Generators

[The_King48]

OK I know we all hate when the guy next to you fires up that old, loud, vibrating generator so his wife can make a cup of coffe. But I am in the process of buying one. Don't worry, I fish LOTW mostly and will only run her at night to have lights, maybe a TV (maybe), and charge my batteries for the next day. What size will I need?? Could I get by with the 1,000W or should I go with a 2000W??? I really like the Honda line, but $$$$$$... Anybody with any imput would be appreciated.. Thanks..

[luckydave]

I recently bought a Champion 4000/3500 at an auto parts store. It it RV ready, fairly quiet, and well built. You can get them on sale for about $300-regular price $400. They weigh about 100 pounds without gas. It started on first pull out of the box. Certainly not as nice as a Honda, but at much less cost. Will run about 12 hours on 4 gallons of gas. Very nice.

[Kylersk]

Add up the wattage of the items you want to use and pick a generator that has more watts than what you need. This is assuming you run 110 volt items.

I personally went with the 2000i, I felt for the $150-$200 more (than the 1000i) it was worth the upgrade.

I also added an Intelli-Power 45 amp power converter. It's input is 110 and 725 watts with a 12 volt 45 amp output. It'll also charge my battery with a built in 'charge wizard'.

[Dogzlife000]

I picked up a 1000W Sinemaster a couple of years ago (Honda 1000i knockoff). Works like a champ and nearly as quiet as the Honda but much cheaper. Mine was just over $400 to my door.

If you're thinking about getting a 1000 watt generator, calculate the amp draw you will need. I can charge batteries through my Intellipower 40 amp converter but I need to cycle the charge wizard (lower voltage) at the beginning if my batteries are really low. Unfortunately, I cannot run even the smallest of microwaves (still looking though). Coffee makers are big power users and quite possibly will be too much for a 1000w generator. On the plus side, I only use about a quart of gas a day to charge up and then I'm good to go for another night of festivities.

[Realtor Boy]

I was looking into the 1000W Sinemaster and I have to tell ya that the reveiws on these generators kinda scare me off. Also theres no way to get parts if needed. The factory sends you everything back in japenese.

[Ears]

I am also looking at a 2000 honda, is there any reason not to use a regular battery charger to charge the battries while fishing?? Its a 10amp for deep cycle battries.

[The_King48]

I was thinking of the same thing. The charger I have has a 12v 2amp setting, (which is the one I use), and the other setting is a 12v 6 or 10 amp can't remember for sure... A slow charge is better than a fast charge. I also have a choice for a regular battery or a deep cycle battery. Obviously I choose deep cycle.

[cold one sd]

I have an on board charger mounted permanently in my fish house. Any time the the generator is running the batteries are being charged. When I get home I plug it in and leave it plugged in until the next time I use it. Same thing I do with my boat during the summer.

[minnbowhunter]

I Have the 1000 honda and love it. very quiet and reliable. That said I wish I would have spent the extra on the the 2000 watt. One thing about the Honda, they recommend that you change the oil every 8 hours of run time. I change my oil after every trip out. Very easy to do, takes about the same amount of time to fill with gas. I started having trouble with it shutting itself cause the oil got dirty and hung up the oil level float.

[PiKeGuY101]

Yes Hondas are expensive but I been selling generators for 4 years and have seen many nock-offs come and go, but none of the stand up like the Honda! You have to look at it as an investment, what happens when the nock-off needs parts or service? Long term Honda is the way to go! I've owned a EU2000 for 3 years now and love it - starts first pull every time and has plenty of power to run your fish house! Just a thought...

[Dogzlife000]

Quote:

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I was looking into the 1000W Sinemaster and I have to tell ya that the reveiws on these generators kinda scare me off. Also theres no way to get parts if needed. The factory sends you everything back in japenese.

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No doubt there is risk involved with the Sinemasters but the price disparity between a 1000w Honda and Sinemaster was just too much to swallow. If I had the money at the time, I would have bought a Honda EU2000. The extra capacity would have been appreciated and no doubt, they are incredibly reliable.

[Dogzlife000]

Quote:

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I was thinking of the same thing. The charger I have has a 12v 2amp setting, (which is the one I use), and the other setting is a 12v 6 or 10 amp can't remember for sure... A slow charge is better than a fast charge. I also have a choice for a regular battery or a deep cycle battery. Obviously I choose deep cycle.

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Many battery manufacturers recommend a charge rate of 20% of capacity. A 20 amp charger is about right for a single battery. I charge two banks of batteries, with two batteries in each bank, with a 40 amp converter. A 40 amp converter (charger) is about right for my setup, but I wouldn't hesitate to go up to 60 amps, if only my generator would power it (it won't). A 10 amp charger is just too small in my opinion.

[Loogie]

Look into a Kipor. It's a generator that is equal in quality to a Honda. Just as quiet, light and runs great. The ONLY thing different from a Honda is the price. I have a Kipor 2000. I picked it up online for $599 shipped. That's 300 - $400 cheaper that the a Honda.

