Portable generators
 

Hello all,

I'm thinking about a portable generator for household use. It is primarily intended to be my power outage/disaster power source and might see occasional duty on the road when we go somewhere we need standalone power. I don't have any plans or illusions about a transfer switch and powering my entire house. I just want something to be able to power up the refrigerator to keep food from spoiling, some lights, fans, and other small appliances. (I don't plan on running the refrigerator constantly. I would probably fire it up for about an hour here and there to keep it cool.) I am looking at something at least 1000W and around $400 or less. I know Honda generators are considered the best but they are priced accordingly and are out of my price range. There are many brands that I am unfamiliar with, such as Generac, ETQ, All Power America, and many others. I also need one that is CARB compliant since I am in California.

There are a bunch that meet my requirements but as usual, come here to see what the real poop is. ;)

Any input appreciated.

1000 watts is pretty small. They are good to throw in the car or boat for a party outdoors, but a motor load (like a fridge) can drag it down pretty quickly. 2000 - 2500 is pretty good for the use you are describing. Trouble is, once you have the fridge on, and the deep freeze, you tend to want the microwave on, and some lights, a TV, maybe a fan, and before you know it you have the outdoor Christmas lights on, so the neighbours all know you aren't suffering along with them. Ask me how I know.

You are right on the Honda. They are fantastic. A league ahead of the competition. The difference is so great, that you should think about selling one of your other expensive toys to allow you to get one. We had three or four Hondas in the family (2000 w - 3500 w), I've used Craftsman and similar, and I actually used to sell Generac many years ago (although they were larger units than this, starting at around 10 kW).

If you don't get a Honda unit, you can find some that use Honda engines with other generators and controls added on. I would be less confident about running electronics on some of those.

We usually put a welding outlet, or dryer outlet, in the garage. We built a male/male patch cord, turned off the main breaker, and powered up both sides of the house panel. I am sure that didn't meet any known code, but it worked very well. Alternatively, you can run an extension cord.

ditto.. honda's are the best of the portables. and like jeff said, i think the 1000w is way too small. you need at least 4000w imo. i have a generac 4000 that was given to me when i got my trailer and have used it out at the track. with just the simple portable stuff we bring to the track, the 4000w was doing a great job. someone in the pit crew also had a smaller unit (can't remember which one) but it was having a hard time powering the 110v house lighting on the big 44' trailer (the onboard onan in the trailer wasn't working).

and if you use the male-male cable to reverse feed your house, be SURE to shut off the main breakers. you do not want to backfeed back to the grid and kill a lineman working to restore power. get a transfer switch installed... should be under 500 bucks installed with permits so you don't get sued either... and you don't want to backfeed when the grid comes back on line either...

Ditto, Honda...

But, our whole house propane fueled Generac has run well for almost 9 years;
a friend down the mtn has a Generac "portable", I forget the model # and rating,
but it was considerably less than a comparable Honda.

Not pushing Gen, but here's a link:
Generac Power Systems - Portable Generators

I agree w/JCL: you will be addicted to wanting to turn "more things"
on, though if your need is very, very occasional, or if it is a disaster
only back up, you might just cop the watts you need via most sites'
load need tables. The other problem is having enough fresh gas on
hand to run the sumbitch...gas at the corner station is hard to come
by when the crap hits the fan.

Up here, ours is a necessity for keeping the juice going...
GL, mD

I'm just going to provide a few links.
Study them carefully before you make
a $400.00 decision.

Having been in he trade for over 40 years
I can tell you that times have changed and
our needs for power have changed.
Make an informed choice don't try to just
get by

Honda Power Equipment - Honda Super Quiet Generators

Find a Generator | Portable Generators, Home Standby Generators, RV Generators, Industrial Generators, Gas Generators, Propane Generators

I too have been thinking of getting an emergency generator this year and have not started the homework on size, brands, features yet. The 2nd link you posted is good, it's useful to think about start up wattage and voltage vs. just running levels. My wife said, "we just need it for the fridge" and I immediately thought, if the power goes out and we have a generator we are going to want to power other things like the computer, TV...... I agree with the recommendations here and above, go for larger if you can afford one and ensure you buy enough capacity to handle the start up loads.

Also, I think these should be treated like snow blowers, run them every year to test them so you are not trying to make it work in the worst conditions and when you really need them to work.

My parents have a Guardian/Generac 13Kw propane fueled generator, works great, tests itself every Saturday at 5p.m., never let them down yet. I'm sure they make portables too.

I have a Generac WheelHouse 5550w...mainly use it on trucks during winter time...had it for some years now and no problems

Hey, T/R...we have the same one;
you can't possibly be my kid, can you?! :rofl:

Thanks for the words of advice. I know a 1000W would be too small for my purposes but would be nice to have for the portability for camping, tailgating, etc. I think that I want a 3500W or bigger and am willing to take a bit of risk for cost savings, as much as I'd love a Honda of that size. I'm zeroing in on Generac and am waiting to hear back from a guy who is selling a 5000W Generac. Of course it is used but I would check it out first since the seller is local. I open to some of the other brands sold at Sears and Walmart/Sam's. If I want to step up a little in price I can try Pramac that use Honda engines. They are a bit tough to find other than online.

