Should I Get A Second Generator?

[Olympus]

In your situation, emphasize "portable." It's great to have a generator you can pick up with one hand for remote power. You need one large enough to run a circular saw or drill motor, but small enough to really be portable. The 800w unit won't do it. The 1800 w unit might do it as long as the circular saw doesn't pull more than 15 amps. It's great to have something you can toss in the back of the pickup with some lumber and actually get some work done.

OTOH, the little camper jobbie is pretty handy too. I have one that will run the travel trailer just fine on long duck hunting trips. With propane range, hot water and furnace, all you need is something to run the furnace fan and a couple light bulbs. 800w will also run any energy star freezer or refrigerator, one at a time. Mine is a 1200/1000w 2-cycle that will run 4.5 hours on a gallon of fuel.

This guy gets what I’m gonna my for here. Portability for a second generator is key for me. Like I said in the beginning, I already have an 8k/10k Generac on wheels that I can use for my entire house. But I don’t want to have to trailer it to take it somewhere. And it’s overkill for any kind of small job, not to mention crazy loud.

I was leaning toward the 1000w, bit if won’t run a circular saw or sawzall then it’s probably too small. I’ll check my amp draws on my circular and sawzall to make sure though.

My little pop up camper doesn’t have a/c, so a small ceramic heater would be fine. I could supplement with a buddy heater if I needed to. HF has parabolic heater that has 400w and 800w settings that will be fine for the 1000w unit.

And yes, I still use a sawzall with a cord!

 

[LittleBill21]

i'd like to know where your getting a sportman 2200w for 300, hd is selling for 700

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/393867-should-i-get-second-generator-3.html

 

[TheMan419]

This guy gets what I’m gonna my for here. Portability for a second generator is key for me. Like I said in the beginning, I already have an 8k/10k Generac on wheels that I can use for my entire house. But I don’t want to have to trailer it to take it somewhere. And it’s overkill for any kind of small job, not to mention crazy loud.

I was leaning toward the 1000w, bit if won’t run a circular saw or sawzall then it’s probably too small. I’ll check my amp draws on my circular and sawzall to make sure though.

My little pop up camper doesn’t have a/c, so a small ceramic heater would be fine. I could supplement with a buddy heater if I needed to. HF has parabolic heater that has 400w and 800w settings that will be fine for the 1000w unit.

You keep referencing the 1000 watt unit. However your OP says it is 1000 surge and 800 running. That parabolic heater will cause the 800 watt unit to run at max power. Not usually a good scenario.

 

[Olympus]

i'd like to know where your getting a sportman 2200w for 300, hd is selling for 700

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/393867-should-i-get-second-generator-3.html

Here you go. With free shipping even! It says normal price is $680, but it's on "Rollback" for $300. I see it's $700 on Home Depot website right now. I'm wondering if this is misprint or if that's just a crazy good deal. It has 4 stars at the Home Depot website with 208 people writing reviews. That's not too bad in my opinion.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sportsma...h-Parallel-Capability-CARB-Approved/435994295

 

[Groo]

the big yamaha inverter has a 240v model. pretty sure it has remote electric start too.

 

[Olympus]

You keep referencing the 1000 watt unit. However your OP says it is 1000 surge and 800 running. That parabolic heater will cause the 800 watt unit to run at max power. Not usually a good scenario.

Saw a YouTube video of someone using the parabolic heater at 800w setting and the 1000w unit didn't kick out or show overload. If that's the only thing on the circuit, I don't see that it would be that big of a deal.

Anyway, in looking my circular saw is 13 amps and my sawzall is 12 amps. Both are a good deal over the 1000w unit's capability. I guess that pretty much settles it for me with the 2200w unit. Part of the portability aspect is being able to take the generator somewhere remote and still get some kind of work done too.

 

[Doofy]

I would think you would want the quietest portable generator also. The Honda eu2000i is about 65db and will run about 8hrs on 1 gallon of gas. Not sure how quiet the other brands of small generators are. I would certainly want to hear them run.

 

[Olympus]

I would think you would want the quietest portable generator also. The Honda eu2000i is about 65db and will run about 8hrs on 1 gallon of gas. Not sure how quiet the other brands of small generators are. I would certainly want to hear them run.

They're saying the Sportsman 2200w is rated at less than 53db with no load at 23 feet away.

 

[Doofy]

They're saying the Sportsman 2200w is rated at less than 53db with no load at 23 feet away.

That is pretty quiet.

 

[Industrial Toys]

You could be all snuggled up in your sleeping bag with your stadium pal and generator remote control to start the heater should you feel cold. That would be slick.

 

[Olympus]

You could be all snuggled up in your sleeping bag with your stadium pal and generator remote control to start the heater should you feel cold. That would be slick.

