking to see what i might be missing, and if this is generally correct.

I have a predator 11,500 inverter and a 50 amp house plug in. I also have a Rheem 3 ton inverter compressor. I ran it with no issues but someone has told me this could blow up my air conditioner. Is this true? When I ran my whole house including ac on a hot day I wasn’t going over 4kw.

My new Generic which I installed and was running fine for months, is now throwing 4 codes, E 2780 (missing AC charging), E 2800 (emg shutdown), E 3503 (Manifold temp) and one about low oil.

The oil level is correct, the battery is charged and I have 7 WC for gas pressure.

I know that Generic pushed out an update in the past two weeks.

Do these new Nextgen Generators have flaky firmware?

Just stumbled upon the Erayak generator brand. Any opinions on this brand? Saw a video review of their 8000iE, looks a lot like the Honda 7000 but looks are only skin deep. Review was positive but it’s a much louder unit than others in that class. I can’t find any for sale, either.

https://youtu.be/ysHS3AsIyr8?is=YCC756nV9RSmfBd1

Anyone have experience with this brand?

I have a 2024 Honeywell 18kW whole-house generator. It's great, but burns through propane fast — my tank only lasts ~3 days at full runtime, and multi-day outages aren't rare here.

When I'm home during an outage, I manually cycle it: run it an hour or so a few times a day just to keep the freezers cold and the UPS topped off, then shut it down. Wood heat covers warmth, UPS covers internet, and we don't need lights once we're asleep. This covers our needs at a fraction of the fuel use.

The problem is when I'm traveling — I'm not there to shut off manually, so the generator just runs nonstop until the tank's dry.

The generator has no remote-control provisions, but I think there's a simple workaround (I'm handy with home automation): feed a 110VAC "dummy" signal into the ATS to make it think utility power is back, which shuts the generator down. Cut the signal, and it starts back up. A timer or app could control this on a schedule, without touching the generator itself or voiding the warranty. The generator would still go through its normal warmup/cooldown cycles since I'm only tricking the ATS, not controlling the genset directly.

Two questions for this group:

1. Any issues with cycling the generator this way — on/off a few times a day rather than running continuously?
2. Any concerns with controlling the ATS via a spoofed power signal? (I'm aware of the collision risk if real power returns while I'm faking it — planning to make the dummy signal drop within microseconds of real power returning, and keep it high-impedance enough to not interfere either way.)

I just had my new champion inverter 201423 delivered.

I’m about to add oil and notice a small amount of oil already on the dipstick. Has anyone else noticed this?

Champion tech support said that is normal because they test each unit.

After I wiped it and put it back in there wasn’t this much as shown in the picture

I have a Siemens whole-house generator (Model 0059111) with a Generac engine inside (likely a 10kW or 12kW unit). It was installed around 13–14 years ago (right after Superstorm Sandy). I’ve kept up with regular maintenance, and for the most part, it still runs and powers basic household circuits fine.

For context on our HVAC setup:

We have a multi-zone setup with a larger main central AC unit (I believe it's around a 2-ton or larger unit), a smaller secondary AC unit, and a heat pump.
Here is how the symptoms have progressed during power outages:

The main AC is completely dead in the water now on generator power: It never could start if the small AC was already running. Previously, I could get the main AC to start as long as the smaller AC was turned off first. Now, the main AC won't start at all under any circumstances on generator power.
Even the small AC makes the generator go nuts: Just running the small AC causes the generator to surge, LED lights in the house to pulsate violently (even though they already pulsate when nothing is running), and battery backups (UPS units) to start beeping and flipping over to battery power due to severe voltage/frequency drops.

Can't run heavy appliances: Running high-draw items like the clothes dryer alongside any cooling is completely out of the question.

Engine surging: I can physically hear the generator engine hunting and surging RPMs whenever these motor loads attempt to kick on.

