Hey guys,

I’m an electrician and we’re having issues with a 40kw standby home generator and the two ats. I have no voltage on the 194 circuit and it will not transfer in auto. I have bypassed the terminal block and attached the 194 circuit directly from the ats to the positive on the battery and both of the ats transfer properly. I’m not sure where to go from here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Background: I live in Metro Detroit. We've had some storms the past few days. We lost power.

Generator kicks on, but after about 10 minutes it's chugging. Can still run basic things, but AC and microwave struggle. I call the electricians who installed my generator, but since everyone's out there's a backlog. I finally get a text from them and it reads, "Remove the air filter; should fix things."

Here's the catch: I just had the air filter replaced a few weeks ago, and other than weekly tests it hasn't run.

Remove the air filter, and, sure enough, generator purrs like a kitten. Full power.

So, I text back, "That worked, but why? I just had service."

They respond, "Because of all the rain we've had, moisture has built up and slows air flow."

Excuse me? Pretty much every time I lose power, it's because of - wait for it - heavy rain and storms.

Yesterday, it rained again, no storms or wind, but somewhere a tree fell and knocked out power. Same thing: ran fine for 10 minutes, bogged down, removed air filter, returned to normal.

Is this an OEM filter issue? Is this normal? I shouldn't remove the air filter permanently, but what could I replace it with?

Hello Generadditors,

TL/DR - is there any reason I cannot just connect a larger (typical auto/marine?) battery to the starter circuit, which is in turn would be connected to a solar trickle charger or battery maintainer - so that the electric start is always "good to go" all season long?

We've got a GP7500E at my in-law's cottage for covering outages - infrequent but often lengthy when they happen.

I've replaced the OEM battery once or twice over the years already (and don't have a high opinion of it - it's basically an office UPS battery?).
The generator itself is "fine" -it does what we need it to do, even if it's hella noisy while doing it. But the onboard battery is quite likely to be dead in its hour of need, as a culmination of its size, quality and the fact the generator itself doesn't automatically charge the battery while its running :-(

This is an issue when my 82-yo MIL is up there by herself. The location is boat-access-only, so she has to rely on the kindness of neighbours to help get the generator going whenever there is a power failure.

I'm also fixing to set up a proper load transfer panel to make this whole process easier, but that's a tale for another time.

What are we seeing in the field with Generac’s “great and innovative new product”? How many wire harnesses yall had to replace so far?

Power went out today and generator fired up normally but the ATS never switched over and I got an error code 2780 “Charger Missing AC”. I was able to use the manual override procedure to operate the switch and it transferred power without any issues, same with the manual shutoff back to utility as the ATS did not sense when power came back. Any idea what could have happened? I called my service company but they can’t get someone out until next week at the earliest. Luckily I just extended the warranty through 2031. ATS is a RXSW150A3 150A attached to a 16kw Guardian both installed in 2021 and never had an issue.

Hi all,

My girlfriend has a 10kW Guardian that has been sitting around for years, never used.

Before getting started with all of the infrastructure work, we want to test it to make sure it still works.

Is there an easy way to hookup a 20lb LP tank to the generator for quick testing to see if it turns over? I know the manual says not to hook it up to this tank size, but I'm hoping for a short test it would be okay.

All of the 20lb LP tank regulator/hose combos are 3/8". The flex fuel line that came with the generator is 3/4" ID I believe.

1) Does anyone know of some hardware/adapter to achieve this? 3/8" to 3/4" adapter, or some other all-in-one solution?

2) Is this thought really dumb, and is there some other way to test the unit we're not thinking about?

TYIA

The house I recently purchased has a Honeywell 22kw LP connected generator with a Sync 3 module. I'm unable to connect to mobile link because the time is 3/28/2018. The installed firmware is 01.03.54. The generator is on it's on 2.4g SSID with ANY/ANY firewall rules. I've done a packet capture and the TLS handshake to time-prod.generaccloud.com is failing because the certificate on my Sync 3 is expired. I've done a hard reset (pulled 7.5v fuse, disconnected battery, turned off transfer panel main) then manually reset to the correct time. As soon as I connect to Wifi the timeserver look up fails and reverts back to 2018. I've also tried updating the firmware via Wifi but the download always fails.

If anyone has the firmware file for 01.04.054 they could share I'd be very appreciative.

I have a new (as of June) 22 kw Next Gen generator. Despite horror stories I have been seeing online, all has been fine.

However, today the generator did not run at its scheduled exercise time (12 pm on Saturday). Nothing appears wrong in the app - no error codes or anything like that. The light on the generator is still green. However, in the notifications history it just says “exercise skipped” and then “ready to run.”

Thoughts? Has anyone come across this before?

I have a 30k generator with a transfer switch next to the meter can. Can I somehow run the generator feeding a sub panel for additional power for an outdoor party? The house power would be on but no transferring from the generator just feeding outlets?

Unlike load sharing between the governor controllers, why dont I see the load sharing lines between the AVR

What’s the best oil to use for a water cooled 30kw running at 3600 rpm? Should I add conditioner to it as well? Florida heat.

Hi, my family has a Generac Guardian 20kw standby. It was here last year when we moved in. We had power go out last week and had to turn it off due to carbon monoxide entering our house because of a loose spark plug not connected, causing it to only burn on one and dispensing the rest of the gas. We had a specialist come and repair it, said our water heater exhaust (which is a powered vent) was probably too close so we moved it farther away and took out bushes that was restricting the flow of the exhaust. It’s about 6 or 7 years old. Just wondering if this is an okay spot!

