Which Generator for $1000???

[seagiant]

Hi,
Looking for about a 6500-8000W Home Emergency Generator.

I know $1000 does not buy much but what I have.

Cat, WEN, Generac, DuroMax, just some I have seen.

Would like a HONDA but over my head money wise.

Any ideas would be helpful!!!

 

[nadogail]

For what it's worth, several years ago a well respected Consumer magazine gave the Predator a very good review.

 

[u2slow]

FWIW, soooo much brand engineering these days.

Unless I can prove to myself without a doubt that they are not just cheap honda copies of each other... I assume they are in fact the same, and let price make my decision.

I have a $300 4400W machine.

 

[99LeCouch]

With the Chinese generators, having parts availability and support might mean more than the name. If there's a local dealer, see what they carry. If no local dealers, buy on features and price.

Dual-fuel gas and propane might be handy. Propane won't go bad sitting, and won't gum up a carb. It does derate the generator by 10%.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I wouldn't hesitate to look on govdeals.com under the generator section. You can find some NIB, slightly used, old military or abused stuff.

 

[seagiant]

Hi,
Well....Here is what I bought for $900 delivered in my driveway.

It's about 200# so I can unbox it, put the wheels on and roll it where I need it.

I spent 2 full days running around town and here on the Internet trying to make up my mind.

Wanted to get this done as I have other things to do.

Here in Florida if you wait for someone to whisper "Hurricane" you can forget about getting a Generator local...They will be gone.

From my research, what I found is that anything in this price range is made in China no matter what is on the box.

This Westinghouse is a popular seller and gets good reviews from not only Consumer Reports but also people that actually use them.

At some point you have to stop chasing your tail and put your money down.

Thanks to everyone for the help!

 

[Showkey]

Make sure you drain the carb during storage !!!!!!!

If you don’t you will have issues in 6-8 weeks........especially in FL with hot humid weather. The fuel going bad is usually NOT a warranty fix.

 

[gungatim]

LGR!

 

[Bretny]

In that price range just pick the cheapest one that has the output you need. There all made in China with Chinese parts. I would even doubt they have different features.

Buy the cheapest one..then get a spare carb, a few 5gal cans, a spark plug and a gallon of oil. You will be pretty set and save $1000 over a honda.

 

[mike93lx]

Briggs & Stratton Q6500 QuietPower Series 6,500-Watt Gasoline Powered Portable Inverter Generator with Briggs and Stratton Engine
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Briggs-...h-Briggs-and-Stratton-Engine-030675/301871650

That's the one I have. Very quiet. Handle is complete and utter garbage and it is pull start only. If you need 240v and want an inverter, it is the ticket

 

[ddurrett896]

Champion all day.

This drops to $650-$700 if you watch it.
https://www.bjs.com/product/champio...portable-generator-with-electric-start/248604

That runs my house (minus AC) and I only run one 220 appliance at a time. Planning to get a smaller 3,000ish watt ones for short outages that can handle the house (minus AC and 220)

 

[Bretny]

Briggs & Stratton Q6500 QuietPower Series 6,500-Watt Gasoline Powered Portable Inverter Generator with Briggs and Stratton Engine
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Briggs-...h-Briggs-and-Stratton-Engine-030675/301871650

That's the one I have. Very quiet. Handle is complete and utter garbage and it is pull start only. If you need 240v and want an inverter, it is the ticket

The OP should be Jumping on this. Inverter and 240v for under his price range.

 

[mcspeed]

Cheap generators seem to generate as much noise as electricity. Many of the brands are made by one manufacturer and sold under various brand names.

The Predator has some decent performance and isn’t as noisy as the other cheap ones.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dogdog]

The OP should be Jumping on this. Inverter and 240v for under his price range.

I think the OP already bought that Westinghouse one.. it's not a bad unit, I have the older version for few years now since 2010. No complains about it, but if I was to spend this much as the OP, I would go with the Inverter one as well...

 

[mike93lx]

I think the OP already bought that Westinghouse one.. it's not a bad unit, I have the older version for few years now since 2010. No complains about it, but if I was to spend this much as the OP, I would go with the Inverter one as well...

Too bad. Not too late to return it...

 

[dogdog]

Too bad. Not too late to return it...

when he says 200LBs it is probably more... even mine is a PITA to lift, I bought two @ $699 , had to return one cause friend didn't want it even as a gift. lets say its not as light as you think it is. Not sure the return policy on the place he got it from, probably not cheap if it is not free return. It is not a bad generator other than it is non-inverter base.

