Generators for off grid

[Roberts82]

We have a 800w petrol generator but it is not enough. We are looking at a

ELECTRIC START PETROL GENERATOR 3.75KVA 8HP G7000W-E WITH OPTIONAL ATS​

This gives us the power with no more noise than the one we have. We have an option to get this in a dual fuel option petrol or lpg but costs another £150 on top.

Can anyone give advice we do need a minimum of 2kw constant running for off grid at noisy rallies. Thankyou.

 

[wildebus]

We have a 800w petrol generator but it is not enough. We are looking at a

ELECTRIC START PETROL GENERATOR 3.75KVA 8HP G7000W-E WITH OPTIONAL ATS​

This gives us the power with no more noise than the one we have. We have an option to get this in a dual fuel option petrol or lpg but costs another £150 on top.

Can anyone give advice we do need a minimum of 2kw constant running for off grid at noisy rallies. Thankyou.

No idea on recommendations, but you do see quite a few rallies and festivals stating that Petrol Generators are not allowed, so something to consider for maximum flexibility and use?
The dual-fuel with LPG could be a good option to go for (assuming an LPG powered one is not seen in the same light?)

 

[TJBi]

Are the rallies noisy before the generator is fired up?

 

[Obanboy666]

Just curious as to what you will be running that requires 2kw. My 2.2kw Honda weighs 21.2kg so god knows what the 3.75kw genny you are considering weighs, wouldn’t fancy having to carry that very far.

 

[wildebus]

Just curious as to what you will be running that requires 2kw. My 2.2kw Honda weighs 21.2kg so god knows what the 3.75kw genny you are considering weighs, wouldn’t fancy having to carry that very far.

The one the OP is looking at is 38Kg. I would guess that is the dry weight?

Looks good value at under £300. Plenty of need for a generator at some rallies and festivals depending on what you are doing and what kind of rally it is.

 

[nabsim]

Open generators like these are not normally considered quiet. If you can stand the noise yourself then you should be fine. I do carry and use a generator but mine is a lot quieter than that. Remember every 3db is a doubling of sound volume.

I changed my genny last year as I needed more power so I can run my 2xmains chargers when I need to top up my batteries. I went for this one as I couldn’t justify the extra cost of a Honda. It does 2Kw continuous

P1 2200W / 2.2kW Petrol Invertor Generator, Portable, Lightweight Suitcase Style with DC & USB | P2500i

The low noise P2500i pure sine wave inverter generator produces 2200w maximum output from the Hyundai 4-stroke engine. Available to order now.

hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk

 

[Obanboy666]

The one the OP is looking at is 38Kg. I would guess that is the dry weight?

Looks good value at under £300. Plenty of need for a generator at some rallies and festivals depending on what you are doing and what kind of rally it is.

Agree, looks good value at £300.00 it all depends what he needs it for. If only for occasional use a few weekends a year all well and good. Is it an inverter genny ?
If it’s going to get a lot of use it’s Honda every time for me. My oldest Honda is still going strong at 15 years old and it gets used most weekends. Apart from oil, filters and spark plug changes I’ve never had to touch it.
I’ve never gone down the lpg route on my 3 gennies, dont think they are any quieter but may be wrong.

 

[wildebus]

Agree, looks good value at £300.00 it all depends what he needs it for. If only for occasional use a few weekends a year all well and good. Is it an inverter genny ?
If it’s going to get a lot of use it’s Honda every time for me. My oldest Honda is still going strong at 15 years old and it gets used most weekends. Apart from oil, filters and spark plug changes I’ve never had to touch it.
I’ve never gone down the lpg route on my 3 gennies, dont think they are any quieter but may be wrong.

Ref LPG vs Petrol (or Diesel), I think the reason Petrol Generators are banned often is not noise but safety? Too many instances of people refilling the tank on a hot generator and spilling the fuel and it igniting!

 

[Geek]

If you are buying a generator to use more than once in a blue moon, the only sensible choice is between Honda or Honda.

If you want to use a generator at a rally or other crowded place, you need a very quiet one, which means Honda or Honda. Inverter generators are quieter at low load, but not at high load.

LPG generators are safer because carrying and refilling stinky, flammable, carcinogenic petrol on site is not a good idea.

 

[Pauljenny]

IMHO.
All generators are Evil.
Dangerous, noisy and polluting.

Have you heard that you can fit solar panels, to your roof, with inverters ? A little more costly, but less fiddly and to go wrong.

Then all you have to do is find sunny places to park up.

 

[nabsim]

If you are buying a generator to use more than once in a blue moon, the only sensible choice is between Honda or Honda.

If you want to use a generator at a rally or other crowded place, you need a very quiet one, which means Honda or Honda. Inverter generators are quieter at low load, but not at high load.

