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The Generator Thread

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Funny this thread came up, my wife literally just said to me 30 minutes ago:  "before hurricane season starts we need to get a generator."

Since we are still renting I guess it makes the most sense to get a portable - we're not paying for any upgrades or changes to the house electrical system.  What do you guys recommend?  Brands? I know we want to power the refrigerator, some lamps, a fan or two.  Should I just use something like this to figure out the wattage we need?  We then put it outside and run some extension cords into the house?  Am I missing anything?

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2 minutes ago, tomk62 said:

Funny this thread came up, my wife literally just said to me 30 minutes ago:  "before hurricane season starts we need to get a generator."

Since we are still renting I guess it makes the most sense to get a portable - we're not paying for any upgrades or changes to the house electrical system.  What do you guys recommend?  Brands? I know we want to power the refrigerator, some lamps, a fan or two.  Should I just use something like this to figure out the wattage we need?  We then put it outside and run some extension cords into the house?  Am I missing anything?

If you just want fridge, some lights and phone chargers, really look at one of the Honda EU2200 generators.

I have a whole house 14kw for here in NJ.  Used it for 25 hours during Sandy, 50 last fall and a smattering of sub 8 hour outages since 2012.

My house in Florida has none and as soon as I move permanently down there, I'm buying one of those Hondas.  They are so quiet and the power is absolutely clean.  It will do whatever you need it to do.    If you ever go to a swap meet or the like, most vendors that have power use one.  Super reliable, sips gas.

All that said, other generators will work just fine as long as you drain the gas after usage otherwise the carb will be garbage 2 years later when you want to use it.  I had a Generac 4000XL and I kept a spare carb($19 on Ebay) for it.  Every couple years I'd just replace the carb.

Things tolerate ethanol much better these days, but it's still an issue.

The best thing about those Hondas is that used, they sell for nearly as much as new.   If you upgrade later, you can get at least 70% of what you have in it.

 

 

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The Honda genset. If it's not the best home/work generator out there it beats what ever is in 2nd place. That said it's according to your needs. You say you're renting now. If you intend to get a stand alone when ever you get your own place look used now. This is a pretty good time to look on Craigs list. Till the 1st hurricane. The Honda EU2200 will start and run your fridge and a fan or two with room to spare. But I would only want that as a back up to a 6 to 8k for an emergency if it crapped out so you could still run the fridge. Lottsa info on wattage usage  out there. Decide what you absolutely can't do without during an emergency and size your genset from there. 

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I believe you can pair up to 3 eu2200. Won’t get you 220 though. I have the older eu 3000. I could run all essentials in my home( ng appliances).

the harbor freight predator seems to be a good bang for the buck and probably a Honda clone 

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Honda for the win.  They make great gens.  Wish I had one.  But for power output, I have a generic 6500 watt in the garage that did the trick.  But you could hear it sort of labor when we turned on too many lights and sex machines.  My in-laws have the fixed Generac in the yard that kicks in by itself.  But they are a little more wealthy than we are.

Funny story...got mine via Sandy.  We were knocked out for 10 days, just listening to the radio on a simple battery operated thing tuned to 101.5.  A caller comes in and says she is a store manager at Sears in Watchung and they are getting 50 units that day.  I'm thinking I have no idea where watchung is, but maybe the store in Quakerbridge mall might get some too.  So I drive over.  Nothing.  Aisles were empty.  And then this guy comes along with a cart loaded with the genny heading to the return desk.  He said he had power now and didn't even open the box.  I jumped on his back and made sure to get it.  As I was wheeling it back out to my truck, people were emerging from the dark aisles like the walking dead wanting to take it from my cart.  Surreal.  :p

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16 hours ago, silverado427 said:

I have a brand new Westinghouse gen that  I purchased after Sandy.

I never  even fired it up yet. 

Unless you are planning to sell it as 'new in box', I'd fire it up this weekend and put a load on it.  When I test mine, I just dump in a pint or so of gas, then run it till it's dry and store it empty (best to unplug the load before it runs dry).

It's not really a backup unless you've proven that it works.

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7 minutes ago, 10X said:

Unless you are planning to sell it as 'new in box', I'd fire it up this weekend and put a load on it.  When I test mine, I just dump in a pint or so of gas, then run it till it's dry and store it empty (best to unplug the load before it runs dry).

It's not really a backup unless you've proven that it works.

Yup, kind of like a gun, no good if it's not loaded and ready to go. My gen is down in FL now but was sure to test it when I bought it down. Put a tri fuel on it about 6 yrs ago and ran strictly on ng during bi annual test runs.  Hasn't seen gasoline since the initial break in so was surprised and pissed it needed a lot of attention to get back running on gas especially since I thought I cleaned the carb out well after the break in. Nothing some Seafoam and tinkering didn't fix and has been fine on gas since. Glad I didn't have to figure that out when it would be needed. Going to invest in a large propane tank once there permanently as ng isn't common like up here.

