On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 12:48:48AM -0400, Ron Rogers wrote: > Another criterion for judging generators is the quality of the > electrical output. How closely is it regulated and how close to true > sine wave does it get.
Well... you can judge quality that way to some extent, certainly. But given that I almost always use my generator to charge my batteries rather than driving sensitive electronics directly, how much does it actually matter? I did run my computers directly from non-inverter generators, for many years, while I was in the Caribbean, and it never caused them any harm. I'm not quite to the point of calling inverter generators a scam, but I am a little skeptical about the whole concept. There are a lot more (expensive) parts that can fail, and a usage scenario that mostly doesn't fit reality. In regard to reliability, however, a Kipor is being used to power the world's highest mobile phone station - the one on Everest. Also, searching around in the RV/boating/sailing/liveaboard forums turns up a number of Kipor owners but none with serious complaints (one guy didn't like having to install a hard-start kit for his 13.5k air conditioner, but that's about it.) > Is the Kipor of Chinese manufacture? It is - and they appear to have copied the good features of the Honda while leaving out the bad (again, this is from other people's reports; I have no personal experience with one yet.) Some people have started referring to them as "Chondas", which I find terminally cute, :) > COSTCO has > a generator which resembles a Honda, but is made in China. If you're going to be within reach of a Costco for a while, it may be worth buying one - they're very good about returns, so you could test the heck out of it and still be protected. -- * Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://LinuxGazette.NET * _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
