Generator to generator

[Dennis12]

I have a Winegard SK-1000 TRAV'LER Gray/Black DISH Multi-Satellite TV Antenna on my unit. When I shut my Honda 2000 inverter off to fill with gas it shuts my satellite down and I have to wait for the dish to do it's thing in locating the satellite and download the program guide. What my question is is it possible to start the house generator and run until I refuel the Honda ? Is there a possibility of them throwing current each way and damaging something or everything ???

[ctilsie242]

I would probably say all of the above?

1: A small PSW inverter, big enough to run the TV, antenna, and such. That way, no matter what happens with electricity, you have your stuff running.

2: An extended run tank. It not just allows you to have the above mentioned long run times, but you can fill the run tank without having to shut down. It is more than worth it. Ideally, buy one with a plastic gas cap rather than aluminum, since aluminum might strip the plastic threads.

[mikestock]

If you can add an extended run external fuel supply, the fuel can be added to the eternal tank, safely, without shutting down. I use two EU2000i Hondas at my home during outages. and never have to shut them down to check or fill external tanks.

Just went through almost 48 hours down time without having to interrupt generators.

[MrWizard]

i dont have satellite , but to keep my PC external hard drives online, my PVR recorder online, and the TV etc..
i use inverter power,
these items are always on inverter power, the converter takes care of supply voltage for inverter and batteries when the generator or shore is available

i can switch to either one , or on or off, and nothing ever blips or burps

[time2roll]

Yes I believe that the switch back to the utility side is more difficult because it switches back as the voltage is dropping when the Onan is winding down. Satellite my shut down before it switches.

Switching to the Onan both have full voltage and the Onan get priority.

I wonder if you cut power on the Onan breakers if it would switch fast enough.

[j-d]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
In most cases a generator shutting down is going to shut down your receiver.

Our Transfer Switch CARRIES the Load going from Shore Tie TO ONAN 4KY genset. But it DROPS the load when I plug into Shore Tie and shut the ONAN down. We don't have Satellite, but it stalls our A/C.

[pianotuna]

I'd use a dedicated inverter for the items you wish to power.

[wa8yxm]

I have used an inverter (True sine) that takes over fast enough the TV does not blink, I also used a UPS.. and the blasted Dish receiver reset at every power transfer so the answer to your question is NO.

Now, one option is a small (say 300 watt) TRUE SINE inverter and run the dish off that full time. DO NOT know if it will work, but it is about the only thing I did not try when I had dish.

[Bill_Satellite]

In most cases a generator shutting down is going to shut down your receiver. I bought a small inverter which is connected directly to my batteries and powers my receiver and nothing else. I never lose my DirecTV.

[time2roll]

Dennis12 wrote:
What my question is is it possible to start the house generator and run until I refuel the Honda ?

Is there a possibility of them throwing current each way and damaging something or everything ???

1, Yes
2, No

Transfer switch will handle it just fine. Although some are not fast enough so it may still reset. In this case I agree a small inverter (300 watts?) could run the satellite full time from the battery. This might save some gasoline too. Then you are just a small step away from solar and retiring the honda.

[2oldman]

^^ that's what I do. Receiver on inverter 24/7. Very few transfer switches are fast enough for a receiver. I don't know how your house generator is wired to give an answer.

I know everyone will go ballistic at this, but, I do not turn off my Hondas to put gas in them. I'm not shutting down my air conditioning for 5 minutes just to do that.

I hope you're not running a generator just to watch tv.

[kerrlakeRoo]

how about powering that circuit from an inverter so it never gets shut down?

[Chris_Bryant]

It depends on how fast the transfer switch is- it won't hurt anything, it just might not work. You could just use a UPS on the receiver, which should transfer quick enough.