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

Well I finally broke down and purchased a Honda EM6500SX Generator for my house. Last year was brutal with power outages. The first one in September lasted for close to 4 days and the October outage caused by the fluke nor'easter lasted almost 6 days. I'm on well water so no power means no water (I think no water is worse than no power). We usually lose power several times each year and it seems to be getting worse and last longer each time. I heat with wood so that at least is never a problem.

Got my 10 circuit transfer switch all wired up on Friday with my licensed electrician buddy so I'm ready to get let down by National Grid this year. I caught a 0% for 18 months finance offer from Honda plus all generators and transfer switches were on sale (saved $600.00) so it worked out well. I don't usually feel good about spending a decent chunk of $$$ but knowing my family will have power when (not if) it goes out is a good feeling.

It's a good feeling to be prepared for emergencies.  I was looking into backup gensets for the house, just in case.  By the way, is your generator set up to run multiple fuel sources?  With extended outages, it may be wise to have it set up to run on natural gas or propane.

The generator only runs on gasoline so I plan on having about 20 gallons on hand plus a full onboard tank. This would provide about a week of intermittent usage if used mainly during the morning and evening hours. I looked into stationary propane powered units a few years ago and while it would be nice to have the power come on automatically a few seconds after losing the grid, it was quite expensive.

Frank,

congrats on your new gen.  I have a Honda em3500sx that I have as a backup to my Lister Diesel backup generator.   The Honda units while pricy compared to most, are very well built and should give you years of trouble free service as long as you take care to keep the fuel system clean.  The only thing i dislike about all of the high speed generator sets running at 3600 rpm is they are quite loud and its the kinda of noise that can go right through you.

I am looking at running 2 eu 2000 Honda that is much cheaper than a eu 6500. The only thing with that set up is I will have to wire it to my 220 breaker. From there I do not know how or if the amps will split, 1600 watts x 2 = 3200 running watts / 120 volts = 26.6 amps. The big question is will I get 26.6 amps on each bus bar in my electric panel or 26.6/ 2 = 13.33. 13.33 amps is nothing 13.33 x 120 = 1600 watts. I'm not sure how it works. If I can get 26.6 amps on each bus bar It should work fine. I hope it will. Your 6600 watt will give you 56 amps at full load. Are you getting 56 amps on each bus bar in your box of are you getting 28 amps???

http://www.uscarbs.com/ has kits for most portable generators. You can make your generator run on whatever fuel you choose.

Update: I just logged 35 hours on my new generator after we lost power when Sandy rolled through. A huge tree took down a pole and all the wires last Monday mid day and we did not get grid power back until Wednesday at 10:15 pm. The EM6500SX performed flawlessly and was relatively quiet, especially compared to some of the generators my neighbors were using (fortunately the houses are far apart from each other). The last thing I wanted was a jackhammer outside my house and the Honda did not let me down. My neighbors even commented on how much quieter my generator is compared to theirs.

I changed the oil at the 13 hour mark (manual says do this at 20 hours) and used about 15 gallons of fuel in total over the 3 days. I have about 90% of all my requirements tied into the transfer switch so aside from a few lights in a couple rooms, it's like not losing grid power. Still had no TV service but that was not a bad thing - it was nice to get a break from all the political ad's. Got some DVD's for entertainment at night and that worked out good. I'm on well water so no power means no water. Losing power for a total of 10 days during Irene and then the freak October nor'easter last year was an ordeal I did not want go through again. Being able to have a hot shower is priceless!

how quiet is the EM6500? can you give a relative comparison with other household items? I'm considering that or the EU6500is.

raysmd wrote:

Besides all the good attributes that go along with the honda brand,they are the QUIETEST portable generators out there by far.

raysmd wrote:

The spec's list the sound level at 73 decibals, which is pretty quiet compared to some others.

I bought a cheap Chinese built 4000/3000 watt Champion generator from Chinadian Tire a couple years ago for emergency purposes.  I was thoroughly impressed how quiet it is.  Both mechanically and exhaust wise.  Seems like a nice little unit but who knows how long it will withstand extended use.  Fortunately, I haven't had the need to use it yet.  I just fire it up every year or two to make sure it will run.  

