Looking for advice on generators

I'd take a free electric any day !!! Scrap value ?? Body of a yard art robot ??

 

Why not just play with 3 phase now ?? ANY 3 phase motor will give you the 3rd leg running as a rotary. Somewhat free also. Look it up on the web or I'm sure some Tesla wannabe has a YouTube video on it. If you do any machining instant reverse is a Godsend. We will routinely take motors up to 15hp from full speed forward to full speed reverse, called plugging. Makes cool spaceship sounds to.

 

Reminds me of the time, as an apprentice machinist, I was drilling and tapping 1/4-20 holes in steel on a Bridgeport mill. Drilling at 1200 rpm, why not tapping too? The boss walked up behind me to see me throwing it into reverse about 2 threads from the bottom of the tap. I was making great time up to that point.

 

I probably should toss this out also.
Ever considered a welder ? Anyone who is considering a high end genny should think about it. I have (OK the shop has) a Miller trailblazer 325 EFI with Excel power. Price is competitive with a genny and it WELDS !!!!! Puts out enough wattage for the average household. And she's quiet !! And did I mention it WELDS ! Make your own tractor, splitter what have you. If you think about it correctly by money saved on homemade equipment and repairs it's FREE !! Almost irresponsible NOT to buy one !!!!

 

that's true also but most dnot come with electric start...

 

Your Boss was a Jack Assparagus !! If my guys DIDN'T do that I'd kick them in the arse !!! After a gazillion instant reversals a Bridgeport will wear out a sacrificial lined keyway. 1/2 hour of time cheap as dirt. And I have several procunier heads some on dedicated machines. Dumbass people in charge........ WTF.......At labor rates what they are ?????? Werz my blood pressure meds.

 

I can get key fob start on mine. Er the "shops"

 

good option then

 

Noise can be dealt with other ways, a foam lined, open topped box made of plywood will knock the Db down on a cheaper unit.
Just make sure it has good clearance around the generator for cooling and exhaust.
Also make sure whatever you get has a big tank.
My parents got an ear splitting Coleman with a tecumseh motor, the gen is a beast, but has a tiny lawnmower sized tank.
They have to refill the tank every two hours.
My Subaru Robin has a 5 gallon tank and under normal conditions I refill it every 12 hours. I never have run it out yet.

 

This has been a fascinating thread to say the least but, you guys are really thinking small and behind the times as far as I am concerned. As for me, I am saving my pennies up for some of these.

Yes, Dilithium crystals. I shall rule the world!
Hey, it beats running a small fan offin a potato.

 

OK so you have a running generator that does the job and like me not swimming in money. Can you post the engine specs please ? If it's a Breaks and Scatters they will be almost illegibly faintly stamped on the blower housing. I'll see what information I can dig up, I'm hoping this is one of the older green units with a L head Briggs. From your electric bill being small I'd say 7500 is plenty. It snorts because of the governor on the engine reacting to the sudden load while dutifully holding rpm at 60ish Hz. It is also large enough that a electric start version had to be available. Hopefully the machine work has been done to the block. Hopefully one of us closet junk engine horders will have some parts. A picture of the recoil taken looking straight on would be great.

 

I have a couple of generators that I got for free because they did not work. One is a Honda EU5000 and the other a Subaru 5000W generator. I have already repaired them by the way.

Ok here is my 2 cents. No one has mentioned inverter generators here. They are very expensive but use electronics to produce the final power output. The reason I mention them is that certain electronics in your home are very sensitive to incoming power. Regular generators do not have the cleanest power around and can sometimes damage these items. Stuff like flat screen TV's, Computers, and some appliances that are computer controlled like refrigerators and wash machines. What I did was to buy a 12V inverter and then connected to my RV and winch batteries when I am not using them. The batteries I will charge with the generator. The inverter was a much cheaper route to go. If you want some more info google inverter generators and why they make them.

 

I am sure I could do this off my 48v golF cart. But I really do not have many fancy electronics . I guess cell phones and a flat tv that cost $150. We rarely use the laptop. And don't normally do laundry when power out. We do have a brand new washer so it has a board. Out microwave is a smaller counter unit as well.

 

I like having access to the TV during power outages so that was the main reason I bought an inverter. I have already tried it out and it works great. I put a small digital volt meter and a DC amp meter on the power going into the invertor so I can monitor how the batteries are doing. I am very pleased with it and only have about 200 dollars invested in it. I only mention it because it is just another option for anyone to consider.

 

Oh I watch TV like a boss when power is out. My main tv is a 32" like people laugh at though. Big CRT one. I love TV but don't care what kind it is. That's not my thing and I don't care or show off how big my tv is?

 

My power bill without AC or heat other than wood stove is $145. I think I could not be in my house all month and it cost more that that???

My farm property that if I am never at during month, no heat or AC. Just a house upright top bottom refrigerator and a stand up freezer. And a few clocks, and a few CFL bulbs on at night the power bill is like $30/month!!

 

Dennis got a good 1200v inverter if you need it just got to find it... when nephew was little had a nebulizer so genie and inverter was a necessity!