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Cheap generator


minndonn

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Have been looking for a cheap generator for some time and may have found one. NOrthern Tool has one for 99.99. This is a 1000 watt with 68 decibels. Has anyone tried this one. At that price it is throwable after a couple years. Obviously not the quality of the Honda but at this price may be worth trying. Then Honda is at 59 decibels. Model is TG1200

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minndonn is probably in the same boat as me, no one needs to tell us how good a honda is and why we should buy one, but if his $$ situation is the same as mine, it's not financially feasable. so please don't let this thread get to every post saying "just buy a honda because......" or "don't buy X generator over honda because..." please give him honest input on the unit he is looking at if anyone has experience with it. we all know honda is the best all around, but some us can't afford the honda.

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Quote:

Have been looking for a cheap generator for some time and may have found one. NOrthern Tool has one on their web site for 99.99. This is a 1000 watt with 68 decibels. Has anyone tried this one. At that price it is throwable after a couple years. Obviously not the quality of the Honda but at this price may be worth trying. Then Honda is at 59 decibels. Model is TG1200


I have a 950 watt generator that I bought on hsolist. It is 2 cycle and it is probably about the same thing you are looking at. It works for charging batteries and running a coffee maker. It does what it is supposed to. I have only had it a year so I can't say how long they last.

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I considered buying one...glad i didnt due to how loud they are,....my father in law bought one..works ok when you can get it started.....all i can say is if you buy something like that at least have the common courtesy to keep your distance from people......nothing worse than listening to someone else's generator over my honda

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I ran a Coleman Powermate 1000w for a couple of years... they are inexpensive and not to loud. Went up to a 2000w Kipor. Alot of guys rip on them, but so far so good. It is no louder than my buddies Honda and half the price. I know of a couple of guys who bought the 1000w 'cheap' generators... they got a couple of years use out of them.... they really aren't all that loud (the smaller ones). The guys who bring their 5000w 5hp Briggs and ScrapIron models out are the ones who will drive you daft. Sounds like somone mowing their lawn all night! I say buy what fits yolur budget and maintain the heck out of it and when you can move up, do so accordingly...

Good Luck!

Ken

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Hey Minndon, I was also looking at the tg1200 but when i went to Northern there computer said they had 5 in stock, when they found them they were returned for some reason or another and told me Please do not buy these they come back all of the time. They also said there is no place that would repair them and no way to order parts. So along story short I took there advise and bought something different. They had the Honda generators at the fishing show for 859.00 but I went to gander which met the price and gave me an extra 10% of for using a gander card on your first purchase then gave me a 25.00 goft card to boot. They were giving 6 mo. 0% interest also. Hey it should last me my lifetime.

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I bought one of these when they first came out. (at least at the Fridley store) I think that was 4 years ago now...somebody please correct me if it was a different time frame. I have had no troubles with mine, I use it most of the winter and a few times in the summer. It is a great little machine. When it is really cold out it takes a few more pulls, but, then again, a few more pulls is a little cheaper. Obviously the Honda is a great unit, but, this one will work for a much cheaper cost. I also run mine on the Amsoil 100:1 fuel mix. And have been doing so the last 2 years. Many hours on the machine.

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Pikechaser,

It is all in perspective. I personally use a generator when I am at the permanent shack. When I am in the portable I do not use it. Do not tell me that I cannot hear your Honda, yes it is quiet--er, they are not silent. I am sorry that you have to be interrupted when you are fishing, because, I and the other a-holes cannot afford to buy the Honda. Do you use a powered auger, I know a few guys that get [PoorWordUsage]ed off because someone starts theirs? I love it when I am on the ice and someone pulls out an auger that makes it sound like I am in the motocross finals(no sarcasm meant), but, I am interested in the vintage machines. Granted I know I am comparing apples to oranges it is just an example.

I have access to a Honda generator, maybe I should borrow that one, it is a 5000 watt, 10 hp. I am sure it is quieter than my 950 watt two stroke.

Pikechaser, let me apologize up front, I do not want this to come out as an attack. Why do guys get [PoorWordUsage]ed when others do not have the financial means to be like you? I am willing to say that if we could all buy "Honda's" we would.

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This decible issue brings to mind a question I have. Will it hurt the generator if I take the exhaust and run it through a large automotive type muffler. The automotive muffler has much larger passages so it shouldn't cause back pressure (I think) or will it. If it does, will it hurt the generator? I want to do this with my ATV but some tell me I shouldn't. Price is always an issue with me. I find the $99.00 product to be sufficient to meet my needs but I don't like or want the noise. Any automotive guru's out there? confused.gif

Jim

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For a long time I have been decidedly anti-generator, but have come around some level of tolerance for those who use the Hondas. For me, it is the noise alone. I hate it! And I know for a fact that where I fish (MilLe Lacs) it has a negative effect on the fishing. I've watched them on the camera and am absolutely convinced of it.

