All,

I know it is late in the game, but I need a small generator to keep the deep freezer, refrigerator, coffee grinder and electric kettle going if we should lose power this winter or if we have a "grid down" situation.

I live in central Ohio and have lived through a couple of extended outages... the longest being a week.

I am looking at a Champion Dual Fuel Inverter Generator currently.

This is the generator I am considering:

Champion Generator

I would love some recommendations for or against this as quickly as possible. I would like to order it/purchase it by Friday.

Thanks!

PS - I did do an advance search and found no threads that had recommendations in it that I could find...

PPS - I do have a 2017 Honda Ridgeline with the in-bed power feature (single ungrounded 110V plug, max 400 watts with engine running). I assume this would be not enough to keep a full size fridge/freezer combo running? <-- Confirmed, not enough juice for the fridge.

Well, since it's the 21st century, a Inverter Generator is certainly the way to go.

Be sure the model you are looking at has Parallel device operation, so you can add another generator later for more capacity, if you so desire.

I picked up a Yamaha EF2400iSHC generator several years back for the exact reasons you state. So far it has just over 50 hours on it. Always starts on the first pull and I only use non-ethanol gas in it. Been very happy with it. Honda makes similar products.

Purchased thru electricgeneratorsdirect.com

I bought a dual fuel Cummins 9500 this year and I’m pleased with it. It’s not cheap but I wanted quality that will last. I bought online and it was delivered to my door. I think all online sellers drop ship from Cummins.

9500

This is my second option as it would let me run the gas furnace as well... But it is gasoline only.

I have an gas fireplace that I can get running with a 12v battery (to actuate the gas solenoid) and a propane heater I can use.

Champion Generator (Gas Only)

I am providing Amazon links... but will not necessarily purchase from there.

I have the 2000 watt Champion dual fuel. I use it to power my ice house for ice fishing.I get a lot of hours running it on a 20lb propane tank when it's in eco mode. This will be my third season using it and it's been very good. More features and half the price of the Honda's of the same wattage. Champion is player in the generator world.

quote:

Yamaha EF2400iSHC

Honda EU3000is

We have the same one referenced by 229DAK as well as a Honda 3000 on a wheel kit. Really like them both, both have been very reliable but we run with only Rec90 gas - no ethanol. The Honda 3000 is very very quiet comparatively even though the Yamaha is pretty quiet in its own right, and it seems to be a bit more fuel efficient than the Yamaha. We do not have large generators because in my experience, large generators burn a lot of fuel and we only have the gas we store at the house ... no Natural gas pipeline to homes in the neighborhood. If you have that, dual fuel may be a smart consideration. Noise when it may run for days is a factor too...you pay for the Honda but pretty happy with it.

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
......... I only use non-ethanol gas in it...........

How important is this, and why does it matter for a modern motor?

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
......... I only use non-ethanol gas in it...........

How important is this, and why does it matter for a modern motor?

The corn they put in ethanol will leave deposits and gum up a carb in a hurry. Especially in these small motors. I went to non ethanol in all my small engine stuff some years back. No starting problems in spring for the mower or in fall for the snow blower.

Take it from me, we sometimes lose power for weeks due to hurricanes. If you can afford it, go diesel. Plenty of power, no gummy ethanol crap, use off road diesel, and inexpensive to run (compared to propane) for long periods.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
......... I only use non-ethanol gas in it...........

How important is this, and why does it matter for a modern motor?

The corn they put in ethanol will leave deposits and gum up a carb in a hurry. Especially in these small motors. I went to non ethanol in all my small engine stuff some years back. No starting problems in spring for the mower or in fall for the snow blower.

Er, not to nitpick...

But they don't put corn in ethanol.

Ethanol is alcohol. In the states, ethanol used in fuel is derived from fermenting corn. Ethanol is ethanol, the corn has nothing to do with it.

