which portable generators do people have

[LittleBill21]

thats my opinion exactly. i thought about getting the 1800 rpm version, but seriously, spending an extra 4 grand for something that may or may not be needed just didnt enter my picture. now if i was planning to use it to supplement off grid system, then i would definitely go with the 1800 rpm system. the thing that i do love about the quietsource series that run at 1800 rpm....there alot quieter. but my generator is far from any neighbor so i have no issues with it. i cant even hear it run inside the house.

also good luck finding a 1800 rpm gas portable genny. i can't find one.

even with a 1800 rpm unit, good luck beating my 2k inverter on fuel economy. i use my big one for an hour to take a shower or get some water out of the well, thats about all i really need it for. and im a full electric house

 

[Garandman]

One of the things I love about my generator is that it so quiet and runs a very long time on a tank of gas. If I upsized, I lose on both accounts just for the surge power needed. Not worth it. Got to be a better way though.

The folks I know have a cheap 220V construction generator they fire up an hour a day.

I suppose you could increase the size of your accumulator.

 

[RSKY]

Some of the arguments here are not making sense to me. I bought a new generator from Sam's Club in November and it was delivered right after Christmas. It is a 10,000 starting, 8,000 continuous. It cost me $530 delivered to my house. I looked at the Honda website just now and a 3,000 Honda is more than $2000!!!!

I realize that the Honda products are the top of the line, #1 in the world, fuel efficient, and the quietest you can buy BUT...... If it won't power everything you need powered, like a well, then what good is the Honda? And how many years of use to spend the $2000 price difference on the fuel.

If you had power outages lasting a week or two at a time several times a year then yes I can understand. Otherwise that seems like a waste of money for a product that won't do what it needs to do which is power the well and the house at the same time.

Kind of like a guy I worked with in 2009 who was out of power for two weeks. A month later he came in to work bragging that he had spent $12,000 for an automatic whole house system. What a waste of money.

The guy who can't power his well needs to go get a bigger cheap generator and use it with the Honda as a backup.

To the original poster I would recommend doing the same thing. Take care of it, use alcohol free gas, and drain the carb each time you store it, and it will last for years.

But I am a cheapskate with my money.

And if your wife might have to tend it get electric start. I have a Briggs and Stratton 8500 that started second pull every time but my wife couldn't pull it. So I got the electric start.

RSKY

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Nice, artesian wells can be nice and very handy, my drilled well artesianed for about 10 years and has petered out now the water level is holding about 10 feet down now.

Mines been putting out a thousand gallons an hour for nearly 60 years now, water will NEVER be a problem for me, I also have three of these,

Here's a second one,

They are spring fed, and make a nice stream that cross' my property, all the water starts in my ponds...

SR

 

[dragoneggs]

Hi RSKY, In my defense I bought my Honda 3000 about 15 years ago during a huge storm and long power outage. No well to power back then. I wanted to buy quality and hope it would be the one and only I would ever purchase and it wouldn't be a headache to maintain and keep running. It has electric start which was a requirement because I wanted my wife to easily start as I travel often. Since then I moved and I am now on my own well. We don't lose power often and for too long and I don't need to power everything during those times. Kind of like roughing it (minimal needs such as TV, internet ) So... I have what I have and I feel I have gotten my money's worth over time, not just using it for power outages.

Yeah, I could have bought cheaper, louder, non portable, and less efficient gen, and I know more than a handful of folks that have. I also know that other than replacing the battery once in it's lifetime I have had zero issues. I also know I have helped others with their cheap gens trying get them running. Yes, mainly due to their neglect. Funny how in every case, it was during a power outage.

To buy another larger generator that isn't portable but gives me water once or twice a year for a few hours or day or two.. or a few more, is hard to justify. Then I would have another engine to maintain that takes up even more precious secure space and my time for only one purpose.

To each his own on choices gen brand, size, fuel. I am very happy with my gen... I just wish I could come up with a way to have running water during an outage with what I got. But it surely isn't the highest on my priority list all things considered, otherwise I wouldn't be having this conversation and I would have larger gen too.

 

[Travelover]

Some of the arguments here are not making sense to me. .......

Yea, I agree. At my last house I had a 5000/4000 watt Coleman that served me for 27 years. It ran my well and anything else I needed, for blackouts up to a week. Sucked gas when it ran and was noisy, but all in provided a lot of utility (no pun intended) for the bucks that I had in it. I sold it with the house and the new owner still uses it and it still starts on the first pull.

 

[goeduck]

Getting way off topic... one of my favorite places to dine is the Falls Terrace in Tumwater... just across from the Olympia Brewery complex...

I have eaten there, good place.

My well has a cistern so it has the well pump plus a booster pump. So I have to be careful with the gen power in case both run. Also on power up if both are calling to run. Then the inrush of each pump adds for a total. My outages are short so I shut the well off when the commercial power goes out unless it gets too bad.

 

[3930dave]

$500 HF gen.

Honda inverter.

1800rpm diesel genset.

20kw PTO gen.

$10k+ fully auto-xfer system.

^ am I going to criticize who spends on what ?

Some people wear expensive clothes. Some people have expensive golf-club memberships. Some people wear expensive watches. Some people go to Cabo every Winter, and Europe every Summer. Some people drive expensive vehicles that serve no true Need. Some people have large collections of fishing rods, model trains.... This list goes on and on.......

As long as it doesn't destroy the rest of your household finances - if it truly holds value for you, why not ? IMO, if someone is truly comfortable with their own choices, they usually don't go full-on-commando defending their position.....

What I don't understand with a generator you want to rely on, is lack of maintenance..... whether it's a 2500watt 20 year old Briggs like I have, or a $15k 3 year old auto-xfer system.

Rgds, D.

 

[DieselnHooters]

To each his own on choices gen brand, size, fuel. I am very happy with my gen... I just wish I could come up with a way to have running water during an outage with what I got. But it surely isn't the highest on my priority list all things considered, otherwise I wouldn't be having this conversation and I would have larger gen too.

My little Honda 2000i does power my 1/2 HP well pump, it is borderline though and would obviously not work an inside the well pump which I guess is what you are dealing with.

 

[Garandman]

Some of the arguments here are not making sense to me. I bought a new generator from Sam's Club in November and it was delivered right after Christmas. It is a 10,000 starting, 8,000 continuous. It cost me $530 delivered to my house. I looked at the Honda website just now and a 3,000 Honda is more than $2000!!!!

I realize that the Honda products are the top of the line, #1 in the world, fuel efficient, and the quietest you can buy BUT...... If it won't power everything you need powered, like a well, then what good is the Honda? And how many years of use to spend the $2000 price difference on the fuel.

If you had power outages lasting a week or two at a time several times a year then yes I can understand. Otherwise that seems like a waste of money for a product that won't do what it needs to do which is power the well and the house at the same time.

There are other considerations that Southerners don’t usually have experience with.

After Hurricane Sandy, there were lots of people with the cheap construction generators who ran out of fuel after a few days. There was no fuel within 50 miles.

We plan for an 8 day outage because in the snowbelt during a northeaster, no power means no travel, no heat means frozen pipes means water damage. Our tenants turned down the heat and went away during a cold snap and the damage was $17,000.