# My Winter Storm Experience Texas



## ronskal (Feb 18, 2021)

New member here been reading here for a few weeks. Live in San Angelo, W Central TX

My girlfriend asked me to get a generator last month and thankfully I did. 
Didn't know much about them but ended up getting her a Duro Max 5500/4500W duel fuel open frame. Ran it a few times with loads testing it and put it in her garage. She was happy and we found out soon enough.

I also bought myself a Westinghouse IGen4500DF 3600W inverter after hearing the noise of the open frame. It was delivered last Friday just before it hit the fan here with snow and Iowa type cold. 

Single digit temps. killed the power Sunday early I pulled out the IGen 4500 and powered up gas furnace, TV, Internet, lamp which was minor load for it. After 2 hours it quit. Thinking it ran out of gas I topped her off but it would not restart.

Meanwhile I drive over to the GF's where she was struggling to start the Duro Max. It was by then cold soaked and would not fire. I gave up quickly on the electric start and tried everything (it has manual choke) and finally got a brief run on gas, then it quit. Switched to propane with no choke and got it running. Hurrah! She almost smiled.
That noisemaker has run for 35 hours powering her fridge, gas furnace, TV, Internet, table lamp, electric skillet. We were limited to the 20 amp outlets because the 120/240 30 amp cord has not come in. The noise was an issue (even ran it all night once) so I rednecked a sound deadener from her lawn chair cushions which knocked off a few DB's. It was so cold I never had a fear of the gen overheating and I kept the exhaust free and clear. It helped.








Back to the IGen 4500/3600W I got a hold of Westinghouse (eventually) and they were good, tried to help. Came down to take it back to Home Depot or take it to get it fixed. I am opting to get it fixed locally- or was. My troubleshooting revealed a bad coil (had a weak spark that eventually quit, secondary Ohmed out open). For $18 shipped I can get a replacement that MAY work, the coil is for an earlier S/N block- we will see.

All for now.


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## Old man here (Nov 5, 2020)

Check the oil level switch. Just unplug it and see if your generator will start.


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## ronskal (Feb 18, 2021)

Old man here said:


> Check the oil level switch. Just unplug it and see if your generator will start.


I checked oil switch eventually thinking/hoping that was it but no joy.
Checked the auto-choke and it works. Getting fuel in the combustion chamber. Changed the spark plug which was an LG brand-tried a Champion and NGK no good. Getting no spark. From what I can tell the coil is bad.


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## Browse Deweb (Jan 16, 2021)

Hearing these stories of brand new generators failing when they're needed is sad. It must be so frustrating, though I'm glad your GF was able to get hers running on propane. Hopefully you guys have enough propane to get you through the outages.


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## ronskal (Feb 18, 2021)

Browse Deweb said:


> Hearing these stories of brand new generators failing when they're needed is sad. It must be so frustrating, though I'm glad your GF was able to get hers running on propane. Hopefully you guys have enough propane to get you through the outages.


Thanks we made it through. It is a dual fuel and I used one 20LB propane bottle and about 10-12 GAL of gas in 35 hours. Still have plenty of both and power has been on for 18+ hours now.
Really need to do an oil change on it now, the oil looked OK every time I checked it- not too dirty and has not burned any.


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## ronskal (Feb 18, 2021)

Browse Deweb said:


> Hearing these stories of brand new generators failing when they're needed is sad. It must be so frustrating, though I'm glad your GF was able to get hers running on propane. Hopefully you guys have enough propane to get you through the outages.


Oh and yes I am thinking of a Honda EU2200i as a back-up.


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## Airstreamer67 (Oct 3, 2020)

Thanks for that great report! Glad your grid is back on.

I ran for years with one 6000W generator with no problems, and later bought a smaller generator, 4500W, to take on RV trips so I could have AC in off-grid spots in my trailer. So now I have two.

Last year here in Louisiana where we got hit with back-to-back hurricanes, my 25-year-old 6000W generator wouldn't hold the load due to a stuck compression piston ring, so I fell back on my 15-year-old 4500W generator, which served me well for many days until power was restored.

I think my lesson is: it's good to have two engines when you're on your own with no help in sight, whether it be in the air, on the water or off the grid.


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## Ground Fault (Jun 9, 2020)

"She almost smiled." I am STILL laughing! Mine resembles that remark.

That lawn furniture cushion acoustical hack is about as Good Ol' Texas Boy genius as it gets. You should already be half finished with an infomercial, or somebody else is going to make all the money on it.

In recognition of your cool-headedness in the "heat" of the battle just past, and by the power vested in me simply by being born in Fort Worth, I do hereby convey upon you *NATIVE TEXAN* STATUS, with all benefit therein contained. (In the event that you were already a NATIVE Texan, you are now a _double-naught_ NATIVE Texan. Yeah, tell THAT to your buddies next time y'all are standin' around drinking a Shiner Bock and kickin' the campfire.)


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## Ground Fault (Jun 9, 2020)

[QUOTEwouldn't hold the load due to a stuck compression piston ring, ][/QUOTE]

Yamaha Ring-Free. Next time.


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## ronskal (Feb 18, 2021)

Ground Fault said:


> "She almost smiled." I am STILL laughing! Mine resembles that remark.
> 
> That lawn furniture cushion acoustical hack is about as Good Ol' Texas Boy as it gets. You should already be half finished with an infomercial, or somebody else is going to make all the money on it.
> 
> In recognition of your cool-headedness in the "heat" of the battle just past, and by the power vested in me simply by being born in Fort Worth, I do hereby convey upon you *NATIVE TEXAN* STATUS, with all benefit therein contained. (In the event that you were already a NATIVE Texan, you are now a _double-naught_ NATIVE Texan. Yeah, tell THAT to your buddies next time y'all are standin' around drinking a Shiner Bock and kickin' the fire.)


Thanks Ground Fault. I'm a native New Yorker, grew up in California, now I reckon I'm a almost native Texan. Or I'm just all mixed up.
Still looking at a second generator to back-up the one I have. No Hondas 2200's available, but their are Yamaha EF2000's available. Might go that route. Or start a new thread because I am at paralysis stage right now on this.


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## Ground Fault (Jun 9, 2020)

> I'm a native New Yorker, grew up in California


NOTICE: Native Texan status summarily *REVOKED. GTFO! 😄😄😄*


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