Posted: 12/28/2011 8:39:46 AM EDT
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I'm looking for a 7500 watt surge propane generator for my house. I have an interlock kit installed and it's rated for 7500 watts.
I have read about Category 5 but can't find a website or models that are available. I also have a 200 gallon propane tank which is why I'm going this route. If anyone has any suggestions even if they are different brands I'm interested. My price limit is $1000 but of course less would be better. Thanks |
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I'm looking for a 7500 watt surge propane generator for my house. I have an interlock kit installed and it's rated for 7500 watts. I have read about Category 5 but can't find a website or models that are available. I also have a 200 gallon propane tank which is why I'm going this route. If anyone has any suggestions even if they are different brands I'm interested. My price limit is $1000 but of course less would be better. Thanks That's a tall order. I would use a cheap gasoline genny until you could afford something like a Briggs/GE standby unit. |
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This is the one you want, How ever you may have to find another dealer, NORTHERN MAY NOT CARRY IT ANY LONGER.
My cap lock stuck sorry. http://reviews.northerntool.com/0394/213294/etq-propane-generator-7000-surge-watts-6000-rated-watts-model-pg60b12-reviews/reviews.htm X |
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I think the biggest Champion propane generator is 4200 peak , 3500 running. The biggest portable propane generator I've seen is 5000 watts running. I have one made in China by JD-tech, similar to this http://www.amazon.com/Gentron-6000watt-Portable-Generator-Electric/dp/B0035MSUO8. So far its worked fine (once i replaced the chinese sparkplug with a japanese one) but there is no support. At 7kw you're into permanent install type generators. I just saw this but don't know anything about it.
http://www.brandnewengines.com/40248.aspx There are some trifuel units out there in that size range like this. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_419355_419355 A couple of places on the internet will retro fit a gas generator to run on propane or trifuel. |
| Home Depot lists a number of propane generators online but most are currently out of stock. Here's a 7000 watt surge model that may still be available. I assume its unsupported chinese manufacture, and I'm certainly not 'recommending' it. |
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Thanks for the links. I guess I will check at Home Depot the next time I am there. I'm seriously thinking about just getting a Black Max generator at Sam's with a Honda/Yamaha engine and having it converted instead. If you do––- I'll be interested to see what you do.  I have one of the Black Max generators from Sam's too. I really like the genny so far, but I've also been curious about converting it to be able to use propane in addition to gasoline.
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Thanks for the links. I guess I will check at Home Depot the next time I am there. I'm seriously thinking about just getting a Black Max generator at Sam's with a Honda/Yamaha engine and having it converted instead. Beware of generators that use a name-brand engine paired with a no-name Chinese-made alternator head. Customers tend to look at the engine brand and conclude that the product is top-quality - when it is actually the alternator head that is more likely to fail. Two years from now, having a Honda engine on your burnt-out generator wouldn't be much comfort if the company that was importing the alternator heads from Hong Kong is now importing fake dog crap from Bangladesh instead... |
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Thanks for the links. I guess I will check at Home Depot the next time I am there. I'm seriously thinking about just getting a Black Max generator at Sam's with a Honda/Yamaha engine and having it converted instead. Beware of generators that use a name-brand engine paired with a no-name Chinese-made alternator head. Customers tend to look at the engine brand and conclude that the product is top-quality - when it is actually the alternator head that is more likely to fail. Two years from now, having a Honda engine on your burnt-out generator wouldn't be much comfort if the company that was importing the alternator heads from Hong Kong is now importing fake dog crap from Bangladesh instead... Well I'd love to have an EU6500i, but at a staggering MSRP of $4999.95 I could buy three large Black Max gennys and a whole stack of MFCs full of gasoline.... I can't afford that! My father and I both bought the 7000/8750 watt Black Max model that Sam's has been selling for years. I'm no techno wiz, but we both love ours, and Sam's has sold a ton of them. I still have the smaller Subaru/Robin genny that I first bought (not big enough for what I wanted) so if the Black Max takes a dump I still have a 5000 watt backup. I have had zero problems so far (about 4 years IIRC). I just roll it out of the garage and fire it up every couple of months if I haven't been using it. |
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From what I have seen, most of the Chinese brushless heads seem to be OK. The number one thing that really takes the life out of a generator head is heat.
