Are those portable 2000-4000 watt generators worth it?

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pneumagger
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Are those portable 2000-4000 watt generators worth it?

Post by pneumagger »

You know, the kind you see with the Briggs & Stratton or Honda motor and run about $1000-$2000?
Do they provide stable power to run things like computers?
Which ones are the best? My gut feel like Honda is but the DeWalts are about 20% cheaper.

Supposedly they supply about 20A-40A depending on the model and you can run them in parallel for more power.
I think keeping one of those around with a few gallons of gas and 100' extention cord would be pretty handy.
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Post by frmus »

get the honda it cost more but you will save the money in gas
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Post by doubloon »

I see Generac around most of the commercial buildings over here, that's the one I've been considering. Hooked up to natural gas ... no waiting in line for $7/gallon.
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Post by pneumagger »

I'm not looking for a house unit like a Generac. I want something that could be mobile and moved if needed.
Ideally, the plan would be to have a pair of 5 gallon gas tanks full and ready to go.
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Post by CKOD »

The honda inverter ones are definitely the best, rather then having to hold 1800 or 3600 RPM to maintain 60 hz, they can throttle to whatever they need to supply the load. With light loads they run for a long time off of one tank of gas, and they are stupid quiet also.
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Post by doubloon »

pneumagger wrote:I'm not looking for a house unit like a Generac. I want something that could be mobile and moved if needed.
Ideally, the plan would be to have a pair of 5 gallon gas tanks full and ready to go.
My bad, should have read more carefully.
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Post by ThePatriot »

Honda is the only way to go IMO. We sell them like crazy and many of my fellow employees own them and have nothing but great things to say. Also I never see them in the service department.
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Post by robpiat »

When I get a generator it will be diesel...You can store it damn near forever.
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Post by st33ve0 »

robpiat wrote:When I get a generator it will be diesel...You can store it damn near forever.
+1 on Diesel. The one for our datacenter can run two 50 KVA UPS's for a few days before needing to be filled up again.

I took a long hard look at my preps and realized if the power went out for terribly long I'd be screwed. I need to get a generator to run a fridge for keeping perishables fresh and maybe enough to run a stove or microwave if I run out of propane for the stove. I do worry about a generator in an apartment complex if SHTF though, it'll be a giant loud beacon saying "I'm prepared and probably have food or other valuable resources :?
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Post by imyomama »

i have the honda 3000 .. and i've ran over 18 hours + on a tank on a 3.4 gallon tank.. just ran my camper with fan , fridge , lights and coffe pot..

set it 20 yards from camp and you can barely hear it .. I also run ac in the summer , but you then have to make sure you don't run everything at the same time and/or turn off eco throttle... i have ramp up issue with mine as the AC was asking for juice faster than the gen could keep up with.

paid $1600 deliverd .. took some research on the net but found it .. that was a year ago..

isince then moved camp and got permanent power.. but i'm keeping it just in case..

my buddy has the 2000 and it's awesome and portable .. but can't handle AC ...
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Post by BISHOP »

I bought one of those no-name chinese generators just for camping a few years ago.
It was $200. for a 2000watt unit.
It will run 9 hours on a 1 gal tank of gas and I haven't had any problems with it yet, but if I do it will be hard to get parts for it I think.

I can't see spending $1000-$2000 on a 2 or 3K generator because you can't power anything above a computer a light and a TV with satellite system.

Like I said, I got it for camping and it worked fine for that....Party lights, blender, charging cell phones, but you run your well pump or your furnace or Airconditioner.

But if you were to get one, the Honda is probably the best ones you can get, they are quiet and dependable.


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Post by alucard »

Found a heck of a deal.
I started out wanting a honda EU2000i, and looking on the candlepowered forms, they say the best place to get a honda for the price was http://www.wisesales.com/
quoted me $890 free ship

Then I found out about these knock off Kipor generators. Apparently they use many of the same parts as the honda brethren.
This forum has some photos of the 1000 watt versions and they are very similar:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... hp?t=85758
as are the 2000 watt versions

american RV company has the kipor parallel model (means you can hook two up together to get 120v 4000 watt) refurbished for $600
http://www.americanrvcompany.com/Kipor- ... _1522.html
Or they have the non parallel model for $575
Shipping for one was $31.12

Or they sell brand new kipor for $770, but you might as well get a honda for another $100.