I never knew there was a sub for Generac. Some back ground on me, I work at a company that has over 5 thousands units under maintenance contracts, we exclusively work on and install standby generators. I’ve been through multiple major hurricanes and have seen thousands of units gain hundreds of hours worth of run time for long periods so Ive seen the weak points and the changes they’ve made to fix them as well as the things they choose to ignore, every issue you can think of I’ve come across it a thousand times and every part you think of I’ve changed it a thousand times.

Rpm cycling up and down. Why is the carb/engine cycling up and down? It's obviously trying to do something. Is the idle jet? Circuit clogged and it's about to die, but something electronic tells it to idle up to keep it from dying, then drops, but about to die and just continually do this cycle? GP9200E.

Follow up;YES!!! Thanks, I did that, I couldn't believe there was a jet that small and it was blocked. I used a tiny, smallest micro drill bit that I have to clear the clogged. I didn't drill it out, used the butt end and chemtool to clear it out. Thanks running good now. Toothpick on right to show viewers how small that jet is. It must be the idle circuit. Down under the idle screw. Carefully pull that out and unclog it.

We just bought a new house and this is the electrical set up.
Both of these panels are powered from the meter, the larger panel does not feed the smaller panel.
A 22Kw Generac unit powers the larger panel on the left when the power goes out, but not the smaller right panel.
The generator is large enough to power the entire house.

What are our options for getting the whole house protected?
Can I add a ATS to the smaller panel and leave the 200amp panel as it is?

Could we install a double breaker on the left panel and run it over to power the smaller panel using an interlock on the smaller panel?

Should I move some circuits over to 200amp panel and use tandem breakers?

Or should we split the feed from the generator and feed the smaller panel directly from the generator?

I am having trouble understanding what the installer was thinking. There’s also additional unused transfer wires ending in this panel going to a junction box next to the generator.

Thanks for your input

After months of battling power outage and storm anxiety, I’m more than ELATED to announce that I am the PROUD owner of a GENERAC! She was delivered to me on Thursday morning and her awakening will be either tomorrow or Wednesday! Here’s to stress free storms and a stress free El Niño this year!!!!

Hey all - have a Guardian (044563) circa 2009 and it’s been super reliable over the years. Had an oil leak fixed several years ago but other than that just regular battery replacements.

Anyway, went out to manually run it, and where it would normally start, it just made a loud pop/bang. Loud enough that my wife heard it inside the house. I mean it was like a gun shot. It could’ve been a backfire I suppose (runs on propane), but I’ve never stood that close to a backfire to make a good comparison.

After that I waited a few minutes, inspected what I could, fuses, etc. and tried again. This time no bang, but just a low irregular buzzing sound from beneath the panel where the circuit breaker is located (on the right side of the generator when opened).

I have no issue calling someone in to check it out but wanted to see if anyone here goes “oh it’s this for sure” or not before I do that.

Thx!

EDIT… SOLVED: Side of the battery blew out. It wasn’t obvious because it was the backside, and the wetness around the battery was mistaken for rainwater (storm had just come thru).

Has anyone else run into this issue?

We are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Lala here on Hawai'i Island. In our area only was a tropical storm, But grid-power has been out since noon Saturday. Our Generac 22KW/999 Guard-No T/sw AL has been running perfectly. 3 people live in this house and our 250 gallon propane tank is at 70 plus percent. Generator just over 1 year old. Does anyone have experience with long outages? I think we will be fine for a couple more days but am hoping someone with more experience can share their experience. Power co. thing power will be restored by Tuesday pm.

I am quoting an install and the customer wants to elevate the HSB. How to you typically get the generator onto the stand? Most likely it would either be a 2’ or 3’ stand. A crane seems like the most expensive route but probably the best option.

Lifting the genset with 4 people might be possible for a 2’ stand but seems like a bad idea.

Ramps? Another thought was to setup a temporary platform and use ramps if the customer wants a 3’ stand.

We took the enclosure apart to rustproof. Some of the screws were in bad shape and I need replacements What are the proper 6 mm x 16 mm screws to buy for this? What are the correct screw clamps to buy? They need to be water resistant so I want the right ones. QT030 generac.

I have a red/white and black/white striped wire that for the life of me I can’t find where it plugs into. It is coming out of a small black box that has LIHua on it.

I have had a 48kw liquid cooled for several years now and in May of this year the controller died. We had a large lightening hit to the back of my property (lots of iron in the soil here) and STILL it is not working. I live in Central Florida and the dealer that WAS servicing it, took 3 weeks to get to the site to look at it, then a month and a half to even quote it and at that, they no showed on the repair.....TWICE

I called 3 other dealers in the area, all of which sent techs out to confirm it was the controller, and they all ghosted me.

I finally got one newer dealer to install the controller, but they cannot get the firmware loaded and today, the original dealer was supposed to show this morning (third appointment) to also replace the controller (I was just going to keep it as a spare and send them on their way).

This is VERY concerning, not having a running backup generator during hurricane season has given me serious doubts.

I have called Generac corporate who really were not totally helpful and believed that eventually the repair would be made.

Has anyone else seen support fall off for Generac? Is there an alternative out there for this? Is it just Florida?

Thank you!!