Small Generator/inverters

Several buddies have the little HF inveter generators, they love them. As stated above, converting my generator to LP is one of the best things I ever did. Cans of gas suck. Non ethanol fuel is hard to find and expensive. Mixing in stabilizer every hurricane season sucks. Draining gas and carb bowl at end of hurricane season sucks. Lowes has new 100lb LP tanks that are relatively inexpensive. They cost me $80 each to fill, and I don't have to do anything to them. Ever. And I have no way of measuring, but propane also seems to be quieter....

https://www.motorsnorkel.com/

 

The best one on the market IMHO


https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-HONDA-...iet-Portable-Inverter-Generator-/254004674919

 

If you have to run a generator at full load you need a bigger generator. Or less load.

Maybe short periods during a dire situation, at which time noise is a mute point anyway.

 

So you mean when the AC kicks in or the water pump turns on or you start a coffee maker or you are running a power saw or 1500 watts of light? This is the primary ideal behind a inverter generator the do not have to turn 3600 RPM to make power that is the main reason they are quieter. All non inverter generators run 3600 rpm with the exception of some older Onans.

 

I completely disagree. Two generators side by side can’t be accurately compared for noise. The issue now is not exhaust noise it is compartment noise. I have tried modifying my exhaust to quiet it down but the noise is coming from the whole unit not the exhaust. Try a modern Honda in a serene campsite at full load and then shut it off and try the same with a non Honda. You can tell a huge difference. When I run my 2000w Generac for hedge trimming or other yard work I don’t find it loud in the least. Go camping and I am the loudest one around and avoid using it unless I absolutely have to.

It is all context. Camping in very quiet conditions and that is your unltimate test. You notice the fine differences between two generators that are 10db louder / quieter and the difference is bigger than you might think. Put them in a construction environment running loud tools and the loudest are pretty quiet or so you think.

 

So I need a 10,000w generator to run a 1000w load? I agree you don’t want to run at 90%+ load from start to shut off but buying 2-4X the capability you need is insanely expensive if you are also trying to buy something whisper quiet like the Honda. CDN$ the 2200w Honda is $1399, the 3000w $2350 and the 7000w is $5000. Do I buy the 7000w when I really only need 1800w of power during full load consumption and 1200w constant load?

 

I'm not the only one to say this the owner of the honda was standing next to me said the same thing both were running at close to max we shut one off then the other no discernible difference once the Honda slowed down it was night and day hands down quieter. If I want camping with them it would be no contest the open frame running at 3600 even with no load and the Honda running 1000 in a box.

 

These words crashed my spelling and grammar checker, especially the last two. They were never meant to be strung together in this order. My freshmen English teacher would have circled these two words in red pencil and scribbled "TRITE!" across the page...

By the way, I have owned Honda stuff going back into the 60's (Honda 65). NONE OF IT EVER BROKE. NONE. EVER!!!

 

I see a Ridgeline in your future. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

 

If they had an L.P. conversion kit for a Ridgeline, I would buy one.

 

Hock, puttt. I spit in the Ridgeline's general direction. How do you build a truck without a frame?

 

A few other things to think about are the surge rating (inductive loads like a motor can require much more current to start than run) and whether it has a 240V outlet, a 120V 30A Twistlock outlet, or just standard 5-20R outlets. As mentioned some generators can also be paralleled for more output; the manual should state what kit is required and whether a generator from another manufacturer can be paralleled together. You could also install a transfer switch in your house to more conveniently power select loads from your generator. I own a Ryobi inverter generator rated for 1.8 running kW and 2.3 starting kW and it's done just fine for me. I run it once a month and found it for sale at Home Depot for 36% off. Anytime someone buys a generator that wasn't enough they bring it back and Home Depot has to sell it at a lower price since it's used. It's a good way to get a great deal that someone else already verified works.

 

Home depot and lowes have good deals on open box generators with Chicom engines. They never have significant reductions on the good stuff. I rarely see returns of the good stuff.... I'm in FL, so after every hurricane season the big box stores all have craploads of returned generators.

The engine is what you're ultimately paying for, after all. A new replacement honda GX390 OHV motor for my 15+ year old Coleman Powermate gen would cost almost 2x more than buying a whole Ryobi/predator/Asian generator..... I'd rather have a 10yr old GX390 than a new in the box Ryobi.

 

Update-
So i ran my compressor for a while today(Champion 2000w)
Plugged in a few power tools then my pancake compressor they all ran fine
I understand that the Honda is best but for me it should get limited usage
One thing i do like about the champion is that it does have a fuel shut off so can run the carb dry

Does anyone know how long gas will last with stabilizer added?

 

Why chance it? Can't be that much in there. Syphon as much as you can, then run it until it dies. With Marine (green) Staybil in the gas.

 

Was really wonder how long if i leave some in gas can
Gas never sits to long in my garage between cutting grass, blowing leaves and snow removal

 

I've gone as long a 13 months, (old gas in the boat) but even with the marine Stabil the gas smell begins to be replaced with a hint of varnish smell. It ran the lawnmower, but you could tell by the way it ran that the lawnmower is not into vintage gasoline. (A guy that I use to race shifterkarts with always purged his racing gas cans with nitrogen at the end of the weekend. He said that in metal cans it almost stopped the degradation of gas, especially the octane reduction.) Supposedly gas in plastic containers loses 1.5 to 2 octane points a month. I fill my 36 gallon tank in my boat the last trip of the late spring and use it as a bulk container all summer, lightering out of it into 5 gallon cans for the yard work. Nearest gas pump is 13 miles out of these woods, hate to go to town just for lawn gas. Lawnmower, weedeater and blower, yes, old gas is okay for me. The green Stabil makes it possible. Old gas in yard equipment, yes. In a generator, or in a boat you are about to go offshore in?

Buy the way everyone...how old are your gas cans? Plastic or metal, they get brittle, or the seams deteriorate. I make a living doing other people's worrying for them, and I am good at it. If your gas cans are more than 10 years old, please consider replacing them. A small expense for great peace of mind.

 

Pretty sure the new Honda’s have that too.

 

I like this stuff. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Star-Br...PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-203677846-_-202547626-_-N

 

Run the generator once a month even if you don't need it specifically to power something.