Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Good choice Richie. Ive seen the Eu3000 Honda in use, and its impressive. Yamaha has taken that one step further. And yes, those things are silent !!!

I have a slightly used conventional Honda, but someday hope to find a good used inverter model.

MountainMan wrote:

Yamaha has taken that one step further. And yes, those things are silent !!!

Hi there Mountain,

Are these generators really that quiet you can actually carry on a conversation standing right next to one?  I've never heard one run, I've only been able to check the noise level ratings and this one is 51dB @ idle and 57 dBA's at full output.

Richie

Friend has a EU3000 Honda for his camper, and he chains it to the camper shell. When its running at full power, you can literally put a sheet of plywood on top of it, and hold a card game!!

Cant hear it in the camper.  The honda is rated 59db. Regualr voice talking is in the mid 60's. My Honda does 68db, and comparing it to the Eu, makes it sound like a cheap Coleman.

Richie...

Good research... and good choice !

Dave...

Thanks Mountain and Dave for your replies.  Since this is my first generator, I need to find out if these generators can handle being run in the rain.  Seems to me it wouldn't be a great idea with live electrical outlets unprotected from the elements.  We don't have an outdoor enclosure of any kind to protect it and I'm wondering if this is going to be a problem.

Richie

Manufactures always say to keep the unit dry, obviouse reasons. A picnic table, deck or awning me provide shelter from a light rain. more seroise weather you may want to wait to run the unit.

MountainMan wrote:

I love that table idea, it's something I never would have thought of and sounds like a great solution if the weather isn't too adverse.  Thank you for a great suggestion

Richie

Thanks Richie, I learned quite a bit of information from you as I almost usually do.  

Mountainman, sounds like you are going to sell that one day.  I also see that you have a Bombardier ATV.  I am sort of in the market for one and was looking at the Rally yesterday.  What model do you have and how would you compare them to others?  Can't really beat Honda though, I guess. 

AJace wrote:

Without Hijacking the tread, Ill try to be brief. feel free to IM mee for any details.

I have a Outlander 400 HO 4X4. Have several hundred miles on it, only a Battery issue. Fixed under waranty. Bombardier offer many featurs, so advanced, nobody else has the,. Inboard disc brakes all around, IFS, a unique IRS with a quarter the parts of anybody else. The rally is a  2wd utility, and resale hurts if a utility model isnt 4X4.

Honda is solid, altough OLD technology, ie, drum brakes, solid rear axle, single shock.

Ill send details later, have a Severe storm bearing down and need to shut down.

MM

One more quick hijacking, have you all seen this........Kawasaki 750 V-Twin 4x4

I hope no one was offended with taking this off topic.  I think we all enjoy ATV as they are OPE, really.    Trouble is the bucks it takes for them, I don't have and I really only need midsized.  With sport I like the speed, but I like the utility body.  Nice machine there MM.  So many choices, but I still have to consider Yamaha and Artic Cat.  When I look at it, it's like Yamaha and Bomardier.  Bombardier has the good idea for "sking" over the logs.  That Kawasaki, is certainly out of my range, but is sure has a large engine.    

AJace wrote:

Hi Jeff,

I agree with you 100%.  It's the price for these amazing ATV's plus the purchase of a trailer that's a killer.  When we decide to leave Long Island and move upstate, we will certainly be purchasing an ATV or even one of those MAX 6 wheelers, which I've always wanted.  Here on Long Island there is no place to use them unless you have many acres of property. 

Richie...

Maybe there's a "ground fault" outlet protector that can be plugged into the generator's outlets for shock protection... or maybe the outlets can be replaced w/ ground fault ones... or maybe it has this already ! ?

Throw a small tarp over the generator table / shelter... or... how about a LARGE plastic trash can with adequate vent holes (opening)  put into it... turned upside down over the generator ? ...also... a couple wood blocks / bricks for the generator to sit on... keeping it off the soil...

Dave...

Dave___in___CT wrote:

Hey Dave,

There is only one Duplex receptacle on this generator and one L5-30 amp twist lock.  I purchased a 25' L5-30 twist lock convenience cord that has 4 standard 20 amp outlets on the other end.  Until such a time as I can have this generator professionally wired to a transfer switch into the house, I really won't be using the Duplex receptacle on the generator. 

I don't know if the 30 amp twist lock on the generator can keep water out during rain, but I'm not aware of anything that can be done for that receptacle itself.  I'll look into replacing the Duplex on it with a GFI for additional safety.  I think the best solution would be to use a table standing over the generator if it becomes necessary to use it during adverse weather conditions.  Great solutions, thanks. 

I'd bet that one of those 70 gallon plastic tubs sold at most "box" stores could be inverted and used as a cover for the generator by just allowing enough ventilation for the exhaust to escape and fresh air to come in.

Joe,

It just so happens that we've purchased a number of those large Rubber Maid type of storage tubs that we use to store winter clothes in during summer time.  It would actually be easy to carefully modify one as a temporary cover from rain for the generator.  I should easily be able to cut out the areas for the cooling intake and exhaust fans, and of course for the engine exhaust.  This generator is covered from end to end with acoustic shrouds, so only the engine exhaust will be hot.  I'll also look into this idea, which sounds like another great one.  Thank you all for your suggestions.

