Generators

Does anyone know of a good site for generator accessories and supplies? I have a Honda EM5000S that got its first real usage this weekend following a direct hit by Frances. I am looking for specialized connection cables, GFIs, and distribution blocks.

The following is an shamless plug for Honda generators. I do not work for Honda, standard disclaimers apply, YMMV:

Damn, Honda makes a great product. I have been bad, really bad. I have not tested my generator for over 3 1/2 years. The generator is 6 years old. I did empty out the tank by running it dry and sprayed WD40 in the tank to keep it from rusting prior to storage. I poured fresh gasoline in it after having been without power for 12 hours, turned the key, turned on the gas valve, pulled out the choke, and gave the starter cord a half-assed pull. That puppy started right up without as much as a miss or cough. Ran perfectly for 10 straight hours on a tank of gas. I am very impressed. I would recommend this product to anyone.

Best wishes.

Craig
Jupiter, FL

Last year when my old mower kicked the bucket, I found out that Sears had a new Craftsman mower with a Honda engine. No need to think about that! The best motor, on a lawnmower from a company with the best service.

Sorry, have no idea where to get parts. But I do have a question. :-)

I haven't run my generator yet (one of the lucky, lucky few whose power didn't go out this time), so I don't know whether to believe the manual or not. It says I'll get 9.1 hours out of an 8 gallon tank at full load (6kW). I'm guessing it'll be even longer at less than full load. That seems like a really long time for 8 gallons of gas. How big is your tank, and do you know how much power you're putting out?

(I don't know where to get the special connectors, but I bought a 10 guage 100 ft extension cord and a portable GFCI at a place called "MegaTools". Looks like a contractor supply kind of place. I'll bet Home Depot or Lowes will have that kind of stuff.)

You may want to pick up a hand crank "liquid transfer pump". I got mine at Ace Hardware. It was about $30. I've found it to be incredibly useful. I use it to fill up my gas cans from the car instead of taking the cans to the station, and it'll also let you safely use fuel from your vehicles (no siphoning).

It sounds extreme, but I like the fact that I can fill the gas cans without people knowing I'm doing it. Gas is currently hard to find and lots of people are without power. I'd rather not advertise the fact that I'm buying more gas than I need for my car to take home to my generator. :-)

I'm getting about 10 hours from 5 gallons.

I like the "liquid transfer pump" idea. Is it cranked manually or via an electric drill. I could see where the electric drill cranked one could be an issue. My Dewalt 18 -volt hammer drill kicks out a big arc every time I crank her up.

Thanks for the good ideas. We Floridians must stick together in this time of crisis.

Best wishes.

Craig.

Jupiter, FL

Manual. I can't see inside, but I think there are some rollers squeezing a tube. Turning the crank moves the rollers and pumps the fluid. Reminds me of a hand cranked fuel pump I had for R/C airplanes.

It's a little slow, but it gets the job done.

Thanks for the information. One lesson learned from this experience is that you cannot have enough gasoline on hand. That's a bit of an overstatement as you must weigh the balance of having a quantity of a flammable liquid in your house with your situation. However, this is day 3 after the hurricane and few gas stations are operational. The ones that are have unbelieveable lines and run out within a couple of hours. Purchases have been restricted to filling your vehicle tank and one, repeat one, container.

If my power had not been restored Sunday night, I don't know how long I could have kept my food from spoiling on 10 gallons. I was running the generator for 4 hours, then off for 10-12 as it was -- making sure I recharged everything that needed it during the on times.

Anyway, I've learned lots of lessons. I need a chainsaw. I need more gas cans. I need a wet-dry vac.

Other planning went well. Amature radio was a godsend. When the power went down, I still had direct contact with emergency net control in my part of the county, the county EOC, and the fire department down the street. All were on a local repeater and reachable, if necessary. I also heard traffic from the local shelters and could make decisions as to when to head to the safe room. Sure, I guess a portable AM radio would have given me some of the same information, but it was a great feeling knowing that we were not alone.

I'm happy to share my experience to anyone who needs information. Just PM me.

Best wishes.

Craig.

Craig, just out of curiosity, did the local repeater you are referring to "make it through the storm" or was it a tactical repeater that was put up (and into operation) after the storm passed?

Thanks much for your response.

