This is episode number 312 of The Homeowner Show. Whether you're DIY or looking to hire, we're here to help you find the best information and options for you and your home. My name is Kevin Hackett, and here with me is Greg Williams.
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to our new pad. The new pad. The new pad. We're, uh, we're shaking things up a little bit tonight.
So we've— we're not— this is not a permanent move. There was an incident in the studio that required our immediate evacuation.
Yes. And, and we know that you can't tell a difference, but we can tell a difference.
We can tell the difference. We're a little cozier. We're a little comfier.
Um, but we're, we're gonna have a good time tonight.
Yeah, it feels a little different. We didn't have any bump music on the live. It'll be in the, the obviously the audio, but Yeah, a little different setup. So how you doing?
Yeah, well, I'm doing good, man. I'm actually excited to— like, if you're watching live, or honestly, if you're listening to the recording later on, we really want feedback on this setup.
Because we're trying out some new mics.
That we've had for a while. Shout out to my buddy Chris DiCillo, who's got a new podcast up in Colorado, kind of helped him get that up and going. But these were mics that we had tried out and we hadn't used them live on the show yet. But I had recommended them to him and he's like, dude, these have been a massive game changer.
Yeah. Uh, he was one of my, uh, upperclassmen when I was at A&M.
Yeah, he used to like make me do push-ups and yell at me and now we're friends. Oh, you know, it's funny how that works out.
Yeah, well, there comes a point whenever that doesn't matter as much anymore.
But he's, he's doing a really cool local podcast. focusing on businesses and business owners. And they're trying to like, you know, sort of dig deep into like what their mantra is. I saw him doing an interview with a gal the other day that it was a restaurant.
And she had, I think it was called, it was a milkshake called like the Velvet Elvis. And I assume it was like, chocolate and banana. And, you know, it looked delicious. It sounds delicious. So I was, I was intrigued, Chris. Bravo. So, but I think that, I think that's something that we're going to start seeing more and more of, you know, because there's so many people that want to be famous.
But I think more podcasters are finding value in focusing in on their community. and making content for the people that they can actually reach out and touch.
Yeah, I mean, it definitely makes sense because one of the things that's so different about the world that we live in is the way people trust you is very different. And if you own a business, trust is a big thing.
I feel like we did a little Trumpism right there.
Yeah, it's huge. So it's one of those things though that like I mean, it's not the same. Word of mouth is, is still very important, but people get to you now through a computer and having some sort of trust where they can actually, you know, hear your voice, see your— yeah, you know, your mannerisms, all those sorts of things. It's just different. And so I think that that's another reason that podcasts can be a really good thing for businesses as far as that goes.
Well, I mean, especially locally, because Everyone gets sort of tunnel vision into what they're doing in the busyness of their life. And so if there's some sort of content that allows you to make a personal connection with a local person, you know, you feel more like you know that person.
You know, this is the thing that I hear, you know, you hear other big podcasters who have been doing it for years, like Rogan. Like Rogan will talk about how it's weird that people will approach him and they act as if they know him.
And what he's come to understand is that they do know him, but he doesn't know them.
And so he's at a disadvantage.
But because he's been doing it for so long and he's so prolific and he's so good and people wanna watch his stuff, that everyone feels like they know him. And he's— I think that's something that he wrestles with, honestly.
Well, I don't think it's just him. I was listening to another podcast the other day. And they said that someone just walked up to them or like, hey, how's it going? And they, they just, they were in a weird context. And so they didn't think about like, this person probably knows me because I've got this podcast.
But they were, they were like, they said their name. They're like, well, maybe I knew them from somewhere in the past or something. Yeah. Finally, they realized it was a podcast. And they were like, oh, that makes a lot of sense. But it's a very singular relationship.
Right? Has this not happened to you yet?
And where people like start asking me about like specific details about my life.
And things that we've talked about on the show. But like, it could be that they watched an episode that we did like 2 years ago, right? You know, and they're asking me questions about things that we said then. And I'm like, hell if I know.
Yeah. No, it's, it's a very—
I don't remember what I had for lunch yesterday.
