On Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:08:01 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

If you *must* use a generator, a 4-stroke jobby with inverter output
(like those made by Honda) would be a better bet. Those are *much*
quieter, and have very stable outputs - probably better than the mains!

And have price tags 10 times that of a 850W two stroke. They are
very nice though.

Oh, and if the boiler has spark ignition, and uses flame ionisation, you
may need to strap the generator's neutral and earth wires together to
get it to fire. And for good measure, use an RCD at the genny end of
your extension lead, and connect the genny's earth to an earth spike.

And fit a 13A plug (correctly fused) and socket into the mains feed
to the boiler. It'll almost certainly be fed direct from it's own way
in the consumer unit or via switched fused connection unit off a ring
main.

--
Cheers
Dave.