Our new generator was delivered this weekend by my friend Karl. He picked it up for me a couple of weeks ago because there were none available with 100 miles of me because of the storm. It’s a Predator 8750 from Harbor Freight which has a surge capacity of 8,750 watts and a running load of up to 7,000 watts. My plan is to run it at about 5,000 watts which should recharge our battery bank from 20 percent to full in under five hours.
Running the generator at 70 to 75 percent of its max capacity will extend its life and improve fuel efficiency.
The hardest part was lifting it out of the truck. The generator was easy to assemble and had excellent instructions. Once we added oil, we put some gas in the tank and fired her up. It ran just fine.
Floating Neutral versus Bonded Neutral
While doing some research on hooking your generator up to your house or a solar power system, I learned that in many cases the generator should have a floating neutral, not a bonded neutral. Apparently, a generator you use to power a saw or other devices via the outlets on the generator should have a bonded neutral, but because your house already has a bonded neutral, you don’t want one in a generator that plugs into your house’s electrical system. (See video below.)
I cannot help but think this is what caused the oven and AC to get damaged when we tested the other generator. I am working with my solar guy and the manufacturer’s tech support team to determine if this is a possibility. If so, I will have to convert my generator from a bonded neutral to a floating neutral.
In a floating neutral, the neutral wire (usually white) and the ground (usually green) do not connect. I am not an electrician and will not explain the differences. Just remember, any wiring or messing around with electricity you do at your own risk.
I may have to open up the generator and disconnect the ground from the neutral. Luckily, I found another video that shows how to do this. This is why I call it YouTube University! Because I can learn how to do almost anything I want just by watching a few videos.
Ammo Resupply
Karl also brought me a number of ammo cans I had stashed at his house back in 2012. (Back then, we were going to bug out there. Now, he is planning to bug out here.) I knew I had ammo there, but I had no idea I had so much. A guy who returns thousands of round of ammo is a trustworthy friend.
I opened and inspected every can and all the ammo looked to be in great condition. If you store ammo, I recommend ammo cans with rubber seals. I have a mix of surplus cans and newer cans bought at places like Bass Pro Shops and Harbor Freight. At the latter, they often go on sale for $10 or $12. Considering 1,000 rounds of ammo can cost hundreds or even a thousand dollars, I don’t mind spending the extra $10 to keep my ammo clean, dry, and ready to use. I prefer metal cans, but sturdy plastic ones will also work. The key is the rubber O-ring or seal has to be in good shape to keep out air and water. When I open a can, I like it when it sighs because I know it has been air tight.
After his delivery, I now have an additional 6,000 rounds of .22LR, 2,000 rounds of 5.56 traces, 3,000 rounds of 193 5.56 ammo with Lake City head stamps, 1,000 rounds of .40S&W, and 3,000 rounds of .308. Inside the cans I also found four 10/22 magazines in their original packaging, four Magpul magazines for 5.56, and one M14 magazine. Some of the .308 ammo was old Radway Green surplus ammo I bought more than a decade ago. The rest of it was Prvi Partizan.
Looks like I can afford to do a great deal more practicing. I definitely need to shoot more .308.
There’s a good chance I still have some 5-gallon pails of oatmeal and other food at his house. I guess he’ll have to visit again.
Range Time
After Karl and Keri left for the long trip home, I set up the target stands and my wife and I did some practice. We used three different guns, including her carry gun. My wife does fine with pistol, but has little experience with rifles. I let her shoot a Ruger 10/22, which I consider a lightweight gun, but she had a hard time holding it steady and on target while standing. So I sat her behind a table, and let her put the fore end on a rest, and that helped. She could hit the targets, but was not comfortable shooting the rifle. She did better prone, but she needs more practice.
