I just picked up a Honda EU2000i inverter generator. It weighs in at just under 50 lbs. I bought it so I can use it when I'm working at various aspects of my business where I do not have access to power. It will not run a well pump etc. but it will run a skill saw, shop vac, and even my small craftsman compressor that I use with my nail gun etc. It is very quiet and fuel efficient. Also I figured it would come in handy during Hurricane season to keep the fridge/freezer cold. That and a few lights/tv.
Generator PTO generator feedback
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dex3361
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Those are nice quiet units and if I am not mistaken with the right cable you can sync 2 together for more power.
Diamondpilot
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I had one of them. Good machine. I used it to run heat and AC on a boat. It was a small 6,200 btu unit that pulled 13 amps at start up so it would barly handle it but did the job. I could run the heat or AC all night plus the onboard battery charger for 10 hours on 1 gallon of fuel.
I paid $860 and sold it on EBAY 2 years later with about 300 hours on it for $950. When I sold it you cold not get them and it was just a week after the East Cost Blackout 6 or so years ago.
I miss it at times. I used to use it to run my little 90 amp Flux Wire Welder right out of the back of my truck or from the bucket of my FEL.
As for the cable syncing 2 up be careful on what you buy. On the Honda cable it still utilizes one generators plugs and they are protected by a 20 amp breaker even though you are producing 33 amps surge and 26 amp continuous. There is a aftermarket parallel cable kit that has its own breaker and plug that allows you to utilize all the available power.
Chris
JB4310
Super Member
If I had to rely on a gasser it would probably be a Honda
Anything Honda is usually the top of it's class, I've got 2 of them.
One is a welder/gen the other is a 3 kw, but the open frame style. not the inverter type. Got both of mine for good deals, with the 3 kw a guy was selling the house that I was working on and just in passing I said "oh you have a generator". He says "you want it" I deducted $150. from what he owed me, the thing was brand new
Those inverter types are supposed to put out very clean power, good for sensitive equipment?
All the street vendors in New York City have those new little Hondas,
With the back ground noise of the city you can't even hear them running when you're standing right next to them. 10 hrs/gal, pretty efficient.
JB.
Anything Honda is usually the top of it's class, I've got 2 of them.
One is a welder/gen the other is a 3 kw, but the open frame style. not the inverter type. Got both of mine for good deals, with the 3 kw a guy was selling the house that I was working on and just in passing I said "oh you have a generator". He says "you want it" I deducted $150. from what he owed me, the thing was brand new
Those inverter types are supposed to put out very clean power, good for sensitive equipment?
All the street vendors in New York City have those new little Hondas,
With the back ground noise of the city you can't even hear them running when you're standing right next to them. 10 hrs/gal, pretty efficient.
JB.
dcyrilc
Super Member
Nice generator! We use the 3000i's at work to power primary corridor traffic signals during extended outages or when the power company needs to take down power for a signal so that they can do maintainance on their system.
They are very quiet and very efficient.
Redneck in training
Elite Member
Clean power is the weakest point of inverters. Some usually very expensive units produce very clean power but most units don't. Therefore the inverters could harm devices with transformers or induction motors. It is not the exact shape of the "sine wave" but poor symmetry. Poor symmetry equals to DC current component that could burn the winding. Machines with serial motors, switching power supplies or resistive load are insensitive to dirty power.
I work for a company that makes electronic control systems. We put filters and power conditioners to every power feed in the cabinets. Specifically due to extensive usage of UPS (Uninteruptable Power Supply) aka inverters.
JB4310
Super Member
So do modern HD TV's or Computers require this "clean" power.
I thought that's why they went to inverter output, touting it's better quality, or is it just easier to regulate voltage with inverter.
JB.
Soundguy
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If it's an expensive inverter it will put out 'cleanish' power.. at least int he respect to browns and over-voltages.. but as far as sine wave goes... it's hard to beat a rotating ball of copper.. or a fixed ball of copper and a rotating magnet.. etc. Many inverters are some form of sinusidal.. or psuedo-s-s.. if you look at the wave on a scope you will see the difference from a square wave, to a stepped sine wave, to a real sine wave.
Old ferro ressonant power supplies hated non sine input.. as was pointe dout.. switching supplies.. like triac setups pretty much don't care and can actually operate down to about 90vac.. they just look at different periods on the waveform .. etc.
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BobRip
Elite Member
The primary advantage of the inverter generator is reduced fuel consumption from being able to slow the gasoline engine down when running less than full load and most of the time you are at much less than full load. All of the other generators have to run at a fixed speed to generate 60 HZ. This waste a lot of fuel.
