# Generator Mod



## vern38 (Aug 18, 2003)

Got my new generator yesterday and finally had time today to give it a test run. I had been asked to post how loud it was, how it performed, etc. So here is the deal on the low cost generator. First the mod if you want to call it that, 2 pull ties and 1 heavy duty 30 amp to 15 amp adaptor attached to the generator for the 30 amp connection. The generator has 2 - 110 volt 25 amp outlets. I had the choice to purchase a smaller wattage generator with the 30 amp plug or the 4000 watt without. I opted for a higher wattage and improvised for the 30 amp. The generator performed flawlessly, it ran the RV AC, microwave, etc. and didn't even breathe hard. It runs up on a heavy load pull then idled back on a even load. It was 102 outside today and 110 inside the Outback and in 1 & 1/2 hours had cooled it down to 78. As for noise it really wasnâ€™t that bad, it ran fairly quite considering some I have herd and for what I paid it sounded real good to me. I guess on a scale of 1 to 10 it was a 6 for quietness. As for performance I give it a 9+ and for vibration it gets another 9+, it was really smooth. I'm sure there are a lot better out there but for a 4000 watt at $349.00 shipped to my door I'd say that's hard to beat. At least I'm happy...







Here are the picks I took while I was doing a break in test run.

Vern


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## kywoman (Feb 9, 2006)

What is the weight?
And where did you purchase.


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## shake1969 (Sep 21, 2004)

Jaing Dong?

That thing built in Texas?









Glad to hear it's working out for you.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

shake1969 said:


> Jaing Dong?
> 
> That thing built in Texas?
> 
> ...


Glad its working well for you!

...replace the first three letters of the generator with "LO" and you'd have a sure fire way to get a few laughs while camping.


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## Doxie-Doglover (Apr 19, 2006)

hee! hee! too funny. 
But where did you get it?? we hae seen other cheapos but were worried. I touched and petted a Yamaha 2800 today, it tried to follow me home, but they wanted money. 
Tell us more about i! and the weight too! Tawnya


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

Glad it's working for you Vern. The more I see pictures of yours the more it looks like mine. I'm stuck in a hotel until the weekend (silly work thing) but I'll take some pics this weekend and post on here. I bought mine at the local Checker Auto store for about $250 last year.

I can not speak for this gen but mine is not an inverter type so watch out electronics, but I still run my tv and dvd and sat plus the camper in the woods, if you have a clock radio it runs fast, they claim 60hz but it's not. It will run the AC at 6000ft but not at 9000ft and don't have the electric water heater on or it won't run anyting but that, I have a new jetted adjustable carb I need to play with but haven't had the time, they claim it's altitude and needs a carb adjustment to lean the mixture for altitude (true). 
$ for $ I really like the gen but would not suggest mine for a camper unless your the only one within 300 yards of the gen, it's more of a light construction type. I run mine with a 50' 8ga extension cord plus the OB cord and I can still hear it in the TT but just barely, if you point the exhaust tward the TT it's quieter.

Again I'm glad it's working for you and will post pictures later this weekend.

Bill.


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## vern38 (Aug 18, 2003)

Doxie-Doglover said:


> hee! hee! too funny.
> But where did you get it?? we hae seen other cheapos but were worried. I touched and petted a Yamaha 2800 today, it tried to follow me home, but they wanted money.
> Tell us more about i! and the weight too! Tawnya
> [snapback]118706[/snapback]​


Weighs 80 lbs. Here are the links to the site and generator. I purchased mine from his ebay store and got it for 50 dollars less than his regular site.

Vern

Craigs Affordable Tools

4000 Watt Generator

ebay Store


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

> Jaing Dong?


It's Chinese for "big power for big man".

Mark


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Looks great for the money. For that money, if you live in an area with power outages in your home from time to time, it would be worth having.

John


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## vern38 (Aug 18, 2003)

tdvffjohn said:


> Looks great for the money. For that money, if you live in an area with power outages in your home from time to time, it would be worth having.
> 
> John
> [snapback]118812[/snapback]​


You got it, that is one of the reasons I purchased it. It has a dual purpose.









Vern


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

2500Ram said:


> It will run the AC at 6000ft but not at 9000ft


Bill,

May be a stupid question, but how often do you need the AC at 9,000 feet? I have been that high in the mountains around here in the heat of summer, and it's colder than you know what!



vern38 said:


> tdvffjohn said:
> 
> 
> > Looks great for the money. For that money, if you live in an area with power outages in your home from time to time, it would be worth having.
> ...


Just make sure you have the proper power grid isolation equipment before you go plugging that thing into your house wiring. That can make for a real bad day for the lineman down the road that is trying to fix a line he thinks is dead!









Nothing scares those guys more than hearing a generator running when they are working the lines!

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

Agree w/ Doug... We have three to four outages a year where I live- in the last 2 years we were out for over 10 days on 2 occasions. When I know it's an extended outage and I'm ready to fire up "ol' Fred", I drop the main breaker to the house and back feed my panel through the 220 dryer plug. Dont want to give someone a "tickle" down the road on a pole!


