Firman 3200W duel fuel inverter generator - $749.99

Price in title please.

I bought a 10000w gas firman from lowes last fall for 800. The same one now is 1600.

Is this sort of the same trend with invertor generators?

I was going to buy a conversion kit for mine. Does anyone know if the dual fuel have different orings or gaskets internally to handle natgas better? What's the difference in internal design between strictly gas and dual fuel gens?

Noob question here : is it easy to hook this up with my 420 lbs propane tank? I already have a BBQ box

Looks like they have a limited lifetime warranty. This could be dangerous for firman when selling at costco:).

DonM28020 wrote: ↑ Looks like they have a limited lifetime warranty. This could be dangerous for firman when selling at costco:).

My buddy returned his firman 2000W inverter generator last year after 3yrs of hard use and abuse. Full refund and he picked up this 3000W one.

Scummy

TSLA88 wrote: ↑ My buddy returned his firman 2000W inverter generator last year after 3yrs of hard use and abuse. Full refund and he picked up this 3000W one.

Did his generator die or did he just want to take advantage of costco?

DonM28020 wrote: ↑ Did his generator die or did he just want to take advantage of costco?

Something wrong with the control board, it wasn’t putting out any 120v. He didn’t want to deal with firman warranty so just returned it.

How much does it costs to have someone "hook it up" so when power goes out, I can use my stove and few lights ?

Theres more than 1 way to do it so it depends.

Most common is backfeeding the panel with a special plate/interlock switch that stops you from having main power on from the service while generator switch is on. Most people dont buy the plate and know what they're doing (redneck way) but you should avoid that. Then you'd still have to know enough to close off all your breakers and isolate where you want power obviously.

Other ways might not be possible depending on your panel. Some people install manual transfer switch which is more money. You'd pay for hardware and more labour.

No straight answer.. prob best to talk to an electrician who has knowledge of your setup

fizz1234 wrote: ↑ How much does it costs to have someone "hook it up" so when power goes out, I can use my stove and few lights ?

Your best bet would be to purchase a generator that has 220v ability so you could feed both sides of your panel. You would also need a lot more power if you want to power your stove.

Jordanferras wrote: ↑ Theres more than 1 way to do it so it depends.

Most common is backfeeding the panel with a special plate/interlock switch that stops you from having main power on from the service while generator switch is on. Most people dont buy the plate and know what they're doing (redneck way) but you should avoid that. Then you'd still have to know enough to close off all your breakers and isolate where you want power obviously.

Other ways might not be possible depending on your panel. Some people install manual transfer switch which is more money. You'd pay for hardware and more labour.

No straight answer.. prob best to talk to an electrician who has knowledge of your setup

I guess we should separate legal vs illegal/not approved by code.

The legal way, cheapest is a generator fed subpanel. You basically pick 6-12 breakers you want to feed (depending on size of generator sub panel purchased) and you feed those with a generator (usually a plug that goes through the wall). Basically your circuits are "on grid" until you flip a switch and they become "generator fed".
What Jordanferras described is a panel interlock, which is not legal in Canada (don't ask me why). Doing it without the interlock plate is even more illegal, as you can forget to turn the main breaker off and then you are backfeeding the grid, which can kill utility workers trying to restore power.

Other options include generlink (basically a generator plug that fits behind your meter on a special ring), but that is both very expensive and reliability is questionable.

Manual transfer switch is the best option IMHO. Pricey but reliable.

Depending on the stove, you may want to rethink that. Gas stove, no issues. Induction stove, sure, keep the oven off. Anything else you are looking at major wattage, which will drive you to a much more expensive/heavier generator. Best option in an outage is to use that accesory burner on your bbq

for some this might be the easiest/cheapest option to have power for some basic use (without having to run an extension through the window in the dead of winter):

https://www.princessauto.com/en/30a-thr ... 0008953275

Not going to help with powering stove, furnace, or feeding into panel but will allow to run fridge, charge devices, etc.

fizz1234 wrote: ↑ How much does it costs to have someone "hook it up" so when power goes out, I can use my stove and few lights ?

