Small Generator Recommendations

[markiver54]

It's like buying insurance. You spend money up front and find that most of the time you don't need it. But there has been a couple of times living here that the power has gone out for a couple of days and I was paid back in the convenience of using the well pump, having heat, and saving everything in the freezer. When I lived in Indianapolis an ice storm came through in January and my power was out for ten days. No generator and no chance of getting one. Being in the city I had water but no heat. Not happening again.

Well said. I'm with you Ernie.

[Sir Henry]

I have a diesel generator on my Class A pusher that I could use. The big problem is back feeding into the grid. I’ve spoken with an electrician and he said it could be wired not to back feed however the cost would be higher because how it’s wired into the grid feed. I should just get a propane standby as I already have three 1,000 gallon propane tanks.

The main reason I don’t is the power company is very reliable.

There should be a Main breaker or throw switch in your breaker/fuse box or near the power meter that disconnects your house from the grid.

Very easy to do on a day like this. The problem is getting to the breaker panel when it’s -20f with 30 mph wind and six feet of plowed snow in front of it. Inside the house is another breaker panel and I would need to bury a cable to the house and do the switching there.

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If I installed a generator near the house breaker panel I could easily power individual lines instead of everything. It would also make sense because the propane tanks are close by. Plus the RV generator is 22 years old.

[cooperhawk]

The Generac system comes with the transfer switch and wiring to do the work. It's all one package.
We just hired a good electrician to install it.
It not only powers our home, but my shop as well.

[clovishound]

Well, this is about small gensets, but my two cents is that we purchased a Generac a few years ago. Not small by any means, 22KW, but we had the transfer switch installed which makes it much safer. If not you stand a chance of giving a lineman a good shock when he tries to fix the service problem. Also with electric start the Generac starts automatically and connects to the house quickly. It does make our computers restart but otherwise we don't even know its happened.

We live well out in the country and during summer storms we do get a lot of power outages.

That's why I went with running cords to my appliances. No chance of energizing a line someone might be working on. Lots of localities have heavy consequences for using non approved methods of hooking a generator up to your breaker box and having a lineman injured or killed by back feeding from your generator.

Some folks think it's perfectly safe to feed your breaker box with a "suicide cord" plugged into your dryer outlet, as long as you throw the main breaker on the box. Problem is, if you forget, or someone else comes along behind you and sees the main breaker off, and decides to flip it on, then bad things happen. Approved lockouts, transfer switches, or using genset cords and extensions cords directly to the appliances keeps things safe for everyone.

[markiver54]

An " Interlock Switch" which is a plate mounted in the main breaker box along with a breaker for the generator is entirely safe. You can only throw the generator breaker to the on position if the main breaker is off, and visa/versa.

[clovishound]

An " Interlock Switch" which is a plate mounted in the main breaker box along with a breaker for the generator is entirely safe. You can only throw the generator breaker to the on position if the main breaker is off, and visa/versa.

Yes, that is one of the approved methods of connecting a generator to a breaker box.

[rickhem]

We were walking through one of those little local carnival things this past weekend. It was a kind of a school fundraiser thing with a lot of booths set up by local businesses, and school clubs selling baked goods and such. One booth had a Predator generator running, and it was really quiet. I walked over and talked to the kids at the booth and was asking them about it, but they didn't know anything, just that their advisor set it up for them. I was hoping I'd get lucky and find that one kid that knew about it, but no such luck. I think it was the 2000 watt model, and we had a normal conversation with those kids while standing right next to it. Now I don't think it was under any load, which might change things, but darn if that thing was really quiet. For less than $600, I think this might be a think I could put to a few different uses.

[PBSnooker]

Many campers swear by those predators. I think they can be hooked in parallel with another like generator, similar to the Hondas.

[markiver54]

Many campers swear by those predators. I think they can be hooked in parallel with another like generator, similar to the Hondas.

Yes they can be run parallel. We have the 5000 model, and it is very quiet relatively speaking.

[HenryFan]

After replacing the house HVAC system and addressing other financial emergencies, I am back in the process of generator shopping.

I found that my local Harbor Freight offers a Predator 4375 watt generator at about $480 and appears to be in stock at the Newberry, SC store. Although I would prefer a Honda product, the Harbor Freight Predator 4375 is probably a third of a similar Honda. Being Harbor Freight, it is certainly a chinese product but it is affordable and will meet the needs in described in my original post.

Comments about Predator generator from Harbor Freight are solicited. They are favorably mentioned in a few posts above but I am afraid of getting snake bit with chinesium. It won't be used unless there are power outages of some duration which aren't really that frequent where I live. Mainly, I want to keep the fridge and the freezer cold and as stated above, be able to make coffee for SWMBO.

[GeoBoy]

I refuse to purchase anything made in China. I know they are cheap but I won’t support the Chinese Government.

[HenryFan]

I don't want to buy chinese either but my choices ae limited by my checkbook.

Give me a Made In USA option that I can afford and I will be grateful.

[markiver54]

The HF Predator models are good, dependable generators. Honda used to be the king, but not so much anymore. You are paying for the name.
Face it; some Chinese made things are un-avoidable. I bet everyone here has some Chinese items in their possession.
I may have stated earlier that I have the Predator 5000 and do not regret the purchase, especially for $799.00. It powers the whole house minus the clothes dryer. Just have to be aware of the things you are trying to power all at once.
Could have bought a Honda but after lots of research, I went to HF.

[Mags]

... It won't be used unless there are power outages of some duration which aren't really that frequent where I live. ...

Storage suggestion. Some place where rodents - mice and/or squirrels - can't get at it. We had a nice Honda that some rodent made a nest on top of the generator armature casing. Piss got inside, ate through the wire insulation of the field winding shorting it out.

[PBSnooker]

Buy the extended warranty at Harbor Freight if you go that route.

[markiver54]

Buy the extended warranty at Harbor Freight if you go that route.

Good point. We did that as well especially after the discounted price we got. Original price for the 5000 unit was, and maybe still is, $1099.00.

[HenryFan]

Buy the extended warranty at Harbor Freight if you go that route.

Does Harbor Freight honor the extended warranty without unnecessary aggravation?

[markiver54]

Buy the extended warranty at Harbor Freight if you go that route.

Does Harbor Freight honor the extended warranty without unnecessary aggravation?

The 5000 unit that I have is a dual fuel unit, (gas or propane). It's my understanding that, if using gasoline, you just have to empty all gasoline out and then they will just swap it out for a new unit. I use only propane because it's cleaner but you get slightly less run time on propane vs. gasoline.
Oh!...I should add that my 5000 is an inverter type, so it runs quieter and produces cleaner power (sine wave) that is safer for electronics such as TV's and for charging devices.

[Ernie]

That's what I was told.

[clovishound]

If you are going to spend $500 on a generator, look at the Champion that Tractor Supply has for roughly the same price. It has more wattage, and the added advantage of a 30W locking outlet that will allow you to run a high amperage extension to either a cutout box, or into your home with multiple outlets on the end of the cord. The HF unit has a 15 amp three prong outlet.


[urlhttps://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/champ ... ld-2456975][/url]


If you don't have a Tractor Supply near you, Home Depot has a similar model available for $50 more, and it's dual fuel, if that is a plus for you, and has slightly more power.


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Champion-Po ... /323716928