DIYbanter - View Single Post - Ground Connection For Furnace And Generator

Ralph Mowery

In article ,
says...

On Sun, 12 Mar 2017 09:45:56 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

been in the low to mid teens since Thursday night.

I bought a 5.5KW several years ago. (a deal I couldn't refuse I put in
the breaker interlock kit and a cable to connect the generator. The
power has not failed since. Great insurance. The generator has never
even had gas in it. Every once in while I pull it over a few times,
rock it and slosh the oil around.
The guy I bought it from had the same experience for the 3 years he
owned it. It was still in the box when I bought it.

I bought a 5 kw gen and had the cables and such. Never started it up.
About 3 years later the power failed when it was dark. Messed with it
for about 2 hours trying to crank it up but it would not start. Thenthe
power came on. The next day my son in law came over and we looked at it
.. Seems there was an on/off switch that was in the off position. The
book did not show that. As soon as we switched it to the onposition it
started with 2 pulls. I started it about once a month after that.

Moved and for some reason I failed to start it for about 2 years. Power
went out, and it would not crank. Bought a new generator and put some
oil in it,but never did start it. Gas had gunked up the carburator of
the old one. Cleaned that out the next day and it would start with the
usual 2 pulls. Started it about once a month again. Power did not go
out for 2 years, so I drained all the gas and ran it empty. Have not
needed it.

So here I sit with 2 generators for several years and I bet neither will
start if I need one again.

Too bad it is notlike a garden tiller I have. I use that thing once or
maybe twice a year. When done with it, I let it run empty. For the
last 10 years it has started with one pull, or at the most 2 pulls every
year.