AC or DC generator?

[Nobodybusiness]

They pop up for sale here and there. Dime a dozen in Europe. I saw a complete light plant sell for $500 on ebay over there.

Ever priced shipping on one of those beast?

It was going to cost me $$$$ just to ship one here if I could get anyone to bother taking it to the nearest dock otherwise would have had to pay to get it shipped to the port then the cost of boat ride.
Then deal with customs and EPA once it got here.

 

[timselectric]

ok. so back for one final question. upon speaking with the sales rep he suggested i choose the generac 7163 off grid genny instead. his reasons are that the kohler requires a certified kohler technician be present to do the initial startup for the warranty to be valid, the generac only requires a licensed electrician to sign off on the installation. any thoughts?

I would be fine with either of them.
Neither stand out as troublesome in my area.

 

[Vigo]

Well here is how its done...This is a 3 parter

Im a big fan of that video. I would have done something different with the whole buck converter startup process being so manual, but again REALLY enjoyed the build/test. I hope anyone who watches the vid will scroll down to the comment i made at the time, it's near the top. Vigo327 on YT. I tried to add some conceptually helpful stuff for anyone else thinking or building along the same lines (as helpful as i could be for someone who hasn't done this build!).

 

[hugemoth]

I used to work on Generac generators over 20 years ago. Back then they were crap, don't know about the newer ones. One customer brought one into the shop that would only idle because of a broken governor link. In hated telling him that that 5" long bent piece of wire cost $28! + labor. We also had a bunch of them that had bad rotors because of defective coating on the plates that allowed eddy currents to drag down the engine even when not producing power.

 

[Samsonite801]

Im a big fan of that video. I would have done something different with the whole buck converter startup process being so manual, but again REALLY enjoyed the build/test. I hope anyone who watches the vid will scroll down to the comment i made at the time, it's near the top. Vigo327 on YT. I tried to add some conceptually helpful stuff for anyone else thinking or building along the same lines (as helpful as i could be for someone who hasn't done this build!).

Overall I liked the concept and idea a lot, good prototype, but the main thing I would've done different is to mount the motor and the alternator onto the same steel plate (so the belt could stay at same tension in relation to both pulleys), and then mounted the rubber feet onto the plate, attaching from there to your main appliance chassis (so the motor and alternator move together as a single unit).

I also wondered about the buck converter concept, we were always taught in mechanics school that it can be bad to full-field alternators for extended periods (mainly should only be used for troubleshooting), so I would want to test the longevity of running a full-field voltage and running it hard for extended periods and check temperatures on the alternator to make sure it doesn't overheat and melt down.

I have seen some other videos where guys have switched out the rotor electro-magnet, and installed permanent neodymium magnets on the rotors of car alternators so then they don't need excitation to induce current.

But all in all, I liked the concept and his general MacGyver mentality as it inspires thought and creation of useful ideas...

 

[sunsurfer]

I used to work on Generac generators over 20 years ago. Back then they were crap, don't know about the newer ones. One customer brought one into the shop that would only idle because of a broken governor link. In hated telling him that that 5" long bent piece of wire cost $28! + labor. We also had a bunch of them that had bad rotors because of defective coating on the plates that allowed eddy currents to drag down the engine even when not producing power.

Sadly the only decent generator worth buying is a Honda. I don't know about their bigger units but the small ones are dependable. The gens made for American home backup only need to last a few hrs for their life time. Its not like some countries where the power goes out daily for hours. I'm not surprised there are so many problems with them. I would not by any of them. I think more lithium storage would be money better spent.

 

[Checkthisout]

Sadly the only decent generator worth buying is a Honda. I don't know about their bigger units but the small ones are dependable. The gens made for American home backup only need to last a few hrs for their life time. Its not like some countries where the power goes out daily for hours. I'm not surprised there are so many problems with them. I would not by any of them. I think more lithium storage would be money better spent.

I have the same opinion but one guy got a champion 6250 inverter on Amazon for $267.00.

You just can't go wrong with that.

 

[hugemoth]

Some Chinese generators are pretty good and some are pretty bad. Having had a Lifan motorcycle that was great I bought a Lifan inverter generator that was terrible. I returned it and bought a 1200 Watt Wen inverter generator that has been perfect for over 2000 hours. Also have a 3800 Watt Wen that is great with about 650 hours so far. Pretty sure the small Generacs are Chinese, don't know about the big ones.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

can't go wrong with that

And the longevity cycle reports are good.

Sadly the only decent generator worth buying is a Honda

Not necessarily.
There are larger units on the “medium” scale from several different manufacturers that do well over time, kohler for one. And the Yamaha portable units are pricey but last “forever” for the people I know that have them. And then Mitsubishi gensets run pretty much forever with maintenance and replacement parts availability as robust as the automotive industry.
Another factor is maintenance: when people pay $6k for a $1500 generator they don’t leave them out in the rain and snow and they change the oil regularly whether it needs it or not. While a commodity $1500 generator might go 3000hrs or a year or two or more with maintenance, many last longer enough that people feel they get their money’s worth, I’m thinking about one guy that used a Yamaha suitcase genny for over a decade of steady use and then gave it away and bought another 5 or 6 years ago and the recipient is still using it every weekend 7-8mos/year.

Time will tell on the ‘inverter’ Champion I bought, but from all appearances I won’t be surprised if it goes ten years. Or maybe more once i finish deploying all my solar; it may seldom run except for mobile welding I’m guessing.

 

[Hardergamer1]

Yanmar engine gensets seem to last forever and are popular in the boat/shipping world, made by Stephill or Pramac over here, and Weichai seem to be very popular in the UK/EU as they are cheap, we have a 30KVA Weichai at work with 41k hours on it, with it only needed basic servicing, its been running nearly nonstop for the last 6 year mainly on filters used engine oil, and it has a "plethora" or overload of 25% 31kw, a gentator that size for £2.5k new is crazy cheap that can last that long.

 

[Checkthisout]

Yanmar engine gensets seem to last forever and are popular in the boat/shipping world, made by Stephill or Pramac over here, and Weichai seem to be very popular in the UK/EU as they are cheap, we have a 30KVA Weichai at work with 41k hours on it, with it only needed basic servicing, its been running nearly nonstop for the last 6 year mainly on filters used engine oil, and it has a "plethora" or overload of 25% 31kw, a gentator that size for £2.5k new is crazy cheap that can last that long.

Low RPM diesel gensets last forever.

They have to.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Yanmar engine gensets seem to last forever and are popular in the boat/shipping world

Forgot about them. Ya, another good one.

 

[seneysolar]

Go kohler.