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21 minutes ago, siderman said:

Yup, kind of like a gun, no good if it's not loaded and ready to go. My gen is down in FL now but was sure to test it when I bought it down. Put a tri fuel on it about 6 yrs ago and ran strictly on ng during bi annual test runs.  Hasn't seen gasoline since the initial break in so was surprised and pissed it needed a lot of attention to get back running on gas especially since I thought I cleaned the carb out well after the break in. Nothing some Seafoam and tinkering didn't fix and has been fine on gas since. Glad I didn't have to figure that out when it would be needed. Going to invest in a large propane tank once there permanently as ng isn't common like up here.

What kit did you use?  I've had one on my to-do list for a while now.

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13 minutes ago, CMJeepster said:

What kit did you use?  I've had one on my to-do list for a while now.

Was from US Carberetion, don't remember exact kit but they are pretty good with facts and info iirc. Very easy to install and runs flawless. Get on their mailing list they occasionally have killer sales.

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22 hours ago, Malsua said:

Here's the thing.  You will need to change the oil after about 8 hours of running.

Buy three now.  When you hit 8 hours, and change it, you will have enough.

Yes, you need to fill it.  These things run hot, they run at 3600RPM and they will labor pretty hard under a full load.  They also burn oil, all small engines do to one extent or another.  This is why the capacity is what it is and they didn't pluck the number out of the air. 

 

 

Not only that, but many units that aren't high end rely on "splashing" for lubrication. Oil level can impact that. They dont have oil pumps to simplify design.  

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15 minutes ago, siderman said:

Was from US Carberetion, don't remember exact kit but they are pretty good with facts and info iirc. Very easy to install and runs flawless. Get on their mailing list they occasionally have killer sales.

That seems to be the go-to company.  Thanks.

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The Honda EU2200i definitely looks like a quality product, but for the same price I can get a 7000w Ryobi RY907022FI (CR recommended), which I assume will be noisier.  Why would that be a bad idea?

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6 minutes ago, tomk62 said:

The Honda EU2200i definitely looks like a quality product, but for the same price I can get a 7000w Ryobi RY907022FI (CR recommended), which I assume will be noisier.  Why would that be a bad idea?

You can have have two people sitting in lawn chairs with a Honda 2200 3 feet away and have a nice conversation.   The Ryobi would need to be on the other side of the house.  Generators are LOUD, well except that Honda ;)

Also remember storage.  A big generator takes up a lot of space.  The Honda can be tucked under a bench or put in a cabinet.   The Honda is also an inverter generator which means the power is clean.   The other generators are a lot dirtier.   You probably won't have any issue, but sensitive equipment can be affected.    I would recommend a UPS if you plan on running computers on the generator that is not an inverter, like the Honda.

 

 

 

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Can anyone recommend a repair shop in Morris county to fix a portable Generac 5500?  The compression release mechanism froze a day or two ago, making it nearly impossible to start.  Fortunately, we got our power back a couple of hours ago 

I’ll check and adjust the valve clearance today, but if that doesn’t do it, I think I’d want to farm out pulling the cam. 

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On 6/5/2020 at 10:31 AM, siderman said:

  Hasn't seen gasoline since the initial break in so was surprised and pissed it needed a lot of attention to get back running on gas especially since I thought I cleaned the carb out well after the break in. 

I never run the carb dry on any outdoor power equipment. No problems whatsoever over  the course of many years..  

However,  the B&S generator gets Sta-bil Marine fuel stabilizer and I run it every 5-6 months and will add fresh fuel it sits more than year.

Running the Gen it every so often is important. You don't want to find it won't start with a storm bearing down.  Running the carb dry gives a false sense of security in my opinion. 

My neighbor has a Generac stand-by generator, it starts and runs once  a month automatically.

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9 hours ago, Bomber said:

I never run the carb dry on any outdoor power equipment. No problems whatsoever over  the course of many years..  

However,  the B&S generator gets Sta-bil Marine fuel stabilizer and I run it every 5-6 months and will add fresh fuel it sits more than year.

Running the Gen it every so often is important. You don't want to find it won't start with a storm bearing down.  Running the carb dry gives a false sense of security in my opinion. 

My neighbor has a Generac stand-by generator, it starts and runs once  a month automatically.

I had a 4000XL Generator before my standby.  When I started it every 6months or so it was fine.  When I left it longer, it'd need carb attention.  I replaced the carb in that 3 times.

Also, my Generac standby exercises once a week for 12 minutes.  Keeps the mice away.  What I don't have and I want to get is the WIFI link for it but I can't seem to figure out where to buy it.   It may be a stealership only item in which case, they can suck it.

 

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17 minutes ago, USRifle30Cal said:

If i was going to get a generator again....i would get a diesel.....just from the availability of gogo juice.....

