Harbor Freight Generator?

[Guest]

Anyone have any experience with Harbor Freight generators? Specifically this one:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.harborfreight.com/63cc-900-watts-max800-watts-rated-portable-generator-60338.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.harborfreight.com/63cc-900-watts-max800-watts-rated-portable-generator-60338.html<br><br></a>63cc, 900 watts max/800 watts rated portable generator. It's $130 or $100 with a coupon. If you know Harbor Freight, you know there's almost always a coupon for it.&nbsp;<br><br>Now I've heard that they might be really noisy, but I plan on being in the country. Still wonder if they'd be too loud even then.&nbsp;<br><br>I'm seriously budget limited. But maybe if this job works out, I'll be able to save up for a nicer generator, and go candle-light dinners for a few weeks. What might be some alternatives? Gotta scour Craigslist for used generators, but what should I look for? What kind of cc and wattage and what have you?&nbsp;<br><br>I plan on just using a laptop, charging a phone, having the fridge but I'm a total newb and apparently they can run off propane? Oh like r-134a for cars right? I hear propane makes an excellent refridgerant and the main reason they don't use them in cars is because of their flammability. I should have a fire extinguisher. Haven't used microwaves in years, because of the cancer. Lol. Maybe a toaster?<br><br>Oh and two 72" inch high def flatscreens for Call of Duty, a full-sized washer and drier, about a dozen of those earth-destroying old vintage non-eco lightbulbs, along with four hair driers. I have them rigged so I just pop out of the shower and stand in front of them. Other than that, I don't really use that much electricity. What kind of generator do I need?

 

[James AKA Lynx]

Noisy, uses a lot of gas and gives poor sine wave. Use only for charging batteyrs or running saws. Do not use on electronics as it will destroy circuit boards. In the life of the gen, it will use so much more gas than the Honda, the honda will be cheaper in the long run.<br><br>Every 10 disciples is 2x the volume.<br><br>James AKA Lynx

 

[Noah]

Agreed, you get what you pay for when it comes to generators.<BR><BR>If you are anywhere near Sacramento, you can have my old one. I used it for about 5 hours to run an A/C unit and another 2 to run a power sander. It was just too loud to be comfortable around and it wasn't totally reliable.&nbsp; My intention was to run the A/C while I took an afternoon nap because I work nights and the summers here are much too hot to sleep in a car during the day. Needless to say, I couldn't sleep with that racket going on either.<BR><BR>It's a UST 1350 watt Gennie, I still have the box and instructions and you are welcome to it if you so desire. I ended up with a Honda eu2000i to use this summer and I can honestly say, worth every penny.<BR><BR><BR>... all 115,000 of them.

 

[Guest]

Small world - I'm actually in Sacramento! Lol! I will take it! Thank you so much! Hey, beggars can't be choosers, and who am I to refuse something free? May come in handy in a pinch. Maybe sometime this week?&nbsp;<br><br>What does this mean, "<span style="line-height: 20px;">Every 10 disciples is 2x the volume."&nbsp;<br><br>What kind of generator specs are good? I saw this $250 one on Craigslist: UST 2,300 watts, 5.5hp, 4-stroke. And oooo, a Honda one for $250. Honda EM 1600X. That's all the specs he gave on it.&nbsp;</span>

 

[Noah]

<P>I'm in Folsom along with the Gennie, send me a PM and I'll give you a place to meet to pick it up.<BR><BR>You really just want to make sure the Generator is going to be able to handle the load you are hooking up to it.<BR><BR>&nbsp;It takes more power to start an appliance than to keep it going. So you want to make sure if you are running an 800 watt load, you have a Gennie rated to handle at least 1000.<BR><BR><BR>He meant to say every 10 decibels is double the volume to our ears.<BR><BR>a good honda generator will put out almost 60 decibels when you are 7 feet from it. (the volume of a normal conversation)<BR>a crappy generator like the one I offered you will put out 67 decibels when you are 23 feet from it. (like a lawn mower volume)<BR><BR>Honda makes good engines. They are reliable and last a long time. nuff said.<BR><BR>-Noah</P>

