1st imoressions Ryobi 900w/700w propane generator $299

[highdesertranger]

one thing I noticed about your hook up is, Teflon tape for gas(propane/natural gas/butane) is yellow. Teflon tape for water is white. highdesertranger

 

[SchortBus]

one thing I noticed about your hook up is,  Teflon tape for gas(propane/natural gas/butane) is yellow.  Teflon tape for water is white.  highdesertranger

Exactly! However, I'm living on the cheap (sometimes), and I found a 10 roll pack of 3/4" white....so I gave away 8 rolls, and I'm using up the rest. This genny, and the charger are on loan from Home Depot. The white Teflon will be fine (and certainly better than nothing), for my 30 day trial. I don't know for certain, but I am betting my life, that the gas will not deteriorate the Teflon in a month. 

Pink is also used for water. 

Yawl sure are a tad anal on the suggestions set before you, I find it more fun, to be creative, in fact, I still have unpredictable and unprotected sex (sure, it's just me, but I don't sport a rain coat)  :s

 

[John61CT]

The 1# refillable bottles

and yes I mean 1-pound not one gallon

have exactly the same Coleman valve fitting as the disposable ones, aka

1"-20 male

and are so close to the same size I haven't yet found an appliance where they aren't interchangeable. They are specifically designed to allow sane sensible people to stop refilling the disposable ones, which is illegal to transport across state lines for very good reasons.

It is also easy to fit an adapter / extension hose if desired, either

1"-20 male one end, female the other

or with an ACME / POL male on the other end

to run off a 20# BBQ or 30# if you prefer.

eBay vendor "propane-kit" sells just about everything, decent pricing.

 

[Travelmonkey]

This little Ryobi looks like a good deal at the price. Flame King makes 1lb refillable propane tanks that appear to be the same dimensions of as the disposable green tanks. REI, Home Depot, and apparently Sam's Club as an earlier post shows carry the product and a refill kit to fill from a 20lb tank.

I would think that someone makes a hose with a 20lbs adapter to a 1lb tank. Users of the little Weber grills use such hoses to connect to larger tanks.

 

[hugemoth]

I don't see a switch to shut off the eco mode or whatever Ryobi calls it. Is there a way to shut it off so a sudden load doesn't cause it to stall? I briefly had a 2200 watt inverter generator without a shutoff switch that would stall out when trying to start an induction motor that my little 1000 watt non inverter generator was able to start.

 

[SchortBus]

The 1# refillable bottles

and yes I mean 1-pound not one gallon

have exactly the same Coleman valve fitting as the disposable ones, aka

1"-20 male

and are so close to the same size I haven't yet found an appliance where they aren't interchangeable. They are specifically designed to allow sane sensible people to stop refilling the disposable ones, which is illegal to transport across state lines for very good reasons.

It is also easy to fit an adapter / extension hose if desired,  either

1"-20 male one end, female the other

or with an ACME / POL male on the other end

to run off a 20# BBQ or 30# if you prefer.

eBay vendor "propane-kit" sells just about everything, decent pricing.

You keep going on and on about these refillable cyclinders.....well, here's some news; they all got recalled for being unsafe, catching on fire, etc...

Unlike you, I will provide a little evidence for my argument, but I'm sure you'll probably cry "fake news!
People like you make the internet seem like it's all lies, when a 5 second search can totally upend your argument, your case is weak sir...


https://www.google.com/amp/abc27.co...linders-recalled-for-fire-explosion-risk/amp/

I'll just refill mine the old fashioned safe way.

 

[SchortBus]

I don't see a switch to shut off the eco mode or whatever Ryobi calls it. Is there a way to shut it off so a sudden load doesn't cause it to stall? I briefly had a 2200 watt inverter generator without a shutoff switch that would stall out when trying to start an induction motor that my little 1000 watt non inverter generator was able to start.

There is no switch for "eco mode", this tiny unit is always in eco mode. (see pic). When she gets hit with a heavy load, she will try and keep up, the engine will rev up, and you get about 5 seconds to adjust the load before she shuts down. Come to think about it, that little reset breaker never has tripped under load like it should, mine just shuts down, and I restart it.

