I have a decent sized "costso" gift certificate for Christmas, which I want
to apply towards a portable generator.... I have 2 basic choices in the
store.

Coleman Powermate 5500 Watt ~ $550
Nikota 3500 Watt ~ $279

My basic questions are;

1. What does 3500 vs. 5500 Watts get me? (generally speaking)
2. If 3500 is enough, is Nikota a brand I should buy? I never heard of them

If it matters,

- This is a backup emergency generator only. No special uses.
- I have 2 refridgerators, but I could condense it down to 1 if I had to.
- My stove and oven are gas, so I won't need this for those.

Thanks

I cant vouch for the brand names, but basically, watts are watts. If
all you need is 3500 watts, then thats all you need to buy. I
personally have a 5550 watt unit for a fridge and freezer. I also run
my furnace with the generator, but I dont know where you are located
and if you need a furnace. Remember, the wiring should be done with a
proper transfer switch, or by using extension cords from each appliance
to the generator. DO NOT try and backfeed the power into the house
with a male to male extension, or a dryer outlet back-feed situation.



Bill wrote:
I have a decent sized "costso" gift certificate for Christmas, which I want
to apply towards a portable generator.... I have 2 basic choices in the
store.

Coleman Powermate 5500 Watt ~ $550
Nikota 3500 Watt ~ $279

My basic questions are;

1. What does 3500 vs. 5500 Watts get me? (generally speaking)
2. If 3500 is enough, is Nikota a brand I should buy? I never heard of them

If it matters,

- This is a backup emergency generator only. No special uses.
- I have 2 refridgerators, but I could condense it down to 1 if I had to.
- My stove and oven are gas, so I won't need this for those.

Thanks

Get the coleman it has a chance of lasting. For 279, you cant get much,
a motor you are lucky to get 250 hs out of and voltage that will vary
from probably 135-90v or worse, good motors are 250 good gen heads more
than 250, and the frame and tank cost.

If you need 220volt check the 3500 unit. I know the Coleman will give you
220v I think the 3500 unit is 110 only. 220 is needed if you are hooking it
up to your service panel.
"Bill" wrote in message
.. .
I have a decent sized "costso" gift certificate for Christmas, which I want
to apply towards a portable generator.... I have 2 basic choices in the
store.

Coleman Powermate 5500 Watt ~ $550
Nikota 3500 Watt ~ $279

My basic questions are;

1. What does 3500 vs. 5500 Watts get me? (generally speaking)
2. If 3500 is enough, is Nikota a brand I should buy? I never heard of
them

If it matters,

- This is a backup emergency generator only. No special uses.
- I have 2 refridgerators, but I could condense it down to 1 if I had to.
- My stove and oven are gas, so I won't need this for those.

Thanks

"Bill" wrote in message
.. .
I have a decent sized "costso" gift certificate for Christmas, which I
want
to apply towards a portable generator.... I have 2 basic choices in the
store.

Coleman Powermate 5500 Watt ~ $550
Nikota 3500 Watt ~ $279

My basic questions are;

1. What does 3500 vs. 5500 Watts get me? (generally speaking)
2. If 3500 is enough, is Nikota a brand I should buy? I never heard of
them


I can't comment on the brand names , but the more watts the beter. The 3500
may not start a well pump if you have one, probably will not run an electric
water heater.

One thing to look at is to get one with a large gas tank. Friend of mine
had a gen with a small tank and had to check on it about every hour or two
during the run time during one winter ice storm outage.

Years ago, during an emergency, I bought what I could find, and ended
up with a 5,000 watt generator (2 phase, about 20 amps per phase). I
wired a generator panel with an isolation switch so I can give power to
the kitchen, furnace, and sump pump. It has a 5 gallon tank, and uses
about 1 gallon per hour. I have used it a few times. I mention this
because:

1) If you put 5 gallons in the tank, and the power comes back on after
1 hour, you have 4 gallons left in the tank. Gasoline does not keep, so
you have to use it or drain it out.

2) I saw a comment a long time ago that someone had a 2,500 watt
generator, and could run it all day on 1 gallon. Probably hyperbole,
but you waste a lot of gas if you don't use all the power.

3) You need to balance the load on your generator. 3500 watts is still
15 amps per phase. As long as you don't start both refridgerators at
the same time, you should be ok (start-up current is large, but
generators do have the ability to exceed the rated output for a short
period of time for just such a purpose).

4) Some time spent wiring on a nice day sure beats running cords all
over the place on a lousy day when the power fails. It is so
convenient, even my wife can hook it up in an emergency (just kidding
about the wife part). I ran a 30 amp circuit for the generator into the
Garage, where it can sit protected from the elements when running
(garage door open). Hardwire is the only way you can supply generator
power to the furnace.

Tokai writes:

Years ago, during an emergency, I bought what I could find, and ended
up with a 5,000 watt generator (2 phase, about 20 amps per phase).