Well, right. I mean, 6 and a half years into doing this, I mean, this many episodes, you know, we run into people, right? And they run into us and, and they recognize, they recognize us and we're on, we're on video, you know? So it's, it's interesting.
Yeah, dude. So, um, some other big podcasts I, I feel— so here's the thing, I feel like, I don't know, there's a lot of people probably don't realize, but like, we got— I got in trouble like you got in trouble for New Jersey.
Yes, you did. You got in quite— people were after you.
Yeah, I've never been called a bootlicker so many times in my life. I'm excited that things get a lot of comments, and that's the only reason I go sometimes is to see what they are, but all of it's just hate, absolute hate towards me. And I could give a flying flip.
No, I mean, because it's— here's the thing, like, anybody that knows you, you know, people—
Oh, by the way, you got brought up in the comments as well.
Yeah, because they were like, oh, 2 idiots from Texas don't know what— like, he's got Texas Tech and he's got A&M. Obviously, we're dealing with morons kind of stuff. And like, Yeah, it was that kind of a thing.
Yeah, because like, it's one of those deals too. It's like, would you say it again?
That's the thing. It's like we said what we wanted to say.
I'm about to double down on it, by the way.
Exactly. Oh, okay. Because it's, it's kind of like one of those deals. Like, you can— when you have your own podcast, then you can say whatever you want.
You know, make your own opinion.
Yeah. And by the way, most of the people who are saying crap about us online have no picture of themselves in their profile.
It's like, you know, it's— so it's a bunch of giant cowards that don't want people to know who they are so they can say whatever dumb thing it is that they want to say. But here's the thing that I found interesting is we kind of broke the story that Bill was saying idiotic and moronic things about how people should be drug out in the street and shot.
Right? And that's a dumb thing to say, and I don't care who you're saying it about, whether it's billionaires or the poor or a dog or— I don't care. If you're talking about dragging people out in the middle of the street and shooting them, you're an idiot.
And no one should listen to what you say after that or before that.
So that— period, end of story. But what happened is like 2 weeks after that, all of a sudden Ben Shapiro starts dogging on Bill Burr. All of a sudden Tim Pool starts dogging on Bill Burr. And, you know, maybe they listened to our show.
If they don't, they will soon.
But here's the thing is they were like 2 weeks behind us on this. But we took all the big heat from all of these commies who think that all the money that these billionaires have made should be taken away from them and redistributed.
I remember Jim Rohn saying this years and years ago. It's like if you took all the money in the world, Take it all. Take all the money in the world and redistribute it equally to the world. Everybody gets a piece. Within 5 years, all that money is going to be right back in the same hands that you took it from.
Yeah, because the people that make money know how to make money.
They know how to make money.
And people that don't make money—
They know how to make money.
it's, you know, I think that's actually like a little bit of a misnomer. I don't know that they know how to make money. What they know is how to manipulate systems, which is— and play games.
Yeah, which is the way money is set up.
It's just a system and a game.
And if you know how to play the game, then you can make more money. And oh, by the way, the people that don't have money, they made their choices.
Now, that's okay. Overstatement. That was an overstatement. Here's the thing. Many, many people that have a broke mentality are gonna get broke again.
So that's really my point more than anything.
I mean, generalizations are not fair. No, they're not.
And there are people who are genuine victims of systems and situations.
You know, that, that does happen, but it's not the overarching normal.
Most people cause their own problems.
Yes. There are some people that will hear that and see, well, he doesn't care. He's not empathetic.
That's actually the opposite.
That is the opposite. Because what I genuinely believe is that most people are completely capable of pulling themselves out of situations despite the systems that are burdened upon them, despite their situations, despite their upbringing, despite whatever it is that you think is holding them down, most everybody is capable of rising above that and succeeding anyway.
That's the problem I have with all these people is they're just a bunch of freaking whiners that think that they're the victim. They think that they're the victim is because they've been told that they're the victim and there's been people in their lives that have convinced them that they're the victim by telling them that they're the victim. I'm sorry, that's just a miserable way to live.
