Tag: spider box

Generator Accessory Power Distribution Box With Electric Meters, Extension Cord, Spider Box

Generator Accessory Power Distribution Box With Electric Meters, Extension Cord, Spider Box

In this video I show the portable generator accessory power distribution box (some people call them a “spider box”) that I built to use along with my 240 volt GENMAX GM9000iED inverter generator. This can be used as a stand alone distribution box plugged directly into the generator, or at the end of a 25′, 50,’ 75′, or 100′ extension cord…. like maybe at a camp site, for example. OR, it can be plugged into the generator, then a 240 volt 30 amp extension cord plugged into the other end of the box which can be plugged into the inlet box on the back of my house to power my entire electric panel during power outages. The electric meters on the box show any and all power that is being fed through the box…. either through the outlets on the box itself AND through the 240 twist lock extension cord outlet on the top of the box. This way, when it’s powering my house, I can monitor the total power be consumed from the generator.

I am not in production of this electrical accessory. I made this for myself, for personal use only. This was built to fit MY wants and needs. I am not telling anyone they should build one for themself, nor am I telling anyone they should copy my design.

Thanks for watching.

How To Get Full Power From Predator 3500 Inverter Generator, Camping Or Home Backup Distribution Box

Harbor Freight Predator 3500 Inverter Generator Power Distribution Accessory Box for Camping or Emergency Home Backup. Get FULL power From Your Harbor Freight Generator (or any other brand) while adding extra safety and power cord length to get the generator away from the camp site to help control sound. I made this portable power distribution box (some people would call this a spider box) for three reasons:

1) Get full power output from the generator. This box allows me to use the large RV plug on the generator while tent or truck camping to get the full potential power output from the generator without owning an actual RV. I cannot get the full 3500 watts out of the standard outlet on the front panel of the Harbor Freight Predator generator. The one standard outlet on the front panel is only capable of supplying between 1800 to 2400 watts (best case scenario), but I paid for 3500 watts, peak. This portable power distribution box allows me to use the 30 amp round RV plug to get the full 3500 watts. This same type of power distribution box (spider box) would also work on just about any of the other import inverter generators that are on the market today, Harbor Freight Predator, WEN, Northern Tool Powerhorse, Westinghouse, Champion, Generac, Ryobi, etc…. Even the Honda and the Yamaha generators could benefit from a spider box like this.

2) Added safety. None of the built-in outlets of the front panel of this generator have GFCI protected outlets. My new portable power distribution box has two, 20 amp GFCI outlets. I am sure there will be a few people that will say GFCI outlets are not needed on a generator but I cannot thing of a single scenario where using GFCI outlets is MORE dangerous than NOT using them. I would MUCH rather know that I have GFCI protection while camping in the woods that are soaking wet from all the rain that usually falls in the area where I typically camp.

3) Sound control. The cord on my spider box is 25 feet by itself, plus I have an additional 100 feet of extension cord that will potentially allow me to push my generator 125 feet into the wood, away from my campsite, to help greatly with sound control. This generator is already very quiet, but the further away I can get ANY generator from my campsite, the better my overall camping experience will be.

Please leave a comment below and let me know if something like this would be handy for YOUR camping situation. Also, please ask any question that you may have.