Best portable generator

[kywildcat]

I'm looking for a portable generator on a budget of about $1000.00/1200.00. I would like automatic idle, and about 7000/9000 watt model. Anybody got any ideas??
I've looked at full standby models, but just can't justify the money to spend on it.

 

[trbomax]

I have 2 honda's and 1 lincoln. the hondas are quiet,dependable, and will supplymore wattage than they are rated for w/o pukeing thier guts. The lincoln makes a good portable welder,but is bulky,noisy by comparison.A gen welder set is much more versitle and it was my first gen set.


edit) I forgot about the kawasucki I had in my motorhome.Total pos.lasted a couple years before the motor barfed and I threw it away.Noisy,vibrateing junk.

 

[38Chevy454]

It seems all of the 3000-7000 watt generators are basically similar, except the Honda branded versions. Several of the slightly better portable generators use a Honda engine, but with the same basic non-Honda gen unit. They are all made in China, except the Honda brand. There might be a made in USA version, but I did not find one when I was looking. I ended up with a 6000 watt Snap-On branded one (yes, seriously is Snap-On brand) that is totally made in China. For the small amount I have used it it works. I only bought the Snap-On because it was cheap, not because it has any benefit. It is the same as many others, just different stickers.

 

[jwillis]

What about a Husky? I see them at Home Depot. Are they any good?

 

[RECox286]

I would be leary of anything from Big Box. They are famous for spec'ing

the parts used in the stuff they push out the door, and like Sears, use

cheaper parts so they can be more "competative" or have a better bottom

line. Also, they do not accept any warrantee problems, rather, they send

you directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect...

I would stick with the Honda powerplant for a more industrial rated machine,

and a proven success story. One thing you want to remember is, years from

now, when you actually want to use the genset, will it be in running shape, or

will you have to tinker with it to get it to go ? This is when you say to yourself:

"I guess I should have fired it up occassionally, to make sure it works when needed,

instead of looking at it sit in the corner all these years." Yeah, don't forget to add

stabilizer, or drain the fuel system...(etc and so forth)

Uncle Bob

 

[JonBoehman]

Generac

 

[philip_g]

I really want one of those standby generators that run natural gas...

 

[StaggeringGoat]

http://www.harborfreight.com/engine...s-900-max-watts-portable-generator-66619.html

 

[G2G]

I have one I could sell you. I have no use for it anymore as of a couple of months ago. I bought it for $3200 new. I would be willing to sell it for $1400. I can also have a friend who lives in Louisville bring it down from where I live in Chicago for free. Pm me if you are interested. This thing is a lot quiter han those POS ones sold at the big box stores and a lot better built. This is not some cheaply built generator. It was bought from a Yamaha dealership.

 

[kywildcat]

I really want one of those standby generators that run natural gas...

I've looked into these, and for the cost, I think it would be overkill. I could by a pretty nice used car for what these cost..............

 

[crucible]

They make natural gas/propane conversion kits for most portable generators out there-including ones that allow the continued use of gasoline at the same time. Think $300 or so.

http://www.propanecarbs.com/tri_fuel_kits.html
http://www.uscarburetion.com/

Generators are great, but if you run out of gas and can't get more, they're a large paperweight, which is where the natural gas conversion comes into it's own IMO. I know they make natural gas conversions for even the small Honda's-which on a long term basis, might be a great thing.

I recently impulse purchased a Rigid 6800/8500 generator with a Japanese Yamaha engine and am pretty pleased thus far-it seems to be built very solidly and has most features I wanted (and can run my gas furnace and more when I get it cabled to the breaker box with an interlock kit). Assuming I keep it, I'll be building a enclosure and doing the natural gas conversion kit when funds permit.

I'm still a bit torn however and am really drawn to the smaller Hondas....my neighbor has one and it kept both houses's fridge's and freezers (and cell phones) up and working through the week+ of no power we had this past summer. No we didn't have a/c or other comforts, but we survived, could still cook on the grill, and that little thing just sipped fuel and was impressively quiet doing so.

C-

 

[SPDMETL]

Are there any that approach 100 amps and are relatively quiet/durable?

 

[StaggeringGoat]

Are there any that approach 100 amps and are relatively quiet/durable?

LOL. That would be 24 kilowatts. You growing weed or something? That would be the size of a car, and tens of thousands of dollars...

 

[KinzeMech]

amps is not a measurement of power.

100 amps at 240 volts would be 24kw (as mentioned). This is getting pretty big. Bigger than portable.

100 amps of 120 volts (equivalent to 50 amps 240 volts) would be 12kw. I think I've seen portables this size, but this is probably about the max for a portable unit. A 12kw genset would have at MINIMUM a 24 hp motor, ideally more than that.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I'm looking for a portable generator on a budget of about $1000.00/1200.00. I would like automatic idle, and about 7000/9000 watt model.

I can't say I have seen any generators in that size that have automatic idle.

Any of the following are good generators

• Briggs and Stratton (not just the engine)
• Honda (not just the engine)
• Generac
• Yamaha

Some brands (some Craftsman, TroyBilt, Porter Cable) are just re-labeled version of the above.

Basically stick with a name brand that you know you can get serviced locally.