The reason ethanol is bad for small engines is because: 1) ethanol absorbs water from the air much faster than gasoline does, and in a small displacement engine, even a little bit of water will cause running problems; 2) ethanol can dissolve plastic and rubber (o rings and gaskets and the like) that were originally designed for gasoline engine use; 3) ethanol separates out from gasoline as it sits, and if you are using 2 stroke oil in your fuel mix, the oil stays mixes with the gasoline but not the ethanol; 4) small engines are often used infrequently and gasoline with ethanol goes bad faster than regular gasoline because of the #1 and #3 above.

Modern small engines are often now designed to run with up to 10 or 15% ethanol blends (e.g. marked okay for E85) which resolves problem #3 above, but it's till recommended to run pure gas to prevent problems #1, 2, and 4 above.

I find that a little Stabil (fuel stabilizer) in premium grade E85 runs just fine in my pressure washer engine, and I wouldn't hesitate to run fresh E85 if necessary through a new generator.

I have a Honda EU2000i and its great but I wish it was dual fuel. I can get a converter kit for a couple hundred if I was really worked up about it but it would have been great if I could have bought it with that feature already.

All,

Thanks for the info and recommendations so far...

I would like to stick with dual fuel. Diesel is not an option due to cost of the initial purchase.

To clarify/put this into perspective, I want the generator now with the understanding that in 3 years or less I will be purchasing a new home and installing a whole house generator with either natural gas or propane as the power source (or both). So, this is just to "get me through" the next 3 years and for other uses at my new home.

I am looking to spend about $1,200 (less would be nice). Based on online calculators, I will also need something with no less than 2,000 running watts and at least 4,000 starting watts.

I guess my only other question is... Do I really need and inverter type? I may plug a LED TV into it during a prolonged outage and I like the idea of inverter type generators being more quiet than the non-invertor type. I just don't want to fry my fridge, freezer, TV or coffee grinder with "dirty" power. I will also use it to charge batteries for radios and flashlights.

So... based on this, who has a generator within these specs that they have experience with and would vouch for?

As far as gasoline, I do not believe there is any place close to me that carries real, unadulterated gas in the quantities I would want to keep on hand (20 gallons at least). I do have a lot of small, 4-stroke engines that have been just fine for multiple years with long periods of storage in between uses by using Sta-Bil and Sta-Bil 360 with gas containing 15% ethanol. I will run this once a month for 10-15 minutes as a normal maintenance routine.

Update... Confirmed, only place near me with Ethanol Free Gas is 35 minutes away on the other side of the city (used the pure-gas.org website).

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
......... I only use non-ethanol gas in it...........

How important is this, and why does it matter for a modern motor?

I was sending my lawn mower to the shop every other year when I used ethanol'd gas; it simply stopped working. I switched to non-ethanol gas and have not had that issue since. I replace the non-ethanol gas every year; just dump it in the car's gas tank and go refill my gas cans.

Also, FWIW, the tech at the lawn mower repair shop told me to quit using Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer; said it was crap and to use another brand. No additional info was provided. I don't add it anyway now; just replace the gas every year so I have fresh gas for the winter if the generator is needed.

Boz - good luck. Regarding diesel, all I can is that my neighbors had a diesel generator during two hurricanes where we were down almost two weeks. They all ran out of fuel and the local stations did not have diesel. They borrowed generators OR they plugged into neighbors like me.

I have two boats, one with 180 gallons rec90 and one with 40 gallons, plus 60 gallons in portable tanks. Twice I have “fed” parts of the neighborhood for gas. Fuel availability over time is something to plan for. I’d add...on still nights diesel is godawful in smell (open windows).

Thanks all...

I just did a better calc on what I would need starting and running with what I would want to power.

If I am economical and turn things off while using other things (except for Fridge and Freezer) then I would need 1,550 watts running and 5,950 watts starting.

Now... because the chances of the deep freeze and fridge cycling on at the exact same time, I still think a 4,000 starting and 3,500 running would be okay.