The main issue is that many I see online are not CARB complaint and cannot be sold in California. We're quite limited by that. At this point, my search is still on but I'm hoping to get that 5000W Generac. The guy is asking $475 for it and supposedly it's got very few hours of use on it.

Any opinion of the little Generacs? Would they be the best of the size I'm looking for? (Excluding Honda.)

I have a Honda EU2000i. It is an inverter/generator. Very quiet, medium weight 47lbs, reliable, good power supply. I use a lot for camping. I love it. You can find it on ebay for around $800.
Another option is you can check Costco. I just saw they have Honeywell 2000W generator for around $499. It is 65+ lbs.

ALX5

Nice thing about those Honda EU2000i inverter/generators.
You can connect 2 of them together and they will run in tandem.
But seeing as how your not going with Honda I guess it's moot.
Anyway I'll include the link in case you want to have a look see.
BTW Honda's are Carb compliant and very very quiet which is
one of the 3 reasons why it will be my choice.

Here are some video's Honda Generators

Here in Hurricane Central the portable Hondas are usually at the houses where you can't hear the generator running. :) I, also, invested in a whole house Generac, running on natural gas. Had it now for 5 years, and have had to use it a few times, for short term outages. Quiet, dependable, and comes on automatically in a few seconds if the power goes off.

If you have natural gas service at your home it would seem that a Generac would give you the best service since you would not have to store large quantities of gas.

Thanks to E10 gas becomes stale very quick and if you use a stabilizer it still will last only about 6 months.

That depends, where were you in the spring of '65?

OT...
Ah, skating through my last few weeks of high school,
and getting my share. ;)

Age-wise, not impossible, but not probable, so don't run
to your mailbox looking for checks. :D
GL, mD

Whew..... Had me going there.
Thunder was almost calling me Uncle Barry....:bustingup:bustingup

fixed.

If you ever saw a pic of my father and me together, it's immediately apparent that we're from the same gene pool. Except that I'm considerably taller lol.

I went through this exact phase last year. The "emergency" generator for under $500 deal. After months of looking and comparing my options in that price range I decided that my expectations were out of sync with the reality of these expensive things. Being that my ultimate purpose is to use this for emergency scenarios, I came to the conclusion that I might as well pony up some more money and get something that can do little more than power my fridge since it IS for emergencies.

I went with a broke my choices down to yamaha, robin/subaru or honeywell (honda) within the same price range.

I ended up buying a yamaha Inverter EF2400
2007 Yamaha Inverter EF2400iSHC Home, information

this thing is super quiet.

Hey! Long time no see you post. Thanks for the input That is a nice unit but it is the price of a nice rifle. :D

I am still on the hunt and am looking for something 3000W continuous running watts and up. There are lots to choose from on the 3000-5000W range. I don't need it to be "throw in the trunk" portable as it will be something that can stay in place. I believe that in the event of an earthquake I will be able to at least stay on my property even if the house is not safe so my plan is to shelter-in-place. I'm not in an urban area where I'd need to bug out.

I've been in disaster preparedness mode lately (including anti-zombie tools) but that is a whole different thread. :tsk:

I just finished installing this one the other day. So far so good.:thumbup:

Very clean install and pretty frickn funny!!:rofl:

That sure is a powerful generator but probably a little less portable than I'd like. :p:

Something along these lines?

Realistically,

What are you expecting to spend.?

Exactly. :thumbup: Did such things come in handy during that little rainstorm you guys had a couple of years ago?

Not $1400. That's what that Yamaha goes for and Hondas are about that if not more. To be honest, I'm not sure what I want to spend as I don't want to spend too much but I am thinking I'll be between $400 and $700. I know that I will not be getting a Honda. It's as simple as that. I can live with the extra noise because for my use, disturbing my neighbors is not going a concern. Reliability is a concern but it's not a unit that I'm going to use on a job site for hours and hours. It will get some occasional use to make sure it's working but otherwise, it's an emergency thing.

I was at Costco today and they do have a nice unit priced at $1000. It's a Honeywell 6000 watt with a Honda engine. That's lots of wattage for the price and while it's not a full blown Honda, at least the engine is. Plus, it's Costco. :thumbup:

If you use the unit as a back up for a disaster then it will run for hours
and hours until the power comes back on. So I guess the question is do
you want to trust a generator meant for occasional use to provide you with
the Reliability your concern with? Generators designed for occasional use
may not stand up when call upon to provide the full load you may require.

Also remember a generator that has a peak of 6000 Watts is not designed
to output 6000 watts at full load 100% of the time. That would be like
expecting your BMW to run at max RPM 100% of the time.