The problem with Diesel is the fuel still degrades, and while it takes longer, it still has to be rotated.

The other problem is wet stacking.  You need to be sure to match your load to your generator size.

 

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1 hour ago, Malsua said:

The problem with Diesel is the fuel still degrades, and while it takes longer, it still has to be rotated.

The other problem is wet stacking.  You need to be sure to match your load to your generator size.

 

And most are 3000 rpm constant 

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1 hour ago, Malsua said:

The problem with Diesel is the fuel still degrades, and while it takes longer, it still has to be rotated.

The other problem is wet stacking.  You need to be sure to match your load to your generator size.

 

And most are 3000 rpm constant 

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2 minutes ago, Zeke said:

And most are 3000 rpm constant 

You mean 3600?  All the big industrial ones we've had at our plants around the world are these massive 1800rpm behemoths.  200kw and up.  3600rpm diesels are not long haul machines.

 

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1 hour ago, USRifle30Cal said:

If i was going to get a generator again....i would get a diesel.....just from the availability of gogo juice.....

Unless you have oil heat and a big tank I would rethink that. LP and NG are cleaner. We had a small diesel genset at work just for emergency lighting. We could only test it early in the morning or weekends because of the smell and noise. Bunch of cry baby scientists!

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2 hours ago, Malsua said:

Also, my Generac standby exercises once a week for 12 minutes.  Keeps the mice away.  What I don't have and I want to get is the WIFI link for it but I can't seem to figure out where to buy it.   It may be a stealership only item in which case, they can suck it.

 

I have/had the Generac cellular version. It provides very limited feedback, zero control and is subscription based = $$$.

Now I'm running GenMon on a Raspberry Pi. I bought a pre-built one off of eBay since I knew next to nothing about Pi/Linux etc... at the time. I know a little bit more now. https://github.com/jgyates/genmon

MUCH more feedback and I can control it remotely as well. No subscriptions to worry about. Provides email and/or SMS notifications and uses a web interface. I use OpenVPN to connect when away from home. I just haven't figured out why I can't get OpenVPN to work with my new Router yet.

The Pi runs off of the Genset battery so it always has power and I have my networking components on a battery UPS, so as long as FiOS stays up it has connectivity. The problem I've been working on is the Pi keeps dropping off of my Wifi network.

If your Generac is newer and gets firmware updates via Wifi, this might not be an option since Generac has decided to encrypt the communication on the controller. I have not followed the progress of any workarounds with that, my Genset is older and does not have that ability/issue. https://github.com/jgyates/genmon/issues/374

My power was out from 1230 Tuesday to 1520 yesterday, my Generac ran the entire time. Somehow FiOS stayed up as well, I read complaints where Cablevision/Optimum/whatever they are calling themselves now was/is down. My guess is that FiOS is better at finding other paths to keep the service up, while cable does not have the same redundancy. During other outages I would see Cablevision with the small Honda generators connected to the amplifiers on the utility poles to keep the service going. Did not see that this time, too much line damage, or cuts in the budget?

 

 

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12 hours ago, Bomber said:

I never run the carb dry on any outdoor power equipment. No problems whatsoever over  the course of many years..  

However,  the B&S generator gets Sta-bil Marine fuel stabilizer and I run it every 5-6 months and will add fresh fuel it sits more than year.

Running the Gen it every so often is important. You don't want to find it won't start with a storm bearing down.  Running the carb dry gives a false sense of security in my opinion. 

My neighbor has a Generac stand-by generator, it starts and runs once  a month automatically.

Well it runs fine now but not so critical anymore as a 30 amp feed just doesn't cut it any more here in FL where central ac is considered a life support system. And I am not wiring/plumbing the house again to work off a portable anyway, looks like a real standby is in the future.

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3 minutes ago, siderman said:

Well it runs fine now but not so critical anymore as a 30 amp feed just doesn't cut it any more here in FL where central ac is considered a life support system. And I am not wiring/plumbing the house again to work off a portable anyway, looks like a real standby is in the future.

Telsa Powerwall 2.  I'm considering one for my FL house.  Solar charged, which is perfect for FL.

LG has a system, Sonnen and even Nissan.

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29 minutes ago, kc17 said:

 

Now I'm running GenMon on a Raspberry Pi. I bought a pre-built one off of eBay since I knew next to nothing about Pi/Linux etc... at the time. I know a little bit more now. https://github.com/jgyates/genmon

 

 

 

I searched Ebay for genmon, not seeing anything.  Got a link?  I'll buy a pre-config

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On 6/4/2020 at 1:48 PM, AlDente67 said:

It runs on quartz. That stuff isn't cheap.

what?

I run all the generators I service on walmart brand syntech 10w30 full synthetic.  have for almost 2 decades.  no issues.

 

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