"Larry Caldwell" wrote in message
ups.com...
The big generator eats a
gallon and a quarter of gas an hour. For general electrical power, I
have a little 2-cycle 1200 watt generator that will run 4.5 hours on a
gallon of fuel. 1200 watts is plenty to run the fridge and freezer,
some lights, a computer or TV set. It's also so quiet that it doesn't
irritate me or my neighbors. I think it cost $149.

I was surprised at how much more efficient my new generator is. The old
unit was a 5.5kW splash lubricated flat head. My replacement is a 8.5kW
pressure lubricated overhead cam engine. I'm assuming the major difference
in fuel efficiency is the change from flat head to overhead valves. The old
unit burned a little over a gallon an hour at "typical" load - usually near
full load. I run a little more load on the new unit and it's burning .55
gallons per hour.