I thought long and hard about spending the $$$ for a Honda vs. a BB store generator. I lose power so often and for such long periods of time that I decided reliablity, quietness and confidence in the product line when needed was worth the extra dough. I would have bought a lower priced unit if we only lost power for a few hours a few times a year. When I lose power it is generally for a minimum of 3 days to a maximum (so far) of 6 days, except of course for those little blips of an hour or so here and there that most experience. I did end up getting somewhat of deal as I caught a $500.00 off list special offer price on the EM6500SX, $100.00 off the transfer switch and 18 months zero% financing through Honda when I was ready to make my purchase. The special offers eased the pain a bit and losing power for close to 4 days a week ago validated my purchase decision even further.

borat wrote:
Question for those with Gensets that don't *regularly* need to use it or experience outages.
How Often do you Fire it up just to make sure it's working. Granted I don't expect to use it except for maybe once every 2 years or so.....but we'll see.
Just ordered dual EU2000 after post Sandy.

I'm thinking I'll just *excercise the unit* every couple of months just to keep gas cycling, seals, etc

I have mine in a mobile enclosure for storage.  If and when necessary, I pull it out, remove the enclosure and fire it up.  Usually once a year.  I only put in enough fuel to run it for about fifteen minutes or so, then let it run out of fuel. 

FrankMA wrote:
Did you consider a diesel genset?  This outfit has quite a variety and they're out your way:

http://www.generatorsales.com/

A next year spring, summer project is to run black pipe to a *outlet* for outdoors and I plan to convert one of my Gensets to tri-fuel

Plenty of natural gas flowing....unlike these crazy long lines or Craigslist $20 per gallon gasoline ads out here in the Northeast

borat wrote:

I did consider going the diesel route but when the special pricing and finance offer from Honda popped up in September, I decided to go with EM6500SX and the Reliance Transfer Switch. The savings on the generator and the transfer switch ended up covering the cost of the transfer switch and close to half the cost to install the transfer switch. My electrician buddy did the install and took good care of me price wise. In the end, I just felt more comfortable and confident going with Honda. I think if I did go the diesel route it would have been with a Kubota model and those are not cheap - not that Honda is inexpensive but less than a Kubota diesel. The whole ball of wax - generator, transfer switch and  installation of the transfer switch cost me $ 3,150.00 vs. approximately $7,500.00 to go the diesel route.

That is a considerable price difference when you look at initial cost.  What does a transfer switch and installation cost?  Must be pricy.

The efficiency of diesel as well as price of coloured fuel make diesels attractive as well. 

I've owned a 6kw  Kubota for thirty years now and have over 6000 hrs. on it.  Considering that diesel is 30 to 35% more efficient than gasoline, I figure so far,  that  I've burned at a minimum, 1800 liters less diesel fuel than what an eqivalent gasoline power plant would have consumed gasoline.  When you consider the difference in cost between gasoline and coloured diesel, I'd estimate that I've saved probably, at a minimum, $2500.00 in fuel costs alone over the years. 

The little Kubota diesel has been rock solid and has performed flawlessly for three decades now.  I do oil changes ever 150 hours using conventional oil, adjusted the valve lash once and changed one fan belt.  Clean the air filter every so often  and other than that, nothing. 

I also like the safety aspect and storage stability of diesel fuel.  I usually store thirty gallons or so of diesel fuel all winter (six months or more) in a plastic 15 gallon main fuel tank and three more five gallon containers.   Approximate five years after my father in law passed away, my mother-in-law wanted me to clean out her garage.  I found a five gallon container of diesel fuel.  I  opened it up, smelled it, looked at it and it checked out OK  so I took it to camp and dumped it into the main fuel tank.  No problems.  That fuel was likely well over five years and it was fine.  So, long term storage of diesel is an attractive advantage as well. 

You've made an excellent choice for a genset.  If you're not going diesel, Honda's the next best choice.       

borat wrote:

The 10 circuit transfer switch was $600.00 (special offer price was $100.00 off of that) and the installation is usually between $600.00 - $750.00 (my buddy only charged me $250.00). The transfer switch was a complete assembly which included the 10 circuit panel, the plug outlet to feed the transfer switch and a 25' power cord that runs from the generator to the plug outlet. If I had a camp like you and needed a generator to run my power while there, I would definitely go with diesel based on the number of hours that would get racked up. I probably won't log more than 50 - 100 hours per year based on my very intermittent use so it was hard to justify spending at least 2X what I spent on the Honda and transfer switch.

so, what would you guys get if you live in a fairly large suburban city. 30 miles outside of DC. Looking for a whole house backup generator. 15kW. Diesel or natural gas? Obviously NG is easiest, but I've heard of NG disruptions for the worst case disasters. Unlikely to occur, but possible. I mean if the diesel is left in the tank for years on end 5+ years is it still ok? also, what if the generator was never turned on for 1-2 years?

Borat you make me laugh a lot with the Chinadiantire!!! I will forwaRD THIS JOKE TO MY PAL who's familiar with the store :) Have a nice winter full of snow and god bless all Denis