One of the more popular rentals this time of year for our towable generators are benefit auctions; particularly among the Amish. Often the generators are used for ice cream machines, food trailers, and a variety of other small appliances.

 One point to be wary of on these types of rentals; we have had a couple instances in the last couple of weeks where a customer loaded too much on a single 50-amp circuit on a generator and was causing the 50-amp breaker to flip. For example, one customer was renting a 26KW generator, spider box, adapter box, and 100’ extension cord and was running an ice cream machine, food trailer, freezer, and multiple small appliances all on one 50amp circuit and the individual 50amp breaker was flipping causing major inconveniences in the middle of their event. The main issue was that the ice cream machine and food trailer both required their own 50 amp circuit and they were being used on the same circuit.  The solution was to add a second spider box, adapter box, and 100’ extension cord so that the load was evenly distributed between two 50-amp circuits.

 A general rule of thumb is that there should never be multiple 50-amp appliances (i.e. ice cream machine, food trailer, etc.) plugged into one adapter box. There are 3 different receptacles on the adapter boxes so that different types of plugs can be used NOT so that multiple plugs can be used on one box.

 We have made great strides in the last few years in making sure the customer gets the right connection from the generator to the appliance through the use of adapter boxes and spider boxes. Our goal in this is to eliminate the need for pigtails or cord end switching; which is not ideal. We have added additional extension cords, adapter boxes, and spider boxes in the last couple months so that we have what the customer needs when the demand is high. We are liberal in sending out these accessories to make the rental experience a good one. Determine how many 50-amp appliances will be run run to determine how many ‘sets’ of accessories you need to send along. Keep in mind that small appliances can be used on the same circuit as a 50-amp appliance through the use of a spider box.

 Here is a quick reference on how many 50-amp appliances our towable generators will handle:

• 15kw – One 50-amp appliance (ice cream machine, food trailer, etc.)
• 26kw – Two 50-amp appliances
• 58kw – Four 50-amp appliances (This generator only has two 50-amp twist-lock receptacles so to use additional circuits would require hardwiring to the generator)