Running a table saw and planer off a generator.

[Martin Wasner]

A trick for when there is a bunch of guys all running off of one 15a outlet is to bump the start switch a couple of times to get it moving, then go to full power on the tool. Tough to do if there's a magnetic starter though, and I don't know if it would work, but with my portable tablesaw that is what is often required on site to keep from tripping the breaker.

[Art Mann]

The whole issue has to do with the fact that starting current is often 2X or 3X the rated motor current for several seconds. Unlike the big generators, there is no flywheel of any significant mass to provide inertia to keep the rotor from slowing down rapidly. The rotation drops below sync speed for too long and the simple controller shuts it down.

[David C. Roseman]

Sounds like your Generac has an auto-idle feature. Is there a switch to turn auto-idle off? If so, it should then run full throttle.

That won't solve the problem, though, if start-up current draw is still too high for the generator even at full throttle.

[Harry Niemann]

Contact Generac.