Like, even, even, even if I, even if I was in a less fortunate situation than I was in, I would hope that there would be somebody around me that would tell me, you know what, you can do this. You can, you can get out of this, man. This is totally doable. And not only that, but like, you're capable of it.
Right. And I've found that there are so many people and organizations that are willing to help. They really are. And, and if you are— this is true. I'll say this to, to young people all the time. If you are the type of person that puts initiative out.
There are people that will help you all the time.
I mean, I have a— so my daughter, that's how she started a business.
Was she doing like a, like a knitting?
Yeah. So she crochets, uh, you know, self-taught mostly, uh, but she's started this business and she's 12 and she's got people—
All the time that are going, hey, love to, uh, help you out. I mean, they're out there buying her stuff not because they necessarily need it, but because they're like, look, here's someone who's showing initiative. They like that. They want that kind of you know, person to succeed in life. And we need that kind of person to succeed in life. And so, you know, I— there are people out there and there are organizations out there that will help. But anyway, we're way off topic. That's not where we planned to go at all. We actually do have a topic that we're going to talk about today.
Yeah, yeah. So, uh, I guess this was 3 months ago. Um, I bought the Westinghouse tri-fuel generator.
And this is something I, I'd had in the works for a long time.
Um, I'd been in my— here's, here's what I'll say about this, and, and then I'll, I'll drop it— is my, my folks have a whole home generator, right? A Generac.
Uh, natural gas powered. It's fantastic. When— and I forget how long ago it was now that we had the massive freeze where you guys came and stayed here.
Yep, that was probably 6 years ago now. Was it? No, probably.
Could have been 6 years ago. Uh, dude, it had been like 3 or 4.
It could— it had to have been more than 3 because we've lived in our house for almost 3 and we didn't live in this house whenever that happened.
Yeah, okay. So, so anyway, when, when that one happened, when we had like 7 inches of snow—
Um, the home generator failed.
Really? Oh, I remember this.
Yeah, it wouldn't come on.
And my dad was having to go out in the Frigid cold.
And manually start this thing, and it would only run for like an hour at a time.
And then it would shut off.
And then shut off. And that, that's not what you're supposed to experience.
And I— look, that may not be the experience of most Generac home generators.
But it put a bad taste in my mouth.
I didn't like that it was difficult to open. It was difficult to understand how to start.
He's having— he's calling me going, hey, can you look up on YouTube? Hey, can you look up on Google?
You know, because he doesn't have power.
And like, I'm, I'm stranded up here not being able to be there with him and help him understand what's going on or even try and like open the thing up with him.
So anyway, I was like, man, I really want something that gives me a little bit more versatility, gives me a little more options, because once you have one of those things plugged into your house, That's the only thing it can ever do.
Oh yeah, it's— it has no utility at that point.
Outside of that, it is— yeah.
And so I was thinking about— and there are occasions in my business where I do need a generator. I do like to go camping. I'm looking at having other properties where a generator could really come in handy.
You know, 'cause we're looking at, you know, more wilderness locations because that's kind of the people that we are.
And so I would like to have a big enough generator that if I needed to take it with me, I could. But also, you know, we have 3 buildings on this property, and I would need a pretty big generator in order to operate all of them to sustain the things that I would— and mainly the big things are all of the refrigerators and freezers on this property, right? You know, because I don't want the food to go bad. That's the big thing.
Um, you know, water and, and lights, that's no big deal. Um, so anyway, I got this Westinghouse tri-fuel generator, and what's cool about it is at its peak, it's, it's 14,500-watt generator. Now that's if it's running off gasoline, right? Um, and so it—
Just to give a little bit of perspective, Maybe 2 years ago, we did an episode on my tri-fuel generator, right? That is, uh, it's a Duramax, right? And at the time, it was the largest tri-fuel on the market, right? And on gasoline, it runs at 13,000, right? So this is another 1,500 watts, which is Significant. Significant. Yeah, it really, really is.
Now they, they do have ones that are bigger.
Yeah, in fact, uh, Duramax now has an inverter, uh, generator that, uh, is, uh, 16,000.