Because I hate generators so much I carry big deep cycle batteries to run everything--2 or 3. And I don't really understand what it is that people run that can't be run on a bank of high capacity deep cycle batteries? I suppose it is microwaves, coffee makers, and other high power items that I don't consider necessary myself. But I can go 3 days on my batteries running all sorts of things.

Ultimately, I would say get the Honda or get nothing. That's my personal (and selfish) opinion.

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The unit I have the noise level is double or a little more than the honda....to me that is quiet enough. If it is too loud make a box for it with a small vent hole. I can hold a conversation while standing around the unit I have, talking in a normal voice. Now, the Honda you can almost whisper. Your idea about the exhaust may work...as long as the machine stays running I would not worry about it. The generator does not need a "max flow" exhaust system. If I hold up a 1/2 inch pipe that is a foot long greatly reduces the noise, I just have to come up with a way to attach it. I thought about that when I first purchased the generator. That was a while ago and I have not tinkered around with it. I have not felt the need to yet. I have not had any complaints about it yet..unless some people are too chicken to say anything to my face...they could be sitting in their fish houses, uttering under breath....maybe they are shouting at me and I cannot hear over the generator.

I am just saying that some people cannot afford to buy the best, but, at least they are trying to buy something somewhat quiet.

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My Kipor has the same decibel rating as a Honda. It is very quiet and is a has a digital sine wave so it is safe for all electronics. I got it new for $400 cheaper than a Honda and most guys I know have been impressed with it so far.

Good Luck!

Ken

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Mine didn't like to start in the cold weather and I got in touch with the manufacturer and they told me how to adjust the carburetor and it starts ok now. I don't think it is much louder than a Honda, but I also hav a 13 hp Generac and my wife couldn't understand why I don't use it on the ice. confused.gif

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Is there nothing between a $99.00 unit and a $999.00 generator??? Other than the "kipor" that was just discussed? All of you hondaphiles should each give $100.00 to the poor guys like me who can't spend more on a generator than what they spent on an auger, flasher, and heater COMBINED, if you want quiet ice that bad. Some people have less than $1000 into their entire permanent shacks

How about tips like "put the generator in the bed of your truck" or "look into a quieter exhaust" or "build an insulated box to aim the sound up" or the like instead of "blow 5 times your budget on a Honda."

By the way, every increase of 3 db is twice as loud as the previous number, i.e. 68 db is twice as loud as 65 db. Sooo, 74db is 8 times (2x2x2) as loud as a 65 db. Also, Normal conversation is about 60 db. (Thank you, Mr Knowitall grin.gif)

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A buddy of mine bought a Chinese doo-jobber for around $250 I think. it looked like a Honda on the outside, and when he took it to a repair shop for a tuneup, the repairman said it is a REPACKAGED Honda - the Honda parts all fit on it. The name of it was "SJ-Fun" with some Chinese characters on it or something.

Here's a posting about them I found elsewhere:

"During the last year I have noticed a lot of Chinese generators for sale at very low prices. These generators have Honda clone engines (GX200) and produce 3,000 watts of power (25 amps @120 volts). There are about 4 major Chinese engine manufacturers that make the engines under a license agreement with Honda and they appear to be of very high quality. Some of these generators even come with an automatic voltage regulation control board and the overall electronic quality of these gensets seems to be very good as well. "

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Sorry McGurk, wasn't trying to be a know it all... was trying to throw a generator out there that's in between the $99.00 one and a $900 Honda. I guess, I'm not even sure mine's a Kipor, that is just what one guy told me after he looked at it. The box isn't marked Kipor, it looks just like my buddie's McCollough expect it's red not yellow and I guess McCoulloughs are Kipors. Mine looks like a Honda and has a eco-throttle and digital sine wave so I can run sensitive electronics (laptop, sattelite dish etc)... I too was told many of the parts are identical to Honda as there are only so many manufactueres of generator parts. I know there are other generators out there in the $100-300 range, I just liked haveing one that acts like a Honda for half the price... I too, have a budget and unfortunatley I blow it way to many times! crazy.gif

Good Luck!

Ken

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I can get to the point where I can actually enjoy the sound of a generator after listening to some dipsticks diesel pickup idling half the morning charging his ice house battery. I don't much care what anyone does on the ice. I have had people park 100 feet from my portable with their windows down and let everyone in the area listen to a football game whether it was the one you wanted to hear or not. How about the ones that have to hoot, holler and party all night. Those are usually the ones I hear whining about someone using a generator. How about the ones that pull up 100 fet away and drill 20 holes and fish for 20 minutes and then move 50 feet and do it all again? There are all kinds of things that can bother a person on the ice, but I think I'll keep on fishing because I enjoy it. It teed me off when I lived in a big city because I had to listen to the sirens and diesel busses all night. I guess there are just some things that get on a person's nerves after getting pounded at work all week. Don't burn my ice house down and I'll be fine. grin.gifwink.gif

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