 

[SchortBus]

This little Ryobi looks like a good deal at the price.  Flame King makes 1lb refillable propane tanks that appear to be the same dimensions of as the disposable green tanks.  REI, Home Depot, and apparently Sam's Club as an earlier post shows carry the product and a refill kit to fill from a 20lb tank.  

I would think that someone makes a hose with a 20lbs adapter to a 1lb tank.  Users of the little Weber grills use such hoses to connect to larger tanks.

You obviously haven't read the thread...a very common occurrence online. Mine is set up with a quick connect bbq hose to my 20lb tank. If you look back at my posts there are pics of my genny and hose setup.

See my post 2 above for info on those fancy refillable tanks. 

 

[SchortBus]

which is illegal to transport across state lines for very good reasons. 

You have brought this up twice now. I have travelled all over this country, and the only state line that has a checkpoint for non-commercial traffic is California, and their anachronistic fruit fly stops. 

Can you please point me to the law that says I can't cross a state line with my generator and tank? (not that it would alter my habits if there were such a stupid rule) I'm not gonna do your homework this time. 

I can't seem to get the quote function to obey.

 

[Weight]

There was a recall on some of those refillable cylinders. Just a small percentage of ones sold between Nov 2013 and Sep 2016. Can a cylinder made for a one-time use, with seals and valves designed for one-time use be refilled? Yes, but I have had even new disposable bottles leak. I think if you refill one or two at a time and don't keep a lot in storage, you may be safe. "Then there's my neighbor, with the mustard spot on his t-shirt. He refills his all the time. When the gas leaks he just screws a torch head on to seal it up. I don't think he's been burned more than three or four times. he's lost count."

 

[Weight]

I wish this thread had kept on topic about the Ryobi generator. I would like to know more about real life experiences using the little propane generator. I don't care about refilling or not refilling propane cylinders.

 

[John61CT]

If you can get Manchester or Worthington bottles, better quality than Flame King. I believe they had a recall last year.

The refill kit is easy to put together from parts.

Note with a hose from ACME/OPD valve (including BBQ 20# bottles) to go into a 1"-20 (Coleman) appliance would have a male fitting, while refilling the 1# bottle requires a female.

1/4" NPT is a good "universal" basis for swapping the more specialized fittings without needing to carry multiple hoses.

 

[John61CT]

> illegal to transport across state lines for very good reasons

Yes quoting stopped working on this forum for me too, OK on others.

It's in DOT regs.

My point isn't that you're going to get 'caught" just reinforcing that carrying such dangerous items inside your living space is stupid when safer options are available for less than you'd spend on a nice dinner out.

In the backyard at home or backpacking, boot of your car, I'd say less problematic, but making it a habit while vandwelling is just silly.

IMO

 

[speedhighway46]

Okay Honda, it would be nice if you could catch up and play in this propane generator game too!

 

[tx2sturgis]

Honda is at the top of the 'pile'....they probably don't see all the bit players as any competition....at least not yet.

There are some propane powered small outboard motors (for small boats) on the market...they've been out for years...and yet most boaters have never even heard of them....they stick with Johnson, Mercury, Yamaha....etc.

I like the propane powered generator solution, mainly because of the current ethanol problems we have with pump gas, but I'm not entirely sure that these portable propane units have all the bugs worked out. 

Honda could probably make a good, high quality, reliable one if they chose to. But would people pay the high price for 'Honda Red'?

:-/

 

[John61CT]

All those making propane conversion kits target Honda first, if you want a propane Honda there's nothing stopping you.

 

[SchortBus]

> illegal to transport across state lines for very good reasons

Yes quoting stopped working on this forum for me too,  OK on others.

It's in DOT regs.

My point isn't that you're going to get 'caught" just reinforcing that carrying such dangerous items inside your living space is stupid when safer options are available for less than you'd spend on a nice dinner out.

In the backyard at home or backpacking, boot of your car, I'd say less problematic, but making it a habit while vandwelling is just silly.

IMO

DOT regs don't apply to non-commercial vehicles, otherwise every grandpa and grammy in their RVs would be in jail.  I used to have a haz-mat class a CDL before 9-11-01 When all the nonsense began with background checks. 

