Yes, in my opinion, the inverter is
probably more reliable. And, as
you stated, you can run the car to
charge .... but the average car
alternator probably can't keep up with
real heavy usage. I designed
and us a mobile TV studio. We
originally put in a 7KW Onan genset.
It was VERY unreliable, noisy and
smelly. We finally had to put a
large UPS on the video equipment to
cover for when the Onan decided
to go nuts. After about 5 years of very
poor service, we replaced the
Onan with an 5KW AuraGen, which is
belted off the truck engine and uses
an inverter. This thing is unbelievably
stable. You can run all the video
gear and lights simultaneously, and then
start the roof mounted AC .....
hardly any glitch in the power. Two
slight problems; it does use
more gas than the Onan and while the
truck engine is quieter,
and cleaner, it does vibrate a bit
"differently" to the point that a camera
on top the truck, does "see" the
vibration.

Pagan wrote:
"Paul Oman" wrote in message
.net...

Hello

seeking recommendations for what brand and size generator to get.

Would be used for a running a light or two, maybe a PC, TV etc if power
goes out, as well as misc workshop tools when working in the yard.

Seems like if not used a lot, when needed it would not start (Murphy's
law) I suppose adding gasoline stabilizer to the fuel and starting it
every month or two is critical. Still, some engine brands seem to start
more easily than others, handle old gas better than others, etc.

I hesitate to just go and buy whatever home depot or sears has for sale
without some 'user feedback"


I prefer to go with a car battery or two and an inverter. This way, if
worse came to worse, I could charge the batteries or run the invert off the
car.

In my opinion, a couple batteries are much more reliable than a small
engine. They're also quieter, can be used (though not charged) inside if
need be, and are cheaper.

You may not want to try running a fridge or heater with one, but I did
manage to run my 52" TV off one with a 300 watt inverter.

Pagan