Not what I’m looking for. Don’t need remote start.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I think remote start is a great feature for a portable. I would have put one on my Yanmar except it has this decompression lever that must be engaged manually before starting.

 

[Olympus]

I think remote start is a great feature for a portable. I would have put one on my Yanmar except it has this decompression lever that must be engaged manually before starting.

Probably for some applications, just not for what I’m envision the use of this second one being.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Hey everyone, I’m kind of a “gadget/toy” person and generators are one of my favorite things. I just like the feeling of comfort knowing I have one, should I ever need. Right now, I have a large Generac 8000/10,000w portable that I keep on hand for powering my whole house should I ever need it. It’s nice to have, but loud and definitely not as portable as you’d think. It’s big and incredibly heavy. It’s pretty much just dedicated for the house.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about buying a small inverter generator. Something easier to transport, more quiet, something that I can store on a shelf out of the way. Something I could take with me camping or out to my hunting land if I needed power somewhere remotely. Or just something I could loan to a neighbor without sacrificing my own means of power.

I’ve been seeing these Sportsman brand inverters and they’re incredibly affordable. I live in the Midwest, so tornado/storm and ice are the only things that could affect my power, so generators are not a tool that gets much use. And like I said, I already have a large generator already.

So right now I’m looking at the Sportsman 1000w surge and 800w running for a crazy price of $157 and only weighs 21lbs. Or the slightly larger Sportman 2200w surge and 1800w which is also dual-fuel and can use propane for $300 and weighs 45lbs. The larger one is about double of everything that the smaller one is, including weight. I’m just trying to decide if the smaller one will fit my needs better or if I should sacrifice on weight and get the 2200w version.

For camping use, it would only be needed for heat and lights. Pop-up camper and I only go when it’s cool or cold. I wouldn’t need a unit to pull an air conditioner. But I would need a unit that could pull an electric heater. I know so could supplement with gas heat, if I needed to. I’m thinking the 1000w unit would be fine for my uses as a “second gen” and for a loaner. I’m thinking portability ranks pretty high for a benefit considering I already have a lunker of a gen in the shop. But I could be swayed toward the 2200w unit also.

I would definitely get a second generator. If it was my choice, I would go for the 2200W. Just has enough increase in power to be much more useful, is dual fuel (a big plus IMO), and is still quite portable.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

That price was too good to pass up... Just ordered the 2200w. Free shipping to home also. Absolutely awesome! I have a similar situation to yours, my "house generator" is just to big to take camping in the trailer. I have been looking at the smaller inverter generator for a couple of years, just too pricey to make the jump...not now:cool2:

 

[two_bit_score]

Doesn’t everyone need a big one and a little one?


TBS

 

[Gem99ultra]

Doesn't everybody have 3?

At those prices, buy both! Needs change. With 3 generators, you'll be prepared for anything.

Absolutely! I too, have a 10,000 watt generator for heavier whole house use in case of a major power outage. But I also have a pair of Honda 2000 watt generators for small power uses around the place, like for a saw, drilling, etc. away from the house. I do think the 1,000 watt generator will be too small for Olympus for anything other than a light bulb or two.

Nice thing about the Honda's are that they're super quiet, 47 pounds, and run forever on a gallon of gasoline. But, it's his money, his choice.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Did you even read my post? I知 not looking for a home backup generator at all. If you read, you値l see I already own a 8000/10,000w Generac for that purpose.

And there are plenty of electric heaters that use less than 1000w.

My brother in law bought one of the HF 1000 watt generators and while it starts easy, it just barely has the power to run an electric chainsaw. It really lugs the engine to get the saw started. I think I would op for the 2200 watt genset for offsite tool use. A 800W running genset is only good for 6.66 amps which is a very small electric motor.

 

[Industrial Toys]

An electric chainsaw would probably make a real 1000 watt generator struggle.

My friend who sells utilities, mobile inverter and generator packages, runs into that all the time. The customer "Just" wants to plug in a few chargers and a trouble light. Then comes back with a blown up unit, and mentions he was trying to run a microwave, air conditioner or some such thing. People, for the most part, don't have a clue!

You can't just guess. People say, you can't run barely more than a light bulb with a 1000 generator. Well, if you had LED bulbs that used 10 watts each, you could run 100 of them!

 

[Doofy]

An electric chainsaw would probably make a real 1000 watt generator struggle.

My friend who sells utilities, mobile inverter and generator packages, runs into that all the time. The customer "Just" wants to plug in a few chargers and a trouble light. Then comes back with a blown up unit, and mentions he was trying to run a microwave, air conditioner or some such thing. People, for the most part, don't have a clue!

You can't just guess. People say, you can't run barely more than a light bulb with a 1000 generator. Well, if you had LED bulbs that used 10 watts each, you could run 100 of them!

Hahahaha. This "clue" thing, of which you speak, is becoming ever more evident! Sad and scary.