And it is— it's also tri-fuel, but the fact that it's an inverter, it's got a lot more power than a traditional generator has.
But either way, Um, I just— to put that in perspective, this is now one of the larger tri-fuel generators that are out there.
Yes. Yeah, yeah. So, um, and it, it has a lot of bells and whistles. I mean, so just to kind of go through it, I mean, I've run it, um, and also my, uh, my buddy John Wagner, um, who owns Y Electric, he came out and put in a 50-amp plug.
On my system. And what makes— what part of what makes this property a little bit unique is we actually have, uh, 4 breaker boxes.
So there's a main breaker box that splits off into the other 3 breaker boxes for each of the buildings.
Okay, so does the— so does the primary breaker box run the others?
Okay, so you— It feeds the others. So it feeds the others, which means if you put a generator on the primary You can still run things on the auxiliary ones.
I can, I can run things if I— and because initially what we were going to do is just put the plug on the main house.
Yeah, I mean, we've— yeah, we've got a similar setup. We've got 2 other buildings that have smaller breaker boxes on them, and as long as it's hooked up to the primary, you're good to go. You're good to go.
Yeah, and so that was this situation. Um, And so we can go through and select what all we want on. And so what I was concerned about is, you know, if it's hurricane season, can I plug in the generator and run the air conditioner in the main house?
Because it's the most efficient air conditioner that we have on the property. Everybody could fit in that building, right, that's living here, sleep comfortably. Could we run the air conditioner? According to John, not a problem.
Not a problem at all. And I was like, so, okay, so my other, my other question is, during the day when like we don't necessarily need to run the air conditioner, because I mean, I'm really only concerned about the air conditioner at night when I want to sleep.
Um, if during the day, could that generator run every single refrigerator and freezer on this property? And let me tell you, there are a lot of refrigerators and freezers on this property. And he was like, look, I mean, I think— let's see, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
And I was like, could it, could it run 7 of them? No problem.
At least according to my electrician. I'm not an expert. I was just asking the questions.
So, um, so the, the key, the reason I ended up buying this one is because of all the versatility that comes with it. So it has a 50-amp plug.
And then it just has all the banks on it that you can also operate at the same time.
Just regular plug. And I think it has, lemme look at the picture. I think it has 4. It's not in here. That's the reason I'm having to look.
Yeah. Um, yeah, mine, mine, uh, it has, it has 4. It has. So, so it has actually 6 plugs on it.
So 6 total, a 50-amp, a 30-amp, and then 4 120s.
Um, that you can just plug into.
So, and then it's a simple dial. So you can run it off of natural gas, you can run it off of propane, or you can run it off of gasoline.
Gasoline is going to give you the highest output.
Propane's the next step down, and then natural gas is the next step down.
So we have access to all 3 of those fuel sources here here on the property because we keep a stash of gasoline, we keep a stash of propane, but we also have a natural gas line. And having the natural gas— my big question was, is if we did the step down to the natural gas, could it still do all the things that I want it to? And the answer I got was yes.
Because, you know, when, when a big storm comes through, sometimes you can't get to the gas station. No, sometimes you can't get to the propane refill. Some, you know, and sometimes you run out of bottles or whatever it is.
Propane, propane is the least efficient of those.
Well, it is. I mean, as far as like output, it is, it is as far as output goes. But as far as far as like how quickly it uses it, uses it, the propane will go.
Oh, I imagine. Yeah, propane goes quick.
I mean, a 30, basically a regular 20-pound bottle, which is basically what you'll put in a gas grill.
That will run about an hour.
So now we have a— here on the property, I guess it's like a 200-pound tank.
Yeah, it's a long way away.
And so Dude, is it shaking?
We got Jake Spoon hanging out in the room with us tonight. He's the new Aussie of the family.
So we have him in here so that he gets used to Kevin because he's, he's, he's suspicious of new people.
Well, you know, it is what it is, but he keeps walking past the camera going, okay, there's cords around here.
Yeah, so far so good. He's doing all right. So, so those, those are good features. So having, having the versatility of a 50-amp and a 30-amp, um, because I think, um, you know, and you're more the expert on this, but, um, some RVs will run off a 50-amp and some RVs will run off a 30-amp. The smaller ones run off a 30-amp.
