Thinking about getting a portable generator

Phil2008 · 6 Jan 2019 at 00:19

Hi guys, so at the beginning of the year I upgraded my 10yr old 600watt line interactive UPS to a 1800watt online UPS. But now I am thinking about buying a generator to use with the UPS to increase the runtime to meny hrs of uninterruptible power, for when we have powercuts that last a few hrs or days...

Also my sister has a few fish tanks (sea and tropical), we have been quite lucky since having the fish tanks, as the power companies has been able to sort out generators, the last 2 times we have had power cuts. They were connected up to our house so the whole house had power.

I was amazed how stable the voltage was with both generators, as my UPS was rock stable at 240v, but with the mains power, the voltage is up and down like a yoyo.

The last generator we had that was connected up to our house was only a 6000watt, and I have been browsing the net and I have found, a 2600watt, 8bhp, key start, 11letre petrol tank and copper wounded, for £250. Now to me that seems a tad too cheap for that spec...... What do you think guys?

So if I do buy a generator, when I have a powercut, I'll connect the generator to the UPS thats powering my pc stuff and tv and then run extension cables from the UPS to each of the fish tanks and keep my fingers and toes crossed the tanks and my stuff wont exceed the 1800watts of the UPS.

Here's the generator that sounds too good to be true........

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Böhmer-AG-Generator-6500W-Petrol-Electric/dp/B078W96337/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1546733843&sr=8-5&keywords=generator

Phil2008 · 6 Jan 2019 at 01:46

2 last year.. but the last time was a few weeks ago when a lorry ran into a house near us and the power was off for about 5-6hrs, but luckily the people that were sorting out the accident, very kindly sorted us with a generator.

But with being out in the countryside we have at least 1 powercut a year due to bad weather . Years ago the wind only had the blow slightly and the power would go off, but luckly its nowhere as bad as that now, but if the weather is bad enough, knocks a tree down and pulls the overhead cable down, it takes the power company a good few hrs or a day to sort it out...

We had a mini hurricane a few years ago and we had no power for 3-4 days.

Plus with having a 3d printer a generator would be a life saver if the power goes off for a long period of time while Im printing.. My UPS has saves a few 3d prints, where the power has gone off for a few mins or seconds for no reason when Im printing, as a 3d printer is thick, because it cant resume printing if it losses power.

Phil2008 · 7 Jan 2019 at 23:37

It looks like I bought my UPS at a good time. I paid roughly £350 last February and now its £622. Crazy price, but it does seem tobe a ok UPS as its never failed to kick-in so far in a powercut and it keeps going to "online mode" from "eco mode" when the volts go over 250v, I can set it so it uses "online mode all the time but it uses more power.

The "online mode" keeps the volts at a set number(in my case 240volts), but when on "eco mode" it acts as a "line interactive UPS", as a "line interactive" UPS doesnt hold the voltage at a set number untill the voltage goes over or under the set voltage, then it switches over to battery mode untill the mains voltage returns to acceptable levels. But with my online UPS theres no switching over to battery mode to get the voltage back on track, it alters the volts when its 2% higher or lower then the set voltage when on "Eco mode".

But then again my Belkin 670watt line interactive UPS was great also, as that never let me down either in the 10yrs of using it 24/7

Phil2008 · 20 Jan 2019 at 14:30

Just a update guys, I haven't bought a generator yet, but I think I will be today and I think it will be this one with the key start and AVR https://www.amazon.co.uk/Böhmer-AG-...UTF8&qid=1546733843&sr=8-5&keywords=generator

The ideal generator would be a inverter as they produce the cleanest power, but I cant find one in the £300 mark with key start. But hopefully this one with AVR will still produce a steady voltage and herts, plus its copper wound so that helps with stable voltage apparently... I just hope my UPS runs ok with it, because "line-interactive" UPS's are not generator friendly at all because of the up and down voltage and herts, but online UPS's are more generator friendly. So I will have to cross everything and hope and pray.

Here a vid review of the generator, it looks quite decent but its Chinese made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cgCSEe3ilc

Phil2008 · 22 Jan 2019 at 13:09

Generator ordered this morning guys. Now to keep my fingers and toes crossed it will play nice with my UPS and doesn't blow anything up. :eek:

Phil2008 · 23 Jan 2019 at 11:42

beefybarn said:
Got that exact one a few weeks ago, not used much but its a decent bit of kit for the money.

