Generators...

[Ashley Burton]

Will be going off grid soon, So in the market for a generator

Maximum load is going to be around 2000W

As much as I would love to have one to run a welder it's not happening unless I'm looking at large 7KW +

So my main question is petrol or diesel? I don't plan to run it longer than needed

Also any manufacturers people recommend? Was thinking maybe a Honda

I'm all ears as I've never had any previous experience

Many Thanks

 

[stuvy]

Petrol Honda or clone one

had one at work a few years back for site repairs and it was brilliant

is this just to top up your batteries?

 

[Ashley Burton]

Petrol Honda or clone one

had one at work a few years back for site repairs and it was brilliant

is this just to top up your batteries?

No it's to run my mitre saw, Possible table saw.

My van has solar & battery to battery charger

 

[stuvy]

The one we had was just a Honda 5.5kva off eBay was cheap and you could lift it on your own

 

[the snooper]

Diesel will be cheaper to run, more expensive to buy initially, don't forget to factor in more wattage then you need for when devices are starting up, they always pull more power and quite a bit depending on what you're using

 

[Ashley Burton]

@the snooper is this like the whole inverter scenario where your better off looking for a higher peak wattage?

 

[the snooper]

@the snooper is this like the whole inverter scenario where your better off looking for a higher peak wattage?

Yeah you're definitely better off bigger, you may want to run something bigger in the future aswell, saves you buying twice plus you won't be running it to its limits a the time I had 6kva diesel kipor I had given, it had been on fire due to bad maintenance, I repaired it and it ran well and pretty quiet

 

[Ashley Burton]

Yeah you're definitely better off bigger, you may want to run something bigger in the future aswell, saves you buying twice plus you won't be running it to its limits a the time I had 6kva diesel kipor I had given, it had been on fire due to bad maintenance, I repaired it and it ran well and pretty quiet

I assume that's a big generator in actual physical size?

I just want something still portable without a forklift required

 

[the snooper]

I assume that's a big generator in actual physical size?

I just want something still portable without a forklift required

Ermm yeah you couldn't lift it but it wasn't that big really

 

[stuvy]

Big as in the biggest kva’s

 

[frank horton]

my little Honda 1900w is great starts easy but wont run a 9" grinder tho...well on start up.....
this genny had stood for years unloved ....
out of interest it get's run till hot 1'st day of every month and 2 oil changes per year ....Synthetic....a great tool...

 

[Ashley Burton]

my little Honda 1900w is great starts easy but wont run a 9" grinder tho...well on start up.....
this genny had stood for years unloved ....
out of interest it get's run till hot 1'st day of every month and 2 oil changes per year ....Synthetic....a great tool...

If you were to buy again would you go for a 4Kw?

Is your Honda Petrol?

 

[carbon]

If the 2kw load is inductive then I think you will need a bigger generator. I have one customer that runs a commercial hot pressure washer from a 6.5kva generator. It has two motors one 1.85kw and another 110w. He was recommended not to go below 6.5kva as it would cause problems.

 

[Ashley Burton]

If the 2kw load is inductive then I think you will need a bigger generator. I have one customer that runs a commercial hot pressure washer from a 6.5kva generator. It has two motors one 1.85kw and another 110w. He was recommended not to go below 6.5kva as it would cause problems.

I definitely won't be running one of those!

 

[carbon]

If it’s an 2kw inductive motor on you’re mitre saw then it would have a similar start current requirement

 

[Agroshield]

As others have said, it is the start up load of a motor that tests the generator.

If the saws are modern and have soft-start built in, you might get away with a smaller generator. Another option to consider is a separate soft-start unit but you'd have to do the cost analysis.

How often will you be using it? A diesel machine, with the tank kept topped up, will go a lot longer between starts without issue. A 45 gallon drum of red diesel will also be a cheap way to fuel it (keep the air in the drum dry). Modern petrol does not like to be left for a long time, so you may have to stop the machine by switching off the fuel and letting the float bowl run dry. It also means you cannot really keep a big supply on hand.

 

[Ashley Burton]

As others have said, it is the start up load of a motor that tests the generator.

If the saws are modern and have soft-start built in, you might get away with a smaller generator. Another option to consider is a separate soft-start unit but you'd have to do the cost analysis.

How often will you be using it? A diesel machine, with the tank kept topped up, will go a lot longer between starts without issue. A 45 gallon drum of red diesel will also be a cheap way to fuel it (keep the air in the drum dry). Modern petrol does not like to be left for a long time, so you may have to stop the machine by switching off the fuel and letting the float bowl run dry. It also means you cannot really keep a big supply on hand.

It's difficult to say about usage atm, But I don't think hiring one would be a cost effective alternative

Totally with you about running a petrol one dry when not planning on using it

 

[tom2207]

my stage ran on an eu 30i honda , and i loved it , it was reliable quiet and relatively compact , in 13 years all i ever did was service it once a year and feed it fuel .
ive a small honda 2.2 macalite { probably wrong spelling }gen set under a bench in the garage , I start it once in a while and it will run a hot air gun just , but a full size kettle drags it down , , buy something twice the size you think you want , and that you can just about lift on your own , then get a friend to give you a hand moving it , and enjoy a cuppa now you have the power to boil a kettle .

 

[henry Kadzielski]

Good morning gents.
I have built a few generators in my time. Size for size a2kva petrol generator will have a lower starting capacity that a diesel one, mainly due to the revolving mass. The diesel engine with more weight internally has more 'overload capacity' to get things started. Biggest advantage of petrol is cheaper to buy and lighter / smaller in size. Advantage of diesel lower fuel cost. Another advantage of petrol is, if under low load the petrol engine will fine, the diesel will eventually glaze the bores. The petrol is quieter operating than diesel. The diesel under the right conditions will last much longer and has the ability to run at it's max load longer. If you are talking about 2kw or kva then the 'silent' inverter honda's or Yamaha's are great. If you get a small generator you will be limited to what you can connect / start. If you get a bigger than currently required, it will run much longer at the lower load due to the bigger fuel tank between fills, also to note we always add loads and never reduce loads!

 

[MoreWellie]

I had a honda based 2.2kva generator and it was never that great, it would just about run a 1.5HP 24l compressor but was never happy with it starting. It also used a lot of petrol when running at high loads

I also tried to use it at home for telly/lights during powercuts and the output wasn't near enough to a sinewave/230v for telly/PCs to be happy despite having an avc

The trade off is the weight of 4 or 5 kva generators, I was just about ok moving the 2.2 by myself (old school pre inverter type) but I am not lifting a bigger old school one without help