 

[Ziggy Moon]

I bought one of those <span id="post_message_1278087872">Harbor Freight generators to do some light work on my sailboat - and I don't plan on getting rid of it, because it has ran without any problems at all </span><span id="post_message_1278087872"><span id="post_message_1278087872">(I paid $84 for mine, new a year ago - not sure if I would pay more) </span> .<br><br>It's true, "<em>You Get What You Pay For</em>"... however, my need did not warrant an expensive generator. I ran my power tools with no problems. As to the noise, well of course I'd agree that the more expensive models are much more quiet. <br><br>Also, Lynx is right, <strong>NO ELECTRONICS</strong> should be ran/charged with this HF generator..... <strong>BEWARE</strong>!!!!! <em>Check any generator for use with electronics.</em><br><br>So, If your planning on being out in the middle of nowhere, all alone (as not to bother anyone), and just need to run a few lights, power tools, etc., etc, or an emergeny need occurs..... then the cheap little bugger is fine.... otherwise, if you have the money, take the advice of others that have posted, and buy a more expensive, better, generator.</span>

 

[Guest]

Great advice and information. Thank you. I think I'll try the free(!) Harbor Freight generator from Noah. Thank you so much. I think I'll mainly just use it for running the water pump so I can have running water, and lights. Running water - it's really underrated! And I'll definitely keep my phone and laptop as far away as possible.&nbsp;

 

[Noah]

I hope I didn't confuse you. The generator I offered is not&nbsp;from Harbor Freight. It's a UST brand and is a bit bigger and heavier than the Harbor freight. Though it's peak wattage is 1350, runs 1200 (I think) continuous.&nbsp;It does run well, at starts right up, but it shut down in the middle of the sun on a 110 degree day last year. Just had to get out and give&nbsp;it another pull.&nbsp;I probably expected too much but It would be great for the simple tasks you are looking to accomplish.<BR><BR>Also, I am very available this week so anytime after about 11am would be fine to meet.

 

[Guest]

That would be awesome. I'll send you a private message.&nbsp;

 

[Scott_1776]

Here's a <a href="http://www.speedwaysales.com/generators-generac-ix800-generator-watts-p-5818.html?c=59" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Generac 800W</a> 4 stroke I believe for $309, for those in the market. Description says&nbsp;it's quiet, has a 3.6hr runtime at 50% load with a 1/2 gal tank.&nbsp; Also has a large load setting (battery charging) and an Eco setting for lower output and fuel economy.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Amazon reviews for the generac are pretty abysmal <img src="/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[user 423]

The UST gens. are sold by Walmart. I have a 1200/1000 watt model that's a couple of years old. It's always ran a little rough and is loud but it's OK for power tools and battery charging. The small HF models have two-stroke motors and dirty the air more than 4-cycle gens. in case you worry about green stuff. While driving a 6MPG behemoth...LOL

 

[MK7]

This Harbor Freight generator is excellent for the money. I got it on sale + coupon for $65. <br><br>Power went out for a week and this was used to power our full size kitchen fridge, a medium size fan, two 30w florescent bulbs (rated 75-100w I think), small 12" laptop and cellphone....all at once.&nbsp; Can't remember exactly how long it runs on a full tank, but at least 8 hours. Before bed, I would put the fridge on a timer to run 2 hours and shut off 2 hours. It usually runs out of gas and stopped when I wake up.<br><br>In hot, humid weather 90-100 deg, I had ice, cold water and food. Neighbors had to throw their freezer's content out and the stench of death was all around their trash cans on trash day.<br><br>It's extremely noisy though, almost like an average lawn mower. No way would I camp with this on for a long time as it would drive me crazy along with other campers. Neighbors probably didn't appreciate me using it during the outage neither. Stealth boondocking, forget it. <br><br>An $800 Honda is the way to go for vandwelling. Although this $65 HB may work if you're in the boonies somewhere and you get a really long power cord to keep it far away from your van to lessen the noise.....and it should run a small A/C unit.