Ah,, thats handy. Mine has just arrived now, Im putting it together slowly. I have some Briggs and Stratton SAE30 oil coming today sometime that I will use in it. But Im thinking I should have ordered 10W30 oil instead, as the SAE30 Oil is bog standard apparently and goes thick in cold conditions. Im not much good with engines and didnt know there where so meny types of oil.

Phil2008 · 23 Jan 2019 at 14:42

Hey beefybarn, I have just noticed that I have a wire thats not connected and I cant see where it goes, I have looked at the pics on the net but I cant see that wire. Any ideas?

Phil2008 · 23 Jan 2019 at 22:26

Found it, its a black wire that goes into the front panel, its cut in 2. So I will heatshrink the wire back together tomorrow and hopefully will be able to test it out.

Phil2008 · 26 Jan 2019 at 13:20

double post

Phil2008 · 6 Feb 2019 at 03:23

So after trying the generator a few times now for about 10-20mins, yeah its good so far but I have only been running very light loads. it keeps the voltage at a steady 222-224v and I can switch my UPS from mains power to generator power without the pc stuff turning off and that was the main purpose of getting a generator.

Being in a wheelchair it takes me a lot longer todo stuff then it would a abled person, So I have the generator basically all set up and ready to go, even got the extension lead plugged into the generator and going into my room through the door frame..... So all I have todo is take off the waterproof cover, start it up, go back into my room and plug the UPS into the extension lead, to have my pc and tv stuff generator powered.

The key start is a godsend for me as I cant pull those darn e manual rope cords quick enough. I dont think it likes starting in the cold weather very much because the last time I started it, the outside temp was about 3c and it took about 2-3secs of holding the key to start it.. It started first touch of the key when I started it for the first time though, so hopfully its not going to be too much of a bad starter in the cold. I am going to start it every month for 10mins or so and put a light load on it to get it working and to pull some fresh petrol around the engine. Then hopefully when I need to use it, it will work floorless, or thats the idea.

Here is a pic of it all ready and waiting to go outside my door and actually its not very nosiey with my door shut.. I'll pin the extension cable to the wall once the weather warms up, to make it a bit tidier.

Phil2008 · 6 Feb 2019 at 13:24

You can flip up the one of the side of the cover where the exhaust sits, so in theory I should be able to run it with the cover on. Because I dont really want to get any of it wet if I can help it.. If that fails I'll make some kind of a upside down box for it, because whats the point of it if I can't run it in the rain or snow. Speaking about the plug sockets tho, I might seal the hole up where the cable goes into the 3pin plug so no moisture can get in.,

Here is a picture with the cover off, also I have printed out a oil and petrol funnel for the generator too.... If I had a big enough 3d printer, I probably would print out a panel that would cover the bottom half of the generator to hide the battery and the ugly wires.

Phil2008 · 2 May 2019 at 00:02

Well I have had my generator for 2-3months now and still no powercut to really test it out :mad:

I do run it monthly tho for about 20mins to keep it running well and power near enough everything in my man room/bedroom from it (only about 300-400watts and thats about quarter of its power).... I did power a 60watt halogen lamp the last time I had it going,,it flickered rapidly but I think that was down to having not much load on the generator, as its max power is 2600watt. Plus it's has only had about 2hrs of use since buying it.

But during a powercut it will have my man room/bedroom, a few fish tanks(heaters and filters/pumps), tv and sky box, lights and a few other things like kettle and microwave that will be used a few mins here and there. So all that should stretch its legs and hopefully will fix the flickering light problem too :confused:

Like people say, when you have bought a generator, you can more or less guarantee you wont have a powercut again..lol

Phil2008 · 3 May 2019 at 21:58

Yeah using petrol for a generator is a very dirty fuel, and it stinks while the generator is in use. But my generator can be converted to run of gas, so I might get it converted if it does everything I need during a powercut.

The problem I have atm is, I put about 4 liters of fuel in it a few months ago with some stabilizer, but where I keep the generator by the side of the house for easy access and use, quite a lot of the fuel has evaporated by the sun. So I will have to make a box to go over the top, so it doesn't get so hot during hot days, or just put a bit of fuel in every time for its monthly runs. But what I dont want happening is, running out of fuel while powering electrical equipment as it is bad apparently

Those generator that run at different voltages are mainly for power tools and are used on worksites, so don't normally have a volt regulator(AVR) to stop the voltage surging or going too low. These types are no good for household equipment, but I could be wrong? Even generators with AVR are not 100% safe with household stuff. This is the main reason I run the generator though my UPS before it gets to my computer stuff, as the UPS will (hopefully) keep the power nice and smooth.