I happened to be visiting FL (in Tampa) up until Saturday. We constantly checked the weather via the weather channel, but I was severly disturbed by the lack of radio information. We found only one AM station that was broadcasting what I would consider a relevant amount of information. There were no FM stations doing anything else other than what they normally do. A weather channel re-broadcast (voice only) would be nice, as would having a weather band RX and the maps to plot the storm.

Bill

The repeater was the 146.625 machine on the tower behind Fire Station 14 in Jupiter Farms. I've viewed the installation and it looks like it would weather most storms. Its about 100' feet up on a 150' tower that is sturdy and well guyed. Interestingly, Net Control kept broadcasting the frequency of a backup repeater if that one got taken out. It never did.



All our broadcast FM stations simulcast local TV stations when the storm came in. The reporters tried to realize this and "visualize" what they were saying. Since they were TV reporters and not radio reporters, this was a little awkward for them. I am likely going to add a better battery operated TV to my hurricane supplies. The problem is that I have not found one that doesn't suck batteries like . . . well like . . . well, insert your own analogy.

Best wishes.

Craig.

Did it look like this?



Thanks.

Craig.

That's exactly the one I have.

Craig, thanks for the info on the repeater.
Nice to see it was built to last.

I had one of those, and the handle broke off way too easily.

Do they make anything similar in sturdy medal handle styles?

Bountyhunter

I agree. It's kinda cheap. OTOH, it's all that was available on short notice before Frances, and it's a lot better than trying to siphon gas with a garden hose. Longer term, I intend to replace several things which I've bought recently. But two (now three?) hurricanes have made finding anything like this very difficult. And that's in Orlando. Along the coast it must be a lot worse.

If you have time, and can choose, get something better. If you walk in the store and that's all they have, grab it.
(I did. :-)

Sounds about right Groo, most of the information that i have seen for a 5kw output is almost a gallon an hour. This also depends on the engine you have on your generator. As a rule the older style flathead engines are less fuel effient that the newer overhead valve engines, the OHV are usually a little quieter too.

The generator i used is a 4kw lincoln weld and power with an overhead valve briggs engine and it would run the fridge, freezer, couple of lights, fan, TV and water pump for 10 hours on 2 1/2 gallons of gas.

Great! I was only able to find two 5 gallon gas cans. I have 8 in the generator, plus 10 in the cans, plus about 10 in the car (usable for generator). Before Frances, I would have said that was enough. But gas was hard to find after Frances and will probably be even harder to find after Ivan. Still, that's 28 hours at full load, more if I just power the fridge.

Don't forget gas isn't the only consumable. Many generators run a surprisingly short time (e.g. 50 hours) before calling for an oil or air filter change.

Also regarding having enough gas... it's a good idea to keep enough gas in transportable containers to get to whatever backup destination you might want to get to, so you don't have to depend on getting gas along the way. E.g. 3 or 4 five-gallon containers will get you pretty far, especially if you start with a full tank. And if you stay put you can use it in your generator.

That's the same gas I use for the lawn mower. I rotate the old gas out. Also add fuel stabilizer like StaBil. Our "getaway" vehicle uses premium so that's what the lawn mower runs on! <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Steve

Yes, I bought some oil this week and plan some periodic maintainence this weekend.

On the gas issue, I agree with your strategy. I have two Justrite Type 2 DOT safety cans. My research indicated that they were the safest available. After what happened in north Florida during the approach of Frances, I don't believe that I would employ an evacuation strategy wihout a couple of these in the van. However, I am still squimish about carrying gasoline inside a vehicle. I hope I never have to do it for more that a couple of miles..

Craig.

That gas pump thingy seems kind of overkill for just filling a gas can from your car. It looks intended to pump liquids uphill, or maybe to pump gas from one car to another.

For pumping gas out of a tank into a can that's lower than the tank, I remember getting a siphon pump at the hardware store for $5 or so. It was just a piece of plastic tubing that had a squeeze bulb at the end with a flapper valve inside. Squeezing the bulb was the equivalent of sucking on the hose. You'd just give it a few squeezes and gas would start flowing. The whole thing weighed just a few ounces and there was not much of anything that could go wrong with it. I guess you could even pump uphill by keeping on squeezing, but it would be tedious.