Originally Posted By drmgallen:


That is expensive gas to burn in the lawn mower.  It is Chevron Premium mixed with Motul 800 (premium Ester oil).  I run it in my dirt bike...

It probably best to run the straight gas...but I had to burn that gas somewhere... my lawn is very small and it is down to its last few mowings before it goes dormant...

Originally Posted By KosmoC:
This is a great thread for both generator newbies and those of us that have been doing this for awhile now.

My setup here includes both a Honda EU2000i I've been running for 10 years now, and a Champion 3500/4000 I got as a back-up/loaner to anyone who needs it.  The survival forum has been instrumental in helping me set myself up in a way that gives me options and redundancy.  

My main issues I face here are ice storms, blizzards, and the occasional microburst or tornado that knocks out overhead wires during nasty conditions with all of the old growth trees we have around here, and alot of the time could be during subzero conditions where lugging out and starting a generator isn't high on my priority list, but heating the house and keeping the sump pump working during fall storms or spring snowmelt are important, as is the food supply and of course, internet and connectivity we all enjoy.  

I simply flip the main and go off grid, and plug my house in from my power inlet box, and I have power to all circuits in the house, but only 120v ac on both P1 and P2.  This gives me a running gas furnace, fridge and a second freezer, LED lighting inside and out, internet/TV or what have you, with enough headroom left over to start the sump pump if need be, with only the little Honda.

Regarding small engines and break-in procedures, I'd like to touch on a couple issues if I may.  Every engine has a different time to change the first oil, whether it's 5 hours, 10 or 20.  There is a reason for this, and those of you who have compression testers know what I mean.  Higher end engines have tighter tolerances and take longer to break in, and cheaper engines are not made the same way, using piston rings and cylinder walls that are not as tightly machined.  Take a brand new engine and compression test it right out of the box.  The piston ring or "rings" if you have a better engine that has 2, will blow about 140-142 psi.  This is the rings and cylinder wall getting to know each other when they are new, with alot of leakage past the rings, lowering the number until the parts "mate" to each other.

Having said that, the small bits of metal dust that get trapped in the oil are actually needed as a light abrasive to better seat the rings to the cylinder.  Once those are removed, the compression will stop increasing, and the break-in stops.  We all want clean oil of course, but leaving the "dirty" oil in the machine will increase compression into the 145-148 psi range, and the engine will be happy from that point forward.

Originally Posted By Desert_AIP:


That 8750/7000 is actually a pretty nice unit.
The power isn't as clean as the two 3500s, and it's louder, but you do get 240V that you can't with inverter units.
It has gotten solid reviews and recommendations from Consumer Reports for the past 5 years or so.  I've had mine for 3 years now.
I have the propane kit for it but I haven't installed it yet.

Originally Posted By MRW:
HF exchanged my Predator 2000 and the manager griped about where they put the low oil sensor, said it was stupid and he had to disconnect the sensor on his generator.  Apparently it is a known issue with them. Can anyone can show me where or how to disconnect the low oil sensor (if I have to)?

the new one powered up and is now in break-in mode with my mom's oxygen machine and the TV as load. 

From the post about break in times and compression, should I let this one run longer than 8 hours before the first oil change?

Originally Posted By Bones45:
Thanks for the information, it makes a lot of sense.  Unfortunately it's a harbor freight 4000/3200 and no wiring diagram is in the manual.

Originally Posted By Skibane:
Even so, it's never a bad idea to stop a portable* generator every 6 hours or so to check the oil level - at which time you can top off the fuel tank.

Originally Posted By Skibane:


There's an exploded parts diagram on pages 21-22 in the [url=https://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/69000-69999/69728.pdf]Owner's manual.

The AVR module (or "Voltage Regulator") is Item No. 129, and the "Brush Subassembly" is Item No. 131.

So your generator has AVR, and should produce decent-quality power without needing a UPS.

Originally Posted By Skibane:


There's an exploded parts diagram on pages 21-22 in the [url=https://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/69000-69999/69728.pdf]Owner's manual.

The AVR module (or "Voltage Regulator") is Item No. 129, and the "Brush Subassembly" is Item No. 131.

So your generator has AVR, and should produce decent-quality power without needing a UPS.

Originally Posted By Gamma762:
Could someone with one of the Quip-all generators (or the presumed-to-be-identical Generac model) please test an AM radio connected to the generator, and if you'd happen to have a CB, shortwave receiver or HF amateur radio also.

Originally Posted By Gamma762:
Could someone with one of the Quip-all generators (or the presumed-to-be-identical Generac model) please test an AM radio connected to the generator, and if you'd happen to have a CB, shortwave receiver or HF amateur radio also.

Also interested to know if it has a fuel pump so that it can use an external tank like the Hondas. The fuel cap that looks like it has a smaller cap in the center makes me wonder if that is what it is used for.

Originally Posted By danpass:
Just an FYI to those new to owning gennys, the little things:

Have a dedicated container.  

I have two, one is a Walmart StyleWorks Tough Tote that is similar to the 8gal Rubbermaid ActionPacker (except that the lid flips instead of separating and the edge of the base won't try to suicide you by slitting your wrists like the ActionPacker might .  It took me a while to find this Walmart model.)

The other is one of those small $5 flip lid toolboxes.  In there I have funnels, open gas caps (to use the funnel), closed gas caps, spark plugs (and wrench) and other small items related to the generator and fuel cans.  This tool box fits inside the Tough Tote.