 

[MetalBuildingFun]

When Hurricane Harvey came to town we needed a generator so we went with this one because it works on gas or propane. We got this one because it is big enough to run the entire house which we can do now that we had a new power panel put on our house and a generator lockout put on. The generator did not come in time for us when we were finally able to return home about 11 days later, it was held up at the port because there was too much damage here and debris blocked roads. We wound up buying a smaller gas powered generator for use right away while waiting for this one to come. Anyway, this generator was never started until about 3 months ago, hubby connected a propane tank to it and it started right up. I couldn't believe that the battery wasn't dead in it, lol. But it ran great and we know it is dependable just for that factor.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/duromax-xp10000eh-portable-dual-fuel-powered-generator-with-electric-recoil-start-and-wheel-kit-10-000-8-000w-120v/368XP10000EH.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxb7nu9XS6QIVT9bACh0bmQDyEAYYASABEgLUzfD_BwE

 

[dcg9381]

The OP should be Jumping on this. Inverter and 240v for under his price range.

See if you can figure out the circuit breaker capacity on the 240V side. Some have "ambitious" ratings that don't match the breaker capacity on the 240V side.

To some degree, what you are paying for with higher dollar lower power generators is "quiet". That doesn't seem to be an issue in this case. I'd personally, be looking for something around 10KW, if possible, I'd want as close as possible to 50A 240V output.

This assumes that you're going to connect it to the home with a generator interlock. If you just want a backup generator to power a few things (like a refrigerator / etc) - I think there are better options in the Champion family at power points around 3000-4500 watts. Much better fuel consumption. You can even get them in inverter format with dual fuel for under $700.

Power from non-inverter 3600 RPM generators is pretty "dirty" - I've never tried to fire home HVAC or ductless systems using it...

If you have a propane tank, definitely consider something that can fire on propane. 5 gallons of gas on a 3500 watt generator might last 8 hours or so..

 

[mike93lx]

10kw is grossly excessive for most houses. It will burn lots of fuel and make lots of noise to be underutilized

 

[Bretny]

10kw is grossly excessive for most houses. It will burn lots of fuel and make lots of noise to be underutilized

It really depends on what he wants to run. Here in the northeast we can survive on no AC for a few days..down in FL where the OP is I bet they started running there aC months ago.

 

[slow]

Exactly, a 10kw would be a waste for me. I got rid of a 15kw generac gasoline unit, and kept my Honda EU2000 to run the fridge, fans and battery chargers. It takes WAY less fuel to operate, 10 gallons lasts a week vs 36 gallons a day with the 15kw unit.

My 5 ton AC inrush is too much for most generators, and my power is stable, I keep a Honda engine Blackmax 7000 watt generator as a backup to run window air conditioners if necessary.

 

[White Shadow]

10kw is grossly excessive for most houses. It will burn lots of fuel and make lots of noise to be underutilized

I've got a 22kw Whole House Generac and it's more quiet than most generators my neighbors run (portable) and it will run pretty much everything in the house at the same time. Love it when I need it.

 

[mike93lx]

I've got a 22kw Whole House Generac and it's more quiet than most generators my neighbors run (portable) and it will run pretty much everything in the house at the same time. Love it when I need it.

Not even remotely comparable and you know it

 

[White Shadow]

Not even remotely comparable and you know it

I was talking about the noise. You can have lots of power without lots of noise. Portable isn't contained, thus more noise.

BTW, you can get a 7.5kw standby generator. Still contained and will still be quieter than portable units.

 

[slow]

my old 15kw generac portable was LOUD, it was basically a gas version of a whole home generator, no sound suppression. Going from that to the honda inverter was night and day difference.

 

[jlv03]

It appears the 240VAC inverter generators don't have any provisions to parallel them with other generators. I think that would be a nice feature to have, if you wanted to start an A/C or some other large load.

 

[mike93lx]

It appears the 240VAC inverter generators don't have any provisions to parallel them with other generators. I think that would be a nice feature to have, if you wanted to start an A/C or some other large load.

How big of an a/c? My 5500 watt inverter runs my 2 ton mini just fine

 

[theoldwizard1]

That is a BIG portable generator ! What are you going to fuel it with ?

If gasoline, you will need to store about 50 gallons to get a 2 day continuous run time. Where are you going to SAFELY store 10 5 gallon cans ? Also, with gasoline, you must "rotate" your stock. Once a month, dump 5 gallons into your vehicle and refill that can.

Unless you have a 240V well pump or a 240V sump pump or are trying to run a whole house A/C (probably would not work), that is total overkill ! If you can live WITHOUT and 240V appliances (small window A/C units) you can get by on about 3000W. 2000W if you are VERY conservative ! Smaller generator, less fuel consumption (10 gallons might last 2 days).

 

[slow]

It appears the 240VAC inverter generators don't have any provisions to parallel them with other generators. I think that would be a nice feature to have, if you wanted to start an A/C or some other large load.

