$150 warehouse

20 hrs on the Torch plugs...

The one on our left was broken in on pre-mix...the right one is on straight gas...

Placed the magnetic oil plugs and installed the Denso plugs (gap was right on)...started up on the first pull...

Harbor Freight must of thought about this spark plug thing...they actually had a rubber dough-nut inside the spark plug tool to hold the spark plug as it is being changed...

Attached File

and another one







sportsman gen2000i generator
sportsman is a brand name that the buffalo corp is giving to their generator
division - buffalo tools are seen at various places.

   

• Description
• Member reviews & questions
• Policies & plans

            Description With the Sportsman Series 2000 Watt Inverter Generator, sine-wave power
delivers clean, stable and reliable power, making it safe for use with sensitive electronics. You will no longer have to leave your tablets, computers, and televisions at home.
This generator is great for use at home or on the go with an RV or camper. Fire up Sportsman Series 2000 surge watt generator at football games or while camping and scouting. The 1700 running watt inverter generator can even be used as a portable power source on industrial projects and job sites. Designed with camping and outdoor fun in mind, the Sportsman Inverter Generator is equipped with two 120V AC outlets, and one 12 Volt DC outlet for battery charging.


   Specifications

• 2000 peak surge watts / 1700 rated running watts
• Run time: 4.5 hours at 50% load
• Two 120V AC outlets
• One 12 Volt DC outlet
• Low oil shutdown, oil capacity: 25 oz., SAE 10W30
• 1-gallon fuel tank
• 2.75 HP, 4,500 RPM, 99cc, 4 stroke
• Recoil start
• Noise level: 60db with no load
• EPA approved, Non-CARB compliant
• Not for sale in California

at samsclub on sale for 5 more days for $294, free ship to samsclub
https://www.samsclub.com/sams/2000w-generator-sine-wave-inverter/prod21372782.ip?xid=hpg:shocking:3:2#


also sold under the name dirtyhands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WyfRKMfwME

also adventure kings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNWqJ5BdPuY


here is a review of the 800w/1000w peak sportsman 1000i generator that was discussed here on arfcom a while back, available for $198
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbJ0UIwNyec

the person here says the engine is a chinese scooter company, and been around and so is likely to know what it is doing with engines.

Ok, I pulled the trigger on this.  I needed a beater genny.  So this one has the duty!

would this work on the 3500?

That was a weird double tap.

Well i've run mine about another 40 hours. Hasn't missed a beat.

I ran on ECO mode over the weekend running 4 LED shop lights for about 12 hours total. This thing seriously sips fuel.

Think i'm going to change the oil again and back to work she goes.

I have no idea. I have the Predator 2000. Just looking at the threads, they look the same as Briggs & Stratton engine oil fill threads. Might be a common thread for small engines.

During my brief ownership of the Predator 2000, I noticed in the owner's manual the following statement:

Note: Do not allow the Generator to completely run
out of fuel with devices attached. A Generator’s
output may sharply spike as it runs out of fuel,
causing damage to attached devices.

Is this a problem with all generators, or just the Predator?  If you're never supposed to run any generator out of fuel, how do you know when it needs more, or do you just stop it every two hours and top it off just in case?

I ran my Tailgator to empty with some box fans attached to break it in. It surged when it was about to run out. The fan speed would increase and decrease as the tank ran empty.

In 3-4 months, barring anymore big events, these 2000w inverter gensets are going to be under 300$$.

Good... I want another. 

The new Harbor Freight catalog increases their "sale" price to $430 after tomorrow.

Guess I'll report back when i get it.

I have four 5gal 'civilian' Scepters that I use to store stabilized Rec-90.


Last night I got a 15 gallon HDPE drum, craigslist special, $15 lol

I'm not 100% thrilled with storing 15 gallons in one container since if something goes bad it will ALL go bad so I'm thinking I'll keep the drum empty until the first 'warning' lol.  Then dump two of the 5gal jerry cans into it, then refill those cans with 93 pump, top off drum with one of those, then refill that can.

Use up the drum as necessary.  Sort of an artificial 15 gallon 'surge' capacity when time is available.

It's a problem with most generators.

Allowing your generator to run out of fuel with a load connected puts you in the DUMBASS category - It's a great way to ruin something expensive.

A lot of generators have a fuel tank gauge.

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.

*Stationary generators tend to have engines with more oil capacity, so they usually don't need attention as often.

I also found that Generac sells the exact same model as the Quip-all 2200i.

Soon as I can get 3 for under 900, I'll buy .

The coupon from last month's catalog for the $399 Predator 2000 is good until 10/31, while the new catalog's $430 coupon is good until 11/30.  There is some overlap, so if you have last month's catalog, the coupon is still good for another month.

I have the a-iPower 12000 and it is quite well made.  At this point I'm on the level that they are trying g to break into the market , particularly through selling through Home Depot.

Just about to jump on it, but my current generator was free and only used it 3 times in the past 15 years.
Going to put the $400 toward other prep stuff.

If the Champions get under $400 I might have to pick up an extra.

I'm giving up on the HF 2000 one. Tried again this morning. Local store was out so they checked and there wasn't one on all of Long Island.

