Do you want to buy an 8000-watt generator but are unsure of what you can power with it?
All of your home’s electrical appliances, including the fridge, microwave, coffee maker, TV, and lights, may be powered by a single 8000-watt generator, since it generates roughly 66.7 amps in the case of 120 volts or 33.3 amps in the case of 240 volts.
One restriction is that you can’t use all of these gadgets/appliances simultaneously. You need to know how much power each appliance in your home uses to determine if you can operate them all at once.
To assist you in your endeavor, we have compiled a list of items alongside their respective power requirements. Other higher wattage appliances, like air conditioners, may require different outlets than some low wattage appliances, therefore it’s important to know if your generator has enough of the right kind of outlets.
Running watts and starting watts are the two primary measures of power production that describe a generator’s capabilities.
Rated (running) watts are the maximum power your equipment can produce over extended periods of time, and are represented by the first, smaller number.
The greater second number represents the surge watts your machine is capable of producing when first turned on.
A generator with an output of 8000 watts in its operational state is said to be an 8000-watt generator. Different models and makes of generators will have different starting wattages, but we’ve found that the typical range is between 8500 and 10000 surge watts.
However, you shouldn’t try to power your entire home with an 8000-watt generator because you’ll need a lot more juice than that.
What Size Generator Do You Need?
What size generator do you need? Follow the following instructions to find out how many of your home’s electrical devices you can safely run off of a single portable generator:
Make a list of all the electronics in your home that you would like to keep running in the event of a power outage (listed below you can find estimates of the appliance wattages)
- Make a table with the running and starting wattage needs from their name tags
- Then sum up all of the operating watts required to run your appliances.
- Next, identify the appliances that requires the additional beginning watts.
- Then, add this to your overall wattage while running.
- Indicated by the final tally, this is the minimum number of beginning watts your generator must supply.
Here is an example of how to determine the wattage requirements
| Appliances | Rated Watts | Additional Starting Watts |
| 22″ LED Television | 17 W | 0 W |
| Refrigerator / Freezer | 700 W | 2,200 W |
| Laptop | 50 W | 0 W |
| LED Light Bulb (2) | 18 W | 0 W |
| 12,000 BTU Window AC | 3,250 W | 9,750 W |
| SUM | 4,035 W | 18,500 W |
| TOTAL | 22,535 W |
In the above illustration, we can see that the total running watts of our appliances comes to 4,035W.
In order to run all of these devices, though, we’d need a generator with a surge capacity of at least 18,500 watts.
Just remember that the wattage at which your home’s electric appliances operate may not be listed on their information labels. If that’s the case, you can use this calculation to get a rough idea of how many watts you’ll need to keep things running:
- W (or kW) = V (volts) × A (amperes) (A)
- Amperes (A) = Watts (W or kW) / Volts (V)
As a result, if you know the voltage and current requirements, you may calculate an approximation of the operating watts. Perhaps this equation, which illustrates Ohm’s law from your high school physics classes, can jog your memory.
There is an cheap equipment available called “load tester” that can help you figure out how many watts each of your appliances requires. You can skip all the complicated physics calculus and just grab one from Amazon.
If you want to know the exact wattage needs of each appliance or power equipment in your home, you’ll need to check them out one by one.
Here is a quick video how to measure the load of appliances
Keep in mind that these are simply approximations, and that in order to learn the exact figures, you need read the label on your particular products.
Can 8000 Watt Generator Run a Well Pump?
In most cases, a well pump can be powered by a generator with an 8,000-watt running capacity. Without knowing the precise operating and starting watts required by your water pump, it is difficult to provide an accurate solution to this query.
Here are rough estimates for different types of well pumps
| Horse Power (HP) | Running watts | Starting watts |
| 1/3 | 750 | 1500 |
| 1/2 | 1000 | 2100 |
| 3/4 | 1500 | 3000 |
| 1.0 | 2000 | 4000 |
| 1.5 | 2500 | 5000 |
The estimations show that starting watts, and not running watts, are the problem. The specifics can be calculated after locating the pump’s voltage (120 or 240) and horsepower details on the information plate.
Can 8000 Watt Portable Generator Run a Sump Pump?
A small sump pump (1/2 HP) should be able to be powered by a sump pump generator with 8,000 operating watts without any problems. It consumes 1050 watts while operating and 2150 watts during starting. But, without knowing the precise running and beginning watts required by your pump, however, giving a definitive response to this topic is extremely challenging.
The info-plate on your pump should contain the relevant data for calculating the required voltage, amperage, and horsepower.
Can a 8000 Watt Generator Run a RV AC?
In most cases, an RV air conditioner (13500 BTU) can be powered by a generator with 8,000 operating watts. Without knowing the precise running and starting watts required by your AC unit, it is difficult to provide an accurate answer to this query.
Cost estimates for several varieties of RV air conditioners are shown below. The estimations show that starting watts, and not running watts, are the problem. The info-plate on your RV air conditioner will tell you the exact voltage and amperage requirements.
| BTU | Running watts | Starting watts |
| 11000 | 1100 | 1600 |
| 13000 | 1800 | 2800 |
| 15000 | 2000 | 3500 |
Can 8000 Watt Generators Run a Central AC?
Although in theory a modern, small central air conditioner might be powered by a generator with 8000 operating watts, we recommend a window AC unit in case the generator struggles to get going.
The wattage needs of your AC unit (both when operating and when first turned on) will determine the correct answer.
Obviously, the cooling capacity of different models and brands makes a big difference in these estimates. Because of this, you should check the central air conditioner’s label for this information.
Keep in mind that the compressor and fan unit will each require a certain number of amps. It is recommended that you check with the generator’s manufacturer or a licensed electrician to find out whether or not your 8000-watt generator is capable of powering a central air conditioner.
Can a 8000 Watt Generator Run a Refrigerator?
A refrigerator’s power consumption typically peaks at roughly 1300 watts while the compressor starts up and then lowers to around 250 watts during normal operation. Each of the generators described here is powerful enough to power a refrigerator.
Refrigerating and freezing food is no problem with an 8000-watt generator. You can run any cutting-edge fridge with a freezer with no problem using an inverter generator with a minimum starting wattage of 2000.
The average refrigerator starts using between 800 and 1200 watts, thus 8000 watts is more than enough to run the appliance safely.
What Type Oil Is the Best for A 8000 Generator?
A gasoline generator of this size typically has a 4-stroke engine. In this scenario, you’ll want to use SAE 30 (if you’re in a warmer area) or SAE 10W-30 (if you’re somewhere colder). But there are numerous factors to think about when selecting the optimum oil for your generator.
