Need Some Generator Advise.

I have an older generator that seems to have developed a surge problem. I fried my smoke alarms, an old solid state TV and a few other minor appliances. My house has a generator subpanel wired in for easy use. I need to run a fridge, a freezer and either a water pump or a furnace (can cycle these). A few lights and a TV as well. I'm thinking 5000-6000W will cover it.

I've heard great things about Honda generators but too pricey for me so I'm considering a Yamaha (still not cheap). Anyone had a Yamaha generator? Happy with It?

Electronics can be sensitive to modified sine waves from a basic generator. You will need to consider an inverter type for cleaner power. Honda and Yamaha are great however there are some cheaper and reliable alternatives that won't break the bank. As an example, I have owned a number of Champion engines that have served me without any problems and are easy to start for a fraction of the price of the name brand companies.

Here is some literature to help in your shopping decision:

https://y79961nbs4u2hvbnwronx9zx-wpe...hite_paper.pdf

https://www.costco.ca/generators.html

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Originally Posted by impact

Electronics can be sensitive to modified sine waves from a basic generator. You will need to consider an inverter type for cleaner power. Honda and Yamaha are great however there are some cheaper and reliable alternatives that won't break the bank. As an example, I have owned a number of Champion engines that have served me without any problems and are easy to start for a fraction of the price of the name brand companies.

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There is no such thing as a " Modified Sine Wave ". It is a marketing name, and simple means a Square Wave with some Filtering. A True sine wave will give you cleaner energy then you get out of the plug at home( 3% Ripple true sine wave VS 5% Ripple at home). You can use non true sine wave Generator with Sensitive Electronics two ways. 1) just plug it in and wait for it to die. or 2) plug a UPS( with LINE conditioning ) into the generator and the TV/Computer into the UPS. Since most tv/computer systems need less then 1000watts to run you can pickup a good UPS for a good price. Think of the money spent on the UPS as insurance. You'll burn out the UPS and save the TV.

But the price of a good quality inverter(true sine wave) generators is way lower then I have ever seen.

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Originally Posted by Snowwalker

There is no such thing as a " Modified Sine Wave ". It is a marketing name, and simple means a Square Wave with some Filtering. A True sine wave will give you cleaner energy then you get out of the plug at home( 3% Ripple true sine wave VS 5% Ripple at home). You can use non true sine wave Generator with Sensitive Electronics two ways. 1) just plug it in and wait for it to die. or 2) plug a UPS( with LINE conditioning ) into the generator and the TV/Computer into the UPS. Since most tv/computer systems need less then 1000watts to run you can pickup a good UPS for a good price. Think of the money spent on the UPS as insurance. You'll burn out the UPS and save the TV.

But the price of a good quality inverter(true sine wave) generators is way lower then I have ever seen.

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The OP mentioned that he fried smoke detectors. Pretty difficult to install a UPS on hard wired hardware hence my recommendation for an inverter type generator. No muss, no fuss and no second guessing of what is sensitive electronics or not. Always clean power.

I've identified the smoke alarm circuit on the generator panel and I'll just toggle it off. The smoke detectors have a battery backup. Could I just plug the UPS in the wall then plug the TV and receiver into the UPS. I'm not sure the whole house requires a filtered power supply.

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Originally Posted by DanO

I've identified the smoke alarm circuit on the generator panel and I'll just toggle it off. The smoke detectors have a battery backup. Could I just plug the UPS in the wall then plug the TV and receiver into the UPS. I'm not sure the whole house requires a filtered power supply.

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You certainly can go that route if you only need power protection for those devices. However, looking at my own home at the moment the fridge has an electronic control panel, so does the stove and dishwasher. Then there are the iphones and tablets. The furnace and gas fireplace have control boards and so on. That is why I went with an inverter type generator. We had a 6 hour power outage 2 weeks ago and I simply fired up the generator and plugged things in as required and below wattage capacity. No problem.

Bonus: Inverter type generators tend to be much quieter and RPM's adjust to load demand so also easier on gas

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Originally Posted by impact

The OP mentioned that he fried smoke detectors. Pretty difficult to install a UPS on hard wired hardware hence my recommendation for an inverter type generator. No muss, no fuss and no second guessing of what is sensitive electronics or not. Always clean power.

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Not hard at all.. you just buy the kit. Hard wires into the House side of the Generator connection just before the fuse box.
https://www.cdw.com/shop/products/AP...t/1560757.aspx

But a Inverter Generator makes for quick and easy hook up, and is the better option if your not setting up something like a cabin.

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Originally Posted by DanO

I've identified the smoke alarm circuit on the generator panel and I'll just toggle it off. The smoke detectors have a battery backup. Could I just plug the UPS in the wall then plug the TV and receiver into the UPS. I'm not sure the whole house requires a filtered power supply.

