Generators

[gregfender]

I'm looking to get a generator for projects away from the house and the occasional power outage. Any recommendations on a 3500-4000 watt portable. Also, any thoughts regarding pot generators?

 

[HCJtractor]

Northern has a full line of generators. I like the Northstar with the Honda engines. The Honda generators are also really nice and very quiet, but they are rather expensive. For powering your home in an outage, you have to factor necessary wattage and also plan how to connect. Proper code requires a transfer switch which adds a good bit to the cost. Some people backfeed which is not legal and will bring up lots of comments, so lets not go there. Just keep in mind that a qualified electrician needs to wire up the connection point for whatever gennerator you choose.

I ran my home for a week several winters ago with a Northstar gasoline 8000 watt model from Northern. Its loud (they all are) but it worked well, keeping my house up and running when my neighbors fled to friends and hotels nearby. I have since bought a welder/generator (Miller Bobcat) to "kill two birds with one stone."

The big gennies are heavy however for portability.

 

[Fi-Q]

I have a champion 3500 watt. They are oftenly on sale at cabelas for 299$ and they have good review. Of course it aint a honda or yamaha but a good reliable unit for the price. And its a lot less noisy than my old one with a brigg engine

 

[ultrarunner]

I'd say Honda with inverter... pricey, quiet, dependable and very thrift on fuel.

or

I also have a Champion 3500 that I like real well and it was dirt cheap...

I use the Champion for power tools off the tailgate of my truck and the Honda for more sensitive electronics and appliances.

 

[Cat_Driver]

My vote is Honda. I once used a Honda 2000i to run enough lights and the refrigerator to make me comfortable during an outage.
Obviously you need more power if your running more things, but I was happy with the 2000i for what I needed.
The greatest thing about the 200i is it's lightweight and can be used in the field, on camping trip etc. You don't feel like you have to be a weight lifter to move it around.

 

[BethesdaEC]

I just installed a whole house system for a little over $4000. The 10KW PTO generator and 50' cord where just over 2K and then two 200A manual transfer panels, inlet and installation by a qualified electrician came to just under $2000. I have a natural gas boiler and water heater that runs off the the boiler so they don't need a lot electricity to run but they won't run without it. I also have an 8 zone two compressor split AC unit and I should be able to run one compressor at a time.

 

[rasimmo]

I bought one at Home Depot about 7 or 8 years ago. It is a 6500 i think with Briggs engine. I run it a couple times a year and turn the gas off and let it try to run as much out of the lines and carb as possible. It always cranks within 3 pulls on the rope, and runs great. If noise is not an issue and you are not looking for a lot of extended use, there is not much reason to go and spend a bunch of money on a generator.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[nue2farm]

We used the 4000 onan in our motorhome to run power tools when we finished my cabin's interior a few years ago. I too have a Champion 4000/3500 generator now. Works great so far. I have used it a few times with power tools like the OP wants to do. I got mine for $350.00 with a $150.00 refund at the time. Great deal.....

 

[blunosr]

I agree with HCJtractor, I have a Miller welder (mine's a Renegade), which has a gas engine and works as a generator and wire feed welder. I figured, if it was intended for welding it would have to be a pretty bullet-proof generator. And its handy for welding too! Also, made in the US.

As far as noise, I also have a Honda Diesel DX5000. It is incredibly quiet, ...and insanely heavy.

Bye for now,

 

[Craig Clayton]

Several years ago we had the big power outage in Quebec Canada.I think it went on for 20 to 30 days depending on were you lived.

Out of this came several unplanned observations.
The big JD tractors were too big and consumed too much fuel for the PTO gens
The cheap gens melted down
If you ran out of fuel you were done
Gens developed legs

Fact
gasoline has a shelf life??
propane pressure drops in the cold
diesel smells to some
2 cycle??

I looked into a 3000 watt diesel by Baldor with a Hatz diesel. I went with a Coleman 5000Watt with a Briggs.

I made my connections all corded for the house. If and when I sell the house I will not have a 20 +year old gen transfer switch to worry about.

Craig Clayton

 

[russlw3]

I have a Honda EU3000is and a Champion 3500. When I need quiet power, I use the Honda, otherwise the Champion is my choice. I have about 150 hours on the Champion and it has started and run perfectly - pretty good for a $299 purchase (from Cabelas weekend sale)

 

[Samandothers]

I have a Champion 4000/3500. Actually it is my second one. It was $300 at Tractor Supply. First one over rev'd in its 3rd year and the magnet on the flywheel came apart and broke the coil mount. I liked it enough to get a second one. They are sold in Statesville NC at the RV Store, Camping World I think it is called, for about $300 also.

