I can only speak for myself here, but it usually goes something liike this (keep in mind most stuff is stored outdoors as the machine tools and woodworking tools take up the valuable shop space, exception made for the pressure washer to avoid freezing).
Time to start the generator just to give it a workout as it hasnt had a legitimate reason to run in over a year... battery is dead because i didnt put it on a charger or use it for a year.... let me just pull this cord... great that broke because it dry rotted from sitting outside in the sun and rain. Lets just go ahead and fix those two issues. Now lets get it started cough sputter (this is a HONDA generator with a Honda motor).... looks like the ethanol free gasoline has done its job keep the water seperate from the fuel, but because it was outside for a year (completely full of fuel) the humidity still got in there and now the bottom of the tank and carb bowl have a distinct showing of water in the bottom of the fuel and need draining. Now that weve dumped and refilled that with new fuel and cleaned the carb out were good to go... until you get it started and the smoke from the rodent nest is threatening to catch your appliance on fire, so lets deal with that now. OK so everything is back to good, lets run this for 30 minutes to change the oil, now that its nice and warm for the oil change lets begin by attempting to find some sort of odd shaped container and diy funnel that will fit anywhere near where the oil drains without pouring it all over the ground, and after youve got yourself a nice mess from that, dont bother cleaning it up yet, as the refilling through the straw sized hole at a ridiculous angle from 2.5 or 5 gallon jugs is usually a clean experience (granted i could go buy quarts or 1 gallon jugs specific for this, or even some kind of pump?, but everything else uses over a gallon at a time and thats just another hindrance to have more containers of oil around).
So thats my experience 15 minutes turned into 2 hours, so Ill take the 3 point generator as the tractor is used constantly and doesnt suffer from these issues, the oil drain fits a normal oil pan under it and drains down straight and mess free along with the filter. The refill point is in a spot where a normal funnel fits and has a large enough hole that it doesnt overflow the funnel near immediately, and everything is at a comfortable working height to service (sure i could go buy one of those 500 dollar adujustable height work platforms that self lift the appliance to waist height, but now where am i going to store that?)
Now back to the splitter, unfortunately this backfired on me due to the very low hydraulic output of my tractor, and one with its own PTO pump, or a tractor with a larger output would certainly have alleviated this issue. However the electric motor to me was the best solution as it sits outside year after year and i just plug it in and flip a switch and it starts every time with zero fuss (any temp) and since its a TEFC motor theres nowhere for the mice/bees to build a little habitat. If the power is out or I need to run this in the woods for some reason I personally cant comprehend (I find it quicker and easier to skid whole trees out to the equipment than to drag all of the equipment out to the woods) I suppose I could use the PTO genset to power it.
Now on that note (energy), those small engines as efficient as they are, still use a fuel source that I cant produce nor realistically store much of (without it going bad before use). So I'm off to the fueling station to get another 5 or 10 gallons at a time which itself is a 30+ minute round trip and did anyone say cost... electric is 13 cents a kWh and I average about 2kwh for every hour of splitting with the electric motor. IDK what the little single cylinders use per hour, but im guessing more than 25 cents worth neglecting the fact that the V8 in the Tundra uses a couple of gallons just to go acquire more fuel if I happen to need it and the truck isnt completely or close to empty (aka just a trip to fuel the small equipment).
Maybe some of you have noticed the hostile nature to the oil/gas industry in this country with the cancelling of the Keystone, then the "cyber attack" on the Colonial, and now the Canada Michigan pipeline they are trying to shut down. Make no mistake this is by design and going to continue getting worse (I dont know that theres a good answer to this as the electrification of all things is going to require nuclear and lots of natural gas if they want it to work) As renewables ARE NOT able to supply all the current and future use, no matter how many wind turbines and solar panels you put in. I am an engineer for the power company and my job is to integrate these technologies into the grid and lets just say things are not all cupcakes and roses for renewables as much as they would like you to think they are.
Sorry for the long winded reply, but thats my beef with small engines and their 15 minute maintenance routines (granted not all nor every time is "that bad" but you get the idea for rarely used stuff). If anyone has a lead on an electrically driven genset drop me a line