It all depends on how many air conditioners you've got.
If you have one air conditioner, it'll run 30-amp. If it's got 2, then you have to run 50. And some of them have 3 and it'll run 50 as well. But okay, um, those are going to be your, your diesel pushers if they have 3.
But most travel trailers will have, you know, the bigger ones are going to have 2 and it needs 50 amps to run that.
Okay. So, so it has those options as well. So if you had, you know, different size RVs that you needed to power, it can do those as well. If, you know, and some house— I've seen some houses that only have a 30-amp plug for their, for their generator plug.
Sure. And it really all depends on what you're trying to run. I mean, if you're trying to run—
Because I don't think a 30-amp will do air conditioning.
Um, you, you need a 50-amp to run the air conditioner, but a 30-amp would run an oven. It would run, you know, if you had an electric oven, electric oven, they'll run it. You know, same thing with the electric dryer. It'll— it needs a 30-amp, right? Um, so, and again, all of it, every Everything has to do with what you're trying to run at one time, you know?
Yeah. So the, the other key features on this one that I'll, that I'll point out that I— one is this fuel switch on it, super easy to use, very intuitive. Um, it also has an electric starter.
So yeah, so it— you do have the pull start option.
You know, in, in case the, the battery is drained or the starter's broken or whatever it is, you still have the option to pull start. But like, why live like that when you don't have to? When you don't have to.
So it has the electric start and it works really, really well.
Yeah, it's really cool because they— the way those things work is they, they rev up and if it doesn't start, it stops, right? It waits a few minutes— or a few minutes, a few seconds, right? It tries to go again until it finally starts up. It's really They're, they're real smart.
Oh yeah, yeah, no, they're super, super smart. And, um, you know, at least my experience so far, I mean, doesn't struggle at all. It just starts right up.
Um, you know, and to be fair, I've only run it to test it.
Yeah, did you, did you test it on natural gas?
Okay, so you only ran it on, on gas?
So, um, what I'll tell you is Um, when you do hook it up to natural gas, natural gas is just a little bit different in that it's got to get into the system.
It takes a minute because the gasoline sits on top, right? It's gravity-fed, where natural gas, it's, it's pressure-fed from, from the side. Okay, so it's just a little bit different, uh, setup as far as that goes. So, you know, just something to keep in mind.
Does that mean it just takes a little longer to start, or?
But once you— once it starts, if you turn it off and it's still connected and you want to start it back up, it'll start right back up.
Oh, because it's already—
It's already connected. It's already got the fuel.
Okay. So, so the other, the other feature on this one, um, that I thought was super, super cool is it has a remote fob.
Yep, ours has that too. And which, it's interesting to me, mm-hmm, because that would be fantastic if your breaker box was inside.
Mine, and yours too, you're gonna have to go outside to flip the breaker, turn the, the generator breaker on.
All that kind of stuff. So you're outside already, you can just press the button while you're out there, right? But if you had a house, which I've had a house before where the, the main breaker is indoors, or it's in, you know, a garage or something, right? And if, and if I had to just go out of the garage, flip it on, but my generator's sitting outside, obviously, please always set your generator outside. And having that push button would be amazing.
Well, I mean, in my mind, what I was thinking is, because I was like, yeah, initially, I'm gonna have to be out there with it, right? But like, if we're over a 2 or 3 day period where the power's down, if I've already got it hooked up and I'm turning it off during the day, which I probably would, just to, maybe, I mean, it depends on if I'm hooked to natural gas.
Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. If you're, if you're like me hooked up to natural gas, just let that thing run.
Yeah. if I was inside and I was looking to turn it on just to get everything, like, all I got to do is click that button.
You know, and it's just gonna go.
Um, so it, you know, and the one that I bought came with a cover.
Yep. Um, excuse me. Did it come with the electric cable?
Or it came with a natural gas cable, or—
It came, it came with a natural gas cable. Um, it came with a propane cable.
