I really want a Honda EB3800 wheelbarrow style generator but don't have $2K
to spend. I noticed this generator at the local HF:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90300

It has a nice Robin Subaru engine driving a Made in China generator. I
realize this generator has two 2000W 120V circuits, instead of one 4000W
120V circuit. But I think that may be adequate for my needs--home backup
and occasional use at the job site (aka yard). While I wouldn't be using it
every day, I do want something that will last a long time. I have no doubt
the Subaru engine is up to the task, but I wonder about the generator head.

I have a 20% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket (from
harborfreightusa.com).

Any comments? Am I throwing my money away?

Can't say about the gen set per se, but the robin Suburu engine is a
great engine. A friend of ours bought two bright yellow gas powered
gen sets off Ebay, which are nothing more than cheap copies of the
typical honda motors and generator sets. In a pic they look great, but
up close they look very crude to say the least. He bought two just in
case......Well both those gen sets have been used hard, very hard in
fact and during huricane Ivan, they ran for weeks on end unti power
was restored.. Same with this past year and Katrina.......they work,
work fine, and seem to hold up. Me, I am still skeptical on china
made stuff, especialy when the distributor is next to impossible to
find as its ineviteable parts will be needed sometime or other.....

On Thu, 23 Mar 2006 19:45:19 -0600, "AL" wrote:
I really want a Honda EB3800 wheelbarrow style generator but don't have $2K
to spend. I noticed this generator at the local HF:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90300

It has a nice Robin Subaru engine driving a Made in China generator. I
realize this generator has two 2000W 120V circuits, instead of one 4000W
120V circuit. But I think that may be adequate for my needs--home backup
and occasional use at the job site (aka yard). While I wouldn't be using it
every day, I do want something that will last a long time. I have no doubt
the Subaru engine is up to the task, but I wonder about the generator head.

I have a 20% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket (from
harborfreightusa.com).

Any comments? Am I throwing my money away?


--
\\\|///
( @ @ )
-----------oOOo(_)oOOo---------------


oooO
---------( )----Oooo----------------
\ ( ( )
\_) ) /
(_/
The original frugal ponder ! Koi-ahoi mates....

--Speaking of yellow-case gensets I saw a 2kw one in an auto parts
catalog yesterday with the McCullough brand on it. Looked pretty much
*exactly* like the 2kw Honda except for case color. I wonder if this is the
same unit? Generally I trust McCullough as they make kewl chainsaw stuff.

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : Concave, convex, con
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : carne: all is Zen..
www.nmpproducts.com
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

"steamer" wrote in message
...
--Speaking of yellow-case gensets I saw a 2kw one in an auto parts
catalog yesterday with the McCullough brand on it. Looked pretty much
*exactly* like the 2kw Honda except for case color. I wonder if this is
the
same unit? Generally I trust McCullough as they make kewl chainsaw stuff.

--
The McCullough of today has nothing to do with your father's or granddad's
McCullough! The company has been bought and sold, probably several times and
has become a whore for the China and Taiwan tool market. Same can be said
for Homelite. Homelite is owned by the same conglomerate that owns Ryobi,
and Home Depot's line of Rigid tools.
The only thing I would "trust" about a McCullough tool today is that it is
guaranteed to be a cheap import
Greg

"AL" wrote: (clip) this generator has two 2000W 120V circuits, instead of
one 4000W 120V circuit. But I think that may be adequate for my needs
(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Aren't those two things completely equivalent?

They're equivalent only if the two circuits are perfectly in phase and I
connected them in parallel. But they're not perfectly in phase.

Cheap generators provide two separate 120V circuits which are connected in
parallel to get 240V.

Fancy expensive generators like the Honda don't have this problem.

"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...

"AL" wrote: (clip) this generator has two 2000W 120V circuits, instead of
one 4000W 120V circuit. But I think that may be adequate for my needs
(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Aren't those two things completely equivalent?

Sorry, I mean to say "Cheap generators provide two separate 120V circuits
which are connected in SERIES to get 240V."

"AL" wrote in message
...
They're equivalent only if the two circuits are perfectly in phase and I
connected them in parallel. But they're not perfectly in phase.

Cheap generators provide two separate 120V circuits which are connected in
parallel to get 240V.

Fancy expensive generators like the Honda don't have this problem.

"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...

