When it comes to generators, size does matter!

Repeat this after me, “Generator Sizing!” A gentleman wrote to me pleading with me to join him in seeking him to speak out against and eventually sue a well known generator manufacturer and a major hardware store. He had plans to put them on RipOffReport, ConsumerFraud and file a complaint with the Attorney General about him. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this guy was PO’d! He kept saying, “You don’t fool me without some heads rolling!”

But what made him bite the pieces was his own fault. This was his first generator purchase, and like many newbies, he walked into his local hardware store, talked to a floor salesman, and bought a generator without even calculating correctly if the unit could handle all the devices in his home.

The process is called generator sizing and people who skip it usually damage the generator or cause damage to your sensitive electronics or appliances. In your case, you ruined the generator beyond repair by severely overloading the unit. When the breaker kept shutting down the unit, you falsely assumed you had a faulty generator.

His next ill-advised action escalated matters into a catastrophic chain reaction. He got into this “legs and shade tree mechanical trick book” and missed the overload circuit in the generator. When he did that, ALL HELL DESTROYED!

The refrigerator started producing that creepy smell that says, “Something electrical is on FIRE.” By the time she got to the kitchen, the lights, refrigerator, oven, computer, and flat screen TV had all gone off and her generator went “Kapoof!” If you’re thinking, “This doesn’t look good!” You hit the nail! Both the refrigerator and the generator had burned out! His first reaction was to curse heaven, hell and earth, pick up that stinking generator, go to the hardware store and tell people what he thought.

Arriving at the store, she immediately called the manager (she didn’t want to talk to the peona mothers) and explained how the generator never worked in the first place. The manager, knowing the reputation of the generator brand, asked him if he overloaded the unit. His response was: “DEVIL NO!” The manager rephrased the question and asked if he had sized the generator before selecting this particular power unit.

All the man could do at that point was stare at the manager with a puzzled look on his face and say, “Generator WHAT?” The manager did what the salesman did not; he explained what the size of the generator was and why it was so important to calculate the power he needed. Since the man had never heard of such a thing, he accused the manager of trying to avoid giving him a refund for a faulty generator. After going back and forth and almost having to call the police, the man left the store and went online to find some people to help him continue his cause and that’s when he contacted me.

Talk about a quick turn of events! His bubble and his hopes were shattered when the first thing I asked him was, “Did you size the generator before purchasing the unit?” Now, he was all ears… when we did the math, it turned out that he was short seventeen thousand watts for all the devices and appliances he wanted to run during a blackout. Because he skipped this process, he was left out of the $2,200.00 he paid for the generator, plus he had to buy a new refrigerator. Folks, generator sizing is serious business!

What is generator sizing?

In layman’s terms, it’s the simple process of determining the generator power you’ll need for your particular set of circumstances. Done correctly, it will take the guesswork out of buying the right generator.