• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Electrical generators - what makes a good one?

S

spidey07

No Lifer
I've been meaning to get one and a buddy is selling a coleman generator for a good price. But I have no idea what actually makes a "good" generator? Is it the motor, the fuel tank, the HP, the electrical output, the electrical options, etc? This is really the portable ones you see on wheels.

This one in question is Coleman PM0545007
 
Portable generators seem to fall into two classes with the higher class having quieter operation, supposedly cleaner power, honest power numbers, and longer life. Once divided into one of those two classes then usually prices are determined by power output. Along the line there you'll see options like low oil shut off, etc. I own a cheaper Generac and my main concern is to power up refrigerators, freezer, and my furnace. I've never even hooked up a TV or computer to it so I can't speak to any dirty power it might put out, if it does.

You need to add up the power you'll need. The average refrigerator uses 600 watts, but needs 2200 watts of surge power on startup.

EDIT: you'll never be able power central air until you start going over 10,000 watts.
 
Last edited:
It really depends on your intended usage. The one you listed has very little info on it on the web. I'd assume it is a typical 3600 RPM briggs or tecumseh powered construction style generator. Those are fine for occasional usage, construction and the odd power outage.
Upsides: cheap and light, easy to get parts.
Downsides: noisy, use a lot of gas, do need to get those parts as they break, and noisy. Did I mention noisy?
Honda makes them light, but not cheap. Not as noisy. much more reliable.

If you want to provide many hours if not days of backup power, you'd be better served with an 1800 RPM unit.
 
skyking said:
It really depends on your intended usage. The one you listed has very little info on it on the web. I'd assume it is a typical 3600 RPM briggs or tecumseh powered construction style generator. Those are fine for occasional usage, construction and the odd power outage.
Upsides: cheap and light, easy to get parts.
Downsides: noisy, use a lot of gas, do need to get those parts as they break, and noisy. Did I mention noisy?
Honda makes them light, but not cheap. Not as noisy. much more reliable.

If you want to provide many hours if not days of backup power, you'd be better served with an 1800 RPM unit.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That's the kind of feedback I was looking for. I'd like days to provide basic power, AC would be a nice to have but I assume I'd need something beefy to do that. Next home will have a full blown permanent generator to power the whole house.

Buddy is a builder so he probably got what he needed for his needs. Run a few power tools.
 
Caracteristicas.JPG
 
Well I bought it for 230 bucks. 6000 watt and it has a 220v/20 amp output and 4x120/20 amp. Briggs&straton motor.

Is there a way I can hook this into my electrical panel or should I plug devices directly into it? It'd be nice to have HVAC blower and AC going if needed. Apparently you can plug the generator output into one of your 220v 3 phase outlets and now you're powering your whole house? Of course you must turn off your main panel/breaker before doing so.
 
Last edited:
spidey07 said:
Well I bought it for 230 bucks. 6000 watt and it has a 220v/20 amp output and 4x120/20 amp. Briggs&straton motor.

Is there a way I can hook this into my electrical panel or should I plug devices directly into it? It'd be nice to have HVAC blower and AC going if needed. Apparently you can plug the generator output into one of your 220v 3 phase outlets and now you're powering your whole house? Of course you must turn off your main panel/breaker before doing so.
Click to expand...


It will work that way, but not optimally. Becuase your running all your power through a single 22Ov breaker so you will be limited to the amps of that breaker be it 30 or 50amp. And as you can see by the chart Squisher provided your 6000 watts won't power much in your home. The largest central system listed on the chart is only a 2 ton unit and it pulls 3800w, my AC is 3 1/2 ton and I have a small three bedroom. Not unusual for say a 2500 sqft home to have 4 or 5 tons. and if you have a heat pump the numbers go higher. But if you leave the HVAC off you could power a fridge, some small lights, and a TV or computer no problem.
 
Last edited:
GuitarDaddy said:
It will work that way, but not optimally. Becuase your running all your power through a single 22Ov breaker so you will be limited to the amps of that breaker be it 30 or 50amp. And as you can see by the chart Squisher provided your 6000 watts won't power much in your home. The largest central system listed on the chart is only a 2 ton unit and it pulls 3800w, my AC is 3 1/2 ton and I have a small three bedroom. Not unusual for say a 2500 sqft home to have 4 or 5 tons. and if you have a heat pump the numbers go higher. But if you leave the HVAC off you could power a fridge, some small lights, and a TV or computer no problem.
Click to expand...

I see. I've only got roughly 4000 watts from that output (220/20 amp) so I see the point. I guess if I really needed to I could run the AC. The blower wouldn't be much of a problem if I needed heat and frankly I've got enough warm gear/clothes that I wouldn't need it. I've got a few outlets in my home that are 220/30 amp.

I was trying to get around doing any electrical work to accomodate, but I can. Next home will have a whole house generator.
 
spidey07 said:
Well I bought it for 230 bucks. 6000 watt and it has a 220v/20 amp output and 4x120/20 amp. Briggs&straton motor.

