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

Wilma whipped us pretty good in Ft Lauderdale, and now I'm trying to buy a good quite generator in the 6-8 kw running range.    The problem is that Home Depot and Lowes ship in units but you can't research them.

Am looking at a Pramac 6000S which has a 13 hp Honda engine, and is rated at 5700  running, 6000 surge watts.
Also looking at Briggs Power Boss 6200 with a 13 hp Vanguard rated at 6200 and 9000 watts model 30201....and a  Briggs EXL 8000 with a 15 horsepower Generac Extended Life Commercial engine rated at 8000 running and 13500 surge (model 30244) with metal fuel tank.

The problem is that you can't find any info on these models on line!!!!!  And when you call the mfg, they can't either.

CAN ANYBOBY OFFER ANY SUGGESTIONS.

MikeP wrote:

1. If the manufacturer cant help on the phone, what kind of Quality and service can you expect down the road?

2. I own a Genuine HONDA, and it is better quality, and QUITER than any other unit only powered bu a Honda engine. PArts and service are everywhere. A good USED HONDA will beat any model you mention.  But if you must, the Briggs with the VANGUARD engine is a awsome engine.

3. Remember, a 5K generator will burn almost 1 gallon per hour under a decent load, and those huge 13+ hoarsepower monsters burn even more. Can you easily and safly stockpile enough gas?  A smaller unit will be more economical, and can still keep you comfortable if you power ration, insted of trying to run the whole house.

Things to consider

1. If you want to feed the house then you must have a cut over switch that disconnects the regular mains connection before connecting the generator. It seems the electrical company gets testy with you if you electrocute their employees.

2, How long do you want to be able to keep going. This may determine how much fuel you store and what type of inventory plan you need to keep the stuff "fresh".

3. You can get propane/natural gas powered gen sets for backup power. If you have a reliable source of natural gas this might be better than gas or diesel.

4. You still need UPS's on things like computers, assuming you want to have time to shut them down when the power goes out. A UPS will also help clean up any dirty power the gen set might create.

5. The bigger house backup systems include an automatic test cycle. Either way its a good idea to test the thing regularly to make sure there is no problem.

Point 5 reminds me of a story.

It seems there was this company that had a generator with a big tank of fuel that could last for 5 hours and could be refuelled "on the fly". Every year for five years they tested the unit for about an hour. One day the power went out and the generator came up automatically and worked without a hitch .... for about 20 minutes.

I agree with MountianMan, your best bet is a Genuine Honda Generator. However, there is one other important point to be made: You should purchase the unit from a bonafide Honda Power Equipment Dealer. Sure, you might pay a few dollars more, but at least you will have a relationship with the dealer when you need service or have a problem. If you were to purchase the machine via the internet, mail order or through a "big box" retailer, how would you go about handling a service or warranty issue? Surely you would not expect a dealer to put loyal customers "on the back burner" to repair a unit belonging to somebody who purchased elsewhere in order to save a few dollars!     

Regardless of what brand generator you decide to purchase, make sure you have a local service outlet who is willing to work on your machine. When your power is out & your generator is down it's not a good time to learn shipping the machine off for repairs is the only way to have it repaired!!!  

Mike, I sent you a private message and if you e-mail me I will send you plenty of info on installation and brands.

