Generators

[kmrtnsn]

I know a few people in Maine with 275 Gallon home heatng oil (#2 Diesel) tanks in their houses or garages but the house heat has been converted to gas.

[drrufo]

I don't know where you are, but I checked CraigsList for Orange County CA after my neighbor bought a 10k generator.
I found several gens, the one I would buy is 5k contractor gen for 400.00$. It would have to run before I bought it but that seems a good price for something I won't want to use. EVER!

[kmrtnsn]

Don't buy a generator off of Craigslist unless the seller can provide you the original receipt. Craigslist is the worlds largest market for stolen goods.

[Jack-O]

1- costco is your friend
2- Gas is fine. Diesel is better ONLY if you use that fuel as a matter of course, otherwise it's just a hassle in practice. they are also twice the price and twice the weight.
2a- if bad things were to happen you could always make a gas genny run on propane or NG or even alcohol. A diesel would run on bio diesel, kerosene, mineral spirits and even fuel oil with a little dilution and mixing.
3- PRI-G is the best gas treatment product on the market. Seek it out, mail order it if necessary
4- I have a chinese 4500w made by jiang dong engines. Never heard of them but that thing runs like a champ and always starts easy. AWESOME!!!
5-sometimes the low oil pressure sensor will go out and keep your genny from running. learn how to bypass it, and just keep an eye on oil levels. Best Mod I didt to it.


I run a contracting business and have used many generators. Dont rule the cheap stuff out unless you are not mechanically proficient or need a really good warantee.

[kmrtnsn]

Jack-o, the only difference between #2 diesel and home heating oil is the color of the dye.

[PA PATRIOT]

Generator #2 results,

Test generator #2 ran for 09 hours 21 minutes at just over 50% load before running out of fuel. This generator had a no-name hush kit attached which may have resulted in the 55 minute less run time but I'll have to run the same generator without the kit to see if the running time improves. Noise out put was 59 decimals without the kit and 34 with. Chong Qing Dajiang Power Equipment Co. LTD manufactured these generators, they are said to also manufacture motors for Coleman and Honda.

[ColdDeadHands]

We have a Coleman 5500 Watt generator and I won a nice small Cummins generator 2 years ago. Here's some info on the portable Cummins P1700i. We use the Coleman quite often during power outages, it has never given us any problems but it's loud as hell.

[ST911]

I have Troy-Bilt generators, ~3500 watts, gas powered. I went back and forth on wattage, type of fuel, and all the related minutiae. In the end, I just picked a major manufacturer's model with decent wattage at or about the price I wanted to pay. They've run well through various extended outages during deep blizzard conditions (-20 to -40 degrees). They're kept outside but sheltered, with ducted exhaust, and have always started on the first or second pull. Using gas has allowed me to rotate fuel stores between mowers, generators, and cars with regularity. I don't own a thing that's diesel, so that would've been another layer of prep entirely. I keep siphon pumps with the generators so that I can grab fuel from wherever it's found when needed.

If I were to buy another one, as a replacement or additional unit, I'll look for a quieter and more portable unit. One of the 1500-2k watt Hondas seem to fit the bill.

[Cold Zero]

The Honda Generators have a reputation for being the quietest Generators. They also tend to be pricey. But, you can never go wrong with anything that Honda makes. MHO.

[Iraq Ninja]

Shall we talk about wood gasifiers connected to generators?

I have been watching "The Colony" on TV and noticed they built one to run their generator. I have a feeling it is not as easy as they made it out to be. Still, when your fuel is gone, it is a great option.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas_generator