Portable generators to stay away from?

[nancyk]

My 20 hp Groban, with Briggs & Stratton engine, worked fine at noon, when turned on again at 5 did not produce electricity. I cannot find a Reset or a circuit breaker to check. As it was put in place for y2k, it has a few years on it and really not much use. It is rated 10,000kw for gas and 9,000 for propane. It is connected to a large propane tank and then to a manual transfer switch, and has an electric start. It has always been run every month or so for 20 minutes. My hayman(full time electrician) stopped by and said I just may have to replace the generator. My question is: are there any name brands to stay away from? I called Generac, they were somewhat helpful but want me to get an automatic transfer switch, which I do not want. Now I am looking at Duromax at Lowes, the 13,000 watt one(a bit bigger than I really need), the electrician said he can help put it into place and connect everything. My concern is the configuration for propane connection.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I really like my Predator Inverter... Ive read a lot of positive comments regarding their generators, I'd not hesitate to buy one.

 

[JeepHead]

A good friend of mine uses the Predator generators on his houseboat and swears by them.

 

[TractorTYMe]

I have a Duromax XP12000EH, I only have 7 hours on it, I've run it on propane occasionally but prefer gasoline.

 

[Mike1955]

A good friend of mine uses the Predator generators on his houseboat and swears by them.

Jeep head you may be teaching me something. I bought a harbor freight engine for a tiller and I lasted only one year. I thought all that stuff was cheaply made and not to good. I love my little 2800 watt Yamaha inverter generator. Those small Hondas are almost 3000.

 

[5030]

Whatever you get, make sure it's an inverter genny because inverters produce clean power.

 

[bcs001]

Im also running a Duromax XP12000EH on propane. Its 4 years old, powers the whole house, only run when there are power outages so sometimes will sit for 6-8 months on a battery tender then run without problems when needed. I had a 6 day outage 3 years ago and had no issues, just have to change engine oil every 20-24 hours which is easy to do. The only issue with it, as with most portables is the quality of the power. Its not very clean and is probably slowly degrading my sensitive electronics. At some point I'll get a Generac or equivalent permanent system put in that also has a built in power conditioner.

 

[nancyk]

The generator has been easy to use, replaced battery once. Easy explanation why I should be looking at an inverter?

 

[Mike1955]

The generator has been easy to use, replaced battery once. Easy explanation why I should be looking at an inverter?

Ms Nancy I don’t know for sure. We did not have all this sophisticated electronics in our appliances in the past years and we got by with plain ole generators. Now a days we probably need cleaner power if we can get it. So to answer your question you need an inverter because an ordinary generator stands a good chance of damaging your appliances while in use. Good luck

 

[bcs001]

Inverter generators produce "clean" electrical power meaning less than 6% total harmonic distortion (THD) along with tight voltage and frequency regulation. The problem is they are expensive, especially at the larger KW ratings. You can add power conditioning between the generator and your house but they are also expensive. The more permanent whole house backup generators have power conditioning built in so they eliminate the risk to your sensitive electronics.

Some of the more knowledgeable experts here can probably offer other options to fit a tighter budget.

 

[nancyk]

As the desired generator would get limited use, even in a power outage only a few hours a day, I can see no need to research getting an inverter. Can understand if perhaps this way for whole house and for many hours a day.

 

[5030]

Be apprised that standby generators have went WAY up in price. A 17KW Generac will set you back around 15 grand installed.

 

[Williy]

Some say these small generators will run their whole house but they have a gas stove, gas water heaters, gas heat and the only items that are electric are lights, refrigerator maybe a freezer and the latter two don't run all the time. Now try a small generator on an all electric home and see what happens

willy

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Some say these small generators will run their whole house but they have a gas stove, gas water heaters, gas heat and the only items that are electric are lights, refrigerator maybe a freezer and the latter two don't run all the time. Now try a small generator on an all electric home and see what happens

willy

My well pump alone is 2hp...

Whole house is electric to boot

 

[Mike1955]

Anytime we have an outage I select a time to get the water heater charged. Leave the fridge on all time Careful to not trip out coooking. I am even careful with the coffee maker. I only have a 6500 generator. But it’s a lifesaver

 

[groundcover]

I would try flashing yours before tossing it.

 

[Racer4]

Be apprised that standby generators have went WAY up in price. A 17KW Generac will set you back around 15 grand installed.

Wow, I think mine was around $6000 all in back in 2012. Helps to have a buddy that’s an electrician.

 

[garry1p]

A generator puts out 120 VAC at 60 cps the sign wave is dependent on a governor to keep it and the voltage in specs. Some units put out a sort of crappy sine wave but it is a true sine wave and should not harm electrical equipment.

An inverter takes DC and turns into AC.

There are 2 types of DC inverters a pure 60 cps sine wave electronically converted from a DC source and a modified sine wave electronically converted usually from a battery.

The difference is cost a modified (MSD)inverter puts out a square wave while a inverter ( i ) puts out a highly regulated 60cps sine wave.
MSD is much cheaper to produce, can damage sensitive electronic equipment like TV's and computers and in some cases damage things like refrigerators.

 

[LittleBill21]

computers can give 2 sh*t's about MSW. they are switching psu's and 90% of ups's used on them use MSW.

people like to say they damage crap, they really don't. UPS's and clocks and heat blankets tend to give a crap thats about it. maybe some high end furnaces.

no inverter generator I am aware of runs MSW.

 

[Mike1955]

Wow, I think mine was around $6000 all in back in 2012. Helps to have a buddy that’s an electrician.

Racer4. I was referring to watts. Sorry I did not specify