I've had mine for 2 years now. I love it for ice fishing. Very very quiet. Runs a long time on a tank of gas.

I also used it this summer to run my fridge and some lights in my house when a storm knocked the power out for almost 3 days. It didn't miss a beat. It didn't [PoorWordUsage] off any neighbors.

Love my Kipor!

[captainstevo]

I run the Honda 2000 and have heard about a lot of generators that come close. However close just isn't the same, I can run an electric fry pan, lights, a tv and satalite, and charge my batteries without a problem. I am also very happy with the gas useage and oil changing on my Honda. I learned the hard way that it is better to spend the extra dollar right away if you can and end up with quality rather than wonder if your stuff is going to work and have to bring a backup plan.

[Bryce]

I personnally witnessed one of the "just as good as a Honda" knock-offs wipe out all the electronics in a wheel house. TV, DVD, on board charger, underwater camera, car stereo.... everything that was plugged in. They conservatively estimated $1500 lost for a $400 savings. Public school and a state run college and I still know enough math to figure out that don't add up. Watch for Honda sales. Best $900 you'll spend.

[mtwalleye]

Anyone have information on the Yamaha generators? I have read good things about them. They look to be about the same price as the Honda's.

[mhjohns]

They are very similar. I had both of them apart when I was going to college and both companies really strive for quality.

I would side with the Honda personally, but either are great.

[Gator Slayer]

One major advantage of the 2000i is run time under light load. It has a larger fuel tank so if your just charging batt's and running a tv it will run a lot longer than the 1000i In the A.F. we changed oil every 50 hrs on gas powered standby generators. I change mine after every other weekend or if on an extended stay after 3-4 days of running. Also do yourself a favor and run it at 80% of rated load every once in a while a crock pot or frypan is good for this. Good luck with what ever you choose, but keep this in mind. If listening to your own genset run anoys you....it REALLY pi$$e$ off the "neighbors".

[cold one sd]

I just bought a EU1000i on Friday. I think it will be just right for my fish house.

[LODFFB]

Kylserk how does the intelli power work? Do you have any pics or could you take one of your setup? In my house I installed a 120v outlet for a generator ( which I dont have yet ) but that wiring goes to a few outlets in the fishhouse. Right now I just plug an extenshion andthen charge the battery with a car charger. The battery goes to a 12V fuse clip with 6 glass fuses that I seperate the 12 V stuff so its not all through 1 fuse.

[freezdried]

Here is my thinking about generators, spend as much as you can afford. I have a Kipor 3500TI that I am very happy with, the only thing about it I don't like is how much it weighs, so I bought a 1000W Powerking off hsolist to run my wheel house. It is for sure louder then my Kipor, but it is still much quieter then most generators. Here is how I decided on the size of generator needed; I thought about my normal wattage consumption which was normally well under 1000 watts. The only time I needed over 1000W was when the microwave was running and this was at most 15 minutes a day.

So instead of buying a generator for those 15 minutes I bought one for those other 23hours and 45 minutes a day. So how do I run my microwave? Well I bought a 2000W inverter that will run my microwave for quite a while on my two deepcycle batteries. I am very happy with the way it has worked so far. As far as run time, between oil changes I run Synthetic oil so I don't worry about how long the oil has been running, I just make sure it is full. I think this site is filled with generator snobs. Am I going to get mad because a guy sets up next to me with a generator that is not Honda built? As long as it's quiet, no. Do I want someone to set up next to me with a Coleman 5000W generator with a Briggs & Stratton motor screaming, no. Just buy the best you can, and if it's loud, set up away from everybody else. That's just my opinion.

[spotter]

hey lodffb

im sure this is simular to the intelli power, its a power converter made by world friendship company. This unit works great, you power this unit up from your generator and it converts 120 to 12 volts. It has several 12 volt outputs so you can use multiple circuits, in my house i have a circuit for the furnace, one for the lights, one for the 12 volt outlets and one for the battery charging system. you also can have two 120 volt circuits. the only down side to this unit is that it has a cooling fan when under a heavy load so it makes some noise. the great thing about this unit is it auto charges your batteries and when pluged in it converts 120 to 12 volts so you don't even need a battery. hopes this helps

[LODFFB]

So do you have the 12v from the charger to your fuses andfrom the battery to the fuses, or when your not running the generator it runs power back through the unit from the battery to the 12 V?

[spotter]

there is only one lead to the positive terminal which charges the battery when running the generator and feeds the unit when not running the generator.

[Kylersk]

LODFFB,

The intelli power connects to the battery in parallel. It charges the battery AND supplies 12 volt power at the same time. I have an extension cord wired into an outlet inside the house, in my battery area. I then ran two more 120 volt outlets off of that for my TV and other power requirements. The intelli-power just plugs into the 120VAC outlet in the battery area and is wired in parrallel to the deep cycle battery.

I picked mine up off of hsolist for $123 shipped.

Google progressivedyn and you can find the owners manual for a PD9200 series charger, which will show how it works.