portable generator question
 

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"

thanks

paul oman

You aren't very demanding.
How about your refrigerator? Furnace? Those are my first priorities.

"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

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

Don't forget your refrigerator, DSL or Cable router, etc. No recomendations
except to maybe run the unit dry and have fresh gas on hand to fill if you
expect you may need it. Each manufacturer will have recomendations for how
to store it. Don't buy Craftsman.

Here are some brands that I remember seeing used sucessfully in LA and MS
last week.

Porter Cable
Dewalt
Coleman
Devilbis
Generac
Honda
Winco

The Winco I saw was a tri fuel - I don't know much about it except it can
run on LP, natural or regular gasoline!! That is pretty cool if you ask me.


"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"

thanks

paul oman

In article , Paul
Oman wrote:

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"

Hi Paul,

I just bought a Generac 5550 "Wheelhouse" portable generator from HD. I
did a bunch of research before deciding on this one and the three
factors that contributed the most (after wattage) were that the
ancestor of this generator was Consumer Report's Top Pick in 2003,
availability, and noise level.

Noise was a BIG factor for me, and I'd heard that the Generac ran at a
confortable 60-70 dB; low enough to hold a normal conversation within a
few feet of the running unit.

In fact, the noise level is closer to 80-90 dB, meaning you have to
yell rather loudly to be heard over the noise of the running unit. It
isn't pleasant, and you wouldn't want to use a generator like this on a
camping trip.

But I bought mine for use during catastrophic emergencies only, not
camping, and not even during short brownouts (which are becoming more
common). In my area of California, that means a 7.5 earthquake or fire,
which may never happen in my lifetime. So I plan to keep the unit. It
does everything else as advertised.

$.02 deposited.

-Frank

--
fwarner1-at-franksknives-dot-com
Here's some of my work:
http://www.franksknives.com/

I have a Honda 2000. Really quiet (55 db) and reliable, puts out a very
clean sine wave without spikes for running a pc. They are expensive
however, about $900.00.

"Art Todesco" wrote in message
. ..
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.

No, and I wouldn't recommend running an inverter off the alternator for any
significant length of time, unless a high output alternator is installed on
a diesel engine, and the vehicle is secured against joyriders.

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.

Sounds like a very good setup. New motor mounts might reduce some of the
vibration, and outriggers can reduce it even more.

What do news crews use to solve the vibration problem? My guess is very
expensive cameras that can compensate, although I think I've seen one or two
news vans with outriggers.

Pagan