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Thread: The PF ICE (gas engine) generator thread

  1. #461
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
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    Doing some searching today on THD values for Invertger gennies, it looks like 3% is typical and 5% is a NTE value. As opposed to numbers like 25% (wow) for non-inverter gennies.

  2. #462

  3. #463
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    Quote Originally Posted by RJ View Post
    Doing some searching today on THD values for Invertger gennies, it looks like 3% is typical and 5% is a NTE value. As opposed to numbers like 25% (wow) for non-inverter gennies.
    I appreciate the responses to my inquiry for genny's for electronics. I think I am gonna go the route of Power Station / "Solar" Generator. All I *need* to run is my (Starlink) router, and a fan to circulate warm air off the wood stove. Would also use for charging laptops/phones. I have a landline (there is zero cell signal at my residence - none), but wifi calling over Starlink has us seriously considering dumping the landline - which is pretty horrible anyway. But if we do that, we have zero comms if we don't have Starlink/internet - so having a power supply to keep that up would be mandatory.

    I did some quick research on power stations earlier today and it looks to me like the Bluetti and also EcoFlow are the top contenders. I *might* entertain getting some solar panels, but my use case will primarily be outages due to snow/winter storms so I'm not sure the solar panels really do much for me. Would probably recharge either via gas genny or vehicle.

    Do we need a new thread on "Solar Generators"?
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  4. #464
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RJ View Post
    I found out SIL got a new gennie, so he has no longer need for mine, which I loaned him a while ago.

    Attachment 99172

    It’s a Honda EB3800X I bought maybe 2003. Good number of outlets and an 8 HP engine. It hasn’t been running ‘for a while’ so when I get it home I plan to change the oil, clean the filter, take off and clean the float bowl and replace the plug. I located a PDF of the Owners Manual online, so parts should be easy to source. I see the fuel line is a two year replaced part, so most likely that’s brittle and needs renewing anyway. Going to get it running and gift it to my son who lives in Eustis.
    I couldn’t get it running, so I brought it over for my son to work on. He found the jet at the very bottom of the carb bowl had gunked up. No fuel. He removed the jet from the inlet and cleaned it. Fired right up.

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  5. #465
    Quote Originally Posted by Tensaw View Post
    ... and a fan to circulate warm air off the wood stove.
    Just to be sure, you know about these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075F36YNK ?

    (we have that one, dunno if it's good/bad/whatever, works for us)



    > I *might* entertain getting some solar panels, but my use case will primarily be outages due to snow/winter storms so I'm not sure the solar panels really do much for me.

    FWIW, our off-off-grid cabin has a 300W panel with a 100AH (car sized) battery and cheap (Renogy) MPPT controller. The panel is mounted vertically and so doesn't collect snow. Even in storms we get enough juice to charge phones, batteries for trail cams (lots!), and run an efficient (Raspberry Pi 400 puter-in-a-keyboard) linux box for movie nights, etc. Like the battery never goes below maybe 95% even when we charge a lot of eneloops and the phones and watch movies during a storm.

    > Do we need a new thread on "Solar Generators"?

    I think there is one

  6. #466
    Site Supporter hufnagel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RJ View Post
    I couldn’t get it running, so I brought it over for my son to work on. He found the jet at the very bottom of the carb bowl had gunked up. No fuel. He removed the jet from the inlet and cleaned it. Fired right up.

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    Generators, for the most part, need to be treated like they are... 1950s engine technology. care and feeding of a seldomly run carb'ed engine is a crucial thing (in fact, run the damn thing more often solves most of the problems!) If you haven't ever tinked with an MGB or a Sunbeam () you should brush up on your small engine carb maintenance. It's not generally hard, just needs doing.
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  7. #467
    Site Supporter hufnagel's Avatar
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    someone wondered about using 2 generators at the same time on the same circuits, and I mentioned looking into figuring something out.

    here's my thoughts:



    just like in large power plants, use one of these to monitor both generators, adjust the speed control on one until the meter says go, then lock them together electrically.

    sadly HF doesn't sell their cheap <$100 generators any longer, otherwise I'd start that experiment.
    the most expensive part in all of it, will be the synchroscope it looks like.
    Rules to live by: 1. Eat meat, 2. Shoot guns, 3. Fire, 4. Gasoline, 5. Make juniors
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  8. #468
    Site Supporter hufnagel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RJ View Post
    Doing some searching today on THD values for Inverter gennies, it looks like 3% is typical and 5% is a NTE value. As opposed to numbers like 25% (wow) for non-inverter gennies.
    that is in general true. however it needs to be noted that poor quality generators will make THD figures like that but usually only if you're running them at the bleeding edge of max power. There's also things you can do to help alleviate that, such as tuning the generator to run at higher levels, at the expense of running well at lower power draws (usually resulting in too high a frequency on the output.) I learned this from experience. Even getting my 5500/6500 to be "perfect" at mid-range loading (3500W) caused problems when it was running at lower (sub 1200W) loading.

    also note many people are discovering, inverter generator's ratings are kind of like digital; people needed to learn that there was no real "headroom" for overloading gracefully. you smack a 7000W inverter generator with 7001W of loading, and it'll trip out. it's similar to the education people are getting on larger whole house off-grid battery/solar setups. lots of manufacturers are making cheaper High Frequency inverter setups now with much lower wasted power, but people are discovering they don't play nice with large motor loadings. they don't handle imaginary power as well as the more expensive and much heavier Low Frequency (big transformer, "high" power waste) inverters. so people are starting to consider hybrid setups: HF unit(s) for the normal "hotel" loads, and semi-dedicated LF unit(s) for big devices like well pumps, multi-ton AC condensers, etc., that get switched on and off as needed.

    like I've said before, it's all about what you need to run, how it needs to be run, and how far you're willing to get into the swamp to make it work.
    Rules to live by: 1. Eat meat, 2. Shoot guns, 3. Fire, 4. Gasoline, 5. Make juniors
    TDA: Learn it. Live it. Love it.... Read these: People Management Triggers 1, 2, 3
    If anyone sees a broken image of mine, please PM me.

  9. #469
    Site Supporter hufnagel's Avatar
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    Rules to live by: 1. Eat meat, 2. Shoot guns, 3. Fire, 4. Gasoline, 5. Make juniors
    TDA: Learn it. Live it. Love it.... Read these: People Management Triggers 1, 2, 3
    If anyone sees a broken image of mine, please PM me.

  10. #470
    Supporting Business NH Shooter's Avatar
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    Low THD (<5%), plenty of power and uber-high, built-in-the-U.S.A quality with a Honda EFI engine;



    Not cheap and at 504 lbs. the thing is a beast, but this may be my next generator as my current 5500 watt model struggles.

    https://www.electricgeneratorsdirect...r/p110839.html
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