# The most important aspect to consider when choosing an air cooled generator set



## Keypor (9 mo ago)

What is the most important aspect to consider when choosing an air cooled generator set?


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## Dutchy491 (Sep 18, 2019)

Positive reviews, company history, popularity, reliability, after-sales service/warranty and the correct size…Honda eu2200 or eu7000is 😉 Sorry, that’s several important aspects.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

yea honda eu series all the way for me!
the eu7000is rocks!
and is easy to convert to tri fuel for a low cost run if you have natural gas.


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## Browse Deweb (Jan 16, 2021)

Honda EU7000IS meets my needs. Fuel injected, quiet, 240V output, converted to tri-fuel, perfect sine wave, quality build, easy to get parts and maintenance items.


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## speedy2019 (Jan 29, 2019)

Dutchy491 said:


> Positive reviews, company history, popularity, reliability, after-sales service/warranty and the correct size…Honda eu2200 or eu7000is 😉 Sorry, that’s several important aspects.


Depends how often your using it,, if your using a gen once in a blue moon, you dont really want to spend thousands on a Honda.. Like I have a cheap gen, as I hardly ever use it,, but its still going as well as when I bought it 3yrs ago, because I try to keep it maintained well and thats not very easy when your in a chair with only 1 decent steady hand, but somehow I manage. But even a expensive gen will let you down if its not properly maintained.

But you want the correct size but bigger than you need, not too much bigger though because remember they will consume more fuel and nosier the larger the gen you buy... And need to make sure you can get spare parts, something I didnt check when buying mine, but thankfully I can buy the spare parts...


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## pipe (Jun 27, 2021)

Keypor said:


> What is the most important aspect to consider when choosing an air cooled generator set?


The steps you have taken _before_ purchase for the intended use & purpose. For residential emergency use, in all our homes and off-grid locations, we installed DC motors, pumps, compressors. This alone cut the energy demand by more than 50% and zero in-rush start issue(s) since DC motors start at low speed and adapt to needed power demand.

These steps also include a well-rehearsed support plan, for example; Think ahead on Who needs to know, What needs done ahead, How will this be connected, Where will it be connected ---- you may not be around when someone "else" may need power.


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

Depends on what you can afford to pay, or want to pay.
I bought my gens used. Of course I had to repair them, but I got one for $300 a Generac 6500, and another for $50, electric start TroyBilt 8000. Nothing was seriously wrong in either one.

I figured , I end up fixing EVERYTHING I ever owned anyway, so why pay new prices. And the junk I throw out no one would want except for scrap.

Both run like new.

I prefer the TroyBilt, seems better quality to me, better repairability.


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## Columbotrek (11 mo ago)

when sizing, remember to derate the thing. Marketing boasts say 7000 watts for $5000. But what you really get is 5500 running watts at sea level on a standard day running zero ethanol gas. Say you are at 5000ft above sea level on a day with a density altitude of 7000 feet. Summer in the mountains. Derate that 5500 watt generator by 25%. Wish to run a alt fuel? Derate another 10% for propane or 20% for natural gas. So the mighty 7000 watt beast only can deliver 3300 watts running full bore. Any turbo charged gen sets out there? If not, the available option is to oversize by a lot. And that takes one out of inverter land and more into the 10KW or larger rotary territory if you need to power anything moderately substantial. Be sure to consider the limitations imposed by the environment it will be used in.


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

My 8000 watt Troybuilt has a 13500 watt surge, it runs my 3.5 ton heat pump.
so with my interlock panel, I run the entire house, I dont turn off a single breaker, but if the AC is on, I will run a microwave, but dont bother with the oven.











Dont know if they even make one as a TroyBilt like this good one here anymore.


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## speedy2019 (Jan 29, 2019)

sdowney717 said:


> My 8000 watt Troybuilt has a 13500 watt surge, it runs my 3.5 ton heat pump.
> so with my interlock panel, I run the entire house, I dont turn off a single breaker, but if the AC is on, I will run a microwave, but dont bother with the oven.
> 
> View attachment 11523
> ...


Who need fancy inverter gens hey? I bet that uses some fuel? My gen is a 2600wat and has a 12 litre tank and lasts about 10-12hrs, so about a litre a hour or just over.