Honda EU7000 will parallel 240, but 2 of them are 9 grand so way outside of this thread budget.

 

[mike93lx]

It appears the 240VAC inverter generators don't have any provisions to parallel them with other generators. I think that would be a nice feature to have, if you wanted to start an A/C or some other large load.

I wonder what it would take to add that to mine... Not that I need more power, but it would be interesting

 

[mike93lx]

Honda EU7000 will parallel 240, but 2 of them are 9 grand so way outside of this thread budget.

Let's not exaggerate you can easily get two eu7000is's for $8,900

My neighbor has one. It is amazingly quiet. If I needed mine more than once a decade, I might have considered splurging.

 

[slow]

I wonder what it would take to add that to mine... Not that I need more power, but it would be interesting

all depends if the inverter looks for existing voltage or not when it starts up. The inverter generators designed for paralleling look for an existing voltage that is used as a syncing voltage before the inverter starts providing power.

Agreed on the EU7000is. I bought one for work, it's a great machine, but I can't justify the cost for the few days a decade I may need a generator either for personal use.

 

[mike93lx]

all depends if the inverter looks for existing voltage or not when it starts up. The inverter generators designed for paralleling look for an existing voltage that is used as a syncing voltage before the inverter starts providing power.

Thanks. So probably can't add it

 

[theoldwizard1]

Let's not exaggerate you can easily get two eu7000is's for $8,900

My neighbor has one. It is amazingly quiet. If I needed mine more than once a decade, I might have considered splurging.

I have had a portable 5500W generator for almost 20 year. I think I actually used it twice and neither time was for more than an hour or so.

I try to exercise it a couple times a year. 10 HP Briggs and Stratton. Starts on the first or second pull every time ! I always run the carburetor dry.

 

[CJ7VFR]

...I always run the carburetor dry.

This, and changing the oil at the required intervals is key to keeping a portable generator working properly for years.

That, and just about every other engine.

Jim

 

[toplessHO]

I bought into the refurbished Champion dual fuel mentioned on this forum.
It came looking like brand new,with 24 hrs on it.
So far Ive only run it on propane,but the dealer says they test them on both fuels.
Cant beat it for $550 shipped.I see the new one is cheaper and has remote start

https://www.supergenproducts.com/product/41532r-refurbished-7000-9000w-generator-remote-start/

 

[dcg9381]

This, and changing the oil at the required intervals is key to keeping a portable generator working properly for years.

That, and just about every other engine.

Jim

Not arguing with this advice. Just like to say that in more than 30 years, I've had zero oil related failures. Number of carb failures? Countless. And that's being pretty darn diligent about running dry, draining carbs - and using stabilizer...

If it's 2-stroke, I now have it tuned for 100LL aviation fuel (because it's available). This has resolved all the problems with fuel lines, primer bulbs, and I haven't had a carb get crapped up since.

Non-ethanol recently came available - so I run this exclusively in everything else that takes gas, including the RV generator.

My portable generators are now all dual-fuel...I don't think they've seen a drop of gasoline, I've just been using propane.

 

[CJ7VFR]

Not arguing with this advice. Just like to say that in more than 30 years, I've had zero oil related failures...

How long have you gone without changing the oil in your small engines?

The oil related issues seem to be more prevalent with newer engines, especially the ones for generators.

There seems to be some type of sensor or something that is in newer generator engines that will actually not allow the engine to run if the oil is too dirty, which comes from age and usage.

There are people here on this website that have asked what they can do about their generator engine because it will not run. A lot of answers were that the oil has to be changed at certain intervals, such as after the engine has been run for 25 hours or so, or the engine will either not start or will be hard to start.

I have seen it with a lot of newer Briggs and Staton engines. The magic number seems to be 25 hours on the oil and change it or risk the engine not starting.

Jim

 

[ddurrett896]

I have seen it with a lot of newer Briggs and Staton engines. The magic number seems to be 25 hours on the oil and change it or risk the engine not starting.

Jim

Shoot for my Champion generators from China, I run them for an hour, change oil, 5 hours, change oil, then put load on them.

 

[theoldwizard1]

How long have you gone without changing the oil in your small engines?

I am terrible on outdoor power equipment ! I check the oil level reguraly, top off as required, and run it !!

A generator is another animal. Hours accumulate quickly and they run under heavy loads a lot. If I was depending on my generator during a prolonged power outage, I would check the oil level every time I re-fueled, and probably change every 3 days or so.

People are all "freaked out" about older engines that "recommend" straight 30W and/or "non-detergent" oil. Bullshift ! Any modern oil rated API SL or better and 10W-30 is fine. If you are regularly operating at <20F, switch to 5W-20. For operating regularly <0F, use 0w-20. Don't forget to switch back in spring !