Other advantages are less engine wear and quieter operation.
Disadvantages are greater initial cost and complexity.
I don't need clean power. I need it to run small shop tools like a sawzall, skill saw, shop vac, light, and air compressor. I also need it to run a 1000W light. I have a bigger generator I can pull out for the heavy duty stuff but I needed something ultra portable and quiet. I think it's a nice little unit and I will find it very useful.
whistlepig
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The Honda's are nice. Well worth the extra money.
Diamondpilot
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They are. I never had problems with mine but the dealer that sales them at my lake has a lot come back with bent piston rods??? Not too sure why??? There are now many Chinese clones on the market and they are just about as nice and can be had for $400 for the 2000 Watt version. Yamaha also makes a 2000 watt inverter type that is now outselling the Honda around here after the bent piston rod issue a few years back. I can not tell the difference in sound, fuel consumption, or weight from the Honda. Same with the Chinese clones but they may be a tad bit louder but not sure, may be me just thinking that since they are less than 1/2 the price.
http://cgi.ebay.com/2200-2000-WATT-...iewItemQQptZBI_Generators?hash=item2eaa31c33f
A big issue we see is most boats and campers have 13,500 BTU heat and air and the 2000 is just a little small to start it. Yamaha has came out with a similar genny, about the same size weight fuel consumption noise ect, that is 2400 watts and they guarantee it to run 13,500 BTU heat and air. Its They saw a need in the market and met it.
Yamaha Generators main portable generator page with models description and application guide with specs and features
Chris
Dirtball
Silver Member
I dont need much more than 6000w for my backup needs. I only own one tractor with PTO. i've debated 12kw pto genny since buying my tractor in 1999. My solution was a Yamaha 6600w gas unit. Superb engine and great generator says my electric guru. Runs over 12 hrs between fills, burns "no" oil , easy to transport on wheels. Capable of running 2.5 or 3 ton Heat Pump for cooling, well pump and air handlers easily. No, not everthing at once , but I power different circuits depending upon weather. I back-feed my board responsibly. Usually have 50 gals gas on hand, plus what is in my vehicles. Since getting the Yamaha 9 yrs ago, I bought a RV with a 20kw Kohler Diesel genny and 300 gals onboard diesel. The Kohler puts out over 80 amps. I have been meaning to run a "buddy plug" off this unit to power the home, but it's still on the list. I can always retreat to the RV, if I dont have to keep pipes from bursting in the home. I have taken my 200 lb. Yamaha off site to help others . Just throw it in the back of any SUV, truck. Moving the tractor and PTO genny off site not as easy. I dont have oil heat, if you have 250-500 gals of oil at home that can power your tractor, I think a $1500 12kw+ PTO is a no brainer. My back up power concerns are more focused on getting by 2-3 weeks off the grid due to an ice/wind storm, than the 12 hr outages. Now if I needed abreathing machine or was raising birds etc. i would plan differently. I have noticed my neighbors with "cheap" 5-6kw gas gennies who dont maintain them like "us guys" having genny failures over the years.
JB4310
Super Member
dcyrilc
Super Member
OK, for those of you who were interested in well monitoring, I've started a thread here. Monitoring water depth in a well? - TractorByNet.com
MotorSeven
Elite Member
I'll jump in here ref the OP's original question. I have 3 generators: A 7500 watt Sears, a Boliy Pro 3600 watt Digital inverter generator and a 25KW Winco PTO generator.
The sears model I bought when I was in FL during the "hurricane spawning years". It uses quite a bit of fuel and is rather noisy, but it does a good job. Think about it, when everyone's power is out, you will be standing in line to fill all those 5 gal fuel jugs...been there done that.
The Boliy I just bought over a month ago for camping. I have put over 50 hrs on it and the thing is quiet and powerfull and only weighs 77 lbs, sips fuel....love it!
The Winco I got from a friends dad...$450. It has a 15, 50 & 100 amp breaker, and a amp meter. My 40 horse tractor puts the amps right in the sweet spot at 2k rpm @ 540. My tractor burns around a gallon an hr at this rate. I wanted the Winco to plug into the house during ice storms, and to run EVERYTHING. It does it no problem. I can also throw the Millermatic 210 in the bucket, hook up the Winco and go weld anywhere on my place.
