Gererators

[Jon]

I am in the market for a larger generator to run two night lights, surflow pump and possibly a sump pump or some type of reclaim system.

I want total honest answers, good, bad or ugly.

What to stay away from, what to look for and any other information.

I have a Yamaha 1000 now, it is not going to run two lights alone from what I am able to understand.

Speak up all, either here and or by Email to me.

Thanks,

Jon

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Beep beep, the OPC Roadrunner coming through.

Jon Fleischer
Oasis Pressure Cleaning
(909) 792-2247
Fax (909) 792-5633

<FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by Jon on April 09, 2000 ]</font>

 

[Glenn]

Jon,
Divide the total watts of the appliance by the voltage to get amps. Ex. 500 watt light @ 115 volts = 4.4 amp draw. Find amp draw for pumps, etc and total up. Then total amps x voltage = total watts needed. Also, your pump motors will draw more amps at start up verses regular runnung amps. I would figure a 30% surge for start ups. Sounds like maybe a 2500 watt would be enough. Honda makes a real good, quiet one. You would get lots of service from the Honda. We have a lot of Hurricanes here and likewise a lot of power outages. I have a 5000 watt generator I use for these events. My 5000 will run the refrigerator, freezer, radios, T.V., Lights, and Water pump. Hope this helps, just can't tell you what size you need without having the wattage and draw of the appliances you want to run.
Glenn

 

[Randy]

about 8 years ago i bought a coleman 2250 watt generator i have about a gazillon hours on it and last year i had to replace the pull cord. i bought it at sams for about 250 bucks. i was told many many time that it would never hold up and it was junk. i have 3 generators that i use for camping, light sources and that little coleman still sits in the garage as a back up. all have briggs motors and none have failed yet. you dont need to buy a high dollar gen to get a good one.

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Randy Futch
Taylan Property Maintenance Inc.
(352)489-8909

 

[hotwaterwisard]

A 10,000watt Generator is expensive but, it would handle the job and then some. Just don't get a Generac the engine is a part of the generator armature. If your engine goes out you cannot just replace the engine you throw the whole thing away and get a new one. Find one that has two seperate components. Honda, Kabota Kohler,Dayton,ect. They are all good. Check out Graingers line they aren't too bad.

 

[Dave Olson]

Hi Jon,

Glenn is right you need to figure out what your needs are and then size the unit larger than what you think you need. Be sure to consider what your needs may be in the future.

Our main unit is electric and we upgraded the genset about 4 years ago. I figured what we needed and then doubled it! Thats how I ended up with a 45 Kw unit.

Dave Olson


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Tidy Powerwash Service, Inc. P.O. Box 781, Catlin, Illinois 61817 Phone 217-427-5557, Fax 217-427-2632 We are a commercial cleaning contractor serving East-Central Illinois and West Central Indiana since 1984. http://www.tps-inc.com

 

[HI-Pressure]

I think Glenn is on the right track. After working on small engines and pumps for 15 years I would buy either a Honda, Kawasaki, or another Yamaha. As per the Intial start on a pump I would actually figure 40% above it F.L.A. Sorry: Full Load Amps. Most pumps at start have one heck of a inrush surge. Do not buy a Generac or a Coleman: Service center for them for 5 yrs and they are junk. PLEASE BY ALL MEANS PLUG ALL EQUIPMENT INTO A U.L. LISTED GFI DEVICE: will save your life!
By the way: If any of you ever need any help on your engines just email or post me. We prefer Vanguards but work on all of them. Master Dealer for Briggs and Stratton.

Hi-Pressure Solutions
Daren Marshall
(405)359-9497
Mobeydic@msn.com

 

[Lorin Grable]

Hey buddy! Man you are bucking to load that trailer of yours down to the ground !
Anyhow, I got some knowledge about generators. Glen is on the right track about sizing. A good discertation on genset sizing is in thr Grainger catalog, however, I would not buy from Grainger unless they have a real special deal. The Dayton brand is good but in my opinion, you can buy more kW for same money.
There are really two classes of generators - your standard pump out the Volts and amps and don't worry about the 'electrical' noise or variation in frequency. Then there are 'pure power' units that have a cleaner electrical output. Some electronic equipment is sensitive to electrical noise so if you are running electronics with the generator, it would be best to look for a clean power output unit. BUT if you are just running lights and small motors, a run of the mill unit will do just fine. I have a 12000 watt (12kW) Gillette Pro Unit (20 hp Vanguard) - its a moose and takes four people to pick it up. I needed the power to possibly run a welding machine (50 amp service)or numerous heavy duty construction tools simultaneously or my house during power outages. Its now mounted on a separate trailer for ease of transport. Generally, I have seen several power washer dudes using 10 hp units (about 6000 watts). Two guys can muscle that size of units around. But your ultimate power needs are what really drives what you need. Northern catalog is a good place to buy gensets. An stay away from the Generac units - limited locations for repair. Email me if you want more advice.

 

[Jon]

Thanks to all of you, I will do my homework before bothering to look deeper into what is out there. Like you said, I need to know what my total watts shall be and then add to it for future items.

Now Lorin, what fun would it be if my trailer was not a low rider!! You know I will be getting the heavier axles and adding 18 inches to the rear before I add more equipment to it.

I plan to have this generator installed on the trailer and it will be locked or welded in place. Prefer it locked in case we ever need to bring it into our yard when we have one of our seldom power outages out West here.

You all will hear back from me once or even before I buy to do a double check with you. I have made enough errors in the past, like the Yamaha 1000 I have now, it works great for the surflow but enough for the lights I soon will need.

Thanks,
Jon

------------------
Beep beep, the OPC Roadrunner coming through.

Jon Fleischer
Oasis Pressure Cleaning
(909) 792-2247
Fax (909) 792-5633

 

[hotwaterwisard]

Tho reason I said 10,000watts is I recently installed a water reclaim system on a trailer and the customer bought a 5,000 watt generator it did not handel the water reclaim along with a vaccuboom system to pick up the water. He traded it in on a 10,000 watt and he ran everything including a couple of lights to see what he was doing. I could get into all of the math with you like the other guys but, I choose to Keep it simple and easy to understand.