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Generator recommendations

P

pburchett

Member
Our electric service has been sketchy to say the least and this is with good weather. I can't imagine what it will be like in the winter. Got me to thinking I need to invest in a portable generator around 5500 watts or so. Intend to run two 1/4 hp fans on the wood stove and the refrigerator. At night the list will grow to a light, tv, dvd player and sometimes the microwave.

Looked at everything on the internet till I am confused. The only stores we have close are Wal-Mart, Tractor Supply and Lowes. Seems as if they have Wen, Briggs, Westinghouse, Sportsman, Champion, Generac and a whole slew of strange named units that might be OK.

After searching for reviews it is a crap shoot as to which one to buy as there are conflicting reviews on every page. Service on a unit from these stores will probably be nonexistent even with the extended warranty. I would love to have a Honda but can not justify that expense for something that "may" get used. Would really like to stay below $500 if possible. Any Suggestions...
 
You can always use something bigger. Hate to say but I would go for 8000 watts. Look at the Harbor Freight units. I know several people that have them and for now and then use they are just dandy. One person I know ran his for 46 hours straight. To get "service" on any of the units is a total crap shoot. Even Honda. I have several units and for just a quick hook up to service the fridge I have a little Generac 3300 unit. For the long haul I have an 8000 watt Homelite construction site unit. Almost EVERYTHING out there is made in China so take your choice. Still think HF is a good bet. The engines on them are Honda clones. They work very nicely.
 
I have a B&S 4kw generator at our off grid summer cottage. It sees intermittent use running the water pump, septic holding pump, power tools, vacuum cleaner, etc. It has performed flawlessly for 7 summer seasons.

My home backup generator is a nearly new 3.5 kw Champion I picked up on the side of the road. The original owner tossed it when the engine suddenly quit. Problem turned out to be a broken intake valve tip. When I got into it I discovered the Champion "CPE" brand engine is a Honda GX200 clone - a replacement Honda intake valve fit/worked perfectly. So for $15 and a couple hours of wrenching I now have a nice backup generator.

Yeah - the Champion is not a true Honda - it remains to be seen how the generator head holds up. But it starts easily, runs quiet and is good on fuel. For the price I am delighted with the Champion generator.
 
We got by with a 2250 Coleman for 31 hours last month, ran the coffee pot first, then the fridge. Once the coffee was done plugged in the freezer,
worked fine. Modern TV's and lights don't use much at all. The sewer lift pump made it snort, it drew 12 amps for awhile. We can carry buckets of water
from the lake for flushing the toilet. It would be nice to have a bigger one (220v) so I could run the well pump, but this is our first sustained outage
in the 7 years at this house. If I were going to buy a bigger one I would consider HF.
 
I would look at the Harbor Freight. For something you'll run intermittent. They have 4 1/2 star rated and in your price range for 7000 watts. I've never herd anything bad about them
 
I was with you on you loads until you said "microwave".
We were on a 5500 portable for 27 days, and it wouldn't support our microwave.
Had to go without popcorn.
 
If you have a Northern Tool store in your area they have some pretty decent generators,I have a Coleman 5000W thats been fine,also picked up one just like it at an auction for $35 just like it for parts.Turned out it also was a good generator after putting on a $15 carb.
 
Get an RV generator. It can deliver the
full power at on place. All other generators
will split their outputs in half. Say you
get a 5000w generator. Each outlet is only
2500watts. A 3500 watt RV delivers all 3500
watts at one place. It should handle a
microwave better. Fans and refrigerator
don't use that much power.

A champions I'd a Honda clone. RV models go
for around $300 on sale.
 
We have a Coleman 5000 continus 10 hp
engine. It will run our whole house,
except airconditionar. We have a heat
pump water heater. Need to leave lights on
in shop to keep a little load on it all
the time or governors surge. It is my
third one in almost 50 yrs. Wouldn't be
without it.
 
harbor fright hands down best bang for the buck have one on my Bow fishing boat it's a 8750 watt and it runs 6 100 watt halogen lights plus 2 450 HPS lights and a 75 watt converter been running for three years and it runs a lot 5 to 6 hr a night about 3 nights a week plus runs house when power goes out last time it ran 4 days 24 7. 110 and 220 volt
 
Of the ones in your list. I would go with Champion. Good units and they have a good support network.Stay away from Generac. Cheaply made and hard to
get anyone to work on them.I just sent two to the scrap yard. Less than 10 hours on them. You are correct. The stores do not repair them. They send
them out to local shops for repair.


Been working generators since 1968.
 
CAN U USE PROPANE??CHECK OUR SMARTER TOOL ST-GP7500DEB...WILL USE GASOLINE OR PROPANE 7.5K, HOME DEPOT,ALTHOUGH WE DO NOT TRADE THERE, DUE 2 THEIR AGENDA...BE BLESSED, GRATEFUL, PREPARED...
 