I've got the 9400W Firman Trifuel that runs through a Generlink to run my house when the power's out. Does everything I need, but I flip the breaker on my hottub because it draws a ton of power. If I wasn't running much else, the genny would do the trick, but I can live without the tub while the power's off. I paid $1307 for the Generlink itself and then $149 for the install (both prices after tax). I'm pretty happy with the setup, I built a Genny shed near my Generlink so I don't have to move anything, just go out fire up the genny, plug it in, and we're running.

Jordanferras wrote: ↑Theres more than 1 way to do it so it depends.

Most common is backfeeding the panel with a special plate/interlock switch that stops you from having main power on from the service while generator switch is on. Most people dont buy the plate and know what they're doing (redneck way) but you should avoid that. Then you'd still have to know enough to close off all your breakers and isolate where you want power obviously.

Other ways might not be possible depending on your panel. Some people install manual transfer switch which is more money. You'd pay for hardware and more labour.

No straight answer.. prob best to talk to an electrician who has knowledge of your setup

DonM28020 wrote: ↑ Your best bet would be to purchase a generator that has 220v ability so you could feed both sides of your panel. You would also need a lot more power if you want to power your stove.

MANGLER wrote: ↑ I guess we should separate legal vs illegal/not approved by code.

The legal way, cheapest is a generator fed subpanel. You basically pick 6-12 breakers you want to feed (depending on size of generator sub panel purchased) and you feed those with a generator (usually a plug that goes through the wall). Basically your circuits are "on grid" until you flip a switch and they become "generator fed".
What Jordanferras described is a panel interlock, which is not legal in Canada (don't ask me why). Doing it without the interlock plate is even more illegal, as you can forget to turn the main breaker off and then you are backfeeding the grid, which can kill utility workers trying to restore power.

Other options include generlink (basically a generator plug that fits behind your meter on a special ring), but that is both very expensive and reliability is questionable.

Manual transfer switch is the best option IMHO. Pricey but reliable.

Depending on the stove, you may want to rethink that. Gas stove, no issues. Induction stove, sure, keep the oven off. Anything else you are looking at major wattage, which will drive you to a much more expensive/heavier generator. Best option in an outage is to use that accesory burner on your bbq

hoody123 wrote: ↑ I've got the 9400W Firman Trifuel that runs through a Generlink to run my house when the power's out. Does everything I need, but I flip the breaker on my hottub because it draws a ton of power. If I wasn't running much else, the genny would do the trick, but I can live without the tub while the power's off. I paid $1307 for the Generlink itself and then $149 for the install (both prices after tax). I'm pretty happy with the setup, I built a Genny shed near my Generlink so I don't have to move anything, just go out fire up the genny, plug it in, and we're running.

Thanks a lot for this info.

If I understand this right, if I can look at running a hotplate rather than my electric stove the final setup will be cheaper [and hopefully simpler? not sure]. This gives me some kind of a starting point.

Further question:
what about a 1.5 ton central AC ? I am assuming the furnace fan needs to operate as well to circulate the cool air.

Thanks for the reminder OP.

Knew this was going on sale and am getting it just for emergency peace of mind - and any other random applications I can think of.

Ordered one,

I have no plans to run any 220v appliances like dryer, AC, hottub. I think a small generator is good to run the furnace so pipes don't freeze during prolonged power outage.

I have a gas stove but a hot plate would be make sense if you need to cook without power. For me it doesn't make sense to go all out to run 220v. It is supposed to be for emergencies unless you live somewhere where the power is not stable frequently.

You should be aware of power surges if running a generator and using sensitive electronics.

These smaller generators are more handy than a big unit because you can move them/store easier.

this also comes in a trifuel model - one of the few on the market that does natural gas line out of the box. That is a better buy.

Most people don't need to run entire house or 220v appliances during outages, for them it would be better to buy an Inverter generator, which are night and day quieter than these traditional generators.

You can order the 3800w peak 3500w running, Aipower inverter on costco.ca for 849. It is very quiet and runs load dependent. Inverters are more efficient and quieter, use less fuel, significantly less noise, and have low idle/economy modes where they run even quieter. I think those are far better buys for most people. i would not consider a traditional type for the noise level alone.

If your setting your entire house up, I would get the trifuel version of this, the 9500w one on costco.ca and run a bbq natural gas line to it. No tanks or gasoline to deal with.

Dumb question - are these online only or is it cheaper in store (like a lot of things are)?

Thanks!