Gas Generators.

I’ve been looking at some of these Chinese Import Generators available at Northern Tool, and some of the Auto Part Stores in the area such as Checker >>> http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?categorycode=3483C&mfrcode=CPE&mfrpartnumber=C46535

My research so far has given these generators a pretty good rating. What I need to know is any IDA’ers have any first hand experience with these? Good/Bad/Ugly? Also, please no “Buy American”. There is not an American company that can come anywhere close to competing with these. It obvious that the market is currently flooded with these and the time appears right to “Make a Move” and up my “Cylinder Index”, if ya know what I mean!

Thanks,
-J.

My dad bought one for Rita and it shut off every hour and wouldnt come back on for another 30 min or so. He took it back and said it was junk..

Dang. I thought this was a post about mexican recipes.

Derek,

So, was that the gas motor that shut down or the generator quit working?

-J.

The whole thing would shut down. It wouldnt even run a fan.He jumpered the circut breaker and oil shut off switch. He couldnt figure out anything else and gave up. The store he bought it from said they had more come back that did the same thing.

Jon, I didn’t research the generator you are looking at…However back in early ’99 before the Y2K scare I did.

At that time Generac seemed the best to me…although Honda would have been a better choice if I could have afforded the premium money!

Naturally, since I’ve bought it my powers only been out a few times and only for a few minutes…with one exception. Otherwise I’ve been testing the system twice a year to ensure it’s ready when I need it.

I bought the 5000 watt model. Not a bit of problems. It runs my whole house…except the air conditioner…and if I would turn off the other things in the house that weren’t needed..it would run that too.

PS I wasn’t looking for american…just what would do the job that I needed to for…cost with wheels and handle was around $800. + wiring.

Not familiar with that generator but when I was looking to buy a generator a few years back here is what I found out.Yes you can spend less money but if you are looking for something that you plan on running a lot and you want it quiet and reliable and very easy on gas you can narrow it down to a Honda.Now if it was something I was going to use very little and didnt mind the noise I may have considered something cheaper like a coleman but what it boils down to in generators you get what you pay for.

When these cheap units started popping up, they caught my interest. There is a big market in the RV world for generators. Over on RV.net, (Message board for RV’er) guys have been running them with mostly favorable results. I’ve got a few messages this morning from guys running similar units with no problems.

These 6.5 hp OHV motors are almost exact clones of the Honda’s and the generators are brushless and the only wear parts are bearings. Regular maintenance should keep these things going for a long time.

I guess at $300 bucks, it’s almost a throw away unit after the 1-year warrant expires. I can’t justify paying over $1000 for a unit that only puts out 800-1000 watts.

Any more comments welcome!

-J.

Are these suppose to be as quiet as a Honda too?

The Honda 6.5 OHV is not as quiet as the smaller “Portable” units marketed for campers. But yes, the knock off units are as quiet as the Hondas.

I’ve had a 10kw since y2k (home), 2 # 7.5kw’s (work), plus an 80kw at the office …. the 3 small ones are Generac, the larger one is a cat, w/deere engine (new, 2 months ago, haven’e needed it yet) … pleased with all.
barry

Jon, I have a Coleman 4600 watt 9 hp that I have for power outages up on the lake. I have it hooked up on a 2o amp 220volt outlet………it will run most of the needed things in the house. The heat, refrig.,lights. I picked it up used after 2000 for $400.00