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I'm hoping that someone here can help me with a little advice about portable electric generators.
I have two projects coming up. One project is the restoration of an 1854 house which has been setting boarded up for the past few years. There is no power to this house. The second project is the building of a small cabin in the woods, again off grid. In both cases I will be using my worm drive Skil Saw (13 amps), my Makita Slide Compound Saw (13 amps) and a portable cement mixer (amps unknown at this time). Perhaps I might have a contractor assist me in which case there might be an air compressor in use ((amps unknown at this time). None of these tools would ever be running at the same time.
Can I get by with a 3700 Watts, 206cc gas generator which puts out 2 120 volt - 20 amp circuits?
After these two construction projects I am thinking to use this generator at the cabin for some weekend use like well pumping, charging RV batteries which would light cabin and perhaps a refrigerator on a direct current.
Any assistance or advice is welcomed. Thanks,
Doug
I have two projects coming up. One project is the restoration of an 1854 house which has been setting boarded up for the past few years. There is no power to this house. The second project is the building of a small cabin in the woods, again off grid. In both cases I will be using my worm drive Skil Saw (13 amps), my Makita Slide Compound Saw (13 amps) and a portable cement mixer (amps unknown at this time). Perhaps I might have a contractor assist me in which case there might be an air compressor in use ((amps unknown at this time). None of these tools would ever be running at the same time.
Can I get by with a 3700 Watts, 206cc gas generator which puts out 2 120 volt - 20 amp circuits?
After these two construction projects I am thinking to use this generator at the cabin for some weekend use like well pumping, charging RV batteries which would light cabin and perhaps a refrigerator on a direct current.
Any assistance or advice is welcomed. Thanks,
Doug
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Re: Portable electric generators
Mon, October 5, 2009 - 11:48 AMI would think you would just "get by" with that generator. I built an entire house using a Honda 5.5KW and could use multiple appliances as well as a heavy tool. But if I had too much on the circuit I'd know. The key with saws and electrical engines and such is what they draw on start-up . They really pull heavily on the generator when initially turned on (which means for a skill saw every time you pull the trigger). One with 2 circuits is better so you can run lights etc on one and heavy tools on the other. If the price diff is not much, I might step up a few KW. -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Mon, October 5, 2009 - 1:37 PMheartlandamerica.com
....has several sizes/capacities of field generators, at economy prices. These are no-name, probably asian imports, however heartland has a dependable return policy should there be a satisfaction gap. And the prices are worth it.. -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Mon, October 5, 2009 - 7:11 PMThanks guys, I think I will step up to 5000 watts and I will check out Heartland. I am also looking into LP and Diesel. I'm hoping that a LP generator might be quieter?? I'm also thinking about diesel because I know that they last much longer than gas engines although diesel is probably pretty loud. -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Mon, October 5, 2009 - 8:17 PMI've been doing a lot of research on these lately. Mine, mainly being for rv use off grid. I figure a 3750/3250 will do it for me. Pretty much decided on Generac, American made with a 2 yr wtty. I found this site with better prices than Amazon.
www.generatorsforless.com/produ...2.html
I too, thought about propane. Seems to me that noise level is about the same. Once you are out of propane, thats it. One can always syphen gas out of a vehicle. diesel, probably not a bad choice. -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Tue, October 6, 2009 - 3:11 PMAnother factor is the run cost. That 3250 will cost about $7.50 an hour to run ( @ $2.50 a gal.) and that is at half load ! 3 gal. an hour , times how many hours a week ? That's a lot of gas to haul ! And if you're concerned, there are NO pollution control measures on gas gen's -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Wed, October 7, 2009 - 5:33 PMDan, how does a propane generator compare to the gas model described. The cost of gas could add up fast. Thanks -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Thu, October 8, 2009 - 6:32 AMpropane engines are usually higher fuel consumption than gasoline ones, at least the ones I've used in vehicles. For instance, we had a Datsun truck with a fleet-installed propane engine (can't remember now whcat it was) that got about 12 MPG instead of 25 expected for that truck, and friends of mine had a 1970's small (6-cylinder I think) van that they converted that got 9 MPG rather than the 15 you'd get with the original gasoline engine. -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Sat, October 10, 2009 - 8:56 AM.
girl marks...
I wonder if the variation in MPG has to do with Gasoline being a liquid (compressed gas) and propane being a gas?
interesting though...I have never thought of that...
Like you have this big ol propane (or natural gas) tank added to your car and you start thinking how far you could drive with it... and then... nope!
. -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: Portable electric generators
Sat, October 10, 2009 - 12:47 PMIt has much more to do with BTU's avail for each fuel. Gasoline is simply more efficient (when measured by the gallon). I don't care for the smell of propane vehicles much. There are some benefits though. -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Sat, October 10, 2009 - 8:26 PMHeavier molecular weight almost always translates into more energy produced per volume measurement of fuel.
ERGO: Diesels are more fuel conservative so long as they are built to be so.
