PM sent, to keep this thread on track.

Oh snap!  You can get the generator for $64 and then go back in and get the Solar kit for $119.  I will be dragging my hairy ass into Harbor Freight twice today!

Any online coupons for 20% off? The closest store is 200+ miles away

all you need is the coupon code number (entered at checkout), any coupon they publish will work online. As far as the number is concerned, I have one laying around somewhere, but to lazy to get my ass up to check it....there is a link somewhere in this thread to a current 20% off coupon.

I just used the online coupon about an hour ago.  The cashier actually asked if I had any coupons right away.  He scanned it, and I was good to go.

Anyone know if you can hook up a 110v to 220v transformer?
(110v in and 220v out)
I was talking to a couple of guys from Africa qnd they where interested in buying a couple and sending them back to africa.

I wasn't sure if it would work.

For low current applications I see no reason why not.

If you look at the windings, you might find the genny can easily be rewired for 240.

"Makes you wonder what harbor freight pays for these units, must be less than 50 bucks a pop when they buy a container full."

Agree...

If you think about this, it has to make you wonder how we as a country plan on surviving for a few more years when we couldn't dream of producing the quality stuff available from Asia, at multiple times the price.

Our living standard is going to collapse but most think the party will go on indefinately.

I am on the fence.  My four, critical, power consuming appliances/equipment would be fridge, freezer, furnace, and/or communications (radio/tv/internet).  Nameplate ratings indicate more start up current than the generator can provide even to one unit.  That just leaves me with communications and other less important electrical energy consuming devices.  Will mull it over some more.

63.99 (w/o tax)



They had a shit load of them.

Got a free flashlight too..


Get of your ass, and go get one!

Mine will be one way of charging my eneloops for my many lanterns and flash lights. That is actually a very important job since my indoors lights will most likely be lanterns if we are dealing with an extended period. I also have solar, but it is very limited by the capability of my harbor freight panels.

Yep, picked mine up yesterday, cant beat $64, and I walked away with some other goodies.

I'm heading to grab two of 'em-because one is none

so are you guys using the coupon from page one that is expired or a different one?

Google "Harbor Freight Coupon", and you will find a current one that you can print out.

Print about 10 copies of that, its good till the end of the year. Or just save the coupon code number, and buy stuff online.

cool thanks!

What about the part that says valid in retail stores only?

I couldn't get any of the codes to work online, ended up paying $91 shipped for one...

Aww, shit man...I don't know why it wouldn't work. I used the exact same one just a post or two above. I printed like 5 copies, and got 2 generators and two hammocks (2 trips a piece for me and the sammich maker) and eneded up with the gennys for $63 before tax. I did have to drive 2 hours to get them, but I was heading here anyhow. I had like 4 people stop and tell me how much they liked them while I was loading them in the truck. I am looking forward to running a few tanks of gas through these bad boys!

read the coupon carefully.

i picked up the harbor frieght generator on the cheap

$79.99-20%+TAX

$69.27

plus i got a free pair of scissors

Tomorrow I will go to Walmart or HomeDepot. I will be buying a blue (Kerosene) gas can for the generator because of the 50:1 2 cycle mix, I dont want the wife confusing that with any or the other gas cans.

I went and picked on up because $63.99 + tax is too hard to pass up. The wife didn't even complain!



I have a coleman 5000w but this one is very practical for smaller needs or camping!

I ran mine for 4 hrs running a 250 watt flood light.
I started with1 gal. of gas. It was about 2 inches of Gas from the top and shut it off there was still 1 inch of gas left.

Going to start it up again tomorrow and let it run out.

I know it says IN STORE ONLY... some were claiming they would work online so I tried it just to check.

Upload a video of the sound mine makes.



see if everyone else sounds like it or not.







 
 

Have not started mine yet.  Audio is not the greatest.  That being said, sounds like something is loose.

mine sounds about the same.

sounds normal to me. It will sound better after you break it in.

No worries, you have 30  days to get your money back, or 90 days for replacement.

Sounds just like mine.

The rattle I think is what they are calling piston slap.





 

Try some premium gas in it and it will probably quiet down.

I picked up one of these with the little money I have. I think it will be a good backup generator. Plus it's a lot easier to throw into the truck if I have to bug out.

Finally got a chance to test mine out today... ran for 6 hours 45 minutes with a 500-550w load. (exactly 1 gallon of 89 mixed 50:1)

I managed to completely shut down the load to it before it ran out of gas and now it's cooling off.