With generators, bigger is NOT necessarily better. Bigger just means it cost more up front and it will cost more to run it (higher fuel consumption) for as long as you own it.

With careful balancing of the load(s) (no A/C, heat pump or electric heat), an average home can get by on 2,500-3,000 watts (continuous).

 

[stingray1966]

I 2nd generac

 

[kywildcat]

I found a Rigid brand with-in the power range
I want with a Yamaha motor. Also has auto
Idle. $999.00 at Home Depot. Gonna go look
at it tomorrow.

 

[tdkkart]

amps is not a measurement of power.

100 amps at 240 volts would be 24kw (as mentioned). This is getting pretty big. Bigger than portable.

100 amps of 120 volts (equivalent to 50 amps 240 volts) would be 12kw. I think I've seen portables this size, but this is probably about the max for a portable unit. A 12kw genset would have at MINIMUM a 24 hp motor, ideally more than that.

24KW is in the tractor driven PTO shaft variety, or a water cooled 4 cylinder version of some sort, at least 48HP, assuming 2HP/KW.
You may even find a standalone diesel version in this size.

Fuel consumption may not be all that bad, most get a bit more efficient as size goes up.
5KW generators will burn a gallon/hr plus or minus a bit, or 5kw/gallon.
We had big GE 1Megawatt generators at work, burned 50-60gallons/hr, or 20KW/gallon.

 

[crucible]

I found a Rigid brand with-in the power range
I want with a Yamaha motor. Also has auto
Idle. $999.00 at Home Depot. Gonna go look
at it tomorrow.

http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

This is the one I have, but I haven't had it long enough to offer any opinion on it's reliability. I can say however it seems built very well and the engine is Japanese Yamaha. The auto-idle does in fact work too, but like any generator of this class (open frame, non-inverter based), it's not whisper quiet by any means.

YMMV.

 

[Milton Shaw]

In New York from Sandy they are not delivering NG to a lot of places right now. That's why I went with a 500 gallon (400 usable gallons) propane so I could have power when a natural disaster happens. All the NG distribution system requires electricity to pump and deliver NG.

 

[trackwelder]

In New York from Sandy they are not delivering NG to a lot of places right now. That's why I went with a 500 gallon (400 usable gallons) propane so I could have power when a natural disaster happens. All the NG distribution system requires electricity to pump and deliver NG.

I have been told that most ng distribution points burn ng and make their own power to operate the pumps, and other gear.

 

[ket-tek]

LOL. That would be 24 kilowatts. You growing weed or something? That would be the size of a car, and tens of thousands of dollars...

Haha, a bit of an exaggeration there.

20~ish kw gensets are not really that large at around 3ftx4ft and can be bought under $5,000..

 

[olytdi]

They make natural gas/propane conversion kits for most portable generators out there-including ones that allow the continued use of gasoline at the same time. Think $300 or so.

http://www.propanecarbs.com/tri_fuel_kits.html
http://www.uscarburetion.com/

Generators are great, but if you run out of gas and can't get more, they're a large paperweight, which is where the natural gas conversion comes into it's own IMO. I know they make natural gas conversions for even the small Honda's-which on a long term basis, might be a great thing. C-

Careful, from what I've been reading on other forums, converting the honda gensets to NG burns-out the exhaust valves. If it was that easy, everyone would do it!

There are a couple of NG portable gensets that are "tri-fuel" right out of the box (search Winco) but the reviews are so-so. They're China no doubt and are made up to 10 - 12KW, I think. I was looking into something like that and concluded that by the time you're done mucking around with connecting the fuel supply and panel/switching, you've met or exceeded the cost of a stationary NG genset as these approach $3500.

I've found that there's no free lunch here. I also came to the conclusion that there are two relative "sweet spots" with regard to home backup electric generation: Either go with a gasoline-sipping inverter type if fuel economy and quietness are key, and manually selectively manage essential loads. A good solution if you're a minimalist. Alternatively, go with a larger, stationary setup with auto switching and smart management including load shedding. The latter setup will cost more in terms of installation but is no more expensive than a Honda Inverter setup. Then there's gasoline storage, rotation, stabiliztion, availability...

 

[quick60]

One thing that every drag racer owns is a portable generator. Honda is hands down the preferred most reliable generator at the track. I bought a Northstar 5500 from Northern which has a Honda engine. Starts first pull everytime have used it to power my freezer, refrigerator, my well pump, 2 of my neighbors well pumps, and a couple of lights. Also used at the track every weekend to power lights, radio, and power tools.

A nice unit is a Honda inverter type generator. my buddy has one that is very good on gas. Runs 9 hours on a 1 gallon of gas!!!!

http://www.wisesales.com/eu2000ia-h...n=GoogleBase&gclid=CPXw3-nHs7MCFQ6CQgodOiMABw

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200467313_200467313?cm_mmc=Google-pla-_-Generators-_-Portable%20Generators-_-165601&ci_sku=165601&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw={keyword}&gclid=CLvb3JnIs7MCFYp_Qgod6xsA0A

 

[nehog]

LOL. That would be 24 kilowatts. You growing weed or something? That would be the size of a car, and tens of thousands of dollars...

Aw, he needs this (like mine...)

 

[frankzlt1]

Looks like a generac in cammo