Generators

[Davy Jones]

Hello! Looking to pick up a generator for emergencies, mostly for the reef to be honest. Nothing else in the house other than maybe a fridge or freezer would need the power and I live in minnesota so there really arent natural disasters leaving me with power more than a day or 2.

Not all generators are made the same however, and I know with our reefs they contain delicate electronics and need "clean" energy produced to avoid damage. What generator does everyone recommend?

I would want to power the RO Varios 6 return pump and 1 300 Watt heater, and the refrigerator. I think i should be able to get by with a 3000 watt generator with plenty of power to spare for phones and other basic QOL items for the worst case scenario of 2-3 days without power. Really hoping to spend less than $1k as much more than that Ill just go for the whole home generator option.

 

[dilligaf29]

look into the honda eu generators. they work great clean power not dirty but pricey. u get what u pay for. =) i have the honda eu 3000 and never let me down

 

[John3]

Yamaha and Honda are best in class but can be pricey. There are a lot of knockoffs of both that are cheaper and of decent quality.

I have a Yamaha 2000 watt and love it.

 

[mfinn]

The Cadillac of generators are the Hondas.
If I could afford one the electric start 6500 would be my dream machine ( next to a auto start whole house generator)
I had a Generac 6500 watt close to 15 years. It was very dependable. I used it alot. But it started having problems so I got a new generator.
I went for a little more power and bought a Harbor Freight Predator 8750 watt. It was on sale for $529.
I've used it twice and it seems pretty solid.
Harbor Freight has a 3000 watt inverter style one that would fit your needs.

 

[solitude127]

I have a 2000w Champion generator and it can run pumps and heaters for my DT, QT, nano, fridge and small freezer I have in the garage. I just run bare essentials when there's no power. Corals will be fine for a few days w/o light. It's a little louder than I'd like if I were running it in the middle of the night but beggars can't be choosers when the power is out. Overall I like it though. Starts with 1 maybe 2 pulls and gets good run time. Like other have mentioned, you can't go wrong with Honda or Yamaha and with a 1k budget you should be able to fine a 2000w generator within that budget.

 

[Brew12]

Hello! Looking to pick up a generator for emergencies, mostly for the reef to be honest. Nothing else in the house other than maybe a fridge or freezer would need the power and I live in minnesota so there really arent natural disasters leaving me with power more than a day or 2.

Not all generators are made the same however, and I know with our reefs they contain delicate electronics and need "clean" energy produced to avoid damage. What generator does everyone recommend?

I would want to power the RO Varios 6 return pump and 1 300 Watt heater, and the refrigerator. I think i should be able to get by with a 3000 watt generator with plenty of power to spare for phones and other basic QOL items for the worst case scenario of 2-3 days without power. Really hoping to spend less than $1k as much more than that Ill just go for the whole home generator option.

I would go with this one.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Generac-GP...rtable-Generator-with-Generac-Engine/50013592


As long as a generator has AVR (automatic voltage regulation) your aquarium equipment should run just fine.

I wouldn't go with one much smaller even though you don't need it for full load. A refrigerator compressor can pull a lot of current when it kicks on and a larger generator will help absorb that starting current without disrupting other loads.

If you want to pay more, you can go with something like this.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Champion-P...ble-Generator-with-Champion-Engine/1000039767

I should work fine for you but you won't be able to run any 220V loads which I have found handy in the past.

 

[Davy Jones]

Thanks for the responses! Ill take a look at both the honda/yamaha inverters and the generators listed by you Brew!

 

[anit77]

I went with this one last year and put in a transfer switch. It allows me to power have the house but no 220 loads either. For the money it seemed like a good deal.

What do you think of this one @Brew12

 

[Brew12]

I went with this one last year and put in a transfer switch. It allows me to power have the house but no 220 loads either. For the money it seemed like a good deal.

What do you think of this one @Brew12

I think you left out the link!

 

[Erica-Renee]

Mine is 8500w Kohler Its Dual fuel but i run it on propane only. Remember being repairable and parts availability is key , Kohleer can be serviced by anyone, Parts are cheap and on the shelf at most places..... ohh and kohler engines START First time everytime....