I am not scared to run my tractor as needed to power the house, and I have a 300 gal diesel tank, so re-fueling is not a prob. I think a large pto generator is a great thing....powerfull and versatile. With the sad state of gasoline these days(ETHANOL), all of our small engines are experiencing more and more fuel/carb related problems. And, they just upped the ethanol content again, so it's just going to get worse. So, it's nice not to have another small engine to worry about. Jmho.
I will be selling the Sears genset, even though it is a good unit...I just don't need it anymore.
RD
The sears model I bought when I was in FL during the "hurricane spawning years". It uses quite a bit of fuel and is rather noisy, but it does a good job. Think about it, when everyone's power is out, you will be standing in line to fill all those 5 gal fuel jugs...been there done that.
The Boliy I just bought over a month ago for camping. I have put over 50 hrs on it and the thing is quiet and powerfull and only weighs 77 lbs, sips fuel....love it!
The Winco I got from a friends dad...$450. It has a 15, 50 & 100 amp breaker, and a amp meter. My 40 horse tractor puts the amps right in the sweet spot at 2k rpm @ 540. My tractor burns around a gallon an hr at this rate. I wanted the Winco to plug into the house during ice storms, and to run EVERYTHING. It does it no problem. I can also throw the Millermatic 210 in the bucket, hook up the Winco and go weld anywhere on my place.
I am not scared to run my tractor as needed to power the house, and I have a 300 gal diesel tank, so re-fueling is not a prob. I think a large pto generator is a great thing....powerfull and versatile. With the sad state of gasoline these days(ETHANOL), all of our small engines are experiencing more and more fuel/carb related problems. And, they just upped the ethanol content again, so it's just going to get worse. So, it's nice not to have another small engine to worry about. Jmho.
I will be selling the Sears genset, even though it is a good unit...I just don't need it anymore.
RD
I have an interesting Twist to add to this discussion that I'm surprised isn't listed or mentioned in the first 16 pages...
How about an engine driven Welder ??
Miller - Engine-Driven Welders, MIG/TIG/Stick Welding Equipment
When the wife said WE need a generator.. I said I want a welder.. and it was a match made in heaven. I understand most farms have a need for a welder and backup generation For me it's a great compromise between a standalone generator and a PTO generator.. it never just sits until needed like a generator and it doesn't tie up a tractor when needed. You can get them in Gas or Diesel and for me was a good option.
They even make 1 with a 3 phase...
How about an engine driven Welder ??
Miller - Engine-Driven Welders, MIG/TIG/Stick Welding Equipment
When the wife said WE need a generator.. I said I want a welder.. and it was a match made in heaven. I understand most farms have a need for a welder and backup generation For me it's a great compromise between a standalone generator and a PTO generator.. it never just sits until needed like a generator and it doesn't tie up a tractor when needed. You can get them in Gas or Diesel and for me was a good option.
They even make 1 with a 3 phase...
JB4310
Super Member
Only problem is many of the entry level ones are just 110 volts designed for using power tools on the job.
I've got a Honda 170 amp dc portable like that, you have to step up to those pro quality units to get 220.
Right now is the best time I've ever seen to get a good deal on a great welder/generator. They are on Craigslist everyday.
Definitely not the cheapest option, though you are killing 2 birds with one stone, so might be just the answer for certain circumstances.
JB.
I've got a Honda 170 amp dc portable like that, you have to step up to those pro quality units to get 220.
Right now is the best time I've ever seen to get a good deal on a great welder/generator. They are on Craigslist everyday.
Definitely not the cheapest option, though you are killing 2 birds with one stone, so might be just the answer for certain circumstances.
JB.
windy acers
Silver Member
MAKE SHURE YOU CAN RUN THE ELECTRONIC CONTROLS ON YOUR FURNACE, DISH WASHER, COMPUTER AND WHAT EVER ELSE WITH BACK UP POWER. I THINK IT IS CALLED CLEAN POWER. WHAT IS SINE WAVE? LOOK AT 1800 RPM GEN SETS
Of the Lincoln, Miller, And Hobart welders, They all put or 220 V in generator mode, I would be shocked to find any setup for only 110... yes they are a little more $$ to start with then generator only units you would find at Home Depot but they would be multi use at a home, farm, or even small ranch, and not just collect dust in the garage. Again not saying its perfect, but for anyone that wants under 20KW and would rather not use a PTO here is an option especially if you need, want or enjoy welding. They even have some 3 phase options which I have heard some farmers use on water pumps ETC..
mylincolnelectric.com
Hobart Welders - Products - Generator/Welder
I dont' sell anything, not affiliated with anyone just passing on a idea
