Need A Good Power Generator

[austin552]

With Hurricane season approaching and three freezers now full, I need a generator ASAP. Suzuki, Honda, etc?

[Joeaksa]

Looking at them as well. The Honda sure has a good reputation.

[Dantilla]

How about a Gererator instead?

I have a small Yamaha, and am going to get a larger one. I was debating between Honda and Yamaha. Yamahas are less expensive, and have a longer run time on a tank of gas.

My little one is smooth and quiet enough that after out last big windstorm, i could set a flashlight on it while it was running to refuel it.

[azasadny]

I'd recommend a Generac natural-gas/propane powered generator if you have natural gas or propane in your area. Honda makes some good generators, too..

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I have a little Coleman one - fantastic, light, small, pretty quiet. I don't know if it would run freezers though. It ran an a/c unit, a fan, a couple of lights and my laptop fine though.

[cnielsen]

I just bought a 6500 Watt Diesel generator. It works well, quieter than the gas versions and gets twice the fuel economy. Diesel fuel is also safer to store at the house and in a worst case scenario, I figure I could make a biodiesel product for it to run on.

[Gene Wilkes]

Go HONDA! Best in the industry!

[notfarnow]

Originally posted by cnielsen
I just bought a 6500 Watt Diesel generator. It works well, quieter than the gas versions and gets twice the fuel economy. Diesel fuel is also safer to store at the house and in a worst case scenario, I figure I could make a biodiesel product for it to run on.

There's a 7500 watt Lister diesel gererator for sale locally for $2500. Very tempting; they run great on vegetable oil.

[Seahawk]

Generac or diesel...with a plug into your home grid.

[5axis]

http://www.amazon.com/Kipor-KGE6700TA-Silent-Diesel-Generator/dp/B000ER9OK6

[Super_Dave_D]

My Mother (yes my mom) owns a Auth Kohler generator business in Richmond. She can have one installed that will power your whole house and have natural gas power it. It basically looks like a big AC unit outside - all for around 20k. I know thats not much help - so get a Honda

Heres a good site that will help you decide what kind of power you need

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/gencho.asp

[RickM]

I have a 20KW Winco (Propane & NG) that I'm thinking of selling for $2500. Should I advertise here first? Lot's of interest.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

20KW?!?! LOL!!! You could sell to your neighbors!

[vash]

i am leaning towards the honda EU3000. they come up periodically in the used ads. new $1900, used 11 to 15. they are friggen quiet. i think in an emergency, a loud generator is the last thing you want. yamaha has a similar model, and one of the best features is that some of them run on propane. for emergency use, i think propane will store easier and not go bad.

[RickM]

Aww come on...one needs to have enough for multiple zone central A/C.

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by RickM
Aww come on...one needs to have enough for multiple zone central A/C.

Yup - I have a small house and I put a 15KW Generac on it. It will run my 2.5 ton A/C and most of the rest of the house minus the electric stove and microwave. But that is what gas grills are for.

[red-beard]

I have an 8000 watt Honda. I'm working towards a direct wiring system, so I can switch it into the house wiring when needed, but interlock it so that the main has to be switched off first. Anyway, I only plan to run the refrigerator, freezer, and 1 window A/C along with 1 TV and the Cable modem and a Laptop. A Natural Gas unit would be nice, but I don't expect more than a week or so of disruption of power, where I live.

[RickM]

Red, Sounds like you'll need either a manual or automatic transfer switch. You can then tie into the circuits you want during an emergency. I believe Home Depot sells the Generac brand. For beefier equipment Ebay has some good deals.

[widgeon13]

I've had a 15KW Generac w/200 amp transfer switch running on propane for 3 years at my place in NY, necessary when Nat Grid lets the power go out, usually no good reason for it other than we are in the middle of nowhere.

It's been reliable and starts at some pretty low temps, below zero. It exercises 15 minutes per week if on auto. I'll never be without one again, it's like four wheel drive up here.

[slakjaw]

DO a search, there is a free generator offer somewhere around here.