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Yes you can. plug the UPS in and plug your stuff into it. Just remember even if you have a UPS with six outlets only one or two will give full filtering protection, the rest just provide surge protection.

OK thanks guys. Not sue what I'm going to do. Maybe the higher end generators are worth the money if they produce a cleaner energy.

Get a Honda Inverter generator and never look back.

Yamaha EF 3000iseb, runs our cottage off grid. In fact I ran my house during ice storm for 5days.


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I'm surprised a 3000W generator would run your house. You must really cut down on the loads.

It's a little late now but Lowe's about a month ago had a great deal, Generac Gen. - 10,000 starting watts, 8000 running watts for $895.oo +tax. including a 20 ft. 30 A cord w/ 4 outlets.
I couldn't turn down a deal like that, it runs great , 11 hrs. on full tank.

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Originally Posted by jaycee

It's a little late now but Lowe's about a month ago had a great deal, Generac Gen. - 10,000 starting watts, 8000 running watts for $895.oo +tax. including a 20 ft. 30 A cord w/ 4 outlets.
I couldn't turn down a deal like that, it runs great , 11 hrs. on full tank.

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You don't get it hooked to your gas line and run it on Natural gas? A 10Kw generator is more then enough to run the house, but normally people run them off Natural gas. I assume you have a gas line at your place.

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Originally Posted by DanO

I'm surprised a 3000W generator would run your house. You must really cut down on the loads.

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I have a 3000 watt also, it will run our furnace fan, fridge and a few lights. Enough to get you thru a storm but doesn't burn as much fuel as others. I think a 3000 watt inverter would be perfect for most households as a backup.

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Originally Posted by Snowwalker

You don't get it hooked to your gas line and run it on Natural gas? A 10Kw generator is more then enough to run the house, but normally people run them off Natural gas. I assume you have a gas line at your place.

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No we do not have it hooked to natural gas! , we are out in the country , closest gas line is almost 4 miles from our house!, and normally there are very few gas lines running through the country.

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Originally Posted by jaycee

No we do not have it hooked to natural gas! , we are out in the country , closest gas line is almost 4 miles from our house!, and normally there are very few gas lines running through the country.

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I suspected that was the reason. My parents place in NS does not have gas, but they do in town just 400 yards away. The county had plans to run the lines right alone the road in front of their place, but the Liberals got elected and Infrastructure just disappeared. Dad said it took them two years just to come and fill in the miles of trench they had dug along the road, and that was only after someone drove their truck into the trench and killed themselves.

How do you keep the gas from going stale? you use it enough that it always pretty fresh, or do you buy Marine gas without ethanol in it?

I have a yamaha 3000 watt inverter, also switched over all my light bulbs to LED so all lights can be used, furnace fan, Internet modem, tv, etc. Only thing I can't run is the stove or clothes dryer.

I always add sea foam to my gas to assist in keeping it from going bad.

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How do you keep the gas from going stale? you use it enough that it always pretty fresh, or do you buy Marine gas without ethanol in it?

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Answer-- Seafoam !, also run it periodically and add fresh.
Seafoam is great stuff, I have a chainsaw that hadn't been run for 2 years, started on second pull and ran just as if it had fresh mixed gas just put in.

A 3,000 watt inverter generator is plenty of power for the infrequent and short power outages we have. Cheap on gas, lightweight and portable should you want to run it at the hunt camp or help out a family in need at another community without power.
If you go into a camping / survival mode you would be surprised at how little power you actually need.

There is even dual fuel generators if you are concerned about stale gas. You can keep propane on hand for 10 years before the bottle needs to be re-certified.

https://www.costco.ca/Champion-Dual-...%2B%2B8IwXQ%3D

https://www.championpowerequipment.c...fuel-inverter/

Anybody ever check how much variation there is in the sine wave out of a regular generator ? Is there a cheap way to check that or do you need an oscilloscope ?

I bought a relatively cheap Champion with the intention of using it as backup in power outages in winter, but wonder if it's good for the circuit board in the furnace.

Since we are talking about Generators I thought I would throw this link in.

I know there are a few guys that use solar panels and Batteries. Here is an easy way to top them batteries up, or to charge up and start stuff if the battery goes dead.

http://www.repeater-builder.com/back...h-followup.pdf

Well I couldn't justify a high output Honda so I bought a 7200 Yamaha generator. I'm reasonable confident the power is clean enough for appliances and the maximum output will do the three or four loads I need to use in my house. Thanks for posts guys.

I'm sure generators are like insurance......if you have it you'll never need it!