Generators and Electronic Furnace Controllers

It could have been something as simple as the generator/s weren't grounded properly. The new stuff with circuit boards are very finicky when it comes to a good ground. Bubba

Are you just talking about earth ground (rod) or does it need to be grounded to the safety ground in the house?

I second that opinion. I live in an area of the U.S. which had an extended power outage affecting several hundred thousand homes earlier this year, and our climate is, like many cities in the Northeast, very cold in the winter. Many homes with high efficiency newer furnaces had generator incompatibilities, but inadequate generator grounding was an extremely common problem which caused many furnaces not to work properly.

It is not surprising that permanently installed generators like my Generac Guardian require an 8 foot long solid copper 5/8th inch diameter rod to be driven into the ground and bonded electrically immediately next to the generator.

Smarty

Well that's good to hear. The next time (knock wood) I'll hopefully have fewer problems. That'll be Murphy at work of course. Ameren claims these are the two worst storms in their history as far as customers losing power and they happened just a few months apart. Now that I'm prepared a little better my generator will likely just gather dust.

If you don't mind modifying the furnace controller, I'd try running the power to it through a quality line filter (not conditioner and not just surge suppresser) and locating the DC power supply on the controller and piggybacking a larger filter cap. By keeping out line noise and providing better ripple control on the DC power you might be able to convince it that the generator is ok.

Pete C.

I bit the bullet and installed the Generac after two extended outages without heat, light, etc. Even if I never need it, the peace of mind is worth the investment.....

Smarty

Put some fuel stabilizer in the tank (Sta-Bil or something similar) and run it for a few minutes before you store it -- we failed to do that after the last time we used the generator about 2 years ago, and then last Friday when we needed it, we couldn't get it started. :-( Took apart the carb, cleaned it with solvent and then compressed air, reassembled... and all was well. But it's a pain in the neck that could have been avoided with a stabilizer in the fuel tank.

Boy, that's a fact! I try to run mine for 15 minutes minimum under loads every two weeks, just to be certain, and so far so good. Since installing the transfer switch, it's an easy job; push the start button, plug it in, and flip a switch at the transfer box. It's no problem remembering to run it; I'm in the garage all the time anyway.

What DOES bug me though, is storing the gasoline for it for an extended power outage over the winter as I'm sure some fellow NYers here are familiar with. If/when this thing goes plugs-up on me, the next one will be a diesel unit! Diesel's a lot easier and safer to store. It's only 5000 watts but it's had a lot of use and been trucked all over the county for 8 years now - it's gotta go soon! I think. Actually, I hope, and during the summer!

Just my 2 cents;

Pop`

Actually, that can work quite well. The cap needs to be in the 1,000 uFd range or higher and, of course rated for the voltage to be put across it, AND installed with proper polarity. I did it for my nephew, but ... I wouldn't do it for anyone else except under dire circumstances because as soon as you touch the box, you've nullified any warranty that might still exist, plus taken responsibility for any real or perceived damage to the controller. Fortunately my old Wayne doesn't care.

Pop`

Its like anything else. If it is used infrequently and is important, you need to put it on a schedule. It should be operated XX amount of minutes every week/month. You dont put your car in the garage, let it sit for 2 years and then expect it to run when you need to go get a pack of smokes, do you? Bubba

Were these wired with two wires from the generator to the furnace or three?

Circuit board off the UPS and blower off the generator? You'd have to do some serious wiring, to make sure the two powers don't meet.

Both. Of course, if you wired the furnace into your generator using a three wire cord (third wire being ground) that should take care of it.

I like to run em dry.

Also, for hard starts, sometimes some ether sprayed onto the air filter helps.

If you remove the spark plug and spray ether into the spark plug hole, you turn a $500 generator into a $75 hunk of scrap to sell on Ebay. A relative of mine had this happen.

If you get a diesel unit, please consider running it on kerosene. Diesel gels, and I've known another fellow in northern NYS who couldn't get his diesel genny started when it was cold.

Jake, do you want this one?

The best solution is to run the carb dry by turning the gas off at the tank and letting the unit run until it quits. The other poster's advice about periodically running it is a good idea as well but you can get by with just starting it a few times a year. You do need to put stabilizer in the tank if you are going to leave gas in it for more than a few months. But even with stabilizer it will not last forever and eventually should be drained. I run mine twice a year and if I reach the end of the year and have not had to use it I drain the gas from the tank. I also keep a 5 gallon container of gas with stabilizer in it around. Periodically I use that gas in the lawn equipment and replace it with fresh gas and stabilizer. That way you are ready to go whenever. Usually you have some advance warning but not always. I've had mine for about 8 years now.

I have not had the problems you are hav> >

Millions of BIG UPS are tossed every year because the batteries are expensive.....

so find a used surplus LARGE UPS, plug in generator and try it in advance of next outage.

cheap solution you really dont nreed the battery just the conditioning

The main panel has a proper ground