Generator help

[Stresst]

I need some help in deciding on a portable gas generator for weather related emergency issues.

Of course Honda is the best or one of the best but I cannot afford one so what else is there??

I see Black Max with Honda engines (6500 running watts 8000 peak)for about a grand. Another one that caught my eye are from Snap-On 5750 continous something like 6800 peak for 425.00 YES 425.00 but I do not see them on Snap on site. I see ebay and sam club sell them........

Anyone ever use Duromax generators? They have a 10,000 watt unit for about $1100.00 that looks decent for the once or twice a year I may use it.

I have 2 main concerns. One is how big of a unit do I really need? I want it to run 2 refrigerators, 1 stand up freezer, wet dry vac, sump pump, my gas boiler/window a/c (depending on the time of the year), a few lights, gas dryer, etc. My other issue is I see that the wattages are all over the place mostly over rated by manufacturers. For example 2 differant manufacturers both rate 6K continous but at 220V one is 22amp while the other is almost 30 amps. That is a huge differance! Nearly 25%!

I read a ton about the Briggs & Stratton units being very loud! So im steering away from them. Any other advice is appreciated!

 

[SunlitComet]

Is a Generec home unit to much?

 

[Stresst]

Is a Generec home unit to much?

Yeah, it was an expensive summer with the a/c issues. The other issues with the home units are they cost about 2g's min for one that is big enough, then the switch (a few more hundred), the main issue is I live in the city and space is limited especially close to my house. I could put it in the back of the yard but then the cost of the install will sky rocket. The other issue is I never lost power during a storm so I cannot justify the spending cash that I dont have.

 

[SunlitComet]

I don't think you can get a long term reliable unit for then then $1500 that can manage all that. how about fixing up a used unit?

 

[sumo]

I need some help in deciding on a portable gas generator for weather related emergency issues.

Of course Honda is the best or one of the best but I cannot afford one so what else is there??

I see Black Max with Honda engines (6500 running watts 8000 peak)for about a grand. Another one that caught my eye are from Snap-On 5750 continous something like 6800 peak for 425.00 YES 425.00 but I do not see them on Snap on site. I see ebay and sam club sell them........

Anyone ever use Duromax generators? They have a 10,000 watt unit for about $1100.00 that looks decent for the once or twice a year I may use it.

I have 2 main concerns. One is how big of a unit do I really need? I want it to run 2 refrigerators, 1 stand up freezer, wet dry vac, sump pump, my gas boiler/window a/c (depending on the time of the year), a few lights, gas dryer, etc. My other issue is I see that the wattages are all over the place mostly over rated by manufacturers. For example 2 differant manufacturers both rate 6K continous but at 220V one is 22amp while the other is almost 30 amps. That is a huge differance! Nearly 25%!

I read a ton about the Briggs & Stratton units being very loud! So im steering away from them. Any other advice is appreciated!

your looking at least a 6200 ish. Ive just sat down with a electrican and roughly estimated building a Sub box off main fuse panel. All i do is plug a generator into it and flip a couple of priotry circuits and generator does the rest. Btw a Dryer will be a Huge load on a generator.

 

[taylorjm]

Oh boy. This is a bit of a tough one. It's going to depend on the wattage of all the appliances you want to run, but also the age. The refrigerators, freezers and sump pumps are the big hogs. Your refrigerator may only need 5 amps to run, but may need 8-10 at startup. Same goes for the sump pump, they are very hungry to start. That's where the larger surge wattage comes in on the generator, to help at the start up times. The gas dryer wont take much. The gas boiler may not take much, unless you some really old circulatory pumps with high starting wattages. So how many watts/amps do you want to run at one time?

 

[Stresst]

Oh boy. This is a bit of a tough one. It's going to depend on the wattage of all the appliances you want to run, but also the age. The refrigerators, freezers and sump pumps are the big hogs. Your refrigerator may only need 5 amps to run, but may need 8-10 at startup. Same goes for the sump pump, they are very hungry to start. That's where the larger surge wattage comes in on the generator, to help at the start up times. The gas dryer wont take much. The gas boiler may not take much, unless you some really old circulatory pumps with high starting wattages. So how many watts/amps do you want to run at one time?

How many watts/amps do I want to run ? All of them! That is the point of this thread! LOL

In all reality this is for "what if the power goes out". Most importantly is my shop vac, sump pump and clothes gas dryer. These three items are to prevent my house from flooding. Its a small sump pump and its a small shop vac so it shouldnt be an issue. Next up I have 2 refridgerator/freezers and 1 stand up freezer that I would want to keep going along with a few lites. So with this alone how big of a unit do I need??

The only other thing I would want is my controls for my gas boiler or 7K btu air conditioner depending on the season. I seen something like 1500watts for a 7500K BTU a/c so I figure another 2K of a generator on top of what you say I need for the above. Am I in left field or what?

 

[Trippers99hoe]

I work for an equipment rental co. when you decide what size you need I am guessing 15kw(get a size or 2 bigger 18kw-20kw) so you don't ever need bigger.I would call and check with some local rental places(the big rental companies maintain there equipment very well) You should be able to buy a 2to4 yr old unit pretty reasonably .....no more than you will use it a commercial unit that has been maintained properly will last many years.

Most of our units are towable w/diesel engine and are very quiet as well.

 

[Ceejkay]

i know yo are looking for cheap but IMO go yamaha. i have a yamaha engine matched with a yamaha power head. 8500 watts it will run a standard house(3/2) with out a/c or will run a/c and nothing else. My unit is portable, runs on propane, natural gas or gasoline. Ive had mine for 3 years and have acquired about 2k hours on it. With the natural gas/ propane kit im just shy of $4k on it with a 5 year warranty. Just remember when it come to stuff like this you get what you pay for. a regular gas grill propane tank lasts me about 100 hours. Ive never ran gasoline in it and have not needed to replace anything on it due to gasoline eating seals, gunking up ect.

 

[taylorjm]

I'm going to agree with you needing about 6500 watts of running power, and at least 8500 surge. I also think the propane models are nice because otherwise you end up leaving gasoline in the tank, it goes stale, etc. I have a gasoline powered one and I drained the tank completely, but keep a 5 gallon gas can next to it. If I need the generator, I'll pour the can into the tank. If I don't use the generator for a season, I pour it into my truck, and buy a new batch to store with the generator to keep it from getting bad.

A 15kw unit would be awesome, but it's going to suck down gas like mad.

Also, if you get a unit rated for 6500 watts, you might want to unplug the refrigerators/freezers and rotate plugging them in one at a time for a couple hours at a time and keep them closed.