Opinions on this generator or generators in general

[GARANDNUT]

http://www.google.com/shopping/produ...MAA#ps-sellers

[aviator]

For the price I would go with a Honda engine. Check Northern Tools. also look for something with a fuel shut off valve. I just don't trust Briggs and Stratton engines that much.

[44044]

Ditto
If you can it is good to have a big and a little genny

Only run the big one when nessary little ones use

A lot less fuel

[JD Miller]

I have a honda generator. They are quiet and smooth, good motors

I just noticed at overnight outdoor events and RV camping the Hondas were smoother and quieter

[flopshot]

Briggs ? no. i just pulled the starter rope on my honda powered log splitter after sitting since last winter. one pull. first of all, make a reasonable assessment of your power needs. it's likely not 10k. then up that by 20% and buy a unit that you can have serviced and repaired locally. i also highly recommend a manual transfer switch for a portable generator. that can add 300.00 to the bottom line but it's well worth it. back in the day the choice was Homelite, Honda, and Coleman. Honda essentially put them both out of business for good reason. i had a Briggs powered Coleman come in the shop that the sherriff's department used for two hours running 1000 watts of lighting for a road check that blew out the diodes. a 3500 watt unit that craps out running a 1k load. remember that a mission ready generator is like a boat and does not respond well to being ignored.

[10 Bears]

I traded for a Briggs generator, about ten years ago.
Guess I better get it serviced.

[Hunter07]

FWIW, I had a Huskee riding mower with a 14.5 hp Briggs & Stratton I/C motor. The motor itself was pretty decent. Other than the normal 'spring tune-up' and changing the oil (& the starter once), I never had any issues with it. It ran flawlessly for the 15 years I had it.

That was on a riding lawn mower though.

Many years ago, in another life, I used to work at Northern as a store repair tech. We sold Briggs, Wisconsin Robin, Tecumseh & Honda motors (for most any application). Of these, Honda's came back to get fixed, the least.

[motorhead]

big and little.
little-honda 1600
big-MEP-018, 10 Kw, 3 phase.

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by Hunter07

FWIW, I had a Huskee riding mower with a 14.5 hp Briggs & Stratton I/C motor. The motor itself was pretty decent. Other than the normal 'spring tune-up' and changing the oil (& the starter once), I never had any issues with it. It ran flawlessly for the 15 years I had it.

That was on a riding lawn mower though.

Many years ago, in another life, I used to work at Northern as a store repair tech. We sold Briggs, Wisconsin Robin, Tecumseh & Honda motors (for most any application). Of these, Honda's came back to get fixed, the least.

briggs I/Cs are simple and tough as nails. tecumseh is the suk.

[gravedigger]

I would go with the Honda 3Kw unit. It is the QUIETEST of them all, and it will provide power to your home IF you are frugal with power use. If you need everything turned on at the same time, it will not be enough.

Steer clear of all of those generators like the one you posted. They are NOT intended to be emergency generators, which is why they give you more Kw for less money. They will be obnoxiously LOUD if you try to use them as a power generator during a blackout.

Look at the Cummins-Onan line, and the Generac generators available from the big box stores. Their smaller Kw generators are in the same price range and are infinitely quieter than that Coleman unit you are considering.

I have a 20Kw Cummins-ONAN generator hooked to my home through a transfer box. It is very quiet, and reliable. It has a control head inside the home for monitoring it, testing it, starting it or shutting it off. It has the self-test mode, which makes it start up and run (without powering the house) once a week on a schedule, to keep the battery charged up and make sure the system IS ready when needed.

I have had power outages. My generator has the lights back on in 2 to 3 seconds! All of my computers are on UPS units, and my digital clocks are also on smaller UPS units so I don't have to walk around and reset clocks if the power hiccups. It was a large initial investment, but when the power goes out, MY home (and A/C, and computers, and lights, and alarm system, etc) keep working while my neighbors are left in the dark.

[aviator]

3KW won't do much for you.

[gravedigger]

Originally Posted by aviator

3KW won't do much for you.

It will do plenty. You can set your home up to use low voltage lighting as an alternate light source, Use 12vdc LED lights wired SEPARATELY so each room has sufficient light. A single large deep cycle 12vdc battery will light up a whole house with this setup.

As for the fridge and freezer, the generator can power one, or two of them, and they only need power when they run to achieve the desired interior temperatures. Once that is achieved and the doors are not opened, they do not require electric power.

The generator he is looking at is USED or "refurbished." It is also noisy as Hell. It uses a gallon of gas per hour, so your electricity will cost about $4.00 per hour, or nearly $100 per day if you run it full time.

There are cheaper sources of power, and if a person is smart, they can set their home up for minimal power consumption using solar cells and deep cycle batteries, inverters for the microwave and TV, and a smaller generator for the washing machine, fridge and so forth.

[buzgun]

I was doing a large residential construction project (the framing stage) where i had 8 guys working for me and i had to provide the generators...i had a briggs & stratton 5500 generator but it could not provide enough power for the circular saws and nail gun air compressors..I ended up standing next to it constantly pushing the breaker button after the strain of all the tools at once tripped it.I bought a Honda EB5000 and it was one of the best tools i ever bought....it has a low idle function that conserves fuel and keeps the noise level low until you need it....I can tell you it can run 4 circular saws and 2 nailgun air compressors at the same time without problems.

I just pour gas into it and forget about it

[jmneill]

After a lot of digging around, I ordered the Generac XG8000E about six months ago. The control panel could use a little improvement in the area of ruggedness, but the "engine and drivetrain" if you will, are the same used in Generac's heavier duty XP series. This generator handles my well, hot water heater, lights, fridge etc simultaneously with no struggle. I think I paid around $1400 bucks delivered, and six months in with lots of mock runs, I couldn't be happier.

[MGMAN45]

I have a Kohler 45KW generator.Ford 6 cyl engine.Runs off propane.