How does everyone store them long-term... as mine is now, lines drained, full?

Also, how bad would it be to store in my basement once it has cooled and any remaining fuel has evaporated?

I ran the engine dry then pulled the spark plug and put a little oil down there.  I slowly pulled the recoil starter a couple of times to distribute the oil.  After that I put about a teaspoon of motor oil in the gas tank and moved it around to distribute it.



I wouldn't suggest keeping a 2 stroke engine stored full.  If it's got gas at the end of the day and you plan on using it the next day it's fine.  A week later, I don't think so, drain the tank and run it dry.



Storing it in the basement will be fine.  You may notice a light smell but as long as its aired out it will be fine.



 

FWIW -

Cabela's 1000w 2 stroke gen at url below on sale for $99.00.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/CPE-1000-Watt-Two-Stroke-Generator/717022.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dgenerators&Ntt=generators

Sounds good... did you use 2 stroke oil or something like 10w30 for storage?

Is that the same as the HF one?

same mfr, shanghai yang (spelling?), different model. That has the worthless 12v output on it. I say worthless, because it is unregulated and charges at like 8amps DC which would take forever to charge a big battery.

Here is a cool sight to check out http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/2-stroke-generator.html. Although, if purchasing direct from the manufacturer you have to buy a container full, but you get to put your own "brand name" on it.

I shut my fuel line off and ran it until it stopped.

I didn't drain my tank though.

Keeping my tanks full in other 2 cycle engines doesn't seem to be a problem  (edger and weed eater), but I am wanting to learn....

Does the oil/gas mix get old or something?

Is that why it should be drained?

I used 5w-40 simply because that's what was around.  The weight doesn't matter.  Putting motor oil in there for storage is no problem.  It will just get burned off.  2 stroke oil is more volatile and will leave a gummy residue when it's gone.  Don't use 2 stroke oil to store it.



 

Nowadays, most pump gasoline has 8-10 percent ethanol in it, which absorbs moisture. Eventually, the moisture can condense into globs of water in the gas tank, causing corrosion and engine stalling. (Link to article here).

If you're going to leave the gas in the tank, best strategy is to either use an ethanol-compatible fuel stabilizer (i.e., Sta-Bil Marine Formula), or use ethanol-free gas (i.e., aviation gas).

I just did my periodic generator running, and I thought I'd test this thing out.  It's probably on hour 5 or so now, but curiosity got the better of me.  I cranked it up, let it warm up for a few minutes, then tested it with a few loads I had handy -

1) ice cream machine motor (1.1 Amps)  Are you kidding, this little genny didn't even realize it was plugged in.
2) I moved up to a jigsaw (2 amps) No problem, barely changed tempo.
3) Small cheap box fan (??) I have no idea how many amps this fan pulls, but it can't be much b/c the genny didn't even know it was plugged it.

In the process of scouring my garage for loads, I realize I have a shortage of mid-range electric tools (300-600 watts).  Anyways, back to the testing...

Needed to find something bigger...

AHA....  3) Craftsman 7" circle saw, (12 AMPS)...  This guy felt the load but ran the saw fine.  Startup and running, it handled the load.  It geared down and you could definitely tell it was working hard, it started exhausting a little white smoke, but it chugged along pulling the saw.  I could build a treehouse with this little thing.  

Finally, I know I shouldn't, but I had my Champion genny out to run my little electric barbeque grill (that's another long story in itself), and I couldn't help but wonder if this lilttle HF genny could do it too.  The grill is a Sunbeam (I think, it's pretty old) 1650 watt electric grill with a variable temp setting, but like most microwaves and such, I think the temperature is varied by the timing of the heating element running versus off.  So this grill pulls the same current whether you have it on high or low, just varies in the duration of the load.  

So I unplugged the grill from the Champion, and plugged it into the HF genny.  Wow!  It smoked up my driveway and carport pretty good with white smoke, but the HF generator was running it.  Sweating a lot, but running it.  I know this is a purely resistive load, and maybe not actually as much of a strain as the startup on my circle saw, but I was really impressed that something with a 900W max rating was running equipment rated at 12 Amps and 1650 watts (almost TWICE the rated max!!), and not bogging down or cutting off.  I didn't run it for long with the circle saw or the grill (30-45 seconds each max), just wanted to run them long enough to prove that it was able to handle it.

I wonder if that says something about the  10 A circuit breaker that should have tripped?  I also wonder what the deal was with all the white smoke.  I know it's not really good for the genny to push it like that, but where's that smoke coming from under an overload that it isn't when the generator is lightly loaded?  

