This was a few grand at a local warehouse club store. We have to have it because her father might not survive a power outage, and we HAVE THEM. So this ~82A generator is enough to power the A/C, or the blower for the gas furnace and a few other small loads.

The forklift where I bought it made moving this thing look easy. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I managed to get it to the ground & in-position without damaging it OR myself.

The forklift where I bought it made moving this thing look easy. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I managed to get it to the ground & in-position without damaging it OR myself.

They use the same enclosure for several larger units, so this one looks sort of empty.

I added the breaker tray (from a panel I bought separately) to the generator switch box, and moved the original breakers & their wires from the house box. That's why there are so many empty spaces on the right.

I added the breaker tray (from a panel I bought separately) to the generator switch box, and moved the original breakers & their wires from the house box. That's why there are so many empty spaces on the right.

I made one little mistake in my wiring (due partly to a change in NEC; partly to the generator's layout; mostly because I wasn't paying attention), but it's all working fine now.


UPDATE: It's still working like-new in 2015 and has really annoyed some of the neighbors. ;-) We often don't realize when there's a power outage until one of them calls to harass us.