Dilema-generator not big enough-what to do -HELP PLEASE

[Bruce L]

My brother-in-law,the electrician finally got me wired up today for the vacuum pump,receiver jar,etc.Here's the problem,I have a Black Max 8750 watt,7000 continuous from Sam's Club,only has one hour on it now.When we tried the vacuum before,it struggled but ran it once going.Today after everything was wired up,we tried the receiver jar,worked fine,blowers on the arch,worked fine,everything was shut off,tried the pump,it struggled ,but then was running great lots of vacuum.Shut everything down,tightned up screws,fastened wires etc,then tried starting pump again,struggled and failed,tried again,tripped the breaker on the generator after struggling,then tripped reset on the motor after struggling again.The pump is a De Laval 76,with 3 hp motor ,and oil flood kit,we figured the oil started to flood in,and being so cold today was probably pretty thick to run the pump.
Questions are- 1. do I put a smaller say 2hp motor on,or will I lost too many cfm's or have trouble running the pump?
2. should I sell this generator and go for a larger hp unit and maybe higher wattage?This unit is just under 12 hp,brother-in-law thought motor was working too hard to catch up
3. use the tractor and generator which will easily do everything and more ,but then I have a diesel tractor roaring outside the sugarhouse,and have to truck home and back daily

I also might add wife not too happy,lose money every time you have to deal

Thanks in advance for help,down to crunch time.Bruce

[DrTimPerkins]

Only time for a quick answer. When the oil is really cold, it can start hard. Try putting a heater on the pump for about 15 min before you start it and see if it helps.

[mapleack]

I like Tims idea, try that first, if it works look for a 15kw genset for next year!

[Bruce L]

Looks like the problem may be the motor,pulled the belts off,motor still won't kick up.Brother-in-law told me to take the cover off and check capacitators,maybe i should look at a new motor,less amperage draw on the newer ones vs older models.