 

[Ken45101]

We have a Troy-Built and it's so loud that I would generally do without power rather than having it running. That said, we have been fortunate with fairly reliable power.

For camping, we have the quiet Honda generators (EU2000i, EU3000i). I also use them around the farm when I need to run tools since the 2000 is lightweight and easy to load up. And very quiet.

As for the expensive wiring for a transfer switch, all I did was cut a hole in the plexiglas basement window to bring in the power cord. We plug the few things we need into that. Again, we have been lucky in not having serious problems. The last time we had a power outage, my wife cooked breakfast on the wood stove, we didn't even start the generator.

Keeping enough gas around for a prolonged outage is a problem. Gas goes bad over time (this ethanol mix junk is really bad). Stabil helps. But I don't keep enough gas around for run for multiple days. That would be an advantage of a diesel generator, I have enough farm fuel on hand.

 

[ultrarunner]

Keeping enough gas around for a prolonged outage is a problem. Gas goes bad over time (this ethanol mix junk is really bad). Stabil helps. But I don't keep enough gas around for run for multiple days. That would be an advantage of a diesel generator, I have enough farm fuel on hand.

Overcame the same problem years ago by tapping into the fuel tank of my truck with an auxiliary pump and a selector switch commonly used to switch between two fuel tanks.

Truck holds about 36 gallons so I never have to fill gas cans/equipment anywhere but from my truck

 

[Ken45101]

Overcame the same problem years ago by tapping into the fuel tank of my truck with an auxiliary pump and a selector switch commonly used to switch between two fuel tanks.

Truck holds about 36 gallons so I never have to fill gas cans/equipment anywhere but from my truck

Yes, that's an ideal solution....as long as you didn't plan to fill the truck the next day....and have a prolonged power outage that night


(BTW, where's your truck, I need some free gas:laughing

Ken

 

[ultrarunner]

Yes, that's an ideal solution....as long as you didn't plan to fill the truck the next day....and have a prolonged power outage that night


(BTW, where's your truck, I need some free gas:laughing

Ken

The main reason I did it was because my truck is a Van and no matter how tight the cap on the gas can... it would always smell like gas in the summer heat...

One day I had the idea to tap into the fuel line and it has been well worth it to have the transportation aspect resolved...

 

[Swiftriver]

I prefer Honda. I have a 10 year old EX4500 with over 1800 hours on it. One battery, oil and gas are the only things I have put in it. I also have a EU2000i that I keep in my worktruck. As bounced around, beat up and overloaded as it is, it starts first pull every time. Expensive? Yes, but they last forever.

 

[TimberXX]

I would also suggest Hondas is money is no option. If your on a budget, we had good luck with the Briggs and Stratton. 15 years with no problems.

 

[Tenn_Blue]

We have 3 generators - and working on #4 as a project....:thumbsup:

For camping and hand carry portable, can't beat a honda EU2000 - quiet, VERY reliable, and easy (relatively..) to carry. BUT they are expensive. Balance that against last-forever. We bought the honda almost 10 years ago, and it powered us through 2 hurricanes (Florida), 5 years of camping (truck camper), and lots of short time use. Still going strong....

Also have a coleman (?) brand that I got out of the trash with a busted engine rod - 3500 watts. Put a new Briggs on it and has been running good since - but is kinda loud and bulky- has one of those metal frames around it that protect it, but make it bulky to move compared to the honda "suitcase". This is the portable one that we abuse/loan out/use when noise is not a problem or in a "hostile" environment. If I crush it by accident, I don't have much in it....

Then we have a bigger roll around 5k "portable" that we keep for home power backup - it is the least portable of the bunch, and it doesn't move much. 5K is "enough" backup for our needs if we are selective in what we turn on...

Finally, I am working on building a pto type generator for my garden tractor (Deere 316K) - I figure this will be really handy! Was an old 3k head I have that can hang on the front of the tractor (like a snow blower or front blade) and be fed from the mower mule belt, using the tractor's engine for power. The mower runs enough to not have to worry about the engine not starting when I need it. It can drive the generator to where I need to use it. It won't tie up my "big" tractor in foul weather (one of the complaints I hear about PTO generators...). We will see.....

 

[Jamming]

My vote is Honda. I once used a Honda 2000i to run enough lights and the refrigerator to make me comfortable during an outage.
Obviously you need more power if your running more things, but I was happy with the 2000i for what I needed.
The greatest thing about the 200i is it's lightweight and can be used in the field, on camping trip etc. You don't feel like you have to be a weight lifter to move it around.

Agree ! :thumbsup: great inverter generator, Eco switch allows rpm to change with load. So quiet it's hard to believe its running.