Is there a way I can hook this into my electrical panel or should I plug devices directly into it? It'd be nice to have HVAC blower and AC going if needed. Apparently you can plug the generator output into one of your 220v 3 phase outlets and now you're powering your whole house? Of course you must turn off your main panel/breaker before doing so.
Click to expand...

And if you forget to do that or someone flips the main breaker to see if power has been restored you'll be sending power back through the supply lines and could kill someone working to restore your power.

This why they make things called transfer switches. They're really not all that hard to install and tons of people buy them and never get around to installing them. I see them for ~$150 for a six circuit ones all the time on craigslist.
 
Squisher said:
And if you forget to do that or someone flips the main breaker to see if power has been restored you'll be sending power back through the supply lines and could kill someone working to restore your power.

This why they make things called transfer switches. They're really not all that hard to install and tons of people buy them and never get around to installing them. I see them for ~$150 for a six circuit ones all the time on craigslist.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I want to be safe and not put any workers in danger. I do a lot of data center design work and we have automatic transfer switches and a power engineer on staff. Think I'll pick his brain some more as well. He's the guy that said "for that price, buy it, buy it now"

I'll gladly spend a few hundred to keep my house and any workers safe.
 
Last edited:
spidey07 said:
Well I bought it for 230 bucks. 6000 watt and it has a 220v/20 amp output and 4x120/20 amp. Briggs&straton motor.

Is there a way I can hook this into my electrical panel or should I plug devices directly into it? It'd be nice to have HVAC blower and AC going if needed. Apparently you can plug the generator output into one of your 220v 3 phase outlets and now you're powering your whole house? Of course you must turn off your main panel/breaker before doing so.
Click to expand...

1. You do not have 3 phase outlets in your house.
2. It is illegal to connect a generator in the manner that you're suggesting, and even with the main panel off, you can kill a linesman if you have a poor ground in the house.
 
with a generator of that size, I would not bother with a transfer switch. I'd drag out a couple of cords and run the fridge/freezer every few hours, some lights in the evening, charge up some battery powered stuff.
They make power OK, but are not efficient. I can't see letting them run for hours and hours on end.
Fridge and frezer will stay cold for half a day if you keep the door closed.
Last time we had a decent 2 day outage, I went around to friend's houses and hit thier fridges/freezers for a couple of hours each. I left the generator in the truck and drug a cord in. Nobody lost any food.
 
skyking said:
with a generator of that size, I would not bother with a transfer switch. I'd drag out a couple of cords and run the fridge/freezer every few hours, some lights in the evening, charge up some battery powered stuff.
They make power OK, but are not efficient. I can't see letting them run for hours and hours on end.
Fridge and frezer will stay cold for half a day if you keep the door closed.
Last time we had a decent 2 day outage, I went around to friend's houses and hit thier fridges/freezers for a couple of hours each. I left the generator in the truck and drug a cord in. Nobody lost any food.
Click to expand...

That's a brilliant idea. AFAIK, only 2 of us in my neighborhood have generators. We've been lucky for a few years now - since we moved in actually. The neighbors pointed out where our electricity comes from and how we're at the end of a long line. When there are widespread outages from trees going down and stuff, it can be a matter of days until power is returned. Longest we've been without power is about 6 hours. I have yet to use our generator - until we make it longer than about 6 hours, it's just not worth the bother. As you've pointed out, food in fridges and freezers will be fine for that span of time. I do need to make some alterations to my water pump though - it's hard wired. I need it to add a plug so I can run it off the generator. Heat is plugged in, so I'm fine there. We have one smart phone so we can get weather forecasts or whatever, so there's no need for a more expensive generator than what we have, which probably doesn't have nice clean sine waves.
 
We got some from hurricane Ike and ice storms are typical with many day outages if not more depending on area/service.

A few years ago folks were 4-8 weeks without power.
 
We have a 6000W Honda 240V which I keep in our shed. When the power goes out, I transfer out to the shed and backfeed the house. We have a 240V well pump, and in Michigan, a sump pump that needs 120V (although it has its own battery backup if we're not around). I've used it 4 times already this year. We live on a dead end road, and we seem to be the last to get power back when it goes.

The Honda is quiet, and has *never* needed more than 1 pull to start.
 
skyking said:
with a generator of that size, I would not bother with a transfer switch. I'd drag out a couple of cords and run the fridge/freezer every few hours, some lights in the evening, charge up some battery powered stuff.
They make power OK, but are not efficient. I can't see letting them run for hours and hours on end.
Fridge and frezer will stay cold for half a day if you keep the door closed.
Last time we had a decent 2 day outage, I went around to friend's houses and hit thier fridges/freezers for a couple of hours each. I left the generator in the truck and drug a cord in. Nobody lost any food.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I did, minus the friends. I used a 1kw inverter hooked up to my Jeep, and it powered everything I needed. It's a bit of a PITA swapping out cords, but for ~$100, and the fact that it goes with me in the Jeep, I can live with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top