Re: [BVARC] Best buys in portable generators?

[Ravi Ratnala via BVARC]

The cost of portable generators hinges almost entirely on two things:  1)  Pure sine wave v. modified sine wave, and 2) attendant noise.  Pure sine wave (typically, inverter-type generators) will cost more, as will the quieter ones, all else being equal. There is an argument for the more expensive generators being higher quality, but we all know that's not a hard-and-fast rule - there are plenty of bargains out there, just as there is overpriced fluff.  My sister still has yet to convince me that her $1,800 Prada purse is in any tangible way "better" than my wife's $85 badgeless one. Pure sine is the way to go if your budget can tolerate it - it's kinder to both electronics and most motors.  If you're only using your generator to power purely (or mostly) resistive loads like lights, you don't need pure sine.  In my opinion, the way to go for emergency or off-site lighting is battery-powered high-efficiency LED anyway, but to each his own. As to noise, I can personally attest to the appeal of a quiet generator.  During the post-Ike outage, my neighbors ran a typical home-center generator in their driveway 24/7 for 3 weeks, and it was like living on a construction site.  The moral of that story is, buying a quiet generator may not prevent you from being assaulted by your neighbor's loud one, but it will prevent you from being the offending neighbor! My main generator is a Yamaha EF3000iSEB, which I probably paid too much for (mostly because I'm a Yamaha guy and have always owned Yamaha motorcycles, ATVs, and marine equipment).  That said, it's been bulletproof, provides super-clean AC, and is so quiet you can't even hear it on the other side of a wall.  But, as Matthew pointed out, there are cheaper options out there now (bought my Yamaha back in 2008) that seem to make clean power quietly for much less $.  I've had my eye on the one Matthew has for a while as a backup - good to know it has served you so well. Hope this helps - 73, Rav KF5YHP Ravi Patrick. Ratnala CEO Index Solutions, Inc. Two Allen Center 1200 Smith Street, 16th Floor Houston, TX 77002 (877) INDEX-99 www.indexsolutions.com Jonathan Guthrie via BVARC wrote: I don't know.  I've never been able to justify buying a generator, I've only noticed the prices as I gazed longingly over the power equipment aisle at Lowe's. I almost didn't send that email because it doesn't answer the question, but I decided to in hopes that someone with actual experience would be able to address the cost issue. I would think that nearly all of the acoustic noise comes from the engine driving the generator, so how quiet the thing runs would depend strongly on how good the muffler is.  I wonder if people sell aftermarket mufflers for those little engines to make them quieter.  A quick google check shows that they do, and they're under $100. On 10/15/2014 09:26 PM, Scott Royall wrote: And how quiet were those $150/KW generators? From: BVARC [mailto:bvarc-boun...@bvarc.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan Guthrie via BVARC Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2014 20:57 To: matthew.miller...@gmail.com; BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Subject: Re: [BVARC] Best buys in portable generators?   I have looked at generators for a while, and I normally expect to see prices on the order of $100-$150 per kilowatt and that's like $400 per kilowatt, and you can buy a lot of extension cord for the price difference. On 10/15/2014 08:15 PM, Matthew Miller via BVARC wrote: Northern Tool and Equipment…   http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200623983_200623983   Much better deal than a Honda and you can daisy chain together !   Mine is super quiet and runs perfect !         Sent from Windows Mail   From: Michael Wrenn via BVARC Sent: ‎Wednesday‎, ‎October‎ ‎15‎, ‎2014 ‎8‎:‎06‎ ‎PM To: McClure, Rob K, BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB   Keep in mind, the more you pay, the quieter the generator will be, the easier it will be to hear those far off contacts. You get what you pay for, within reason. Seven Three, Michael - K5WRN http://www.qrz.com/db/K5WRN   On Wed, Oct 15, 2014 at 7:30 PM, McClure, Rob K via BVARC <bvarc@bvarc.org> wrote: Hello all,   Closed on my ham friendly QTH in Woodville TX and starting on Oct. 24th will start stringing some nice wire antennas until I can get a tower up.   I would like to back everything up with a portable generator which would also be nice to have for roving, and park work.   Opinions: who has the best buys in portable generators? Yamaha prices are right up with Honda now, but now I see Generac, Ryobi  and Hyundai all making less expensive but comparable output generators.   Thanks in advance for your input.   73, Rob, KC5RET   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information of Cameron and its Operating Divisions. Any unauthorized use or disclosure is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and delete and destroy all copies of the original message inclusive of any attachments. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _______________________________________________ BVARC mailing list BVARC@bvarc.org http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org   _______________________________________________ BVARC mailing list BVARC@bvarc.org http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org -- Jonathan Guthrie ARS KA8KPN -- Jonathan Guthrie ARS KA8KPN _______________________________________________ BVARC mailing list BVARC@bvarc.org http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org

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