However, some fuels are simply delightful to work with no matter the energy per cubic measure such as Ethanol. It's so damn forgiving you can literally flood an engine with the stuff and still get top performance out of the motor . And the cool flames out the tail pipe is always a plus.
Propane is a Pain in the Ass because it's so smelly and makes the place humid.
On the up side, there is lots of it.
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Re: Portable electric generators
Sat, November 14, 2009 - 6:27 AMHave you looked into building a wood gasifier system? www.gengas.nu/byggbes/index.shtml This is a very helpful site to explain its use and build. I am collecting the components for my next summer project. A lot of youtube entries as well. One actually running a portable generator. wood for fuel really gets you more self sufficient.
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Re: Portable electric generators
Tue, October 6, 2009 - 10:10 AMOne thing you may consider... if noise level (and fuel efficiency) is a key is the Honda EU Inverter series generators... They are pricier but there are some very good reasons to consider them. They have 3000 and 6500 W versions... I know people that actually link multiple 3000 units together (at burning man) to create a mini-grid. I have to say that when I lived off the grid I was glad I bought a Honda for the quality and reliability... I put about 3000+ hours on one with no major mechanical problems. -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Wed, October 7, 2009 - 6:02 PMJust out of general curiosity... Can these generators be run through your household 120v / 60 hz system in the case of power outages? (We get those several times per year where I live.) I wonder this because it would be great to be able to use lights, and simple appliances from the outlets - i.e., run current through the panel.
Seems to me it could be done, though I can see that you might need to diconnect your main breaker from the public grid while using the gen as a back-up.
Anybody know? -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Thu, October 8, 2009 - 12:08 AMYa having a backup generator is pretty common in rural settings, like farms for instance.
And ya, you'll have to rig a switch selecting either normal grid powerlines or your home generator as power source -- not both at once. -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Thu, October 8, 2009 - 7:01 AMAfter doin a little more research and still having not bought one I calculated this coming from a duel fuel generator.
Mp5500DF500 13 watt 4cycle... on Amazon
6.5gal x 2.50 gal = 16.25 divided by 10 hrs = $1.62 per hour.
propane... 6 hrs per tank.. 5 gal, $20.00 per tank, =$3.30 per hour.
soundboutright? -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Thu, October 8, 2009 - 7:09 AMDan, I do believe your figure above of $7.50 per hour to run a generator is actually 75 cents per hour. I kept mullin that over and did some more math. -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Thu, October 8, 2009 - 10:39 AMNo, that gen. burns abt 3 gal an hour x $2.50 per gal = $7.50 an hour at half load, keep mulling -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Thu, October 8, 2009 - 11:42 AMFrom the web site (www.generatorsforless.com/produ....html) listed, the 3250 generator burns fuel at about 0.3 gal/hr (50% load). A 4 gallon tank and a run time of 13.5 hours. At $2.50 per gallon that works out to about $0.75 per hour.
I dare say that if it cost $7.50 per hour to run nobody would use one.
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Re: Portable electric generators
Thu, October 8, 2009 - 11:55 AMWhy I like the Inverter Generators.
At full rated load...
the 3000 burns 1/2 gal per hour ($1.25/hour at your $2.50per gal. rate)
the 5000 burns on gal per hour ($2.50/hour)
AT 1/4 load the inverters REALLY save bigtime (and get quieter) because the engine does not have to maintain the same RPM
3000 runs .17 gal per hour ( $.43 per hour)
5000 runs at .3 gal per hour ( $.80/hour)
If you are using the generator for primary house power off the grid where the generator is on for longer periods... this will save LOTS of money and refueling time. Think 120-240 hours a month... then think about the cost per hour and the quantity of fuel. -
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Re: Portable electric generators
Thu, October 8, 2009 - 12:19 PMNorman says...
>>> I dare say that if it cost $7.50 per hour to run nobody would use one.<<<
Aint it the truth. a decimal out of place can mean power or no power.
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Re: Portable electric generators - INVERTERS
Sat, October 10, 2009 - 9:07 AM.
Dano
I have to be real clear abut my ignorance about inverters.
and maybe it is the "if it ain't big - it can't be strong" mentality that I have to confess as well.
I have a small inverter welder (lincoln) I bought last year.
it weighs 7 pounds, is the size of a ream of paper.
I also have a big Millermatic the size and weight of a pony.
they are rated nearly the same; duty cycle and amperage output.
and for all intents and purposes they work just as strong and as hard.
but, I just can't get over thinking... "yeah it works now, but it will surely break down soon... I HAVE to be overloading it."
SO... do they last as long?
have any of us heard of inverters burning out?
any one have experiences with inverters? Good or bad?
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Re: Portable electric generators - INVERTERS
Sat, October 10, 2009 - 10:11 AMYes, it's not counter-intuitive to get them bigger for that.
Get the fattest wattage you can for high-draw items.
sportsmansguide.com
sometimes has end-of-model-run half price closeouts on name brand 1000 -5000+ watt inverters
..... as does heartland.com .
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