Posted: 10/11/2008 3:30:55 AM EDT
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anyone use one of these for more than a few weeks during power outage? I saw one yesterday at their north Austin store that was trying to look like the honda eu2000 (small, enclosed in plastic case); IIRC, it was around $500. On their website they show one for $380 that is 6.5hp @ 3000 watts. The biggest thing that bothers me about these is they're usually noiser that a better quality unit. Can you put a better muffler on one, or would the back pressure change the operation. My main use for this would be occasional camping, emergency use (we also had a minor ice storm last year & lost power for +16 hours) and working out back of my property. Any links to sites that compare would be helpful. My budget is around $500 or less. IF I could afford it, I would get 2 hondas & a power linkage setup. thanks |
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A insulated box placed over it will reduce the noise a lot. I have adapted a small car muffler to my gen set and it works great. Not quite silent but with the insulated cover and muffler it doesn't sound like a lawn mower running and from 100 ft away you hardly notice that its running. Look at the exhaust and then go to Home Depot / Auto Zone and you can adapt what you find to make it a almost silent running gen set |
| My two pennies......I have a few Harbor Freight tools, but not one of their gens. I wouldn't depend on anything from Harbor Freight in an emergency. That being said, it may be better than nothing. Save up a little more and buy a good unit. My motto...buy the best, that way you only cry once.... |
If you place an insulated box of any sort over an air cooled generator, wire in some strong 110v ventilation fans and make damm sure you are getting a good amount of airflow in and out of it. If you don't your generator will run hot- much hotter than it is designed to- and while it will not shut down in most cases it will greatly reduce the life of both the engine and the generator. |
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I bought a generator from Northern Tools about 3 years ago. It is a "North Star". I guess it is a store brand, but don't know for sure. It has an 8hp Tecumseh engine and a 5000 Watt (5500 surge) generator head. I got it on closeout or special or something similar for just over $300. We loose power fairly often. I have only had to use it for about 12hs one time. Usually it is for 3-4 hs at a time. My only complaint is the small 1 gal. tank. Runs about 4hs. Need to check oil that often anyway. I am going to put a propane kit on it soon. The 1 gal. gas tank wont matter then. It is noisy, but like poster above said, you can replace the muffler. Great idea, with the car muffler. Mine has paid for its self, many times over. The motor will probably not last as long as a Honda, but I didn't pay a Honda price. |
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Don't waste your time putting a car muffler on a cheap generator. Most of the noise comes from the engine sounds and generator sounds and not the exhaust. I was trying to quiet one down before and plumbed the exhaust outside and there was barely a hint of difference in sound. You probably won't believe me until you try it, but it is true. 
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