Portable generators to stay away from?

[nancyk]

My 20 hp Groban, with Briggs & Stratton engine, worked fine at noon, when turned on again at 5 did not produce electricity. I cannot find a Reset or a circuit breaker to check. As it was put in place for y2k, it has a few years on it and really not much use. It is rated 10,000kw for gas and 9,000 for propane. It is connected to a large propane tank and then to a manual transfer switch, and has an electric start. It has always been run every month or so for 20 minutes. My hayman(full time electrician) stopped by and said I just may have to replace the generator. My question is: are there any name brands to stay away from? I called Generac, they were somewhat helpful but want me to get an automatic transfer switch, which I do not want. Now I am looking at Duromax at Lowes, the 13,000 watt one(a bit bigger than I really need), the electrician said he can help put it into place and connect everything. My concern is the configuration for propane connection.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I really like my Predator Inverter... Ive read a lot of positive comments regarding their generators, I'd not hesitate to buy one.

 

[JeepHead]

A good friend of mine uses the Predator generators on his houseboat and swears by them.

 

[TractorTYMe]

I have a Duromax XP12000EH, I only have 7 hours on it, I've run it on propane occasionally but prefer gasoline.

 

[Mike1955]

A good friend of mine uses the Predator generators on his houseboat and swears by them.

Jeep head you may be teaching me something. I bought a harbor freight engine for a tiller and I lasted only one year. I thought all that stuff was cheaply made and not to good. I love my little 2800 watt Yamaha inverter generator. Those small Hondas are almost 3000.

 

[5030]

Whatever you get, make sure it's an inverter genny because inverters produce clean power.

 

[bcs001]

Im also running a Duromax XP12000EH on propane. Its 4 years old, powers the whole house, only run when there are power outages so sometimes will sit for 6-8 months on a battery tender then run without problems when needed. I had a 6 day outage 3 years ago and had no issues, just have to change engine oil every 20-24 hours which is easy to do. The only issue with it, as with most portables is the quality of the power. Its not very clean and is probably slowly degrading my sensitive electronics. At some point I'll get a Generac or equivalent permanent system put in that also has a built in power conditioner.

 

[nancyk]

The generator has been easy to use, replaced battery once. Easy explanation why I should be looking at an inverter?

 

[Mike1955]

The generator has been easy to use, replaced battery once. Easy explanation why I should be looking at an inverter?

Ms Nancy I don’t know for sure. We did not have all this sophisticated electronics in our appliances in the past years and we got by with plain ole generators. Now a days we probably need cleaner power if we can get it. So to answer your question you need an inverter because an ordinary generator stands a good chance of damaging your appliances while in use. Good luck

 

[bcs001]

Inverter generators produce "clean" electrical power meaning less than 6% total harmonic distortion (THD) along with tight voltage and frequency regulation. The problem is they are expensive, especially at the larger KW ratings. You can add power conditioning between the generator and your house but they are also expensive. The more permanent whole house backup generators have power conditioning built in so they eliminate the risk to your sensitive electronics.

Some of the more knowledgeable experts here can probably offer other options to fit a tighter budget.