My refurbished one work very nice. But if you need a brand new one, wisesales is the place to go.
If you want a parallel cable, go to amazon and get it cheaper:
http://www.amazon.com/Kipor-13400-Paral ... 397&sr=8-1
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Honda Sucks

Post by schutzen »

All you fans of Honda Generators, make sure you have a very large storage building. I went through a 19 day power outage last year and had a very bad experience with the local Honda dealer.

When you are running a generator 16-24 hours per day you have to change oil and filters frequently. Usually at 50 hour intervals, but in dirty or heavy load conditions it may be more frequently.

I drove 25 miles on icy roads to get to the nearest Honda dealer for more filters. It was a Monday morning. There was a nice sign on the door, "We are closed Mondays". During "normal" times this is fully acceptable. But when 2/3's of your service area is without power, it is 10-25 degrees outside, and 30,000 people are relying on portable generators to supply heat and water to their homes; it is not acceptable. Any piece of equipment is only as reliable as the service you can get for it. I now have 2 Briggs & Stratton generators. Parts are available at over 20 small dealers in the area and some will open day, night, or weekends if you call with an emergency.

Now before some wise soul informs me I should have called before driving in, I would have, if either my land line or my cell phone would have been operational. Even telephone service depends on electricity. Also I did have 3 filters on hand when the outage started, but it is almost impossible to keep sufficient supplies on hand to keep everything going for an extended period of time. And yes I did run the generator by changing the oil and not the filter, but this can be hard on the motor.
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Post by ODS9091 »

imyomama wrote:... i have ramp up issue with mine as the AC was asking for juice faster than the gen could keep up with.

my buddy has the 2000 and it's awesome and portable .. but can't handle AC ...
Try this perhaps? http://www.modmyrv.com/2009/05/27/rv-ai ... -capacitor
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Re: Honda Sucks

Post by alucard »

I know this small kipor 2000watt (And I'm pretty sure the honda eu2000i is the same way) they do NOT have oil filters.

So you just need to stock a lot of oil, and you can clean the air filters with water and soap.
schutzen wrote:All you fans of Honda Generators, make sure you have a very large storage building. I went through a 19 day power outage last year and had a very bad experience with the local Honda dealer........
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Honda Fliters

Post by schutzen »

Try a 10KW Honda Welder/Generator. They use a filter as do my 12KW and 5KW Briggs & Stratton Generators. It is nice that the 12 & 5 KW Briggs engines use the same oil filter. I can purchase by the case (6 each)and store them on site.
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Post by poizzin »

best bet is to buy a generator head and a small diesel motor - such as the kohler 440 series , http://www.kohlerengines.com/onlinecata ... mber=KD400 it will run on diesel or alternate/ bio fuels.
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Generator

Post by YourCoWorker »

I'd go with a propane powered generator like this one I have been eyeing.
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/p ... x?a=502704

Runs on gas grill tanks which will be readily available for trade from neighbors, and you can store a ton of them for ever.

Gasoline doesn't store well, and you can expect it to be hoarded or unavailable. Diesel has similar storage and availability issues.
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Post by alucard »

There are quite a few companies that will convert your gas generator into a tri fuel, natural gas, propane, and gasoline.
http://www.generatorsales.com/order/Hon ... S_Tri_Fuel
http://propane-generators.com/honda-generators.htm

That is the best option, then you have 3 fuel options available. But they do cost alot, I think for the small 2000 watt kipor/honda they said $250 and you have to send the carb in.
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Re: Are those portable 2000-4000 watt generators worth it?

Post by Lou2380 »

Man I've got a Duro Max hybrid 4400ex it's a duel fuel so it runs off gasoline OR propane. And if you run propane the carburetor will never gum up. I love it. And at a price of about 540 or so if my memory serves me right. Well worth it. IMHO.
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Re: Are those portable 2000-4000 watt generators worth it?