"AL" wrote: (clip) this generator has two 2000W 120V circuits, instead
of one 4000W 120V circuit. But I think that may be adequate for my
needs (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Aren't those two things completely equivalent?

Which is different than the expensive ones????

AL wrote:
Sorry, I mean to say "Cheap generators provide two separate 120V circuits
which are connected in SERIES to get 240V."

"AL" wrote in message
...

They're equivalent only if the two circuits are perfectly in phase and I
connected them in parallel. But they're not perfectly in phase.

Cheap generators provide two separate 120V circuits which are connected in
parallel to get 240V.

Fancy expensive generators like the Honda don't have this problem.

"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...

"AL" wrote: (clip) this generator has two 2000W 120V circuits, instead
of one 4000W 120V circuit. But I think that may be adequate for my
needs (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Aren't those two things completely equivalent?

Expensive generators like the Honda have a single 120V outlet (among other
outlets) capable of supplying the full output current of the generator.
This is useful for starting a table saw, air compressor, air conditioner,
etc.

"RoyJ" wrote in message
nk.net...
Which is different than the expensive ones????

AL wrote:
Sorry, I mean to say "Cheap generators provide two separate 120V circuits
which are connected in SERIES to get 240V."

"AL" wrote in message
...

They're equivalent only if the two circuits are perfectly in phase and I
connected them in parallel. But they're not perfectly in phase.

Cheap generators provide two separate 120V circuits which are connected
in parallel to get 240V.

Fancy expensive generators like the Honda don't have this problem.

"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...

"AL" wrote: (clip) this generator has two 2000W 120V circuits, instead
of one 4000W 120V circuit. But I think that may be adequate for my
needs (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Aren't those two things completely equivalent?

AL writes:

Sorry, I mean to say "Cheap generators provide two separate 120V
circuits which are connected in SERIES to get 240V."

What has that got to do with being cheap? Some applications call for both
120 and 240.

You snipped too much of my previous statements.

As I said, a cheap generator obtains 240V using a cost reduced method of
connecting two 120V circuits in series. As a consequence of this cheap
method of obtaining 240V, each 120V circuit is only capable of half of the
max output of the generator.

A fancy generator has a different type of winding, which allows max output
to be delivered to a single 120V circuit. In addition, it also has 240V.

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..
AL writes:

Sorry, I mean to say "Cheap generators provide two separate 120V
circuits which are connected in SERIES to get 240V."

What has that got to do with being cheap? Some applications call for both
120 and 240.

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 03:01:13 -0600, Richard J Kinch
wrote:

AL writes:

Sorry, I mean to say "Cheap generators provide two separate 120V
circuits which are connected in SERIES to get 240V."

What has that got to do with being cheap? Some applications call for both
120 and 240.

On an "expensive" 4000 Watt gen set, you can draw:
4000 Watts @ 240 Volts from one outlet, OR
4000 Watts @ 120 Volts from one outlet

On a "cheap" 4000 Watt gen set, you can draw:
4000 Watts @ 240 Volts from one outlet, OR
2000 Watts @ 120 Volts from one outlet x 2 outlets = 4000 Watts

When buying a gen set, you need to understand what you are going to do
with it, and then make sure it has the capacity to supply enough power
at the voltage you require to do the job. This means that you have to
read the detailed specifications for each power outlet on the gen set
that you will actually plug your load into, rather than relying on the
overall power rating the generator.

You have ONE power cord coming out of your power tool that you plug
into ONE power outlet on the generator supplying 120 Volts. How much
power can that ONE outlet deliver? How much power do you need from
that ONE outlet?

A 4000 Watt gen set supplying 2000 Watts per outlet from two outlets
is not going to do the job if you need to draw 4000 Watts from one
outlet. This is the difference between a "cheap" generator and an
"expensive" generator. The "expensive" generator can deliver 4000
Watts @ 120 Volts from one outlet. The "cheap" generator delivers
2000 Watts per outlet from 2 outlets.

If you are planning to run a motor off your gen set, your gen set must
be sized for the power required to start the motor, and not for the
power required after the motor is running. The rule-of-thumb is that
the generator power required to start a typical fractional horsepower
induction motor is about 10 times greater than the nameplate
horsepower rating of the motor converted into Watts. For example, 1/2
horsepower converted into Watts = 373 Watts. To start a 1/2 hp motor,
your generator must deliver 10 x 373 Watts = 3730 Watts FROM ONE
OUTLET. Can it?