You can buy the HF 8750 watt surge/7000W running generator for about $550 + tax if you watch the sales and coupons.

I bought one for $550 and tax about 18 months ago.

Haven't used it but have started and tested it. Seems to perform OK but does not have auto idle.

Whatever you buy, use the correct viscosity full synthetic oil and change it regularly.

Dean
 
picked up a used champion 6500 back before 2010 for a 100 bucks
I ran it it 8 hr's a day once a week to supply power at an out building for two yrs
it got used to power the camp ground hay ride every week for a yr after that bouncing around in the
loader bucket till it broke the tie down strap and I drove over it with the tractor
bent the frame and destroryed the gas tank
took what was left and bolted it to board and rigged an old gas can to it and it started
used it the next yr a few times
has been sitting in the shop now 3 rs
had it out last week put in fresh gas started on the 2nd pull
can't kill that thing
has the cheap Chinese motor on it too
I'ld buy a new with out thinking but the next one will have battery start and be twice as big
as the 6500 can't keep up to the coffee pot, frig, freezer TV, fans and lights at the same time
 
If you don't mind tinkering, look for a good used Onan JB. You can find them with the dual fuel carbs, so they'll run on propane or gasoline. They're built to last over 30k hours. 7.5kw, 1800rpm, 2 cylinder, 4 pole tail, and some can be wired for 3ph if you need. They can be had for $1k or less in working condition if you look hard enough. The tinkering part would be setting it up.
 
Hi I have always wanted a gas driven welder, about 10 years ago I bought one that has a 10,000 watt generating capacity. So now I have a welder and back up power. It is a gas burner so I keep at least a barrel of fresh gas around in the winter. The longest I have to run it is about 7 hours. I don't need it much for back up, but when I need it, it is real handy.
 
11 years ago I bought a 5550 watt Troy-Bilt from Home Depot. We were expecting a big ice storm and I wanted to beat the rush. Have seen several situations when you couldn't buy any kind of generator in Oklahoma due to demand after a big storm. Anyway, it has a Brigs engine and has worked well. I wouldn't be the least bit afraid of buying the Harbor Freight or whatever you can get.

The Troy-Bilt will run our furnace, TV, frig and lights, basically the essentials. Few years ago I ran it for a full week when an ice storm took out a main feed to the area and it took a while for the power company to get us back on line. Hauling gas and filling the tank 5 gallons at a time was kinda a pain but it beat not having heat.

The trick is to shut the fuel off and let the generator run the gas out of the carb anytime you put it away. I have a system that so far has worked out really well. One of my fall chores is to get the generator ready just in case. I fill the generator with gas then get both 5 gallon gas cans filled. This way I am sure I can run the generator for about a day and 1/2 before I run out of gas. If we get lucky and do not need it over the winter I use the gas in the mowers in the spring. I siphon the gas out of the generator when I have used one of the gas jugs and use it for mowing. I never leave gas in the generator longer than about the 4 months we have of winter.

After 11 years the generator will always start on the first or second pull. An added benefit of having the generator is portable welding. If I need to weld something I can't get to the shop, I load my wire welder and the generator in my loader bucket and run the welder off the generator.
 
I recently bought a Champion generator - went through a bunch of what-if's and feel very comfortable recommending the brand. my
generator is around 3kW and is used for camp duty, i.e. refrigerator, lights, etc. and for tool use i.e. powering a small air
compressor, circular saw, sawzaw, drill, hand held grinder, etc. Easy on gas, easy to start.

Good luck,
Bill
 
Side note here:

Keep in mind that when you look at the websites for these places, not everything on the website is available in the stores to touch and feel before you buy. Most of it, you have to buy sight unseen and have it shipped to the store. Then you're stuck with it.

Generators are generally not accepted as returns unless faulty, and then only for replacement or store credit. So you need to be sure of what you're buying before you buy.

When looking at reviews, read them carefully. You can easily weed out the idiots who clearly had no idea what they were buying, clearly had no idea how to use what they bought, or are clearly just complaining to hear themselves complain. Like the guy who bought a chainsaw and gave it a 1-star rating because he let the chain hit the dirt and it got dulled.
 
Do you have experience with the voltage controller in the Onan JB or JC units (I think it is the same controller)? I've got a 13kw with an annoying voltage variation under light (1-2kw) and haven't been able to find the issue. I did some searching on SmokStak but I'm not coming up with much details. Thanks!
 
Just go for it and get the whole house automatic transfer unit. Once your set up pretty good chance your power will not go out again ! LOL.
 
The JB JC use the same voltage regulator. 300-1540. Unless it is one of the early Magnaciter units.On the 1540 board there are two adjustment pots. One says voltage. One says Damp.Under your light load adjust the damp pot. It should settle down. You may also need to work the voltage pot. Some times it gets dirty and a little movement will clear it up.