Um, yeah, and then we, uh, when we had the 50-amp plug put in, John gave us like a 15-foot, uh, 50-amp cable.
To hook it up. And I have a, I have, I have stuff from other converter, I mean, other, uh, generators that I've owned in the past. I've got a 30-amp plug that I can wire up directly into a breaker box. Um, so it's— that's the thing that I loved about it, man, is it's extremely versatile.
It gives me all the options that I could possibly want from a generator, and it's not even difficult to move around despite it being really big.
It's, it's heavy. I mean, they're— those things are heavy, but I'm sure it's got no flat tires on them. And yeah, and which means they're just, they're not gonna, they're pure rubber basically.
Yeah. Um, and well, and like the, uh, it's got like a fold-out dolly.
Built into it. Um, that allows you to like fold it out, pick it up, and move it wherever you need to.
You don't have to be super strong to get it around.
But I would imagine most people, if they have one, they're gonna park it one place. To where it's accessible to get it jacked into whatever it is they need it to.
And, and really, that's the purpose of this thing. It's intended to be a replacement whole home generator.
That doesn't have to be sitting on a concrete pad outside your home forever.
Forever. Well, and in that way, it's, you know, if you've got it where, you know, we've got ours out in the shop, so it's protected all the time.
You know? Uh, one thing I did, I did buy for mine, um, which, uh, you, you might look into at some point, is it's a generator tent that actually—
it, it keeps like the rain off of it.
It mounts on the generator to keep the rain or snow or whatever off.
Um, it was supposed to withstand like 70 mile an hour winds. And, uh, you know, because it's one of those deals where, you know, a lot of times if you are in a storm situation where you've lost power, there could be significant amounts of rain, right, that come with this, at least where we are at. Um, and you know, it— while it will still run like that, it's not the best for it. So, um, it's just, you know, you also spent the money to get it. But I, I'll just tell you, I'm with you, man. Like, these things are so handy. And the fact that I can take it with me camping if I really need it, like, that just— that's a game changer in so
many ways. So really, really cool, man.
Yeah, I'm, I'm stoked to, to have it. Uh, and, you know, I, I just— I mean, like, you know, when you buy something like that and you spend the kind of— because I think right now it's close to like $1,400 on Amazon, which is really good price. It's a really, really good price. Yeah, you know, and You know, we experienced this during the last, like, big power outage here, is when, when you need it is when you get screwed.
You know, and so for a generator like this, and it— this one was out of stock on Amazon for a long time.
Um, after, after a lot of power stuff happened here, um, you know, and, and so to get one, you're looking at paying like $2,500.
For the kind of generator like this that you would need. People were settling for less than what they needed just so they could have something.
What I would encourage most people to do is look at what their power needs would be for their property.
You know, talk to an electrician. Like, you know, let them tell you what you would— like, what it is that you want to have powered if things just go to hell.
And how long you want that to last. and the options that you have available on your property, and then what you need, you know, and then look for that generator.
You know, and, and you probably would need one less than what I bought, right? Most, most everybody would.
Um, you know, we just have a little bit bigger need, uh, for everybody living here right now. And so I wanted to get the best that I could, right? But you could probably get by with something a lot smaller than what we have And still have everything that you need in case of an emergency.
And buy it now. Because it's cheaper to buy it when you don't need it.
Yeah, it is. And oh, by the way, you just said it. If even if you anticipate, hey, it— the weatherman say it's coming, it's a week away, and anticipate that. Well, number one, if Amazon or wherever you buy it from has it in stock, Mm-hmm. And then if they can actually get it to you, you know, all of these things play into what you're doing. So yeah, it's generally— if you can, it's generally wiser if you can do something when you don't need it, right? Then you're gonna save more money, you're gonna have it available when you do need it. Smart.
So I think that's it, man.
I mean, well, hey, That's gonna do it for, uh, tonight's episode. If, uh, you haven't already, please go like and subscribe all of our channels— YouTube, Facebook, uh, Apple Podcasts, great place to go leave us a review and a rating. Uh, we appreciate each and every one of you. Tell your friends about us. Until next time, we'll see you later.
