# Honda generator problem



## tsimonjr (Jun 30, 2013)

Hi, i am new here and i did some rooting around before posting and could not find these symptoms in any other thread. if somebody could help me out i would greatly appreciate it. I have a Honda EB5000x generator. Power went out and I set up generator back feeding the house through the 240 dryer outlet, I have done this about five times before exactly the same with no problem. Only turned on a few breakers that I normally run with this generator. Light bulbs got SUPER BRIGHT, CFL's burnt out, lights flickered on and off from dim to bright, burnt fridge board and range board out. I was backfeeding with 240V as usual. I checked voltage on generator Im at 249V between my hot legs. The generator engine was not surging and its supposed to run at 60hZ and I am taking a reading of 63HZ. I am lost, is it the 3 hz? Thanks


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## tractornut (Sep 17, 2010)

Can't say for sure what caused everything the fry but I can tell you that back feeding power is not safe at all you could seriously injure or kill yourself or a line man repairing the power lines I highly reccomend getting some form of a transfer switch installed


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## Romore (Dec 18, 2012)

The engine was over speeding if you were getting 63 hz under load which means excess voltage. Re the back feeding through the dryer outlet, are you trying to burn the house down? Install a proper dedicated line with a manual transfer switch before you kill yourself or family.


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## Robert Coats (Nov 10, 2011)

tsimonjr said:


> The generator engine was not surging and its supposed to run at 60hZ and I am taking a reading of 63HZ. I am lost, is it the 3 hz? Thanks


So other than the damage to the appliances, any problems? Does the generator still work properly, or what are the symptoms?

A 3 Hz variation in frequency shouldn't be an issue. Most traditional-design AVR (automatic voltage regulator) generators run a little fast/high-voltage with no load so when there's a "sweet spot" of just-right voltage/frequency when a normal load is applied.

As others have said, backfeeding is bad for a whole lot of reasons. A transfer switch would have probably prevented all the problems, damages, and risks. Most are dummy-proof, and you could teach your older kids/wife how to hook it up if you're not around or out of town when the power goes out. 

[email protected]
_Caveat: I work for Honda, but the preceding is my opinion alone._


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## Mpollock (Feb 25, 2013)

As many of the other posters have pointed out, back feeding power is not safe, especially through the dryer outlet - you could start a fire and cause damage to your home (more than just the appliances that have been burned out).

Whilst I cannot really explain why the problem occurred without experiencing it for myself and checking the generator out, the installation of a transfer switch probably would have prevented much of the damage from occurring. If you insist on using the generator in this way in the future, make sure you install one ASAP.


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## Chendler (Aug 28, 2014)

Thank you for the*informative*posts.


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