Is my reasoning off here?

Should I dump the inverter type and go with a dual fuel traditional (non-inverter) type?

This is my last issue to resolve before I settle on a type and size...

quote:

Originally posted by bozman:
Thanks all...

I just did a better calc on what I would need starting and running with what I would want to power.

If I am economical and turn things off while using other things (except for Fridge and Freezer) then I would need 1,550 watts running and 5,950 watts starting.

Now... because the chances of the deep freeze and fridge cycling on at the exact same time, I still think a 4,000 starting and 3,500 running would be okay.

Is my reasoning off here?

Should I dump the inverter type and go with a dual fuel traditional (non-inverter) type?

This is my last issue to resolve before I settle on a type and size...

Neither the fridge nor freezer need to run 24/7, Just unplug them, then plug one in and wait a few minutes until it has started and running, then plug the other in. You could even just run them 3 hours each every 6 hours or so (stagger which one is plugged in.)

I'd think hard about paying extra for a Honda. They rule when it comes to small gas portable generators with Yamaha being a fairly close second.

I'll offer my experience in the discussion.

I have a 5500W/7500W starting generator, Snapper I think. It's about 15 years old, as long as I remember to start it every month or two and swap out stabilized non-ethanol fuel every couple years it's been solid. Current house it's a "desparate backup" that would involve extension cords to connect items.

In the house we owned when we got this I found an electrician to wire in a breaker dedicated to this device. No transfer switch, it was more manual than that. Power goes out, you drug this out, connected with a (fairly expensive custom) 20' male/male locking cable that ran from generator to plug running to one side of breaker. Flip "Frankenstein" breaker over to isolate power company and connect to generator, start generator and you were in business.

The advantage to this setup was we could run anything in house even though nowhere near the capacity to run EVERYTHING in house at same time. With most transfer switches at the time you had to pick specific circuits, I didn't want that limit. Obviously A/C was out with that wattage, but plenty to start and run one gas heat, essentially the fan. TV, garage opener, fridge, gas stove and oven, whatever, the rest was fair game as long as ladies didn't fire up three curling irons, two dryers and a microwave.

Only down side was you had to manage usage and the connection was "manual" instead of auto. If I could do it again here I would in a minute, no practical access to power panel.

Like many, my next house we build will solve this with a checkbook and a whole-house generator.

We have a Craftsman 5600.
When I bought it, we set it up to run in the house circuit. I throw a breaker to shut the house off the grid. Then I throw another breaker to draw power from the generator. The generator runs outside and has a special plug on the side of the house.
I can run pretty much the entire house. This summer when the forest fire was nearby I discovered that the air conditioner drew too much power. It would try to run, then click off. As the only time we had actually run the generator was in cold weather.
In the fall, I test run it, add fresh gas and have two 5 gallon cans of gas. That’s good for three days with the generator off at night.
I had expected to run some extension cords to the refrigerator, freezer, etc. I was told it was illegal. However wiring into the house is much more efficient.

quote:

I guess my only other question is... Do I really need and inverter type? I may plug a LED TV into it during a prolonged outage and I like the idea of inverter type generators being more quiet than the non-invertor type. I just don't want to fry my fridge, freezer, TV or coffee grinder with "dirty" power. I will also use it to charge batteries for radios and flashlights.

I was under the impression that today's invertors make true sine waves and don't have the problems of the dirty ones of yester-year.

I've seen more issues with old design generators not being stable 60 Hz and causing problems, in particular if the frequency gets too low, which was a problem for older refrigerator/freezer motors, and some other older electrical items which use large transformers.

If it were me, I'd use an invertor generator to run my appliances with full faith. Just make sure you have ample generator capacity available for the larger startup current surges of the appliances.

I love the fact that you can parallel 2 invertor generators to get more power if you really need it (if they are parallel ready). Can't do that with the old style designs.