Post by jreinke »

We recently had a "cold snap" here in Wisconsin. Temps dipped to -25 with -50 wind chills and as if on queue, the fucking power went of for 5 hours! No problems in my house, but many in the neighborhood did. Both of my friends decided to get a propane fueled generators and ordered them from these guys: http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com.
Both purchase Generac LP5500 generators ($799 and free shipping) and I must say I’m suitably impressed. The generator will cradle either a 20 or 30 lb. tank of propane and run for 4.75 or 7 hours respectively. With a little modification, i.e. going to your local hardware store for a longer hose, you could attach it to a 100 lb. tank. I talked to my electrician brother-in-law and he said that I could easily power my house by back-feeding from my garage! This 5.5 Kw generator has 1 - 25 amp 220 plug and 4 – 110 plugs. For me this means that I can run my furnace (110v), the fridge, the freezer, the well pump (220v) and the lights in the room that I’m in at the time. Needless to say, I’ll be buying one of these this summer.
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Re: Are those portable 2000-4000 watt generators worth it?

Post by doubloon »

3250/3750 watt "portable" propane Generac $610 http://www.generac.com/all-products/gen ... ies/lp3250

9 hour run time on 20lb tank

Not as portable as those little inverter generators pneumagger was looking for originally but not bad.
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Re: Are those portable 2000-4000 watt generators worth it?

Post by Lou2380 »

jreinke wrote:We recently had a "cold snap" here in Wisconsin. Temps dipped to -25 with -50 wind chills and as if on queue, the fucking power went of for 5 hours! No problems in my house, but many in the neighborhood did. Both of my friends decided to get a propane fueled generators and ordered them from these guys: http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com.
Both purchase Generac LP5500 generators ($799 and free shipping) and I must say I’m suitably impressed. The generator will cradle either a 20 or 30 lb. tank of propane and run for 4.75 or 7 hours respectively. With a little modification, i.e. going to your local hardware store for a longer hose, you could attach it to a 100 lb. tank. I talked to my electrician brother-in-law and he said that I could easily power my house by back-feeding from my garage! This 5.5 Kw generator has 1 - 25 amp 220 plug and 4 – 110 plugs. For me this means that I can run my furnace (110v), the fridge, the freezer, the well pump (220v) and the lights in the room that I’m in at the time. Needless to say, I’ll be buying one of these this summer.


Hey just to be on the safe side I checked into doin that and the electrician said that wiring in the house was never meant to do that and would be fire hazard. Said so people do it and never have any problems. And some do it and burn down their house. So if you decide to back feed. Just be careful.
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Re: Are those portable 2000-4000 watt generators worth it?

Post by doubloon »

Lou2380 wrote:...
.. some people do it right and never have any problems. And some do it wrong and burn down their house. ...
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI This is Water DavidW
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Re: Are those portable 2000-4000 watt generators worth it?

Post by jreinke »

Lou2380 wrote:
jreinke wrote:We recently had a "cold snap" here in Wisconsin. Temps dipped to -25 with -50 wind chills and as if on queue, the fucking power went of for 5 hours! No problems in my house, but many in the neighborhood did. Both of my friends decided to get a propane fueled generators and ordered them from these guys: http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com.
Both purchase Generac LP5500 generators ($799 and free shipping) and I must say I’m suitably impressed. The generator will cradle either a 20 or 30 lb. tank of propane and run for 4.75 or 7 hours respectively. With a little modification, i.e. going to your local hardware store for a longer hose, you could attach it to a 100 lb. tank. I talked to my electrician brother-in-law and he said that I could easily power my house by back-feeding from my garage! This 5.5 Kw generator has 1 - 25 amp 220 plug and 4 – 110 plugs. For me this means that I can run my furnace (110v), the fridge, the freezer, the well pump (220v) and the lights in the room that I’m in at the time. Needless to say, I’ll be buying one of these this summer.


Hey just to be on the safe side I checked into doin that and the electrician said that wiring in the house was never meant to do that and would be fire hazard. Said so people do it and never have any problems. And some do it and burn down their house. So if you decide to back feed. Just be careful.
I understand what you're saying and I appreciate the warning. The wiring in my house and shop is all new and up to code, so should handle it with no problems should I ever find myself in that situation in the future.
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