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[Roger2561]

This morning we've had 2 brief power outages and it was that moment that I forgot to get a new battery for the generator.  This generator is a whole house, auto start unit, 15K.  Thankfully the power came back on after a minute or 2.  And, thankfully, the weather is supposed to moderate a bit for the next 2 or 3 days where it "should" be above zero (tropical).  I think I'm okay if I stop by the parts place to pick it up on my way home from work.  Gosh, if it's not one thing, it's another.  I think this is going to be one of those years.  Roger 

[juddspaintballs]

It would be worthwhile to put a jumper pack on the battery and switch the generator into manual mode so it runs for a couple hours to top off the battery until you get a replacement later. 

[mlappin]

Kinda surprised it doesn’t have a trickle charger or battery tender built right into the generator.

[Cabo]

Be careful with a jumper pack.  Had a client figure he'd start his generator by jumping off of his vehicle and ended up burning up his control panel on oil boiler, Taco relay along with various other items that showed up over his weekend stay.  It was an expensive weekend when he got done.  Trickle charger would be a much safer way to go.

[RSI]

How did jumping it from a vehicle kill all that stuff?

[Cabo]

I'm not sure how that happened.  Never did get it fully explained to me.

[Roger2561]

She has new battery, runs great for now.  I'll see what happens Saturday morning when the temps are supposed to reach in the negative mid 20's.  I'm hoping she gets through her weekly test without any issues.  Roger

[juddspaintballs]

How did jumping it from a vehicle kill all that stuff?

Years ago, I worked in a mechanic shop at the college I attended for some extra cash.  One of the older mechanics there taught me to never crank a dead vehicle while the jumping vehicle was running.  Only one vehicle running at a time.  It prevents an electrical spike in both systems as two running alternators attempt to control the voltage while they fight against each other, particularly when the newly introduced one first starts up.  This could be exactly how that guy fried sensitive electrical components when he jump started his generator from a running vehicle. 

So for jumping a vehicle from another, hook them up, turn the donor vehicle on and let it charge the discharged battery for a while, then turn it off and attempt to start the dead vehicle. 

[Roger2561]

juddspaintballs - thanks for the tip on starting a vehicle when needing to give it a jump start.  This discussion brings me back to my EMS days.  We were called to a residence a few Christmas Eves ago for someone who had a battery explode in the face.  It was a really cold morning and the young man grabbed another battery to jump start his car.  Something went very wrong, it exploded in his face when he hooked it up.  Pour guy, he was agony.  Roger     

[wreckit87]

Geez. Should probably buy a lottery ticket. 15 years of racing and demo derby and mudding and other motor vehicle obsessions, I can't even begin to count the amount of times I've jumped a stone dead battery from either a boost pack or running vehicle. Even a few sketchy ones when jumpers weren't available and we just used Romex house wire lol. Haven't been sploded yet! Better start counting the blessings

[RSI]

The starter circuit would be completely separate from the generator output so I don't see how it could do anything. The only thing I can think of is that it was turning over slow and putting out power while cranking which could be a problem.

That may have been a problem leaving the engine running while starting the dead vehicle on old stuff but doubt it would hurt any on anything made in the last 50+ years.

[BIG AL]

I had 4 batteries blow up on us one day thankfully no one was hurt. We were going to respond to a fire and the pumper wouldn't start so we jumped it with a the jump setting on the battery booster and one spark and boom battery parts everywhere. Figured out later that the trickle charger had dried out the batteries producing hydrogen gas. that was quite the experience. Very careful jumping things since.

[Cabo]

I know there was a part on the generator that was damaged/replaced.  Not sure if it was a voltage regulator or not.  Judd was correct about the sensitive electrical components.  I've also seen twice with Budarus gas boilers where they are very fickle about running on generated power and it not being "clean" enough.  Both cases have been resolved.

[schoppy]

I have a 21K whole house standby generator. It has a built in charger to maintain the battery voltage. I also added a wrap around battery warmer and carb heater which is temperature activated below 35 degrees. I also changed my exercise option to only cycle once every 2 weeks which is frequent enough for me. The electrical specs for my generator have a cleaner rating for the total harmonic distortion than my utility provides so operating electronic equipment is not an issue. 
 
Standby generators have to have an automatic transfer switch which completely isolates it from the homes system when utility power is on. Unless it is improperly installed there shouldn't be anyway to damage anything in the home by jumping the battery.

Also when jumping any battery the last connection should be the ground lead on the vehicle with the dead battery at a remote point from the battery. All lead acid batteries produce hydrogen gas which is flammable and that is why you never make the ground or last connection on the battery itself which almost always causes a spark. Running the jumping vehicle while performing the jumping should not be an issue when done as described above.

[Roger2561]

I have a 21K whole house standby generator. It has a built in charger to maintain the battery voltage. I also added a wrap around battery warmer and carb heater which is temperature activated below 35 degrees. I also changed my exercise option to only cycle once every 2 weeks which is frequent enough for me. The electrical specs for my generator have a cleaner rating for the total harmonic distortion than my utility provides so operating electronic equipment is not an issue. 
 
Standby generators have to have an automatic transfer switch which completely isolates it from the homes system when utility power is on. Unless it is improperly installed there shouldn't be anyway to damage anything in the home by jumping the battery.

Also when jumping any battery the last connection should be the ground lead on the vehicle with the dead battery at a remote point from the battery. All lead acid batteries produce hydrogen gas which is flammable and that is why you never make the ground or last connection on the battery itself which almost always causes a spark. Running the jumping vehicle while performing the jumping should not be an issue when done as described above.

schoppy - Thanks for the info.  Where can I get a wrap around battery warmer and carb heater?  My generator dealer from whom I purchased it is no longer in business.  Roger