You just don't run the generator at its continuous output for long periods. The amount of time the generator runs is not the problem, like where as you leave it running hours on end putting out only 1/2 its continuos rating. The problem lies in where you leave it running at its continuous max output for longer than about 1 hour. If a gen is rated for 6000 continuous, I try not to run it at that no more than an hour at a time. If you need a 6000 watt gen to run long periods then at that rate, you should of gotten a larger gen. When I run a gen all day I try to run it at no more than about 3/4 to 1/2 its rated continuous output, and I have never and I repeat never burned out a generator head on one of my gens and I have owned a few over the years (Chinese and name brand). Remember heat is your enemy, and your gen should give you many years of service if not abused. The main problems I always see in gens is buying a generator with a low end engine and it being hard to crank or buying one of the low end Coleman gens or equivelent that are made to last about 200 hours before they bomb out, Beware of any gen that is around $500 new, if you want long life. |
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Thanks for the links. I guess I will check at Home Depot the next time I am there. I'm seriously thinking about just getting a Black Max generator at Sam's with a Honda/Yamaha engine and having it converted instead. Beware of generators that use a name-brand engine paired with a no-name Chinese-made alternator head. Customers tend to look at the engine brand and conclude that the product is top-quality - when it is actually the alternator head that is more likely to fail. Two years from now, having a Honda engine on your burnt-out generator wouldn't be much comfort if the company that was importing the alternator heads from Hong Kong is now importing fake dog crap from Bangladesh instead... Well I'd love to have an EU6500i, but at a staggering MSRP of $4999.95 I could buy three large Black Max gennys and a whole stack of MFCs full of gasoline.... I can't afford that! My father and I both bought the 7000/8750 watt Black Max model that Sam's has been selling for years. I'm no techno wiz, but we both love ours, and Sam's has sold a ton of them. I still have the smaller Subaru/Robin genny that I first bought (not big enough for what I wanted) so if the Black Max takes a dump I still have a 5000 watt backup. I have had zero problems so far (about 4 years IIRC). I just roll it out of the garage and fire it up every couple of months if I haven't been using it. Selling a few shipping containers of generators isn't the same thing as supporting them. If the voltage regulator module on your generator died tomorrow, would you be able to get a replacement? Bearings? Brushes? You can still get replacement generator parts for Generac, Honda, Yamaha, Onan and Kohler models that haven't been sold for over 30 years. |
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As much as I'd like to spend $3000 on a Honda/Yamaha branded generator that just isn't going to happen so unless I find a screaming deal on one I'm afraid I'll have to buy one with a good motor and possibly a less than top shelf generator head.
Do you have any recommendations for a generator that has a good motor but a non-Chinese generator head that isn't $1500+? |
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As much as I'd like to spend $3000 on a Honda/Yamaha branded generator that just isn't going to happen so unless I find a screaming deal on one I'm afraid I'll have to buy one with a good motor and possibly a less than top shelf generator head. Do you have any recommendations for a generator that has a good motor but a non-Chinese generator head that isn't $1500+? Briggs & Stratton (also sold under various private labels such as John Deere and Troybilt) and Generac both make good generators with a wide distribution of service centers and parts supply networks. Both can be had for under a $1,000. Also, the trifuel/dual fuel makers support a broad range of generators from these brands. http://www.propane-generators.com/ Briggs or Generac will provide good service and if it needs parts or service you can actually get some help. ETA - A friend has the BlackMax and it seems to be a good unit. He's overloaded it and tripped the breakers every time he uses it and he often runs it at max power for extended periods of time. However, when it breaks I don't know where he'll have to go to get parts or service. I've got two generac service centers within 20 miles of my house. |
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+1 on the Generac/Briggs/Troy-Bilt/John Deere models.
If you still want to go the Chinese-made route, you might take a look at Champion Power Equipment. They operate their own factory in China, manufacture many of the parts that go in their generators themselves, and are a American-owned company with headquarters and service center here in the US. Although they're too new to have any long-term history of customer service, they currently have a good reputation for service after the sale. |
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+1 on the Generac/Briggs/Troy-Bilt/John Deere models. If you still want to go the Chinese-made route, you might take a look at Champion Power Equipment. They operate their own factory in China, manufacture many of the parts that go in their generators themselves, and are a American-owned company with headquarters and service center here in the US. Although they're too new to have any long-term history of customer service, they currently have a good reputation for service after the sale. I don't want to go Chinese I'd MUCH rather buy a US made generator and if the above 4 you mentioned are examples of them then I will be buying one of those brands. Thanks for the help on this as I HATE buying Chinese but sometimes a US product is just too far out of my price range. |
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Thanks for the links. I guess I will check at Home Depot the next time I am there. I'm seriously thinking about just getting a Black Max generator at Sam's with a Honda/Yamaha engine and having it converted instead. I would look into this. The propane-generator site listed above or the Central Maine Diesel are both places I've seen mentioned on here for propane conversions. I would rather have a brand name unit with parts availability that was converted than a no-name unit that was propane from the factory. Grove |
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Thanks for the links. I guess I will check at Home Depot the next time I am there. I'm seriously thinking about just getting a Black Max generator at Sam's with a Honda/Yamaha engine and having it converted instead. I would look into this. The propane-generator site listed above or the Central Maine Diesel are both places I've seen mentioned on here for propane conversions. I would rather have a brand name unit with parts availability that was converted than a no-name unit that was propane from the factory. Grove I pretty much agree with this. Name brand is the way to go. However I own many different gens and the chinese propane unit is a backup to my regular Ameican gens. Also my Chinese gen came with a parts manual, should I need a part, I would call the phone number listed and just get the part ordered. If A major SHTF situation happened I doubt that you will get many parts at all for anything American or foreign. I am in the market next for a small diesel generator and have yet to find one that is reliable and not to costly. And once more the diesel gen will be nothing more than a backup generator to my gasoline Honda generators. I say have as many different fuel sources as possible in a SHTF situation, and thats what I am preparing for. |