Yes, I stopped it only to refuel twice a day but otherwise it was running from Sat at 5PM 'til the next Sunday at 5PM. Gen is Powermate 5000 that was purchased in 1999 for Y2K scare. What amazed me was that it ran over 14 hours on 5 gal. It powered refirg, oil furnace and hot water, microwave and various lights. No oil needed but I did see that manual said to change oil at 50 hours. I had MOBIL 1 in it so I was not too worried about running it for almost 200 hours. I did change the oil on Monday. It was more brown than black.
Wife wants a second gen for more lights and washer. Should I get another Powermate with Japanese engine or B&S or?
Thanks
B&S Vanguard engine on Gen flawless for 8 days
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Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Think of those guys who buy the auto parts stores Chinese ones.....
Stick with what works for you. Sounds like you have your answer.
Using 5-30 M 1.
For gas, I was using 7 1/2 gal a day =$30. That's a lot less than a hotel room and or eating out 3 meals a day for 2 (or more.)
JHZR2
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Glad this is the case, but it amazes me what people expect to run off a generator. Seriously, two generators??!?
(coming from someone whose wife lost their home in a hurricane and didnt have real power for the better part of a year).
I kind of like the 2 generator idea. A chinese 2500 watt one will be quieter. You sipped gas because you didn't have much of a load, really. If you can see the throttle linkage you can get an idea what sort of load it's under compared to WOT. My chi-com 2500/3250 ran for a day a week ago at the onset of this freak storm drama and if I sat in the kitchen and strained my ears I could hear my fridge purring and beyond that, barely, the genset on the other side of the house. It has a little geo metro muffler on it, very functional.
When I saw the title I thought, maybe this guy is in CT. Surprised there isn't an "occupy CT Power & Light" movement brewing with pitchforks and the whole lot.
For a generator I prefer Rotella 5w40 synthetic. Gens get the oil very hot after running hours or days on end. The 5w40 will hold its viscosity better in the extreme temperatures.
All in all, sounds like the 5w30 worked for you though.
I have a Powermate 5KW with the Subaru engine that runs very well. I haven't had to run it on any long runs like your's but it does perform well on shorter runs. I also use M1 5-30 which is an outstanding oil for generators as it is designed for high heat conditions(HTO-06 Honda turbo spec) with low deposits.
I don't find the noise excessive but I don't have another gen to compare it to.
And during a power outage I don't worry much about my neighbors' concerns about noise.
...I would... their home is dead silent. they are either too hot, too cold... so they may be having a hard time sleeping, or their kids are having a hard time (even worse), and they get to listen to rat tat tat tat tat all night long.
Not that you shouldn't be able to run your genset all night, either. But 1. I'd make sure it's positioned and situated and muffled for maximum quietness, and 2. you might considering letting them run a cord to you for their fridge... then the noise won't bother them nearly so much. You could even suggest they provide a cpl gallons of fuel if they have any. kindness can go a long way.
Originally Posted By: meep
...I would... their home is dead silent. they are either too hot, too cold... so they may be having a hard time sleeping, or their kids are having a hard time (even worse), and they get to listen to rat tat tat tat tat all night long.
Not that you shouldn't be able to run your genset all night, either. But 1. I'd make sure it's positioned and situated and muffled for maximum quietness, and 2. you might considering letting them run a cord to you for their fridge... then the noise won't bother them nearly so much. You could even suggest they provide a cpl gallons of fuel if they have any. kindness can go a long way.
I'd consider getting a tri-fuel generator as your second one. Never can tell when it might be hard to get gasoline.
Meep, maybe I should have said I don't need to worry about neighbors'concerns about noise because there is only one home within 200 yards of me and they have a generator.
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