Freekin' Coleman generator LOLOL

[67Dart273]

Just bought a nice Coleman 4000w generator, 240/120V OK, 4KW is about 18A at 220V. So what did they put on there for the 220 output? A 15A outlet of course. Bear in mind I intend to feed the fuse panel using one of those mechanical interlocks, so a single 240V cord/ cap is going to carry "both legs" of the 120V loads. I've got a cable (thrift store of course!!!!) that has a NEMA L14-20 twist lock, so I'll probably see if I can "did into" the junction box and rewire the thing for that outlet--add a short cable, and a J box bolted / welded to the genset frame.

I'm gonna "improve" the muffler A LOT

 

[mopardude62]

Del is 4KW enough to run the fridge, coffee pot and furnace fan in your place?

That gas tank looks a little small to run that generator at full output for very long.

 

[67Dart273]

It holds at least a gallon it's kind of deceptive. The (2500w) one I "just got through" the windstorm would run the small freezer/ fridge, the tv and couple of lights. I don't HAVE to have power to heat house, as I have a corner glass front gas heater "fake fireplace". It has a fan but doesn't need power to operate. It's a "self powered" millivolt system like an RV That one would have also run the furnace if I was careful and pulled the refrigerator offline for awhile. So this one here should have no problem operating the furnace "along with" if needed.

These ARE noisy, so I'll see if I can do something for a better muffler. My neighbor had a 3600 predator and you can barely hear it run.

 

[Ddaddy]

Elevate the muffler discharge and point it up toward the sky by a few feet. It will reduce noise substantially.

 

[pishta]

We got a smart meter and Im pulling about 1.28KW at the moment. Im looking around and we got every friggin light on in here,3 LCD TV's, internet, 8 40W tubes in the garage, dishwasher going, fridge (maybe, it cycles), heater blower..2 guitar amps and a Xbox. ....I think I peaked at 1.8KW. Dryer, stove and heater is gas. All my lights are LED's 'cept the garage F40's

 

[67Dart273]

Almost sounds to me like the meter is inaccurate. You have a clamp on AC ammeter AKA amprobe? You could measure out at the box if there's enough slack in the wires, and then multiply X voltage to get VA. You'd have to estimate what needs correction for power factor. I've no idea what it might be (if any) for LED lamps

 

[67Dart273]

The other issue of course is duty cycle and "fake ratings" on just about anything. Is it really XXKW or is it XX-YKW? LOLOL

Many years ago, you could buy these damned alternator switchboxes to get "110V" (DC out of your car alternator. The switchbox switched the alternator output from the battery to an outlet box, and "full fielded" the alternator. Then some outfit claimed to be winding the old Delco for 130A and offered a box that "turned it into a welder."

I got into one HELL of an argument with a guy one time who simply could not conceive that THERE IS A REASON why an AC buzzbox welder weighs 10X as much as a so called 130A alternator

Of course part of this is due to the operating frequency..........60Hz devices need a much larger core than high freq, which is why, today,, we have switch mode power supplies

 

[diymirage]

i dont know how things work in Idaho, but i went through this a while ago here in michigan

i have been told that the transformer boxes on the poles work both ways, they run high current through the lines, send it through the box which steps it down and sends 110 to the house

now, if you hook your generator up to the house, and do it wrong, you can send that 110 up from the house, into the box and send high voltage down the line

i dont need to tell you what that would do to the line man working on it, who expects that wire to be dead

(and i know you know all this, because you mentioned the mechanical lock out)

after i installed my set up (lock out, with a plug in outside of the house, and a double sided extension cord that connects the 220 generator into the house) i had the city electrical inspector come out and sign off on it

now, i KNOW i did it right, and if something where to happen, i am covered (which if course is of a lesser concern then making sure nothing goes wrong in the first place)



i also went through my fusebox and labelled some breakers in green
these are the ones i deemed essential, so if i do need to fire up the generator, i know which breakers i want to keep op (fridge, furnace, certain room, sum pumps...hey, i just remembered, the lift pump to the septic tank is NOT on that list yet, i need to add that breaker)


so, when the power goes out, i plug in the generator, flip the lock out (which disconnects the house from the main grid, protecting the linemen) and then flip all the breakers that arent green, so i dont overdraw the on the generator

 

[67Dart273]

I have on order an approved mechanical interlock. These are made specificially for the model box "you" (or I) have. You remove the front panel, drill a couple of holes and install it. It wraps around the main breaker and the top right dual pole breaker which is wired to the genset. You cannot energize the genset breaker without first killing the main. They are a decent solution, and not very expensive. They may not be "code" in all states.

Since I have no family it would have been "perfectly safe" (but not legal) to have simply "done without" the interlock, pull the breakers, and then lock the box. But if the power guys had showed up for some reason that might get "sticky."

 

[67Dart273]

have been told that the transformer boxes on the poles work both ways,

You bet. It is common, when needed, to use a transformer. For example, you see these in some industrial setups where part of the building only has say, 460V and someone needs 120. They will put an appropriate transformer on a circuit to specifically supply that load.

 

[diymirage]

I have on order an approved mechanical interlock. These are made specificially for the model box "you" (or I) have. You remove the front panel, drill a couple of holes and install it. It wraps around the main breaker and the top right dual pole breaker which is wired to the genset. You cannot energize the genset breaker without first killing the main. They are a decent solution, and not very expensive. They may not be "code" in all states.

View attachment 1715678573

Since I have no family it would have been "perfectly safe" (but not legal) to have simply "done without" the interlock, pull the breakers, and then lock the box. But if the power guys had showed up for some reason that might get "sticky."

yup, mine looks like this

 

[67Dart273]

I actually thought about making one of these. I think the one for mine is about 60 bucks.

 

[toplscuda]

Auto muffler adapted to one makes it pretty quite. At the shop we lose power quite often. Not an issue since we have plenty of choices for generators to use but knowing when the utility power is back on is difficult. To solve that I wired a fused light on a switch to the side of the panel that is tied in to the main utility feed. When the power comes back on it lights up

 

[67Dart273]

^^My power is split^^ It comes over the alley, over the garage (separate) to the meter and the garage box, then a separate feed off to the house. The garage has a hard wired small LED light over the door, and I can easily run a cord up for the same deal. Yep. Sometimes not that easy to tell LOL