Onan tech since 1980.
 

My Generak happens to be a model without a voltage regulator , just a bridge rectifier. while other models were sold with a real regulator . The peice of crap has about 140 volts no load and 105volts full load. I bought a voltage regulator from eBay but have yet to get around to installing it.
The homelite 4000 and Honda powered Wallenstien hold rated voltage from no load to full load.
 
I have a Sears 3500 watt that was my father-in-laws. It has no 220 capacity and only 2 15 amp recepticals. I have gotten by with it but it will not run the water pump that is 110 volts. So what ever you get make absolutly it is big enough to do what you need, I think you should try for a 8000watt size, that is max intermintint and not run load. My 3500 is only rated for 3000 on steady load. Then get 220 capability and make sure it has at least 4 places for the extension cords you have to run, best if you can get to hook into master power system. Mine only has a 1 gallon fuel tank and about a 4 hour run time, sucks when you have to get up in middle of night and go out with a flashlight to put fuel in and even if you do have enough capacity to run all night when you have to fill up just befor going to bed you are still filling with that flashlight as you need to shut it down to put fuel in. My Father-in-law when he bought it was only conserned about running a sump pump and not conserned if he had heat or not or if it would run the frig or lights. When he passed away and I got it I thought it had never had the pil put in but he had and I don't think it had ever been used, if I would have bought it I would have gooten a lot bigger outfit.
 
I installed a Kohler 20 KW whole house unit with automatic transfer switch about two years ago.

The next summer the power was out in my area for 23 hours.

Once I determined what the problem was with the utility company and when the power would be back, I shut it down as it did not really need it running so long.

Dean
 
I ran first a 10 hp 5500 portable then upgraded to a 16 hp 6500 from HF. Main reason for the upgrade was that I could connect my Miller 230V welder to the 6500 and do field welding
whereas the 5500 was too light. The 6500 was around $350 and has been an excellent investment. When using the portable on power outages, I didn't tie to the breaker box because I
didn't have a main disconnect type box; mine was the 6 switch flip to kill the house, and I didn't want the responsibility of forgetting to do it right and wind up injuring/killing a lineman. So it
was extension cords to whatever I wanted to run and lugging gas to the unit.

As I aged and outages seemed to be more popular (rolling brownouts, ice storms, people texting and crashing into utility poles) I sold my herd and used some of the money to buy a
Generac brand, whole house unit with the safety switch box which ensures that it's one or the other, utility power or generator with no connection between the two. Automatic on-off
within a few minutes of a service interruption, and no more cords. Still have the 6500 for welding.

I bought the 11kw and a 250 gallon Propane tank. I did the installation per their instructions which were excellent. Gas co. did that part and the final inspection. Unit runs 1 gallon per hour
at full rated power. I usually just run essentials in the main part of the house, rather than the whole thing as it takes less fuel and when power is out, non essentials are just that.....don't
need them......like you don't need to be doing the laundry when the power is out.

Unit was about $2700, switch box $500, both included freight shipped to the house, gas tank purchase, installation ,and fill (fuel around $2 at the time) $1400. Done deal. Had it 2 ?
years now and the only problem was recently, the spin on oil filter developed a small leak at the crimp seam. Was time to change the oil anyway so that was no big deal.

Would do it again in a heartbeat! Go for it.
 
Another vote for Northern Tool. They have great support if you need it, call their tech support line and they know their products very well. Keep in mind that HF generators (at least at present) do not put out clean power for electronics. You may not think that is important but now even refrigerators have circuit boards that will blow. For a few dollars more get a generator that puts out +/-5% THD power.
 
Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try. The engine does not surge, RPM is steady. So typically for something like this I would mark the setting and then run those pots back and forth with engine off to clean them up, then set back to original position. Then start genset and adjust with light load. Is that the process you'd use? Thanks!
 
Very true. We bought a pto unit because ours was out for a day at least every other month. Bought it 4yrs ago and have used it twice. I'm ok with it though. Good problem to have.
 
That would work. With a little fine tuning after you restart the unit. Most of the time the damp pot will settle the voltage down.
 
We bought a Kohler whole house generator in 2012. My wife ordered it off the internet and it was shipped from TX to GA and then trucked to MD. I had an electrician to install it. When power fails I still get calls why my lights are on. Hal
 

Any other recommendations on a "cheap" generator. If not I think I will go with the Tractor Supply Champion 5400/6400 generator for $500.
 
With what I have seen in today's market. I would go with the Champion model. I just repaired a Titan 10 KW. Seems well built and parts were easy to
get. But they are over a thousand dollars. Not sure what they have in the 500 range.Of course any of them can have problems.But I trust the Champion
most of all.The biggest problem I have found with the big box. Store genset's is getting parts or finding someone to work on them. I have some low
hour units in storage. Waiting on parts if I can ever find them.
 
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