Richie wrote:
Changing the duplex recepticle to a gfci on a generator will entail some modifications to the shroud the device is mounted in. and possibly you wont have room to mount a gfci device. as they are substantially larger than a standard duplex. perhaps a better solution would be a short pigtail cord such as some contractors use, that has  gfci  protection incorporated into it would be a simpeler alternate solution. Be aware too, when using the generator as a backup for supplying household needs, you wont be able to incorporate a gfci device into your connection to your household panel.  Due to the number of circuits you will be feeding, and the amount of resistance and increased tempratures sensed by the gfci, encountered by the gfci device, it will continually trip. (gfci devices operate by sensing resistance on all 3 conductors, power, neutral and ground,  simotaniously so if you upset the resistance balance on any two of the 3 conductors, your device trips out)

Currently there are no twist lock gfci devices on the market, that im aware of,  so using one of the above mentioned pigtails with the cord end changed to the L5-30 configuration would be the only viable option. as for incliment weather protection,  ive used something similar to a "table" over mine  for many years on a 5.5kw generac,  and encountered no problems. actually what i do is use a piece of plywood thats about 12 inches larger than the length and width of ghe generator, which i lay on top of the generator frame tubes,  and i just hold it in place with a couple of tarp straps.

something else to keep in mind NEC requires generator frames to be grounded in addition to your ground carried through the recepticle. in the case of a vehicle mounted generator they should be grounded to the vehicle frame, or to use them as a back up generator as you intend, be sure to ground to a good earth source such as the ground rod located near your electric meter, using no smaller than a #6 conductor. in a pinch a set of jumper cables can be used to make a temporary ground connection. (again in my application ive attached a piece of #4 welder lead to the ground lug on the generator frame, with a heavy duty welder ground clamp i can attach to a ground rod or other good earthing point. & which i just roll up around the handles on the generator cart when not in use)

also, looking at the specs on this generator, the EF3000ISEB is strictly a 120 v. output, so be sure when using it for emergency power, shut off all 240 v breakers as not supplying the correct voltage to a 240 V appliance in some cases can cause nasty things to happen to the appliances.
hopefully this will help keep generator use when necessary as safe as possible.

And you were questioning how quiet the inverter gensets are ......

Enjoy. ANd after some seriouse use ( I feel a Hurricane) post a good review.

Good deal Richie...!

Makes me want one for my camper in VT... maybe my girlfriend would be more inclined to go there if she can run a blow drier !

Dave...

MountainMan wrote:

Yeah Mountain, how silly was that of me  Thanks buddy!

Dave___in___CT wrote:

Richie wrote:

Isnt there a Country song about " She thinks my Tractors Sexxy " ? Dave has a Big tractor up North. I thought that might be bringing the women in droves.

The tracotor could be CHIEF UNGABUNGA's new throne 

Here we Go I found it.................... Samples are down the page.

Dave's gonna get me for this.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B0000CABH9001001/0/102-2179141-2534514

That's a good country song, I think better than Kenny could sing it. 

Never heard that one before.  After seeing tractors all day though - they don't turn me on, they make me cranky.
Sherri

PS - sounds like a nice generator.

Richie wrote:

Hi Ritchie...

Yeah... that's why I checked out generator's last year... ended up as you did... between the Honda and Yamaha... then... I decided not to buy... $1,500+ is about 1/3 the cost of bringing electric power to the spot... so... if I want more than battery/solar panel power at the camper... it will be utility electricity... not ready for that though... a looooong cord from the neighbor's might do it too...

Geeze... my GF's blow dryer takes toooo many watts !  ...a fast ride in the car / truck (tractor dosen't go fast enough ! ) with her head out the window will dry her hair... but not with the precision is needs to be in !  

A quandy of life !

However... the squirrels' hair looks just fine... neat in fact...  how do they do that ?    

I guess my GF could plug the dryer in at the neigghbor's outdoor outlet...  but she's too shy !

Go figure...

Dave...

Dave___in___CT wrote:

Geeze... my GF's blow dryer takes toooo many watts !  ...a fast ride in the car / truck (tractor dosen't go fast enough ! ) with her head out the window will dry her hair... but not with the precision is needs to be in !  

A quandy of life !

However... the squirrels' hair looks just fine... neat in fact...  how do they do that ?    

I guess they just hump stuff and lick it. 

Dave___in___CT wrote:

if I want more than battery/solar panel power at the camper... it will be utility electricity

Dave,

I didn't know you were into solar power too.  I have a small 40 watt array at our home that maintains a few Optima D-31M marine batteries for emergencies and other special projects.  From my observations using it for several years now, including the Morningstar Prostar 15M digital readout charge controller, the down side to using solar is the fact that electro-mechanical solar trackers are not really viable for the home owner due to them being seriously over priced.  You just wouldn't believe how much energy you are NOT capturing because the panels sit stationary.  There are some lower cost altenatives, but they leave much to be desired. 

Hi Ritchie...

The solar panel is just to keep the camper's deep-cycle battery charged...  been doing its job for a few years now... no plans for solar panels for a home...

Thanks,

Dave...