Regardless of the brand you buy Generator sizing is the correct method for
determining your actual needs.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&client=safari

Was good to have around. I didn't personally have to use that thankfully, but there was plenty of people "looting" around the whole area. A friend of the family who happens to be a police officer had fended off a small handful of looters from his block to help his neighbors. I think they just look for areas with no cars in the driveway and no noise from generators to know the empty areas... bastards.

Yeah long time. Been busy lately, so you preparing for SHTF eh ? lol

My honest opinion, just get anything that works that is in your price range.
After I tried mine out for 10 mins, I just threw it back into the box where it hides in my garage until zombies attack. Seriously. I should have just bought whatever instead trying to shop for a generator as if it were computer parts and doubling my original budget lol.

Since your in SHTF mode, buy ammo, and some more guns instead.

Take care bud.

Jerry

Sorry to say but do it anyways:Honda,Honda,Honda.

If you don't want to pay new look for a nice used one. I own a rental store and tried a few other ones but non of them are as good and reliable as the Honda's. Nothing worse than a piece of equipment that does not work when you need it. (shotgun:thumbup:-zombie:yikes:-failing shotgun:wow:-eaten by zombies:thumbdown)

Check your local rental yard and check if they sell any. We sell our stuff often and make happy customers.

How about some candles. They cost a few dollars and will work every time.

I am sure that Honda is the best generator but why do you need one?

If the power goes out it is a great time to light a candle and enjoy a simpler time of life. As humans it is good to get off the grid every now and then.

Next time we are out of power for days or weeks at a time post-hurricane, I will invite you to come bask in our 98 degree/98% humidity, with your candles.

But candles won't keep the fridge cold or run the AC when it is 100+ degrees outside all day... Down here in hurricane central I wouldn't dream of not having a generator. Hell, I use mine all the time... a few times at the hunting camp last month running saws and the welder etc. Then a window unit overnight as it was still 90+ degrees.

I guess it would be really different if I lived up north in an apartment or something, but I can fully understand the need for a generator.

Good idea,:thumbup: you should cut off the power to your house for two days once a month. :stickpoke

Hey, BB...I'm with the GenGang: if one is in the true 'burbs and a power
loss comes along once a year for an eve, no problem. Here at the Mtn
Joint, we have lost power a dozen times this season, since mid-April.

I changed my Generac's oil/filter yesterday, and it has run for 32+ hours
so far this season. We lost power yesterday, twice in one afternoon,
for 4+ hours. We have underground utilities up "here", but there are
poles "down below", in the system. And, a couple times per season an
on ground transformer gets blasted by lightning...

One has to have one in these continual outage areas, imo.

On the East End of Long Island we lose power less than once a year.

Generally power is restored in a few hours. If it is bad I run a cord to the neighbors Generator and run the Refrigerator & a few lights.

Last week we lost power for about two hours and did nothing but enjoy the day.

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a Genarac Guardian Emergency Standy Generator.

Going with the 17KW or the 20KW, going to be deciding shortly. There will be a new electric panel installed inside my house that acts as a transfer switch. We will identify the circuits that we want to power when we lose electric service. Should run one of our AC units, heat, sump pump, fridge, computers, TVs. lights and the home alarm system. Connected to the natural gas so no re-fueling or hassle.

It runs a system check and starts up automatically once a week so it's ready to go when needed. Not cheap but it is the easiest way to maintain power and there are no hot engine fueling concerns and hoping it will start/run. Plus it's big enough to power most of everything in the house, plenty to power what we really need.

Generac Power Systems - Guardian Series 20 kW

You will love your new Generac...ours is 9 years old, (12kW I think), and runs/operates like a charm.
And, no one ever runs everything in the house at one time, so your 17 or 20 kW will more than adequate.

The only down sides to ours: it's a rock climb to get down and change the oil & filter once per year, and ours
is air cooled and thus shuts itself off after ~ 8 hrs, to cool for ~ 45 mins, when we lose power for a long
time period. My neighbor has a diesel fueled/water cooled Genny and his can run as long as he has diesel.
You will enjoy yours!
GL, mD

Hey thanks for the insight, I'm glad you really like yours as much as you do. Looking forward to getting it and I'll post after I've made the final decision and it's installed.

You're welcome, X5rolls...
Couple other neat features: when the power glitches/goes off, our Gen fires itself up and comes on, about 20 secs after power out. When the power comes back on, it turns itself off, obviously, but it is freakin seamless! And ours is decade old technology.

A couple of nits: be sure you have good/high quality surge protection units on your TV(s), stereo, computers, etc. The whole house thing from the utility co., if available in your area, is not as refined. There are high tech whole house protectors, but big bucks. And, if you are using APC brand batt backup surge protectors, you may have to have an electrician fiddle with the sine wave those batt backups put out, when running on Gen produced current. Or, yours may be glitch free.
You will feel like "Kevlar strapped" when it is in and "ready" to run!
Gl, mD

More great advice, thanks a ton. I didn't think about the surge protectors. I'll plan on adding where I don't have any and check to make sure the ones I have are high quality. I would imagine there are specs out there to help me choose the right ones. Once I get to that and if I discover something of value I'll post it back.

Thanks again.