I have a 5000 watt Coleman PowerMate generator, which barely pulled me through the storm. It should have been adequate to keep all essential equipment (water pump, boiler, refrigerator) going plus some capacity left to run a few likes. I connect to the house through a 220-volt outlet wired directly back into the breaker panel.
Unfortunately, one side (phase?) of the 220-volt output was outputting. Only half the circuits in the house were energized, and only one of the two 115-volt outlets on the generator head was live. The head has two push-in type circuit breakers. One of the is out (extends about 3/8" to 1/2" beyond the bezel), and will not reset when pushed in.
Does anyone have any idea what might cause this, and if it's something I might be able to fix myself?