Mike.... I currently have three smaller generators - a Honda 500watt (really a camping generator) powered by a Honda engine, an older 1750 watt powered by a B/S (I've had it for 30 years, and while it's been mothballed for the last 10 years, still works great!!!) and a 3800watt Remington, again powered by a 9HP battery-start B/S.  At one time, I had planned to outfit my cabin up north with a 4K generator, since we had no hydro, etc.  The other generators were what I would call "strictly emergency" machines.  Nothing fancy, but they did the job.  For my permanent application I reviewed Honda and a group of other names.  I chose a 4K Onan gasoline-powered RV generator with time meter, silencing muffler and remote start.  Not having hydro, I didn't need the auto-cutover equipment or auto-start.  In our area, the two names most respected are Onan and Kohler - both of whom provide machines of varying sizes - but both of whom support what I would call "permanent installations".   Coleman and Honda are all well and good - but if you plan a permanent installation, consider these two.  I particularly liked the Onan since it ran at 2400RPM as opposed to the others which typically run at 3600RPM.  One of my neighbours has a 5K gas Onan 2400RPM....it's still going, when necessary, 25 years later.  Another neighbour has a big Honda - his 3rd in the last 14 years.  The Hondas look good - but if they are used with any degree of regularity, they don't seem to to hold up.   As it turned out, before I got my Onan installed (I even had it to the site - ferried 5km downriver by boat and carried up the 50ft cliff), our area got serviced by hydro under a "underserviced properties" grant - my Onan became surplus, and its new owner has it permanently installed, to his great satisfaction, in the Lake-of-the-Woods area on the Ontario-Manitoba border.  It has been running as the sole source of power to his cabin for 9 years, and it's still going strong.

My advice....(and I used my cabin property 27 years before I got hydro in 1994, with 20 of those years using the 1750watt unit) - go for a continuous-duty rated machine, preferrably slow speed, make certain you have the necessary manuals - and have a source of parts, should they be needed.  But consider the more commercial names for an installation as opposed to the more domestically popular brands .... you may spend a few more dollars, but you will never be sorry (in an emergency) that you purchased REAL QUALITY!!!!

Good luck!!!       *(:>)* 

Honda, Mitsu, and Yamaha are all fine units.

If you want to run the whole house and $$ isn't a problem then a built in stand-by unit would be best. Kohler, Generac, Winco et.al make these.

My dad and I both have Generac EXL portable units . They are noisier than the Japanese made generators but they do just fine in an emergency and cost less.

I beg to dirrer with you wally.

1st, Mike seems interested in a Portable unit for emergency use. Although the way Florida is going, a standby model might be handy.

2. As far as Hondas not lasting long, I know of many in service for ten years with regular maintainance on job sites.  Most Honda's will outlast most other lower cost brands. You also cant compare a 3600 rpm generator to a Constant duty, low speed unit with a 4 pole head made to run year round.

Exactly my point, Mountainman..... light duty and portability probably stop around 4kw.  From there on, portability becomes an issue of perception!!!!  You can mothball a 6kw or 8kw continuous duty machine just as easy as an occasional duty machine at the same power capability.... but the reality is that if you need it for those types of disaster circumstances, we're not talking about running it an hour or two at a time.  We're talking about blasting it for days at a time.  I don't see the intermittent duty lightweights being good for more than a couple of goes like that.  Sorry...but from what I have seen, the domestic market, back-of-the-truck construction Colemans and Hondas just don't cut it!!!  I KNOW that if I were in the same circumstance, that 4kw Onan that I once had, if outfitted with a wheel-kit, would be as portable as I would ever need in those circumstances.   And I'd know that I had a machine that was prepared and built for 24/7.  And as the expression goes...if I'm in for a penny, I'm in for a pound!!!  I'd put my money on the commercial constant duty every time.

*(:>)*  

What is a UPS that you use to clean up the power from generators so you can use computers? I have heard of a power line conditioner  but not a UPS. How do they work and how much do they cost?

Your question relating to computers and UPS...... you might try     http://www.jetcafe.org/~npc/doc/ups-faq.html    as a source of information.  Also Google "Uninterruptible Power Supplies" for other info... and add "cost" to the search and you will see that reputable single-machine UPS's range from $100-500 while network UPS coverage may be in the $1500 neighbourhood.  Beware of REALLY low cost UPS offerings....they may be SPS (Standby Power Supplies) masquerading as UPS's.   A UPS also acts as a conditioner, since the computer is ,in reality, running from an charged source in isolation from the line or charging source.  Remember, a computer doesn't run on 110AC - its POWER SUPPLY runs on 110AC...which, in turn, generates the +/-5DC or +/-12DC needed for the computer to run.  A good alternate source of power for a notebook is, of course, your CAR ADAPTER to its 12V system.....one that really works well in a pinch.

*(:>)*