On- line coupon expires today, so I'll do without.

Just get one of the other brands.  I got a Champion 2000 for $469 shipped and no tax.  Worked out to like $30 more than HF.

How bad is it to run electronics, etc., on a standard generator?

I'd love to get an inverter genny but it's hard to justify the expense.  Plus, these things are going to come down in price.  If these places can run sales for under $300 then the real price should be under $300.

I would run them through a UPS to clean up the power.  I would not want to run an expensive computer straight off the generator.

My experience there is that if it is dirty enough the UPS will stay on internal power, so naturally it will discharge in a short while.

Why won’t it switch and charge?  Don’t know.

Maybe a more expensive one will. I have a UPC 600 which only lasts about 8 min for everything. It’s more for keeping the cable modem alive

I just ordered a second quip-all.  

Get the quip-all.  It's a Powermate/Generac and they all get excellent reviews.  $330 shipped on ebay.

I have two Hondas.  I just ordered one of these to try out and am already thinking I want another based on yours and other reviews.

Is 6 generators too many?

Question I haven't seen answered:

Let's say I have two HF Predator 2000s hooked up together with the parallel kit.  I start up the high powered stuff I need to run, example would be an A/C unit, and now that it's running, can one of the two generators be powered down and can you run one-sided on the parallel kit?  I think the HF parallel kit has a twist lock 30A outlet, but the generator itself does not.

Another question:  If you only scored one HF 2000 when it was available, and your buddy has the Costco Yamaha engined version 2000, can you hook those two generators together in parallel?  Assuming the connectors fit, of course.  The HF parallel kit claims it works with Honda generators, which are not the same as the HF Predator.  I read earlier in this thread that you can parallel an HF 3500 with an HF 2000.  Any truth to that?

Anyone have any gas storage advice for apartments? My landlord ok'd the outside storage in a proper flammables cabinet, but those are awfully spendy and are less than stealthy. I thought 10-15gal would be great for intermittent fridge/freezer use during ice storms.

a garden variety UPS (the kind you buy retail and/or through Amazon/Newegg etc) does not "clean up the power".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply#Technologies

ar-jedi

i would never couple two different brand inverter generators -- if the method/voltage level of synchronization etc differs in any material way, you could end up damaging the inverter controllers on BOTH generators.  that would not only be expensive long term but more importantly show-stopping in the short term.

ar-jedi

I posted some videos several pages back of people parallelling dissimilar generators.

However, I agree with at-jedi.  I wouldn't do it unless it was some dire emergency.

I went to the local HF today looking for the 3500. No joy.
Didn't see the 2000 boxes either.

We lose power for ~8 hrs or so once a month, usually due to a MVA.

Just finally got our genny sorted, we have a Champion 4000/3500 that I was able to score at Cabelas in the middle of Sandy, as the ancient one my FIL dropped off spun the motor. I would run it on the driveway under one of the truck tailgates for a “shelter”, chained to the truck. And deal with extension cords.

My initial plan was, interlock, 2 HF 3500 inverters paralleled, suncast shed installed permanently in the yard and secured.

Budget dictated a Predator 8750/7000 smoke and noise, but everything else is as planned. $1200 all in, haven’t lost power for a month now...but we can now run just about the whole house when we do

I kept the Champion as a back up. I’ll post pics when I can.

It depends on the generator.

Nowadays, a lot of "standard" non-inverter models have AVI ("Automatic Voltage Regulation") circuits that do a good job of maintaining a constant output voltage as the load varies.

You can identify most AVR models by downloading the owner's manual, and looking for brushes and an "AVR" module on the wiring diagram.

Here's an example:



If there is no wiring diagram included in the owner's manual, look for an "AVR" module and "Brushes" in the parts diagram - If none are shown, it probably doesn't have them.

Note that AVR doesn't regulate the output frequency - That job is still up to the engine itself.

Fortunately, there aren't many loads that require the frequency to be precisely 60 Hz - Most loads really couldn't care less if it's a few Hz either side of 60.

Here's an example of a generator that doesn't have AVR:



For regulating the output voltage, these "brushless" models just use a simple capacitor connected to an excitor winding on the alternator head.

It's a much less sophisticated scheme than AVR, and doesn't do nearly as good a job of regulating output voltage as the load changes.

It also tends to distort the shape of the AC waveform, particularly with small loads.

BOTTOM LINE: If you're looking at non-inverter generators, look for a model that has AVR.

why the heck would you break in a 4 cycle engine using pre-mix ?

ar-jedi

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.   I have a couple of UPS's in mind - that seems like the simplest solution for electronics for now.

Buy once, cry once.

Buy jerry cans. Real NATO jerry cans. Made it Europe.

Friends don't let friends buy Chicom gas cans.

CARB can lick my ass.

Maybe...

But if you Cericoat or paint 1/2 of them, no...

It was just old gas that I had on hand...and I wanted to empty that gas can to get some fresh, straight gas....

I would have burned that in the lawn mower, not in my generator.

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.

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.

LOL, I'm actually toying with the idea of camo paint job for the Quip-Alls...

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...