Generators - Whatcha got?

[Myka]

I need to quit putting off buying a generator. Just wondering which ones you guys all have and whether you like your generator? Diesel? Gas? Also, how many watts do you need compared to how many watts is the generator? Any regrets?

Big sales on these days...I should take advantage of that! :lol:

[dsaundry]

I just bought one..7500w its a gas as this should suit my needs at work and at home. Probably wont have anymore power failures now..:lol:

[BlueTang<3]

Wow 7500 watt i was thinking of a honda eu 2000 inverter. Its light weight and can double up for camping use.

[The Grizz]

Miller Trail Blazer 301g has a 10000 kva generator built in. :biggrin:

[High tide]

I am extremely happy with my Honda 6500W (gas). Very dependable.... even after almost a year without using it and the same gas.:redface: Obviously it's much better to keep up on the maintenance, but hey, I was gonna get to that eventually.:wink:

[Murminator]

2000W Honda will run my pumps and heaters in a power failure and doubles as our camping unit

[Mandosh]

4000W Champion. $300 at Canadian Tire and it'll run my tanks through an 18 hour outage...then 12 hours later, another 6 hour outage...followed by 4 more hours the next day. BC hydro is awesome.

[globaldesigns]

I have a KIPOR 3000 Generator, very quiet and creates very clean current. I use this for my servers when required, camping and of course the tank.

Wow, some of you have gone quite overkill on yours, 7500-10000, very huge producers.

[mike31154]

I still don't have one dang it. I'm thinking next summer I'll go out and blow some bucks on a solar panel array and a bunch of deep cycle batteries. Rig up an automatic transfer relay, sit back & relax. To heck with BC Hydro, can't complain too much about outages, last one was years ago and only a few hours, but they're about to crank up the rates.

[The Grizz]

Wow, some of you have gone quite overkill on yours, 7500-10000, very huge producers.

Mine doubles as a truck mounted welder:lol:

[bvlester]

5000W Champion. I think been a couple years bought it to use for work purposes but now it sits covered and ready for use service it every year sits with every little gas in it as when gas evaporates it leaves a very hard shall-lack on and in everything. it does everything I need it to and we can still watch satellite TV kids love that feature. some lights and my tanks works great.

Bill

[dsaundry]

Mine has to power up my shop as well, thats why we went 7500w. It will power up the house too, haven't figured out what will happen if the power goes out in both places...:biggrin:

[MitchM]

I put in one of those whole house generators from Costco. We've had snowstorms here with no snowplow for 3 days. I used to use a 6500w gas generator, but 5 gallons of gas only lasts about 10 hours.
It has an auto transfer switch and runs on natural gas.
I think it's 16,000w and was the price of a big skimmer and some lights....:ohwell:

[russp]

I picked up a small 1000w from Napa , P3 I think.
It is 1000w & runs my tank no problem . It was under $200

[StirCrazy]

4000W Champion, from costco 225.00 when on sale 300 normaly.

works great and goes camping also

Steve

[Skimmerking]

I have a 400W UPS from Canadian Tire. Power failures what is that. We Don't get them here in Brandon, and we only pay .587 cents per KW so to heck with you tree hugger's lol hello flatlands:lol:

[DiverDude]

There are a number of factors you need to consider:

-Average output power (careful, most are marketed by peak power ratings)
-Output type (inverter, pure sine etc.)
-Run time (usually specified at 50% load)
-Noise level

Power output is easy. Add up the consumption of everything you need to run, add a safety margin, say 20% and you've got your average power required.

Output type is trickier. Inverter is the easy answer but they are a LOT more expensive and typically available only up to around 3KW. Some pumps might not start without a proper sine wave output.

Run time is less of a factor and is often related to how big a gas tank they put on the thing. Inverter units throttle back to meet the load demand so they consume far less -but they consume at a variable rate so it can be hard to estimate.

Noise level. If you have prolonged outages, it doesn't take long before the drone of a generator gets on your nerves. The inverter units are FAR quieter that conventional units.

So if the 2000 watt Honda Inverter is enough juice for your setup and it's in your budget, I'd go for that. Realize that this will supply a little more than one household circuit so if you have a large setup that uses three 15-amp circuits in your house, you'll need a bigger generator.

