Looking for a decent generator.. 5000 watts

[GPintheMitten]

A garage door opener doesn't pull that much power. They usually are rated at 1/2 - 3/4 hp.

I agree. Probably a 3000 watt generator will do him,. But using a small ups to clean the power should be part of his solution

 

[newbury]

Seriously, garage door openers can be released to work manually. Just pull the cord to release it from the drive track. Refrigerators, lights and a few tools don't use much.

As to sensitive electronics, get a UPS like this for less than $60.
Then clean power won't be so critical and you can get a cheaper and smaller portable generator.

Is that big enough to use when my freezer and refrigerator start up?
Honda say 2,400 watts for them to start up.
Honda Generators - Wattage calculator
I had a friend fry the electronics on his high end refrigerator with a generator and it was like a $1,000 repair.

And it's getting so many things have "sensitive" electronics in them.

A typical 1500 VA UPS costs over $150.

The 3.5KW generator I posted from Costco is only $350.

 

[IslandTractor]

Is that big enough to use when my freezer and refrigerator start up?
Honda say 2,400 watts for them to start up.
Honda Generators - Wattage calculator
I had a friend fry the electronics on his high end refrigerator with a generator and it was like a $1,000 repair.

And it's getting so many things have "sensitive" electronics in them.

A typical 1500 VA UPS costs over $150.

The 3.5KW generator I posted from Costco is only $350.

Is there a clear common problem that causes these high end refrigerators to go belly up when run by a generator? Too little voltage?? Too much?? Frequency off??? Surge???

 

[Gunny]

Well even though the OP has not returned I thought I'd throw this into the thread -
Costco has the on sale for $350.
Big point about this one is that it's good for sensitive electronics.
Champion 3500wt Running / 4375wt Peak Portable Generator, 5% THD, CARB & EPA Certified
doesn't do 240V

Newbury, thanks for the tip, I didn't know Champion even made such a thing! I just finished ordering one because I've heard horror stories about people burning out the mainboard on their pellet stoves with a conventional generator.

Oddly enough, I couldn't find that particular generator on Champion's website

Now I guess I need to put out a Craiglist ad to sell my old Champion generator

 

[Gunny]

Is there a clear common problem that causes these high end refrigerators to go belly up when run by a generator? Too little voltage?? Too much?? Frequency off??? Surge???

It's not the voltage or frequency, It's the type of sine wave the generator puts out. Lower cost generators put out a square sine wave, better ones may put out a modified sine wave, but sensitive electronics (computers, LED TVs, etc need a pure sine wave.
This even extends to inverters, most of them don't put out pure sine wave current.

 

[5030]

If you keep your eye out there are good used generators on the market through CL. I picked up a 6000watt liquid cooled Honda that makes no more noise than an idling Accord when someone upgraded to a permanent automatic LP generator. Also, many people sell generators because they need the carburetor cleaned which takes about half an hour. If you need something right away and are on a budget, the HF Predator generators are good deals. Not necessarily the very best or quietest generators on the planet but the price is hard to beat (and they do work fine). Subaru/Robin engines are great too. I'd personally stay clear of the high priced Yamaha/Honda inverter generators unless you are using it for an RV or camp.

+1 on that. For the cost of a Honda portable inverter of any capacity, you can get a Generac standby unit. I own a Yamaha 2800I myself and it was 1500 bucks but my prime use is an RV. I own a Generac 17KW for the house. Much more convenient to use.

 

[5030]

It's not the voltage or frequency, It's the type of sine wave the generator puts out. Lower cost generators put out a square sine wave, better ones may put out a modified sine wave, but sensitive electronics (computers, LED TVs, etc need a pure sine wave.
This even extends to inverters, most of them don't put out pure sine wave current.

The Yamaha does..... In fact, in the begining, Yamaha supplied the generator heads to Honda for their inverter units.

 

[dragoneggs]

It's not the voltage or frequency, It's the type of sine wave the generator puts out. Lower cost generators put out a square sine wave, better ones may put out a modified sine wave, but sensitive electronics (computers, LED TVs, etc need a pure sine wave.
This even extends to inverters, most of them don't put out pure sine wave current.

This is one of those cases where you kind of get what you pay for. The Honda Gens and my guess is the Yamaha's output a pretty clean sine wave form. I don't know of any cheap gens that do. If I did buy a cheap gen I would test it first I power way too many electronics and don't want to think about it.

 

[GPintheMitten]

How do you test it?

 

[coobie]

It,s hard to beat a honda generator as far as quietness and quality.