More interesting comments and feedback. A couple of items
Soundguy, I saw in another thread your response about the internal workings of a UPS; you seem to know your stuff. So I am curious, I was reading the reviews on the 7.7 and the 13 KW (like yours) Northstar and some are very happy. But a few have serious issues, especially when running 240v, seems to have lots of stability issues. Has this been your experience? Second thing about the Northstar, I haven稚 done tons of research yet, but compared to the Tiger, which does have a 240 outlet for FULL power usage, the Northstar from what I see does not. Wouldn稚 getting full power out of this unit require more complex cable connections, especially if trying to wire the house, and anything running on 240v?
jd2305cd, you logic is sound, but be aware of something. A new $600 generator, not all generators are created equal. I bought one during the ice storm, it was a Coleman 5500 watts, but it could be Homelite, Champion, any brand. At this price level, the usually have a Briggs or Tecumseh standard engine, like on a lawnmower or snowblower. These are good for recreational use. You are building a cottage in the woods and there is no power to run a drill, saw or a coffee maker, this is their reason for being. You want a 都tandby generator? these won稚 cut it. The one I had, powering 80 to 90% full load for hours, lasted a day and a half. After that it was leaking oil all over and in the air filter. I was able to bring it back and get a refund. Then I went around too many repair shops and various tool rental places. The message was pretty clear and standard just about everywhere. These engines can稚 handle this kind of work. I was told repeatedly that the kind of load put on these engines, under the application people put on these units during a power outage, is very intense. Consider it to be as much or more than the hardest attachment on your tractor, like a mower or something like that. They all pretty much said the same thing, especially the tool rental places, you need an OHV engine, favorites are Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Robins, and so on. These will be commercial grade generators where the engine can handle 7 to 8 hours at WOT. I don稚 know a lot about the electrical/generator side of things, but have been told that when a MFR puts a premium engine in there, they will do similar with the generator side of things. So a decent generator probably won稚 go for $600. After returning my Coleman, I found a Wacker commercial unit, same wattage, $2500. All this to say, your tractor engine driving a PTO generator would probably serve you a heck of a lot better if you had a really long power outage, and probably be OK with whatever load you put on it. The $600 generator is ok if during a week of no electricity, all you want to do is make a cup of coffee every now and then. If you need to run a fridge , freezer, or any heavy load appliances periodically, I think you should reconsider.
