Posted: 12/1/2002 5:39:43 PM EDT
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I have a feeling that this will be a terrible Winter ahead and I am interested in getting one or two generators...just in case. I want one to keep all of the food I have in a 21" cubic ft. freezer from spoiling and I might also want one to power some basic household appliances. What size generator would I need for a freezer this size? It doesn't have to run all the time, just enough hours per day to ensure the food remains frozen. Also, what size would I need for stuff like say, portable heaters, the tv set, refrigerator unit, radios, and other basic household appliances? And any web sources for these would be appreciated. I know I can get a really big unit and power everything in the house, but I really just wanna be able to run the vital stuff and maybe a couple of other things to provide info/entertainment. Thanks. |
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lowes has a GENERAC 5500 watt for 499.00. I bought one last month when the storms knocked out our power for 2 days. Runs 12hrs on a 5 gallon tank. I ran house lights, 31" tv, sattelite system, 2 computers, small deep freeze and fridge. Engine never throttled up to manage the load. Ran for over 24 hrs straight with zero problems right out of the box. Highly recommended for a home. mike |
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Take a look at the wattage requirement of your equipment. Depending on the age of your appliances they can range a bit. A typicall freezer is a few hundred watts. Your heaters are going to be a big load - most pull 1500 watts. Radios only few, televisions normally less then a hundred. Add them all up, add 20% and get a generator that size. The 5500 Generac is an excellent value. |
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Honda generators are considered the best. They make two 6500 watt models (air and liquid cooled). They will run most homes, but not everything at once. Both generators run about $2700-$3000. I have a Coleman 5000 watt. Decent unit but will not run alot of things at the same time. Mostly for fridge, water heater, water pump, furnace, a few lights. Ran me about $750 (I overpaid out of ignorance). Briggs Vanguard engine is a very good power plant. When I found out about the deficiencies of the 5000 watt, I did some research and purchased an 8000 watt unit from the Northern catalog. Has a Honda engine (again, considered the best powerplant) with a North Star generator head. Seems to be the best combination for the money I could find. Air cooled. $1,900. Stay away from anything rated less than 6500 watts. The closer to the 8-10,000 range the better. Hope this helps. |
| We have a Honda 5000 that we keep at the house, and it runs all the essentials for us, plus some of the neighbors. The only negative I have for it, is the thing sucks up a lot of gas (about a gallon a hour, if my memory serves me right, haven't used it in a couple of years though). The few times we've had to use it, no complaints. |
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I have two 16 hp V twin Briggs powered generators that put out 70 amps each on 110 and I believe 35 amps on 220. They are rated 8500 watts run, 10,000 surge. I put automobile size Interstate Deep Cycle Yellow Top Spiral Cell batteries in mine, (vibration is not supposed to ruin a spiral cell battery.) My experiences with garden tractor batteries during the winter months up north have been less than satisfactory, I even tried trickle charging them over the winter months and they still didn't hold a charge. |
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Just make sure before you buy something with a Honda engine, you have somewhere to buy parts. I know of a dozen local places I can find Briggs and Stratton parts, but I haven't found a single place yet that sells Honda parts. My neighbor had a nice pump with a Honda engine that he gave away after being stuck several times waiting on mail-order parts to come-in. I haven't seen it yet, but my boss bought a large generator with a 2-cycle engine for us to use at work. I'm very curious to see how well a large 2-cycle continuous-duty engine works. The engine was made in Yugoslavia, and we've got a guy on staff that's a former mechanic for their army. I hope he's worked on an engine like this before.z |
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My dad sells small generators in his store, all brands. Watch out for generac models, not because they are bad but because they use their own engine, they look like a briggs but are not. Make sure you can get parts if you need them. For home use I personally would not consider anything under 7500watts. Generator engines do not usually last as long on a whole than other engines because they are run at full bore all the time. Because these are run at full bore for hours at a time it is imperative that the oil be changed every 12hours of use, even with good air filtration! Dirty oil is the quick way to leesen the life of your engine by half in these. Oil is cheap, engines are expensive, you do the math. If you are in a residental neighborhood, you might have to look into another muffler that is quieter, these can be expensive but bring it down to approx a honda in volume. If you use it outside keep it off the ground and have a partner to help carry or get a cart to move it. I cant begin to tell you how many generators we have seen that have been drug generator side first through snow, mud and water and the owners cant understand why when they start them they smell smoke and nothing works. Idiots. Hope this helps. SorryOciffer |