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## vern38 (Aug 18, 2003)

PDX_Doug said:


> 2500Ram said:
> 
> 
> > It will run the AC at 6000ft but not at 9000ft
> ...


I will be installing a complete seperate circut with seperate outlets ONLY for the generator.

Vern


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## Scrib (Jun 28, 2005)

Where's the glasspack???


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## vern38 (Aug 18, 2003)

Calvin&Hobbes said:


> Agree w/ Doug... We have three to four outages a year where I live- in the last 2 years we were out for over 10 days on 2 occasions. When I know it's an extended outage and I'm ready to fire up "ol' Fred", I drop the main breaker to the house and back feed my panel through the 220 dryer plug. Dont want to give someone a "tickle" down the road on a pole!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Do you have a 240 outlet on "ol' Fred" ? I never thought about just plugging in a house outlet, this is what you do isen't it?

Vern


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

vern38 said:


> Do you have a 240 outlet on "ol' Fred" ? I never thought about just plugging in a house outlet, this is what you do isen't it?
> 
> Vern
> [snapback]118980[/snapback]​


Vern,

There is actually a master switch you can get (not unlike the Perko marine battery switches) that the genset and your main line from the grid wire into. Then out from there to your breaker box. The switch is designed to only allow power from one source at a time, thus preventing any backfeed from your genset into the power grid.

If no one around here knows the name (I'm sorry, I don't), I'm sure your electrical utility will!

Edited 06/07/06 @ 1:43PM PDT
Here is info on: Manual Transfer Switch

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Looks good Vern glad it's doing the job for you 
Sure couldn't beat that price









Don


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## 3LEES (Feb 18, 2006)

vern38 said:


> PDX_Doug said:
> 
> 
> > 2500Ram said:
> ...


Vern, you could accomplish that with a transfer switch. They are available at Home Depot. If you are familiar with household electric, you could install it yourself. Just make sure you turn the line current off first!

Dan


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## 3LEES (Feb 18, 2006)

Do you have a 240 outlet on "ol' Fred" ? I never thought about just plugging in a house outlet, this is what you do isen't it?

Vern
[snapback]118980[/snapback]​[/quote]

Here in the great state of HURRICANES (6 in two years), we have become very familiar with generators, power outages, power companies, lineman, etc.

This is what I did for my house.

I purchased a 7550 watt generator. It's a beast. Takes four men and a boy to lift it. And it's loud enough to drown out most rock bands.

It has a 220 30 amp breaker and a 220 "twist lock" connection. I purchased a twist lock plug, 40 feet of #8 3-wire with ground cable, and a dryer plug. I assembled all three components taking care to make sure the wiring of both ends was correct.

Now when I lose power, I shut down the main breaker from the meter to the panel and plug the cord into both the generator and the dryer plug. I then turn off breakers that I do not want to use, such as the stove, and A/C. I have a window shaker for the bedroom to keep us cool at night. Then I fire up the generator (electric start) and throw the 30 amp breaker.

We are on well water. Without electric we have nothing. With the generator we can shower (with hot water), use the TV, use the computer, keep the frige going, use ceiling fans, etc. We can even use the stove and/or the clothes washer if we turn other things off. We just can't use the A/C or the dryer.

Of course, with a transfer switch you can do all of this much easier. The way I did it is cheaper, but you have to have some knowledge of electric to accomplish it safely.

One last thing. If you lose power, watch for the power company trucks. When you see them in your neighborhood, shut down your generator. It makes them nervous when they hear them running.

Then go in the house and get whatever you have in the way of a cold beverage and give it to them!

Dan


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## prevish gang (Mar 19, 2006)

Calvin&Hobbes said:


> Agree w/ Doug... We have three to four outages a year where I live- in the last 2 years we were out for over 10 days on 2 occasions. When I know it's an extended outage and I'm ready to fire up "ol' Fred", I drop the main breaker to the house and back feed my panel through the 220 dryer plug. Dont want to give someone a "tickle" down the road on a pole!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yep, that is how we survived for 2 weeks without power during Hurricane Isabel.


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## prevish gang (Mar 19, 2006)

Vern,
That is a pretty good price. They generally run about $1 per watt, so you are under that average. Good deal.
Darlene


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## nascarcamper (Jan 27, 2005)

That's a good deal there Vern. Congrats. My dad wired his house like you're talking about with separate outlets for the generator. I just built a house and had it wired with the transfer switch and 2 separate breaker panels inside. I knew I would never buy one that runs the whole house so it was much cheaper this way. You can get switches that pick up like 6 to 10 circuits that are fairly easy to install. I used to backfeed like some of these other guys but our elec company is pretty strict on that sort of thing and it is quite dangerous to do it that way. I just ran the circuits I wanted into the separate 100 amp panel and I can pick and choose what I need to run. My generator is 4500 peak so I have to be careful. We rarely lose power except during hurricane season and even then it usually doesn't last long. I made a rv receptacle with a twist lock plug that I mounted right to the generator but I'll bet there isn't 10 hours on mine and I've had it 3 years.