The other stuff inside the Tote is a heavy chain and lock, 10ft generator cord terminated with L14-30, a TT30 to L14-30 hots-bridged pigtail adapter, oil funnel and a couple of quarts of suitable oil, air filters.

(On the house side is an L14-30 power inlet wired to a dedicated breaker in the electrical panel which has the appropriate mechanical interlock.  This way I can use any generator up to 7,500w)


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4443/37420385391_f50ac6cee1_c.jpgDedicated generator box by Dan Passaro, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4344/37163204420_f0a056bdea_c.jpgDedicated generator box by Dan Passaro, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/37420384871_31bb8b44b3_c.jpgDedicated generator box by Dan Passaro, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4366/37163203850_ace034119e_c.jpgDedicated generator box by Dan Passaro, on Flickr

Originally Posted By danpass:
Just an FYI to those new to owning gennys, the little things:

Have a dedicated container.  

I have two, one is a Walmart StyleWorks Tough Tote that is similar to the 8gal Rubbermaid ActionPacker (except that the lid flips instead of separating and the edge of the base won't try to suicide you by slitting your wrists like the ActionPacker might .  It took me a while to find this Walmart model.)

The other is one of those small $5 flip lid toolboxes.  In there I have funnels, open gas caps (to use the funnel), closed gas caps, spark plugs (and wrench) and other small items related to the generator and fuel cans.  This tool box fits inside the Tough Tote.

The other stuff inside the Tote is a heavy chain and lock, 10ft generator cord terminated with L14-30, a TT30 to L14-30 hots-bridged pigtail adapter, oil funnel and a couple of quarts of suitable oil, air filters.

(On the house side is an L14-30 power inlet wired to a dedicated breaker in the electrical panel which has the appropriate mechanical interlock.  This way I can use any generator up to 7,500w)


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4443/37420385391_f50ac6cee1_c.jpgDedicated generator box by Dan Passaro, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4344/37163204420_f0a056bdea_c.jpgDedicated generator box by Dan Passaro, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/37420384871_31bb8b44b3_c.jpgDedicated generator box by Dan Passaro, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4366/37163203850_ace034119e_c.jpgDedicated generator box by Dan Passaro, on Flickr

Originally Posted By danpass:

Unfortunately no.  But making a 0.6 qt container is on my list, just fill and dump, enough of trying to measure with that little stick at an angle

Originally Posted By MRW:
I was poking around and found this. Will it work for the HF2000?

www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZSAS82

Originally Posted By Gamma762:

Thank you. Interesting in that the Honda is reported in other places to be RF-quiet.


"Dirty power" usually just refers to the quality of the AC sine wave that is produced at ~60Hz. Interference at radio frequencies (thousands of times higher in frequency) is generally remnants of the switching power conversion circuitry which is not sufficiently filtered in the design.  A UPS will not fix that. There are some specialty AC line filters that would help. Ferrites could help, just depends on the severity of the problem and how it's being conducted out of the generator. A ground connection at the generator might help, especially in conjunction with some other filtering.

Originally Posted By itstock:
I know some people claim that the extension cord and ground rod help with the interference

Originally Posted By MRW:
I was poking around and found this. Will it work for the HF2000?

www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZSAS82

Originally Posted By Banditman:
I don't know why people think AM is so important anyway.

Originally Posted By Banditman:
I don't know why people think AM is so important anyway. During Irma our local
FM stations were on full fledged disaster information during and after the storm moved through.

Originally Posted By Gamma762:

AM is an indication of whether it also makes noise in the shortwave/HF bands, if you're trying to do disaster communications that is important. AM broadcast stations can be helpful especially if you're in a remote area.

Originally Posted By Amish_Bill:
Don't confuse "Uncommon" or "Doesn't affect me" with "Unimportant."

Originally Posted By Skibane:


Any time your local stations go off the air - even in a good-sized city - You're in the "remote" category.

AM is also useful for getting detailed, up-to-date news out of distant cities, particularly during disasters.

Originally Posted By Banditman:

... Most of us are not operating HAM stations.

Originally Posted By Skibane:


Any time your local stations go off the air - even in a good-sized city - You're in the "remote" category.

AM is also useful for getting detailed, up-to-date news out of distant cities, particularly during disasters.

Originally Posted By Amish_Bill:
...Again, just because a detail is not important to you or anyone you know, that detail does not become unworthy of discussion. 

Originally Posted By Banditman:

Please give me an example of this happening.

Originally Posted By meh_:


Here in the nature coast of FL we lost about half the FM stations after Irma. Now granted we are pretty remote so we are on the edge of the coverage area for many of them, so they may have lowered their transmitting power while on generators.

Pretty sure all stations were offline in PR after Maria.

Originally Posted By KosmoC:


Puerto Rico has no functioning radio stations at this time, and the WSR-88D radar station was destroyed.  The meteorologists at least had a sense of humor in thier last official post:

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/72570/IMG_20171001_193811-322546.JPG

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/72570/IMG_20171001_193818-322547.JPG

There is spotty cell service, but ham and other radio operations that are now in place are the only means of communication they have.  All normal radio stations to inform the people simply don't exist anymore.

Originally Posted By Veccio:
Anyone find any units available that are made in the US? Or even preferably a non commie country? 

Originally Posted By Banditman:



And how many of us live in PR?