Another final note, everyone else seems to get theirs to crank in 2 or 3 pulls.  Mine ALWAYS seems to take about 10 pulls to get it going.  I wonder why.

White smoke usually means it's too rich (check/adjust the carb float).  Pull the spark plug and see if it's white.  If the spark plug is tan then the carb is adjusted fine.  Moisture in the gas can also cause white smoke.  Some people also have trouble telling white smoke from light blue smoke.  It's a 2 stoke so it will often smoke usually until it warms up, and a little when it's running hard, since it's burning the lubricating oil too.





Since you're also having trouble starting it, I think the problem may be
your gas.  Try getting a gallon of supreme and mixing it.  If you
bought gas with ethanol that's been sitting for the weedwhacker during the summer that's
probably your problem.  Ethanol gas will absorb moisture over time, this increases the water content in the gas as it sits longer.





Mine will start on 1 hard pull sometimes and never more than 3 pulls.  My starting technique is to turn the switch on, turn the petcock to flow, then I give it 2 slow pulls (not hard enough to start it), after that I give it a starting pull.





 

What are you doing with the choke on yours?  All the way on, all the way off, somewhere in the middle, what?  Gas may be a part of my problem, when I first mixed this 2-stroke gas, I was unaware about the ethanol issue.  I have since learned, and am in the process of burning the old stuff off before I can restock.  Problem is, the nearest non-ethanol gas is about 20 miles away, and although I went to fill up 2 jerry cans earlier this week, I forgot to get the 89 octane.    It's kind of a hassle.

I'm also going to get around to replacing the sparkplug with a better one sometime in the near future, b/c by all accounts, the one included with the generator is crap.

EDIT:  re: your starting technique - turn the switch on??  Hell I never use the switch on mine.  Every time I want to shut it off, I either use the fuel shutoff to run the gas out of the carburetor or just let the tank run dry.  I have never yet actually used the "off" switch on either of my generators.  I think of it as more of an emergency cutoff, for when I need the thing off RFN and probably will crank it again in a minute.

I put the choke all the way on to start it.  Once the engine kicks over the choke gets turned off pretty fast.



I use the engine cut off switch mainly as a sanity check.  If I try to setup the generator without flipping the kill switch and turning the petcock I go back through and evaluate my process to be sure I'm not doing something else stupid.





 

I do not think you understand what is happening when you connect excessive loads to a generator.  Just because a piece of equipment does something when connected does not mean the generator is supplying more than it’s rated watt/VA.  What is probably happening is that max rate power, or slightly more, is being delivered, but at a lower voltage and higher current.  This can be very bad for motors as current can be far more than winding insulation can handle.  Winding insulation fails and your motor is toast.

ETA
Circuit breakers of the type residential consumers commonly encounter respond to a combination of current and time.  A breaker rated N amps actually only trips at N amps after time T.  T can be a much larger number than you would expect.

You are right, I don't really understand it that well.  Can you explain it a little more in depth?  I understand that I could tear up a refrigerator or a circle saw by running it with a ragged power source like an overloaded generator, but what will happen with the electric grill?  No motors there, purely a resistive load.  Is something going to burn up in the guts of my grill from being powered by an undersized generator?

Also, you are talking about the winding insulation on the electric motor in the circle saw, etc., right?  If the current is produced to meet the amperage draw of the tool at the expense of the voltage, then how is the winding insulation going to fail if the tool itself is rated for the amperage being produced?  If my 12A saw causes the generator to produce 12A of current at a reduced voltage (say 75-80 volts), how does that negatively affect the winding?  

Or were you talking about a winding in the generator itself?  I guess that makes more sense, now that I think about it.  The windings in there (generator head?) wouldn't be rated for the higher current... is that what you mean?   Just trying to learn as much as I can about this stuff.

What you were doing will eventually (or quickly) destroy the generator.

I am not an expert.

You will not hurt equipment with entirely resistive loads, like in a toaster or electric grill, with undervoltage.  Items like circular saws use universal motors I believe would not be damaged by undervoltage.  Compressors though, found in refrigerators, freezers, and AC units utilize induction motors, are susceptible to damage from undervoltage.  Induction motor speed is determined by frequency of supplied power.  If voltage is insufficient, as determined by design and indicated on the nameplate, I believe current draw actually increases.  If some protection device does not trip to prevent the overcurrent condition, over time the winding insulation can fail due to overheating.