That's not 2-phase, but single phase with two legs of opposite polarity.

Richard J Kinch wrote:
That's not 2-phase, but single phase with two legs of opposite polarity.

True but if one is going to nitpick then one can *really* nitpick and say
that from the point of view of the neutral it *is* two phases that are 180°
apart. Phase doesn't have to mean 120° apart.

Steve Kraus writes:

That's not 2-phase, but single phase with two legs of opposite
polarity.

True but if one is going to nitpick then one can *really* nitpick and
say that from the point of view of the neutral it *is* two phases that
are 180ø apart. Phase doesn't have to mean 120ø apart.

It's not a nitpick. 2-phase means something, but not what you said.

On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 00:46:56 -0600, Richard J Kinch
wrote:

Steve Kraus writes:

That's not 2-phase, but single phase with two legs of opposite
polarity.

True but if one is going to nitpick then one can *really* nitpick and
say that from the point of view of the neutral it *is* two phases that
are 180ø apart. Phase doesn't have to mean 120ø apart.

It's not a nitpick. 2-phase means something, but not what you said.

Does the "2-phase" system you're referring to have the 2 phases 90
degrees apart? I seem to have heard of some motors using that.

Both of these (the usual system in homes where the phases are 180
degrees apart, and that other 2-phase system) fit the definition of
"phase". Saying one is not 2-phase would be like saying that "AB" is 2
letters but "BD" is not.

For the system with the phases 180 deg. apart, I also hear "Edison
System".
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin

"Tokai" wrote in message
ups.com...
Years ago, during an emergency, I bought what I could find, and ended
up with a 5,000 watt generator (2 phase, about 20 amps per phase). I
wired a generator panel with an isolation switch so I can give power to
the kitchen, furnace, and sump pump. It has a 5 gallon tank, and uses
about 1 gallon per hour. I have used it a few times. I mention this
because:

1) If you put 5 gallons in the tank, and the power comes back on after
1 hour, you have 4 gallons left in the tank. Gasoline does not keep, so
you have to use it or drain it out.

2) I saw a comment a long time ago that someone had a 2,500 watt
generator, and could run it all day on 1 gallon. Probably hyperbole,
but you waste a lot of gas if you don't use all the power.

Maybe it was me. I have a 2000w and it will run 12 hours on a gallon at
half load; no hyperbole. My freezer and refrigerator are only 200w and my
furnace is 500w, thats only 900w in total. (starting the freezer is
another story, the generator stalled once doing that; but once in about 2
weeks of use isn't bad.)

A bigger generator will use more gas than a small generator, even doing the
same thing. Gas can be hard to find in a power outage. Buy the smallest
generator that will satisfy your needs.

3) You need to balance the load on your generator. 3500 watts is still
15 amps per phase. As long as you don't start both refridgerators at
the same time, you should be ok (start-up current is large, but
generators do have the ability to exceed the rated output for a short
period of time for just such a purpose).

I haven't seen the 3500w, but most small ones are one "phase".

4) Some time spent wiring on a nice day sure beats running cords all
over the place on a lousy day when the power fails. It is so
convenient, even my wife can hook it up in an emergency (just kidding
about the wife part). I ran a 30 amp circuit for the generator into the
Garage, where it can sit protected from the elements when running
(garage door open). Hardwire is the only way you can supply generator
power to the furnace.

"Tokai" wrote in message
ups.com..
..
4) Some time spent wiring on a nice day sure beats running cords all
over the place on a lousy day when the power fails. It is so
convenient, even my wife can hook it up in an emergency (just kidding
about the wife part). I ran a 30 amp circuit for the generator into the
Garage, where it can sit protected from the elements when running
(garage door open). Hardwire is the only way you can supply generator
power to the furnace.


Even with the garage door open you should not run the generator inside the
garage. Carbon monoxide has a way of collecting just where it is not
wanted.

Bill wrote:

I have a decent sized "costso" gift certificate for Christmas, which I
want to apply towards a portable generator.... I have 2 basic choices in
the store.

Coleman Powermate 5500 Watt ~ $550
Nikota 3500 Watt ~ $279

My basic questions are;

1. What does 3500 vs. 5500 Watts get me? (generally speaking)
2. If 3500 is enough, is Nikota a brand I should buy? I never heard of
them

If it matters,

- This is a backup emergency generator only. No special uses.
- I have 2 refridgerators, but I could condense it down to 1 if I had to.
- My stove and oven are gas, so I won't need this for those.

Thanks

Hey, please dont multipost, crosspost instead. Its really annoying to find
half the responses to a post in one group and days later discover the other
half of the answers in another group. you posted this same article in
alt.home.repair and then again in alt.energy.homepower
Make one post and put both groups in it with a follow up to one group only.

See http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/usenet/xpost.html

Eric