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If you are going the terrifyingly cheap 'All Power' route, may I recommend the 4-stroke over the 2-stroke. The '4' is much quieter, uses regular gas, and in my opinion lasts longer. It is true that these won't last long out-of-the-box, but there is a reason for this -- the spark plug that they come with is C-R-A-P. Replace it, and you will be a happy camper.
P.S.: Small engines like real gas, not ethanol. There is a gas station in Mountain View that sells straight up gas. It is a couple of cents more expensive, but worth it.
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Pauls has Efree gas and so does HFN.
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Mark I inherited a smart UPS 1500 with bad batteries but I was planning to customize it. Did you do something similar with the 3000?
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Always ethanol free gas. I used to add sta-bil to my cans but more recently I purchased this:
http://www.amazon.com/PRI-G-16-oz-Fuel-S...B0000AXY97
Has anyone ever used it? A lot cheaper than sta-bil (one jug treats 256 gallons) and supposedly you can re-treat every year to keep gas fresh "for years".
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There wasn't any customization required other than to extend the battery connections out to an external bank of batteries, in my case 48 volts worth which was of course the same voltage as the original tiny internal bank but hundreds of times larger in terms of amp-hours. I suppose there could be a concern of overheating depending on how the UPS was built. The smallest and cheapest don't have any fans or other measures to cool the electronics, relying instead on having the tiny batteries run out before anything melts or catches fire. I think the Smart UPS line employs fans. Mine does and it has run continuously on battery power for months. Actually, years really. I can't say for sure that the 1500 is set up the same way but I bet it is. What is the DC voltage it runs at? Be careful about just counting the batteries. Mine had a series/parallel arrangement.
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Purchased at Costco this morning: Generac GP8000E for $399, on close out.
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quote:
Originally posted by julieb
Purchased at Costco this morning: Generac GP8000E for $399, on close out.
Got one for my brother's house on Oahu. This is their lower end line. It uses splash lubrication, no oil pump. As such it will not have the longevity the higher end models would have but OTOH it was practically free. If it gets us over a rough spot it was worth it. Change the oil frequently and keep it level when running. I have heard of splash lubricated lawnmowers essentially running without oil and ruined while mowing on a slope.
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Thanks for your input. We would prefer to never need, but will try to keep it happy if and when we do.
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I've had an older Troy-Bilt 5550 with 10hp Briggs for years. Pretty basic. No oil filter and it doesn't hold a whole bunch so oil must be changed frequently. It's been through several hurricanes and was run almost non-stop for several weeks all told, probably over a month. During those times it was only shut off for refueling and oil changes. I was pretty consistent on the oil changes. It's been pretty much trouble free. It is loud. A good fuel stabilizer is a necessity as is regular runs. It's a cheap but reliable alternative if treated properly. I doubt many people would be as reliable on the oil changes as I am. Many are probably run without oil changes during entire week or multi-week outages. Don't buy a used one unless so cheap you can afford to lose on the gamble.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
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I use synthetic oil. Get a genny that logs run time hours and it's easy to know when to change oil.
