Powermate PM2200i 2200 Starting Watt CARB Compliant Inverter Generator Expired

I have the slightly older 2000 watt version. I'm the long term owner folks like to hear from on purchases like these. I have since converted it to propane without issues.

Why? Well, mainly because I have a lot of propane and I use propane for my camper. Propane doesn't go bad like gas. Why is this important?

Well, like an idiot, I left gas in it the first year I owned it. I never knew about the carburetor drain. Next year, it was sluggish. Left gas in it again. Well 2nd year wouldn't stay running... What was the problem? Plastic carb float had a leak, and was no longer working properly. A new carb was about 50 bucks I believe, so I bought one.

I ended up getting a gas proof sealant and doing a boiling water bath on the float to find, drain, and seal the leak. Good as new! Started right up and ran great! Kept the new carb as a spare.

This last year, I installed a u.s. carb propane (actually tri-fuel) conversion kit.

If you ever think you'll use propane, get a duel fuel instead. Otherwise, this is a great generator with generac brand parts.

It's reasonably quiet, runs strong, and I've been very happy with it. I run premium gas in it now, as well as synthetic oil and I always drain gas if I use gas. In addition, I added a cheap hour meter from eBay.

Powering your home's electrical panel:


i used an interlock kit so i could power my entire panel (all 120V circuits, not at the same time obviously), just for convenience sake. an interlock prevents you from operating the generator with the main circuit on, thus preventing back feeding your panel by accident. Back feeding is when your generator sends electricity back to the outside lines b/c someone forgot to turn the main circuit breaker off. this mistake could (and has) injure or kill a line worker who is out there making repairs. direct feeding a panel without interlock or transfer switch sub panel is illegal due t potential for back feeding. here are some steps regarding interlock. as always, check your local codes for adherence to regulation.

Step 1: Find an interlock kit that's compatible with your panel. Chances are the model in HD/Lowe's will not fit your. You can buy them here https://www.geninterlock.com/ or here http://www.interlockkit.com/

Step 2: Buy a double pole breaker that's compatible with your electrical box. Home Depot or your local electric supply house will have this.

Step 3: Buy generator inlet: http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Controls-PB30-Generator-Generators/dp/B000BQT47S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&q... [amazon.com]

Step 4: Buy L14-30 to L5-30 adapter cable where both hots are crossed so you can power BOTH sides of your panel even though you have a 120V generator: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/...ge_o02_s00 . You could make your own cable for $10, but it's nice to have a factory molded rugged cable that you don't have to worry about. One end of this cable will go into the L14-30 inlet in #3 and the other end gives you a L5-30 connection. See step 5.

Step 5: Buy a 25ft or 50ft L5-30 extension cord (length is up to you). This cord is what will go from your adapter in your inlet in Step 3 to your generator. I bought this: http://www.amazon.com/Conntek-20571-Generator-Extension-Eextension/dp/B003HUYK5Q/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8... [amazon.com] . The reason why I am suggesting that you buy the L5-30 cord instead of a regular 5-15 cord + L5-30 to 5-15 adapter, is to future proof your setup should you ever decide to buy a 2nd Inverter generator and use the parallel kit (which has a L5-30 plug for 3000W output power), it's up to you really and what you think you generator power needs might be in the future. if you only plan on using single 120V inverter gens like this (1 of them), save the money

Step 6: Buy L5-30 to 5-15 adapter plug which goes into the generator if you want to run directly from a single generator and not the parallel kit (you should have the option of doing both, as a fall back, so you aren't forcing yourself to run both): http://www.amazon.com/Conntek-Locking-Adapter-Female-Connector/dp/B002YB108Y/ref=sr_1_5?tag=slickdea... [amazon.com]

Step 7: Either do it yourself per the Youtube videos or pay an electrician. You can buy the rest of the materials at Home Depot (romex, wall anchors, conduit, etc). Since you are providing all materials or most of them, the electrician should only be charging you a labor rate. This job should not take longer than 2 hours. If you are running across long distances or through thick masonry...ok add an hour. You should not have to pay more than 2-3 labor hrs for this job. If you want to save money, you can do all of the labor intensive work of mounting the inlet, running the conduit, and running the romex...then all he has to do is install the interlock panel, the double pole breaker for the generator, and make the final connection to your box. Figure he'll charge you (1) labor hour to do all of that. if you have never done anything electrical before, just hire the electrician for peace of mind.






NOTE 1: You will not be able to power any 240V appliances with this generator.Turn OFF all 240V circuits (except the double pole circuit you are using with your generator inlet and interlock). This is to prevent the possibility of overloading the neutral

NOTE 2: i attached photos. don't pay attention to the fact there are (2) inlets. it's b/c where i installed these, it's a multi residence with 2 service panels

NOTE 3: since i had the panels open, i threw on whole house surge protectors. bought them from a slickdeal back in 2012 i think

NOTE 4: you can fit (2) of these on a harbor freight large dolly, using scrap deck boards across.

NOTE 5: it's good practice to install run meters on these. installation simple the meter itself is only $5-6 on ebay or amazon. the run meter wire is what you see on the last pic of the 2 red generators, coming out from the front vent

NOTE 6: Another option to run a regular extension cord directly from the inlet to a single generator, is to use one of these adapters: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...UTF8&psc=1

Agree with always using stabilizer in the fuel, but this model also has an easily accessible carburetor bowl drain if it's going to be stored for any amount of time.

There's already tubing connected to allow you to drain the remaining fuel into a cup with a simple loosening of the screw.