Generators

[gregfender]

I'm looking to get a generator for projects away from the house and the occasional power outage. Any recommendations on a 3500-4000 watt portable. Also, any thoughts regarding pot generators?

 

[HCJtractor]

Northern has a full line of generators. I like the Northstar with the Honda engines. The Honda generators are also really nice and very quiet, but they are rather expensive. For powering your home in an outage, you have to factor necessary wattage and also plan how to connect. Proper code requires a transfer switch which adds a good bit to the cost. Some people backfeed which is not legal and will bring up lots of comments, so lets not go there. Just keep in mind that a qualified electrician needs to wire up the connection point for whatever gennerator you choose.

I ran my home for a week several winters ago with a Northstar gasoline 8000 watt model from Northern. Its loud (they all are) but it worked well, keeping my house up and running when my neighbors fled to friends and hotels nearby. I have since bought a welder/generator (Miller Bobcat) to "kill two birds with one stone."

The big gennies are heavy however for portability.

 

[Fi-Q]

I have a champion 3500 watt. They are oftenly on sale at cabelas for 299$ and they have good review. Of course it aint a honda or yamaha but a good reliable unit for the price. And its a lot less noisy than my old one with a brigg engine

 

[ultrarunner]

I'd say Honda with inverter... pricey, quiet, dependable and very thrift on fuel.

or

I also have a Champion 3500 that I like real well and it was dirt cheap...

I use the Champion for power tools off the tailgate of my truck and the Honda for more sensitive electronics and appliances.

 

[Cat_Driver]

My vote is Honda. I once used a Honda 2000i to run enough lights and the refrigerator to make me comfortable during an outage.
Obviously you need more power if your running more things, but I was happy with the 2000i for what I needed.
The greatest thing about the 200i is it's lightweight and can be used in the field, on camping trip etc. You don't feel like you have to be a weight lifter to move it around.

 

[BethesdaEC]

I just installed a whole house system for a little over $4000. The 10KW PTO generator and 50' cord where just over 2K and then two 200A manual transfer panels, inlet and installation by a qualified electrician came to just under $2000. I have a natural gas boiler and water heater that runs off the the boiler so they don't need a lot electricity to run but they won't run without it. I also have an 8 zone two compressor split AC unit and I should be able to run one compressor at a time.

 

[rasimmo]

I bought one at Home Depot about 7 or 8 years ago. It is a 6500 i think with Briggs engine. I run it a couple times a year and turn the gas off and let it try to run as much out of the lines and carb as possible. It always cranks within 3 pulls on the rope, and runs great. If noise is not an issue and you are not looking for a lot of extended use, there is not much reason to go and spend a bunch of money on a generator.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[nue2farm]

We used the 4000 onan in our motorhome to run power tools when we finished my cabin's interior a few years ago. I too have a Champion 4000/3500 generator now. Works great so far. I have used it a few times with power tools like the OP wants to do. I got mine for $350.00 with a $150.00 refund at the time. Great deal.....

 

[blunosr]

I agree with HCJtractor, I have a Miller welder (mine's a Renegade), which has a gas engine and works as a generator and wire feed welder. I figured, if it was intended for welding it would have to be a pretty bullet-proof generator. And its handy for welding too! Also, made in the US.

As far as noise, I also have a Honda Diesel DX5000. It is incredibly quiet, ...and insanely heavy.

Bye for now,

 

[Craig Clayton]

Several years ago we had the big power outage in Quebec Canada.I think it went on for 20 to 30 days depending on were you lived.

Out of this came several unplanned observations.
The big JD tractors were too big and consumed too much fuel for the PTO gens
The cheap gens melted down
If you ran out of fuel you were done
Gens developed legs

Fact
gasoline has a shelf life??
propane pressure drops in the cold
diesel smells to some
2 cycle??

I looked into a 3000 watt diesel by Baldor with a Hatz diesel. I went with a Coleman 5000Watt with a Briggs.

I made my connections all corded for the house. If and when I sell the house I will not have a 20 +year old gen transfer switch to worry about.

Craig Clayton