Can anyone recommend a good generator. I just need something small to run an appliance or two like a fridge. I am guessing around 1000-1500 watts. My only real requirement is one that is not real loud. I want to use for emergencies only. Basically keeping a few medical supplies cool and recharging batteries for some flashlights.
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Generators
- Thread starter Marc123
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Here is a generator FAQ that might help you. Honda makes a couple small models and they are top of the line.
Marc123,
Hondas have been exceptionally reliable. There are some nice Coleman Powermates also. I would recommend going with a 3000 watt unit, one that has an overhead valve engine, they are much quieter and are easier to pull start. I have a Coleman 3000 watt that I bought in '93 and it has been a good unit.It is small and light enough that I can pick it up and put it in the trunk of a car.
When you get a unit make sure you maintain it properly, load test it at least twice a year, and either purge the fuel or add stabil after each use.
-Yooperman
Hondas have been exceptionally reliable. There are some nice Coleman Powermates also. I would recommend going with a 3000 watt unit, one that has an overhead valve engine, they are much quieter and are easier to pull start. I have a Coleman 3000 watt that I bought in '93 and it has been a good unit.It is small and light enough that I can pick it up and put it in the trunk of a car.
When you get a unit make sure you maintain it properly, load test it at least twice a year, and either purge the fuel or add stabil after each use.
-Yooperman
- Joined
- May 5, 2006
- Messages
- 1,968
Marc, safe fuel storage is very important...here are two (2) articles on storing fuel...
Article #1
Article #2
One of these sites is a slow load but be patient...the article is very thorough.
Stay safe!
Article #1
Article #2
One of these sites is a slow load but be patient...the article is very thorough.
Stay safe!
SLD said:
The Honda EZ-2500 watt is an excellent unit. Easy to carry and easy to service even way out in the bush. It has extra for those heavy loads like when the furnace and fridge start up together. My honda is 8 years old and has hundreds of hours of use on it. I just changed the recoil rope recently as it wore very thin with heavy use. Honda just keeps on running and running.:thumbup:
I would be wary of those inverter style generators as the inverter wave form does not alway run certain appliances like some battery chargers. I stay away from those.
I would still like to see Honda and other companies come up with a compact diesle unit, most of the diesles are just too big and heavy to carry around.
- Joined
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I have a little 1850 Coleman gas powered generator that I've used for my storm shelter and for power outages for the last seven years. The thing still starts on the first pull. I think its a fine machine for the money. I've run my fridge with it and a freezer when we lost power from tornados and thunderstorms for three days one year and its come in handy for many other jobs too. It is pretty close to capable of doing what you can get powered with one 20amp breaker in your house at 1850 watts.
I think I paid just a few hundred dollars for it. It was a reconditioned one at that. Its very portable also so if that matters to you I figured I'd throw that out there. I first heard about it from a boating friend of mine that uses one just like it on his ocean vessel. Said he goes through them about once every five years due to corrosion but other than that they hold up pretty good.
Here is the exact same one I have at this link only mine is green not red. Otherwise its identical. http://www.avidoutdoors.com/generator.html
STR
I think I paid just a few hundred dollars for it. It was a reconditioned one at that. Its very portable also so if that matters to you I figured I'd throw that out there. I first heard about it from a boating friend of mine that uses one just like it on his ocean vessel. Said he goes through them about once every five years due to corrosion but other than that they hold up pretty good.
Here is the exact same one I have at this link only mine is green not red. Otherwise its identical. http://www.avidoutdoors.com/generator.html
STR
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2001
- Messages
- 11,430
I bought a Troybilt this past March, since we had a rash of storms and tornadoes that kept the power out here and there. It isn't quiet, but it definitely does the job and as I recall it was American made. I would almost bet that a trip to a mower shop might land you a method to quiet a generator, but I am no expert. Seems to me that you could modify a muffler system to keep it quiet while maintaining the correct pressures for optimal engine performance.
we have several honda generators where i work{fire dept} and they are bulletproof. the oldest came on a 1988 pumper and is still running strong. and that's saying a lot when you consider that a fireman can ruin a cannonball in a sandbox with a rubber hammer, quick. later,ahgar
For quiet, I would have to say +1 on the Honda 2500. I was running a hotel full of evacuees in MS during Katrina, and we lost all power. I ran the freezer(an idustrial model), minimum security lighting, and all our computer servers on that thing no problem. And I was having to sleep when that thing ran outside my window. It wasn't silent, but one of the quietest I have ever used. Great if you can afford it!