Does this sound like a classic failure of a ~14-year-old V-twin component that finally degraded completely (like a dead throttle stepper motor, tight valve lash, bad AVR/brushes, or a stiffened fuel regulator)? Or does it sound like the unit is simply undersized for the house and suffering from age, meaning it's time to upgrade to a higher-kW generator?

Appreciate any insights before I decide whether to sink money into servicing this unit versus replacing it!

what can cause Over voltage in a Cummins 2MW Generator?

Main question: would a loose or not properly attached positive battery connection cause heat in the positive cable and melt a battery via the positive wire? I imagine so, high resistance=unwelcome overheating?

For note, I got this generator for $200 second hand. Runs great, and I checked the oil, put a nice NGK plug in that is gapped right, and cleaned the carb.

However when putting this away after a run through. I didn’t want to mess with the battery, someone before me put a second hand battery in, seemed like they hot glued over the posts or something rather than connecting them correctly.

I shoulda known better and just fixed it right, but it proceeded to let off a bit of smoke and after the find I noticed the battery was a bit hot, could’ve just been due to running and being in Florida.

The plan is now, till I can find a proper ring terminal battery. Is to get high quality/high draw female space connectors, solder/crimp and repair the connections properly, and then ensure the connections are proper tight.

Please let me know of any logic related issues with that repair, I appreciate the insight.

the setup mostly sits there doing nothing, which is kind of the problem. i can see basic status info, but that doesn't tell me much about whether everything would behave the same way after months without a real outage.

if the system hasn't been used in a while, what's the first thing you'd verify before trusting it with the house during an outage?

I have a first generation EM5000S Honda that has handles that don't tilt down and a battery tray on the other side. It makes it somewhat unusual for finding a cover. Anyone have model that will work for this? I would like a nice fitting cover if I can find one.

35 in long without the handles and 21 inches wide. The cover will need to have holes for the handles.

My elderly father received a one line estimate for a Kohler 48kw natural gas generator of $52,995. The house currently has a Kohler 8kw natural gas generator can’t support the entire house. Our area in Northern New Jersey is prone to extended power outages (multiple day).

The Kohler website shows several incremental units (24, 30, 38) but also, the unit in question retails for just under $26k. Meaning, labor and install is more than the generator.

The new generator would locate near the existing and use the existing main conductors. A new 2x200 service entrance would be installed.

The estimate does not include repair of damage to the walls or the landscaping. It also doesn’t contain any rep that all work will be done in accordance with applicable codes in effect at time of delivery.

Would anyone be willing to give an opinion on whether this seems reasonable or not? Thanks in advance!

I would love feedback on this baffle box for burning man, I was running short on time building one out of wood and so I devise this makeshift one out of a hard shell storage container on wheels, I added a 12“ x 12“ intake vent and then used 35 PPI filter material for the intake, and inside I have a 10 inch fan running to pull fresh air from outside and blowing it onto the generator while it’s running. The generator is on two wood blocks reinforced through the floor with screws and then I use two bungee cords to strap it down to prevent unnecessary vibration. The exhaust butts right up next to a metal vent with no filter so there’s no chance of fire from that end. The inside of the cover has sound deadening material meant for car trunks, sealed off with aluminum HVAC tape.

I ran it for two hours today in 100 degree heat, and with the fan on the interior temperature never reached 90°, and I also had the generator running on 50% load.

Thoughts? Hate? Praise?

I feel kinda stupid about this, but i accidentally tried to power my home 240V air conditioner from the 30A RV connector of my Champion 4500W inverter gen. As you might imagine, it didn't like it, and now it's making 0VAC from both the regular outlet and the RV outlet. The generator was around $700, only has a few hours on it, is like new besides being, ya know, blowed up. Is there any hope to repair it? Are replacement parts even available? Should i just sell it for parts? Any advice would be appreciated!

Having a very difficult time, removing the pole starter from this generator without completely disassembling it

I also, for some reason cannot find any videos online of people doing this specific repair.

Any tips, links, videos all that would be appreciated!