 

[fishybizzness]

I live in the Virgin islands and have a generac whole house 16k. This past hurricane season we were out of power for about 3 months. I was running the Gen for about 6 hours a day as it burns too much fuel to run all day. My job ended up bringing us in some firman 3000 k inverter generators. I had never heard of them but it was free so what the heck. I would run the generac in the morning until I was leaving for work at which point I would switch it off and plug my fridge, freezer and 2 tanks into the firman. The firman would run all day, about 8+ hours on approximately 1 gallon of fuel . It has a switch like the Honda for regular or eco mode. I ran it on eco. My brother in law ended up sending me a Honda eu 3000 in November and I have to say that the firman is just a little louder but not by much. It's impossible to beat the Honda dba level. The only thing I did to the firman that whole 3 months was changed the oil every 2 weeks. For under$900, they can't be beat. I don't think it could have been tested any harder than I did. It always started on the first pull.

 

[Erica-Renee]

d I have to say that the firman is just a little louder but not by much. It's impossible to beat the Honda dba level. The only thing I did to the firman that whole 3 months was changed the oil every 2 weeks. For under$900, they can't be beat. I don't think it could have been tested any harder than I did. It always started on the first pull.

I was curious not ever hearing about this brand and did some research I found this ..



- Firman, a global supplier of portable power, today announced availability of Firman Generators Powered by Kohler Engines, available for the first time in North America. Powered by Kohler engines, Firman portable generators are noted for their superiority in performance, reliability, and durability.

"Firman is responsible for generating over 150 million watts of portable power around the world and Kohler Engines are recognized as one of the best in the industry," said Firman general manager and North American vice president Roland Jackson. "The Firman Platinum Series featuring Kohler Engines brings the best of both brands to consumers just in time for the harsh winter weather ahead."

 

[fishybizzness]

I put it to such a test that I could be a spokesperson for the company!! Lol. I had never heard of them either but for the price and performance they can't be beat, IMHO..

 

[Mark Derail]

Hello! Looking to pick up a generator for emergencies.

Just get a Toyota Prius !! Use the Search function, lots of great write ups. An extra set of wheels is also handy - and trust me - nothing can be quieter !!

UPS Battery Backup for your aquarium

 

[Erica-Renee]

Just get a Toyota Prius !! Use the Search function, lots of great write ups. An extra set of wheels is also handy - and trust me - nothing can be quieter !!

UPS Battery Backup for your aquarium

That is a expensive Generator.Its not really large enough to be a usable auto ....

I cant hear my Generator run.. its way out back behind the garage. unless its in my work van for use on a job site someplace.. ohh and the prius might take up more room in the back of my van .. thou not much ..

 

[guido5526]

Honestly as a generator tech myself any of the new inverter gens are good. I personally own a champion 2kw, I did a lot of research before buying and most of the inverter ones have the same guts internally no matter the brand, all from China. And most parts are interchangeable. I just fixed my grandpa's Coleman powermate and found a part off a different brand that coated $20 in comparison to the $180 Coleman wanted and it worked fine.

 

[guido5526]

@Dirtrider225 hit me up sometime either on tcmas or here. I am also in MN and we can talk gens anytime.

 

[USMA36]

You can use one of the cheaper generators if you run your equipment through a ups and them to,a generator. A decent ups doesn’t cost much and will have an inverter to clean up the generators power and built in surge protection. The inverter in the ups will accomplish the same thing as the 2000.oo Honda 3000 watt generator. Going this route you can spend 500-600 at Lowe’s for 7500 watt generator and another 100 on an APC ups that will buy you some limited battery backup time for a pump or 2.

 

[guido5526]

You can use one of the cheaper generators if you run your equipment through a ups and them to,a generator. A decent ups doesn’t cost much and will have an inverter to clean up the generators power and built in surge protection. The inverter in the ups will accomplish the same thing as the 2000.oo Honda 3000 watt generator. Going this route you can spend 500-600 at Lowe’s for 7500 watt generator and another 100 on an APC ups that will buy you some limited battery backup time for a pump or 2.

There's no need to run a ups if u get any brand generator that has an inverter style instead of the older brushed gens. The new inverter gens will run at a constant 60hz with no fluctuations like the brushed gens

 

[Brew12]

There's no need to run a ups if u get any brand generator that has an inverter style instead of the older brushed gens. The new inverter gens will run at a constant 60hz with no fluctuations like the brushed gens

The frequency caused much less of an issue for electronics than the voltage issues since it is rectified to DC. The use of AVR on the non inverter generators has gone a long way to making them electronic safe.
If you take a generator without AVR and power a UPS from it, the UPS will disconnect repeatedly. If it has AVR? The UPS will treat it like any other stable power supply.