LPG generators are safer because carrying and refilling stinky, flammable, carcinogenic petrol on site is not a good idea.

My last genny was. Hyundai HY1000Si inverter generator. I had it about 4 years,(I think) and put approx 450 hours on it. It still starts easily, runs great and is fairly quiet, you can stand over it and have a normal conversation ok. I bought it on a bank holiday offer that was under £300 so a good third of the price of the Honda 1Kw alternative. When I decided to get a bigger capacity back end of last year I sold it for £100.

I don’t hold on the myth about Honda generators, yes they ARE good but not at all cost effective. When I was looking to buy originally Charlie kept telling me to go Honda based I could buy one, run for three years then sell for £600. My reasoning was I could buy different, run for 3 years and throw it away and still be better off. While a 1Kw Honda was slightly quieter, (run opposite one quite a bit) it is marginal and the Honda was worse on fuel usage.

One thing that may be a bit different with me is I only use my genny to top up my hab battery’s and occasional if engine battery goes flat. This means in eco mode it isn’t working very hard mainly so my comparisons are in normal use and not flat out/maximum noise.

Lastly on dual fuel running. Petrol is much more efficient than gas, you get longer running time and better power output. I watched a few tests on this but can’t remember who and what they were, I think it was a Canadian guy but not sure. You would have to make sure you have a surplus of capacity from the generator before going gas, if it’s close/borderline you may not get enough power from it. Against that it does mean you don’t have to carry an additional fuel source which has gotten a bit more of a pain since E10 petrol was brought in. You want to make sure that the dual fuel genny was built to be dual fuel or properly modified as the gas burns through valves much more quickly, (the reason I never went through with the lpg conversion on my Hyundai). This last snippet comes via John at Autogas who spent many years installing and converting cars to run on lpg.

 

[nabsim]

IMHO.
All generators are Evil.
Dangerous, noisy and polluting.

Have you heard that you can fit solar panels, to your roof, with inverters ? A little more costly, but less fiddly and to go wrong.

Then all you have to do is find sunny places to park up.

Good luck with that when you are sat up a mountain in Scotland in January

 

[Geek]

The reality is that if you need a 2000 watt supply for extended periods, solar panels, batteries and inverters won't do. For that much power, you do need a generator.

Luckily, almost no-one needs that much power. In fact, I can't think of any situation that would, but that's what the OP suggests is needed.

 

[nabsim]

Op may be a trader, they are the only people I can think would need extended 2000W supply?

 

[Geek]

Lastly on dual fuel running. Petrol is much more efficient than gas, you get longer running time and better power output. I watched a few tests on this but can’t remember who and what they were, I think it was a Canadian guy but not sure. You would have to make sure you have a surplus of capacity from the generator before going gas, if it’s close/borderline you may not get enough power from it. .

I'm not convinced.

I used to have an lpg car, and there was no difference in power between running on petrol or lpg.

Yes, the calorific value of lpg is lower than petrol, so the miles per litre was lower, but the price per litre was much lower to more than compensate.

My built-in generator runs on lpg from the bulk tank. It supposedly uses 310g of lpg per hour when giving 2000 watts of mains output.

That's less than half the price of mains electricity - though it wouldn't be such a good deal running on bottled lpg.

However, I dislike generators, so I rarely use it.

 

[Obanboy666]

Good luck with that when you are sat up a mountain in Scotland in January

You beat me to it !
I spend as much time travelling about over the winter months and wouldn’t be without my Honda genny.

 

[Pauljenny]

Good luck with that when you are sat up a mountain in Scotland in January

That's a perfect reason not to go up a Scottish mountain in January and stay there for more than one night .

 

[Landyseverywhere]

I've got 2 Chinese (honda look alikes) and a wacker plate with the same engine,the oldest is 20+ yrs old and has a lot of use and abuse the younger one is 7yrs old and earnt it's keep the compactor is 18 yrs old and been well used all 3 start and run perfectly,in my experience these 6 and 8 hp Chinese engines are fantastic value and a dealer told me parts are interchangeable with honda parts ...they are such a good copy,but Chinese parts are cheaper and readily available.But at around £70 for a new engine are they worth repairing ?

 

[vintageb3]

wrong.

Then all you have

I've got 2 Chinese (honda look alikes)

Do you know the make? Thanks!

 

[nabsim]

This IS NOT the video I watched that said about the power drop, if I can find it I will post it but not even certain the guy was Canadian. This one is a guy using a Honda genny in the U.K. on gas though, about 6 minutes in he states it is cheaper to run on petrol than gas per Kw produced. The video is 6 years old though so prices will be significantly different now and he is running on exchange bottles not lpg

Honda EU20i on gas