When did a battery become a generator? RANT

   / When did a battery become a generator? RANT #1  

newbury

Super Star Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
13,907
Location
From Vt, in Va, retiring to MS
Tractor
Kubota's - B7610, M4700
When did they first start advertising a battery with electronics as a "generator"?
Did it start in the US?
 
   / When did a battery become a generator? RANT #2  
I was walking thru Costco last week and they had a battery power pack there that was called a generator. If that's not an out and out lie I don't know what is. So you run the battery down to 0, how's your 'generator' working now.
I'd call that deceptive advertising.
Here's a screen shot from a question I posed to Google. People that believe all on the internet fall for this type of deception.
1737053568927.png
 
   / When did a battery become a generator? RANT #4  
Jackery gets away with it by adding a solar panel and calling it a solar generator.

1737058705214.png

I witnessed a funny conversation between a Lowes sales clerk and a customer who wanted to know where the gas cap was. I didn't hang around long enough to find out if the customer was just jerking the clerk's chain or not but the poor clerk was getting pretty exasperated trying to explain it didn't run on gas.
 
   / When did a battery become a generator? RANT #5  
I've seen those solar powered contraptions advertised on TV. So... you run a few appliances... then what do you do at night.

Some folks will fall for just about anything.

You live down south and need your air conditioning - day and night. How long do you figure a heavy duty battery converted from 12V to 120V will run your AC. Maybe four hours - ???? Then for the remaining 20 hours - you sweat like a pig.
 
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   / When did a battery become a generator? RANT #6  
I must be missing something. I think they’d be ok for a lot of people. Probably not much good for more than a day or two though. Calling them a generator is just words so the people that don’t understand things can comprehend. Battery backup power supply is just to many words.
 
   / When did a battery become a generator? RANT #7  
I would think you could get the same/similar results with an inverter from your truck/tractor.
 
   / When did a battery become a generator? RANT #8  
Calling them a generator is just words so the people that don’t understand things can comprehend.
I respectfully disagree with that statement. I think it is out and out deception praying on people that don't have a clue.
I would think you could get the same/similar results with an inverter from your truck/tractor.
You could for sure but then you'd have people with dead batteries unable to start their vehicles. Either that or they'd be running their multi cylinder engines burning multiple times the fuel you'd be burning with an actual generator running on a simple one lunger.
IMHO a generator is a generator that generates power not stores it, power goes out you want an actual generator not a battery. To each his/her own :)
 
   / When did a battery become a generator? RANT #9  
I respectfully disagree with that statement. I think it is out and out deception praying on people that don't have a clue.

it is

You could for sure but then you'd have people with dead batteries unable to start their vehicles. Either that or they'd be running their multi cylinder engines burning multiple times the fuel you'd be burning with an actual generator running on a simple one lunger.
IMHO a generator is a generator that generates power not stores it, power goes out you want an actual generator not a battery. To each his/her own :)
I can idle a diesel tractor pretty cheaply compared to running a propane generator.
Those little solar generators with the battery jump pack are a joke for anyone needing real power for refrigerators, etc.
 
   / When did a battery become a generator? RANT #10  
I can idle a diesel tractor pretty cheaply compared to running a propane generator.
Even counting the quantity of oil required for oil changes, the detrimental effect of idling or running a diesel at less than optimal rpm, the initial cost compared to a stand alone generator? I guess tho you can't really count the initial cost of the tractor as you're not going to buy it solely for generator use.
But, playing devils advocate, you have one less engine to maintain, there's nothing sitting around for months or years at a time not being used.
Mehhh, I'd still go with a stand alone generator. You could buy a good one a far sight cheaper than than the wear and tear on your tractor engine, least ways in my mind :).
 

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