New Generator

[DEERSLAYER]

I just picked up a Coleman PowerMate at Home Depot. It is the Pro model with 6750 watts and a Yamaha OHV industrial engine. This unit is a recon and they also had it price wrong (as the cheaper 5000watt with Briggs engine) so I got it for $499, new one is $1,000. This unit is equiped with a digital hour meter that read about 50 hours, this made me more confident with the purchase. I also checked everything with a meter and the voltages are right on. I know Honda is the gold standard in small engines. Does anybody have any experence with these Yamaha engines (mine is 13Hp)? I can't find much info on the web about them.

 

[davemhughes]

I do not know about that specific gen set but Yama makes good engines. One of my old bassboats had a Yama on it and it ran flawlessly. On my 21ft Champion BB I tried to get a 200hp Yama rigged on it but Merc was only offered. The Kaw and Yama engines are almost as good anymore as Hondas. My Gen set is a Honda though. I change my syn oil every spring and I store it with without fuel. A couple of times a year I fill the tank and just let it run with my Halogen shop lights plugged in to it so it is under load till it runs out of gas.

 

[slowrev]

Sounds like a good generator. Is it Brushless ?
I always use stabil in ALL gas that goes in my generator. And no problems so far.

 

[Soundguy]

Sounds like ya got a great deal to me.

Soundguy

 

[RonMar]

Don't let it set unused. Probably the biggest killer of these box store gensets is lack of use untill needed. Lawn mowers last a good long time because they are used regularly. Run it regular to keep the insides oiled up and the moisture driven out. Also keep the fuel treated. A good procedure for test runs is to run it under some load(1500 watt heater for half an hour every 2 months or so). Before shutting down, remove the load to let the temp stabilize then shut off the fuel to allow the engine to run all(most all) the fuel out of the carb. The best setup for this I have seen, the owner added a "T" fitting with a shutoff valve into the fuel line right before the carb. He mounted a small plastic fuel tank from a weedeater to the frame that supports the main tank, up alongside the main tank. He uses this tiny tank for his maintenance runs and never puts fuel into the main tank unless he is going to use the thing.

Does yours have a low oil shutoff? If not, check the oil level regularly(each day before you start it up when in regular use). All engines burn oil, air cooled ones burn more than liquid cooled ones do and a engine running low on oil without an auto shutoff, will merrily power the lights and TV/Satelite right up untill the point where the bearings melt to the crank and it siezes or throws a rod Oh, and 50 hours(4 days @ 12HR use per day) on the clock would be a pretty good estimate on an oil runout point IMHO.

 

[Kendall69]

..Don't let it set unused. Probably the biggest killer of these box store gen sets is lack of use until needed

I second that one. I had one, a coleman sit for a year, and went to use it, and it never did start again. The fuel that was inside it ate away the plastic in the tank and hoses, turned it to jelly. I threw it out rather than try and fix it, I figured the parts would cost more than a new one.

Lesson learned, I use all my small engine power stuff, chain saws etc, then drain the fuel and run the unit till it runs out of gas in the carb.

 

[Highbeam]

My generator qualifies as a "big box" version, its a loud and cheap coleman.

I agree, run it often and run it with a load to dry out the generator head.

I also agree to turn the petcock off and run the engine until it dies to drain the carb. The carb will fill with water and gum up if you leave gas in there.

Where I disagree is that I top up the fuel tank with stabilized premium fuel at all times during storage. Less air space means less condensation but also the generator is full of fuel and ready to be used on that dark and stormy night. I do the same thing with the chainsaw. These things qualify as emergency equipment to me and that means they need to be ready to go. Kind of like carrying a sidearm without bullets in it.

After break in I switched to synthetic engine oil just because I think it's better. There's no filter on mine so I change the oil often.

 

[cp1969]

I just picked up a Coleman PowerMate at Home Depot. It is the Pro model with 6750 watts and a Yamaha OHV industrial engine. This unit is a recon and they also had it price wrong (as the cheaper 5000watt with Briggs engine) so I got it for $499, new one is $1,000. This unit is equiped with a digital hour meter that read about 50 hours, this made me more confident with the purchase. I also checked everything with a meter and the voltages are right on. I know Honda is the gold standard in small engines. Does anybody have any experence with these Yamaha engines (mine is 13Hp)? I can't find much info on the web about them.

I will get pilloried for this but I hope you didn't have a kid with you when you got this "bargain." I have had a few opportunities to cash in like this but so far have resisted. Yeah, I'm down a few bucks...call me a fool.

 

[DEERSLAYER]

I didn't sneek the wrong price by them or anything. I told the salesman it was priced wrong, he then said he had to sell it to me at that price. No reason to feel bad about that, at least none that I can see!

 

[cp1969]

Not in that case. My hat's off to you for being honest with the salesman.