After the last big windstorm up here in No. Idaho and losing power for a few days, I'm now in the market for a generator. Something around 5000 watts. I'm sure many of you have generators and associated personal experiences with them.

What would be a good brand to go with? Any special features that I should be looking for? Is electric start worth the money? And where are some of the better places to get one? I see Harbor Freight advertising them a lot and although I do shop there for some things, I'm not sure how good their generators are, especially since this will be an emergency use item.

Thanks for any advice.

John

 

Being sure of the size of generator you need is the first thing to do. Many folks run out and buy something off the shelf when the power goes out and end up with a noisy, undersized gas guzzling unit that doesn't run what they want and is annoying to their neighbors and costs a young fortune to operate. Your local power company is a very good place to start as they should have someone that will help you decide what will fill your needs.

I would suggest looking at the various makes and models available. The internet is a great place to start your research and I suspect you will be able to find one or more discussion groups that have more information available than you really need.

I have had excellent service from several different makes of generators over the years and am currently using a couple of Honda units that are the quietest and most fuel efficient that I have ever owned.

After this last windstorm I counted 14 nearly new generators for sale on Craigslist. Most of them were the noisy units I mentioned earlier but some were top of the line. May be a place for you to look when your ready to purchase.

 

hondas are what id look into. i dont think electric start is worth it unless you get a huge mother, cuz one pull and they are started anyways

 

if you got the cash i to say honda!!

 

get a honda. i have 2 of them one you allmoast cant hear .

i have a little 750 suitcase. and a 3500. top of the line geberators. you need them in south florida.


the cheap ones are way to loud. and harder to start generaly.. there might be some that start good. but nothing is like a honda.

 

I lived in No. Idaho below Priest River and power outages were always a regular occurrence. I used a small generator there but it was always a hassle because I had to put it right next to the house on the deck, couldn't run much off it (5k is not a lot) and the constant noise drove me even crazier.

I'm now in Oregon and have a 15k propane fueled generator wired into my house circuits. The generator itself is positioned behind a lower garage and I can't hear it in the house when it does come on. It has it's own 12 breaker electrical panel (two 30A for well and hot water heater, the rest 20A) mounted next to the house electrical panels in the garage where it's tied into the house circuits (pictures if you want), comes on automatically when incoming voltage drops to a certain point and runs most everything electrical we need except the HVAC. It uses a self-contained 12V car battery for starting purposes which is maintained by a built-in trickle charge from the house system. It automatically starts itself weekly, runs for 10-minutes, checks all its systems and automatically shuts itself down and reverts to standby. $2900, $65 for the battery, about $200 for a sparky to wire it in.

If you go with a smaller one(s), yes, Honda engined only.

 

honda would be the way to go imo

 

Thanks to everyone who replied.

I bought a PowerBoss generator at Costco yesterday for $900. It is a 7000 watt, 12000 watt surge, unit. It also has a Honda 13HP engine with a recoil start. Wasn't sure if a recoil start would be enough for a 13 HP engine but it started on the very first pull and it was a very easy pull. I am reassurred with everyone's confidence with the Honda engine.

It wasn't 5 min after I got home from Costco that the power went out. This time for only 1.5 hrs. But now I'm ready for the next outage.

Thanks again.

 

If you are still in the market for another 2 cents of opinion.......................here's mine. My wife and I got a 7500 watt generator for our house. Gasoline powered, recoil start (although I could hook up a battery). It starts on the first pull nearly every time.

We went one step further. I hired an electrician to mount a seperate panel box in the basement next to the normal one. We can power EVERYTHING in the house except the clothes dryer. Probably even enough left over to sell some to the neighbors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This way, we don't have to run a bunch of extension cords into the house to power the basic appliances. Worth the money.