Now, if Jmbob loaded up his 62 Chevy 2500 with bbq tanks and drovie up to Oregon to get 'em filled for $1.99 a gallon, and then tried driving down to California, where gas is $4 a lotta places, to sell for a profit, sure....dot will impound his rig and lock him up.

 

[tx2sturgis]

US DOT (FMCSA) regs only apply to commercial transportation. They have no direct authority over a private individual. (with a few exceptions!)

There will never (or should never) be a roadside DOT inspection of, or citation from, a private individual carrying a refilled propane bottle anywhere by land based private vehicle in the USA. 

Now, if that thing blows up and your exploding vehicle takes out a gasoline tanker parked nearby, yeah...you might have some 'splainin to do....assuming you survived of course....



You might not want to be refilling them in front of a park ranger...or at a state's DOT weigh station, but that's just common sense.

 

[SchortBus]

I wish this thread had kept on topic about the Ryobi generator. I would like to know more about real life experiences using the little propane generator. I don't care about refilling or not refilling propane cylinders.

Yeah, I plan on reporting more on the genny in use, however, it really doesn't do very much. So far, it starts right up and puts out its 5.83 amps like advertised. 

I have plans of installing it, rather permanently, under the left rear "quarter panel" of my schortbus. I mean, it will fit, and the pull cord would just go right out through the side of the bus. There's plenty of room for it there, and my primary use of this genny is a battery charger, and having to drag it out and hook it up is already becoming less fun. Many times I'll just fire up the 7.3l turbo diesel battery charger for convenience.

One thing I will say, is it seems 50% of its 54 decibels come from the plastic case. No matter how tight all the screws, it has a bit of a vibration. I was thinking about removing some of the plastic if I install it under the bus. Running it with the sides removed doesn't increase the sound too much.

I mean, this thing is so quiet, that I am running it under my bus in the beach lot by Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara, and people parked right next to me, don't even say a word. And this area can be a little pretentious at times, if you get my drift. 

(there, moar real life genny experiential tales)

 

[SchortBus]

Ok, I've had this genny now for 10 days, and I have some more thoughts to share...

I bought this as a way to charge my house batteries, as I have no solar, wind, or any means other than the 7.3l turbo diesel to charge them. I have a lot of electronics, i.e. smart tv, PA system for performing live music, Alexa, a FireStik, and a Peltier frig. For the most part, the frig is my main need. I can usually get by starting the engine every 2 hours and letting the alternator charge up the battery for 7 minutes. I know this is not ideal, but it keeps my food cold, and Wally keeps giving me new batteries inside their warranty. (I've killed 4!) 

So today was my first oil change on the genny. I consider myself a competent mechanic and I've rebuilt engines, etc. Well, this oil change has got me ready to return the unit! It says 10.5 oz of oil, and it comes with a premeasured bottle to get you started. I changed the oil, checked it 3 times, and fired it up. She was running fine, I reinstalled the side panel, shoved her under the bus, and came inside to wash up.

In five minutes the bus was full of smoke! Ok, I go back and pour some out and recheck it 5 times. It has very explicit instructions, even a little diagram, on how to check the level, which I followed. In any case, after 15 minutes this time it began splashing up too much oil and smoking again. 

I rechecked it and it wasn't even over full according to the dipstick, but it was smoking. So now, after an hour, it's back to doing its job without smoking. 

I reckon if I keep it I will buy a dedicated measuring cup for doing oil changes, as an oil change should be rather simple, without my bus full of smoke! But in reality, I am seriously thinking the genny will be going back to Home Depot, and I'll spend the cash on a couple panels and an mppt controller. It's just a lot of hassle to charge my batteries. 

Now, if I had this genny mounted under the bus, which is one of my ideas, all this would change. But having to drag out the genny, plug in the propane hose and electric cord, is rather outputting when I can just start the 7.3l turbo diesel for a few minutes.

Originally I didn't want solar panels on the roof because I'm keeping my bus painted like a school bus, and on the down low. However, after doing all the research, I am seriously thinking about spending the cash, and getting flexible panels that will be very stealthy. Sure, they cost more, and you can't really aim them, but from what I can gather, they are probably what I need. 

Maybe I'm just getting lazy as my circumnavigating of the Sun goes on...