Other things to consider are that you need to keep enough fuel on hand at all times to run the generator for the longest outage you think you could see (remember that gas stations can't pump gas in power outages either). You need to keep that fuel fresh, too. Once a month, pour it into your car and fill the jerry can instead of your car's tank. Leave a minimum amount of fuel in the generator. When you need to use the unit, fill it with fresh fuel and go. Run the generator for 10 minutes once a month or so.

Also think about how you will connect the generator to your tank's equipment if the power does go out. Don't wait for an outage to do this. Everything will need to be unplugged from the wall, plugged into power bars and then into the generator. How will you get the extension cord into the house ? In winter, you can't leave a door cracked for the cord to enter -plan for this.

[Myka]

Thanks for the input everyone!

Power failures what is that. We Don't get them here in Brandon

I haven't seen a power outage here in Saskatoon since I've been out here either. When I live in the Kootenays in BC we would have 18 hour outages usually every winter.

[Skimmerking]

Hmmm that is so weird that they would have such long power outages

[StirCrazy]

Hmmm that is so weird that they would have such long power outages

they can stand in one spont and see 10 miles of power lines at once, out here they actualy have to go looking for the problem :mrgreen:

Steve

[Lampshade]

they can stand in one spont and see 10 miles of power lines at once, out here they actualy have to go looking for the problem :mrgreen:

Steve

+1... not to much snowmlet sliding down hills taking out rows of poles either :S. Or tree branches, or Vancouver drivers :smile:. Feel bad for the people up in Prince Rupert this past season though, somebody up there really made the weather gods mad at you.

[mike31154]

I put in one of those whole house generators from Costco. We've had snowstorms here with no snowplow for 3 days. I used to use a 6500w gas generator, but 5 gallons of gas only lasts about 10 hours.
It has an auto transfer switch and runs on natural gas.
I think it's 16,000w and was the price of a big skimmer and some lights....:ohwell:

Didn't know you could get those thru Costco. Is that an online order? Never saw one in the Kelowna warehouse.

[PoonTang]

I actually have 2. a 650w honda that only weighs 40 lbs and runs for hours on a liter of fuel. Its enough to run all of the essentials on the tank and is super quiet when running just outside the sliding glass door. I also have a 2150w crappy tire model that really is just a rebadged mitsubishi :) Not so quiet or frugal but will run the whole tank + other stuff. I really bought this one for running stuff in my RV tho.

[MitchM]

Didn't know you could get those thru Costco. Is that an online order? Never saw one in the Kelowna warehouse.

The Calgary south warehouse had 4 on the shelf, 1 week later there was only the demo left, which I got. They went pretty fast.
Home Depot sells the same Generac generators, but the Costco price was $300 - $400 cheaper.

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww250/mortimem/IMG_3009.jpg

[mike31154]

The Calgary south warehouse had 4 on the shelf, 1 week later there was only the demo left, which I got. They went pretty fast.
Home Depot sells the same Generac generators, but the Costco price was $300 - $400 cheaper.

Very nice, thank you. I really like the idea of natural gas as a fuel. No need to worry about lugging fuel cans or fuel going bad as in a normal generator. Diesel was another option I was considering, but they're more difficult to find and tend to be more costly. With a diesel in a pinch you might be able to run it off vegetable oil.

[MitchM]

I use STA-BIL from Canadian Tire to keep fuel long periods (old generator, chainsaw, atv, tractor, etc.). Diesel or regular gas. Veg oil would gel up in the winter, wouldn't it?

[StirCrazy]

Veg oil would gel up in the winter, wouldn't it?

yup worse than diesel. it would turn in to a white solid.

Steve

[mike31154]

Yes, you'd need a heater to run veg oil or make your own biodiesel, but that gets a little complicated. You can also mix the veg oil and regular diesel up to a 50/50 ratio and it might work depending on your injector pump. This is just in an emergency I'm talking about though. Guys that have converted their diesel vehicle to WVO (waste vegetable oil) or regular VO will usually have two separate tank systems, one with WVO and the other with regular diesel. It incorporates a switch so that you start the vehicle with diesel, once it's running good, switch over to WVO and same idea before shutting off. You need to switch back to diesel to ensure all the fuel lines & injector pump are filled with diesel fuel before shutting down, or, as mentioned the WVO will turn to a solid in the winter.