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## vern38 (Aug 18, 2003)

nascarcamper said:


> That's a good deal there Vern. Congrats. My dad wired his house like you're talking about with separate outlets for the generator. I just built a house and had it wired with the transfer switch and 2 separate breaker panels inside. I knew I would never buy one that runs the whole house so it was much cheaper this way. You can get switches that pick up like 6 to 10 circuits that are fairly easy to install. I used to backfeed like some of these other guys but our elec company is pretty strict on that sort of thing and it is quite dangerous to do it that way. I just ran the circuits I wanted into the separate 100 amp panel and I can pick and choose what I need to run. My generator is 4500 peak so I have to be careful. We rarely lose power except during hurricane season and even then it usually doesn't last long. I made a rv receptacle with a twist lock plug that I mounted right to the generator but I'll bet there isn't 10 hours on mine and I've had it 3 years.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for the replys on the home setup, think I might go with a transfer switch. Just had a HomeDepot open here today. I'll go by and pick one up.









Vern


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

vern38 said:


> Thanks for the replys on the home setup, think I might go with a transfer switch. Just had a HomeDepot open here today. I'll go by and pick one up.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What's good for the Outback is good for the "other" home.


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## vern38 (Aug 18, 2003)

Oregon_Camper said:


> vern38 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for the replys on the home setup, think I might go with a transfer switch. Just had a HomeDepot open here today. I'll go by and pick one up.
> ...


Sure is!









Transfer Switch from Home Depot $198.00.
Power when lines are down "PRICELESS"!


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

vern38 said:


> Just had a HomeDepot open here today.


That's dangerous!









You might save yourself some time Vern, and just have an automatic payroll deposit account set up with Home Depot. It has made my life a whole lot easier ever since I saw the light!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## 3LEES (Feb 18, 2006)

PDX_Doug said:


> vern38 said:
> 
> 
> > Just had a HomeDepot open here today.
> ...


I spend so much time in HD that I get kinda tired of the place. I'm there a lot because of work.

That's not to say I don't want MORE tools! Norm Abrams is my hero!

Dan


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## vern38 (Aug 18, 2003)

PDX_Doug said:


> vern38 said:
> 
> 
> > Just had a HomeDepot open here today.
> ...


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

As promised here are the pics and yes it is nice to have AC at 9000 ft sometimes.

Clicky thing to my gallery

Bill.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

2500Ram said:


> As promised here are the pics and yes it is nice to have AC at 9000 ft sometimes.
> 
> Clicky thing to my gallery
> 
> ...


Great pictures...thanks!


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## Sierrab24r (Apr 2, 2006)

According to Craig's Power Tools Site the Jiang Dong described has a sound level of 63db... Is it really that quiet (subjectively, of course)? If it truly is that quiet or even close to it, that is a true bargain. My fully enclosed Kipor 3000ti is rated close to that and is quiet tolerable in noise level although not nearly as powerful.


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## Nickens (Oct 6, 2005)

Pretty intriguing: I would sell my two Honda 2000eu's, buy that Jiant Dong, and use the difference to fill the Super Duty's gas tank a 12-15 times IF I could be assured of having clean power like the Honda. I would really be bummed if I fried my laptop or HD-LCD TV.

If it doesn't have the clean power, is there a reasonably priced add-on to achieve the same result?


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

I have the same concern - is it clean power? Since someone already said the 60Hz isn't quite right I'm suspicious.

I was looking at the 8kw as a house generator - we just had a power outage and it nearly cost me my fish tank. Thankfully I had my RV battery and an inverter handy. This is our 5th outage since last fall and we are tired of candles for reading and no heat.


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## vern38 (Aug 18, 2003)

BigBadBrain said:


> I have the same concern - is it clean power? Since someone already said the 60Hz isn't quite right I'm suspicious.
> 
> I was looking at the 8kw as a house generator - we just had a power outage and it nearly cost me my fish tank. Thankfully I had my RV battery and an inverter handy. This is our 5th outage since last fall and we are tired of candles for reading and no heat.
> [snapback]123236[/snapback]​


If there is a worry about clean power for sensitive equipment namely computers APC and WAL-Mart have the answer for $38.95.







Speaking about 
for the house got my transfer switch today, another mod for the house.









Vern


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## Doxie-Doglover (Apr 19, 2006)

BigBadBrain said:


> I have the same concern - is it clean power? Since someone already said the 60Hz isn't quite right I'm suspicious.
> 
> I was looking at the 8kw as a house generator - we just had a power outage and it nearly cost me my fish tank. Thankfully I had my RV battery and an inverter handy. This is our 5th outage since last fall and we are tired of candles for reading and no heat.
> [snapback]123236[/snapback]​


you're on the the wrong side of Washington State!


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

DD,
I wasn't always - both DW and I grew up in Spokane. We miss the weather and the pine trees.


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