Beware TSC Sportsman 1000W generator deal

user 423 · Jul 20, 2021

Tractor Supply Co. has them on sale for $169.99 which is about $100 off.

However, they are "Not recommended for use above 3000 feet".

I'm now it Colorado and they will happily ship them here but ALL of Colorado is above 3000'.

MotorVation · Jul 20, 2021

I ran mine with no problems at 7600' outside of Flagstaff a few weeks ago. It was pushing my 30 amp lithium battery charger/converter. I run it at least once a month whether I need to or not.

Your mileage may vary

hugemoth · Jul 20, 2021

Most generator manufacturers sell a high altitude jet kit but I don't see one for the Sportsman. If so inclined you could check the main jet size and probably find a smaller one that would work.

mudbunny · Jul 20, 2021

I lived in Utah at 5800 ft and camped in the Uinta Mtns above 8000 ft and never had a problem with mine.

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

MotorVation · Jul 21, 2021

Bumping thread. That's a hell of a good deal. I could get one shipped to a local store for 182.74 or around 195. to my door as of 7:16pm EST Wednesday

user 423 · Jul 21, 2021

I was going to cancel my order but I'll give it a try. I'll be at 7000'-8500' for the rest of the summer, so we'll see. Since the price was so low, I opted for the 1yr. warranty extension so the total was $204.

MotorVation · Jul 21, 2021

I'm no expert on this but I've read that gas generators lose x amount of power per 1000' in elevation. The charger I ran in Flagstaff at 7600' pulls over 500 watts and it had no problem with that load. My personal opinion is that the Sportsman is great for light duty use.

I bought a 5000 btu AC and it ran it here near sea level. I picked up a hard start capacitor for the AC but haven't installed it yet. That may help it run at higher elevations. I don't intend to run the AC off the generator all that much but it'll be nice to have.

The Sportsman is a piece of mind type of thing. If my starter battery takes a dump on me out in the middle of nowhere, I can run my house battery charger off the generator to jump/charge the starter battery to get me out of there. I put heavy duty battery clamps on the charger instead of hard wiring it directly into the house system, so it's portable now.
204. is a great deal with the warranty extension

user 423 · Jul 22, 2021

Yeah,this will just be to run my charger. It's only 15 amp so no prob. I was just going to rely on solar and alt. charging but now I won't be driving as much as I planned.

MotorVation · Jul 22, 2021

slow2day said:
Yeah,this will just be to run my charger. It's only 15 amp so no prob. I was just going to rely on solar and alt. charging but now I won't be driving as much as I planned.

You'll probably be able to run your charger with the Sportsman on 'economy mode.' It's quieter and uses less gas

bullfrog · Jul 22, 2021

Wait a minute you guys are saying a 1000 watt generator is capable of 15 amps of 120 volt power? 1000 watts divided by 120 volts equals a little less than 9 amps and that would be maximum.

highdesertranger · Jul 22, 2021

15amps @ 120v = 1,600 watts. Highdesertranger

Spaceman Spiff · Jul 22, 2021

slow2day said:
Yeah,this will just be to run my charger. It's only 15 amp so no prob. I was just going to rely on solar and alt. charging but now I won't be driving as much as I planned.

bullfrog said:
Wait a minute you guys are saying a 1000 watt generator is capable of 15 amps of 120 volt power? 1000 watts divided by 120 volts equals a little less than 9 amps and that would be maximum.

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]A 15A battery charger (180W) will draw ~2[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]A[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] from a generator.[/font]
[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]The 1000W Sportsman runs my 35A charger without breaking a sweat.[/font]

highdesertranger · Jul 22, 2021

yes that is 15amps @ 12v. I think we are getting 12v mixed up with 120v. Highdesertranger

bullfrog · Jul 22, 2021

Got it. Is there a 12 volt charging outlet on the generator?

MotorVation · Jul 22, 2021

bullfrog said:
Got it. Is there a 12 volt charging outlet on the generator?

It does. It comes with a short cable and really light duty battery clamps. The 12 volt circuit isn't voltage regulated though

user 423 · Jul 22, 2021

No,the DC output is 15 amps. That's 180 watts,right?

On the back of the chgr it says "Input: 270 watts".

(Delayed response. Spiff beat me to it)...

I'd like to get a bigger chgr and bought a 25A off Amazon but it was defective,so I'm still with the 15A.

bullfrog · Jul 22, 2021

So if you were going to in the future use lithium batteries would it be better to get a DC to DC charger or just go with a good 120 volt 3 stage charger?

66788 · Jul 22, 2021

slow2day said:
Tractor Supply Co. has them on sale for $169.99 which is about $100 off.

However, they are "Not recommended for use above 3000 feet".

I'm now it Colorado and they will happily ship them here but ALL of Colorado is above 3000'.

4,300 feet where I am and my Sportsman 1000 runs well, handles my 5,000 BTU airconditioner.

Camper · Jul 22, 2021

My Sportsman 100 works very well too.

Beware TSC Sportsman 1000W generator deal

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