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

speedy2019 said:


> Who need fancy inverter gens hey? I bet that uses some fuel? My gen is a 2600wat and has a 12 litre tank and lasts about 10-12hrs, so about a litre a hour or just over.


I used to know, but I never need, not for years and years so have forgotten. It is only for when power goes out, that just does not happen for us. In the last 15 years , power has been out twice, maybe. If power goes out more than 3 hours, I would hook it up to the house. Our worst outage was in 2003 with Hurricane Isabel, and power was out 12 days. Gas was cheaper back then. Biden did us in.

Recently worked on both of mine and got them running again, they run good.

It sort of seems, during Isabel I got 12 hours out of a tank. I ran both of them during the rain, and the wind of that storm after it passed us by outside, I did cover the gas can cap to try to keep water out of the vent.


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

But of course it was running the whole house, and the AC, and I shared power to 2 neighbors.
The lady next store brought the gas over too. I said she did not need to, but she said she was glad to keep from losing her fridge.


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

Regarding gasoline use, I could always convert my TroyBilt to Natural Gas you know.
So far wife is not been interested.
My supply pipe from Dominion Power is good sized. it is either 3/4 or 1 inch, the galvanized pipe measures 1.055 inch diameter on the outside.

Label says 250 CF,H. cubic feet per hour. Is that good enough?
The 5 PSI, is that the max rating for meter on the input piping?

And seeing my original piping is galvanized, I would just use galvanized pipe, which I thought I had read was a bad idea. TEE and and ball valve can fit on the short nipple after the meter elbow, or on the longer vertical pipe. I think that meter collar simply unscrews, and meter base would need supporting while pipe is apart.
Looks like it.


https://www.ingaa.org/File.aspx?id=12366


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

There's definitely multiple aspects to consider. To me, sizing is on top of the list. It must have enough oomph to power whatever is necessary. Although, it needn't be too large and definitely shouldn't be too small.


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

OrlyP said:


> There's definitely multiple aspects to consider. To me, sizing is on top of the list. It must have enough oomph to power whatever is necessary. Although, it needn't be too large and definitely shouldn't be too small.


Yes many people are upselled into larger than needed systems. These are emergency use only for vast majority.
Running them full time is not economically sustainable to a family budget. All utility power will be restored. With my 2500 sq foot home, I can do well on 8000 watts. I also realized in Biden's America, running it on gasoline is not affordable past even 2 days versus the price of converting over, so a NG conversion I am doing myself.


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## Mike M (Sep 5, 2021)

Keypor said:


> What is the most important aspect to consider when choosing an air cooled generator set?


#1 in my book: Reliability
Let's face it, when a gen is needed during a power outage it-is-needed.
I have two (one purchased new and the other purchased as used) eu3000is'.
I can run my home (excluding AC/Oven/Elec cooktop) on one of them, which is all I need in an emergency.
The other is a back up.


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

Yeah, reliability is important. But anything mechanical and electronics can go pop-crackle-snap even if you have a very strict maintenance regimen. Even the venerable Honda can leave you in the lurch for the tiniest of reasons. For that, it's important to keep a backup for the backup.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

always have a plan C!


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## JVazquez53 (Jul 8, 2021)

iowagold said:


> yea honda eu series all the way for me!
> the eu7000is rocks!
> and is easy to convert to tri fuel for a low cost run if you have natural gas.





Keypor said:


> What is the most important aspect to consider when choosing an air cooled generator set?


Reliability and economy, those two are with Honda EU7000is hands down.


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

For people who are only willing to spend for one of them Hondas, another option is to get 2 or 3 non-Honda generators for the price of one EU7k. If they're inverters, you can have a 2 + 1 setup (2 in parallel + 1 spare).


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

BIG difference in the inverters on the real honda eu7000is gen.

I have been looking at stand alone inverters for a solar setup...
some of those have real time avr conditioning....
so you could have trash feeding the ac line and it would correct it...
not sure on how bad of input it would correct for lets say 24/7 run....
but for the little changes they do not miss a beat..
but we are talking inverters that are over 30k in price for 200 amps...
then you have to have the real battery bank to match the system unless you load shed.


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