Portable Generator Questions

 

I have a decent sized "costso" gift certificate for Christmas, which I want
to apply towards a portable generator.... I have 2 basic choices in the
store.

Coleman Powermate 5500 Watt ~ $550
Nikota 3500 Watt ~ $279

My basic questions are;

1. What does 3500 vs. 5500 Watts get me? (generally speaking)
2. If 3500 is enough, is Nikota a brand I should buy?

If it matters,

- This is a typical "emergency" use only purposes.
- I have 2 refridgerators, but I could condense it down to 1 if I had to.
- My stove and oven are gas, so I won't need this for those.

 



Think Coleman.  5kw is enough to attach to one element of your water
heater.

 



I have the Coleman and it has been reliable.  The unit is built specially
for COSTCO.  It is noisy but not intolerable unless you are trying to sleep.
Bought it 6 wks. before Hurricane Isabel.  Put about 90 hours on it over the
8 day period we were without power.  Charged batteries in the daytime, ran
the refrigerator, washed clothes, ran the microwave and assorted other
stuff.  Supplied power to a neighbor for her refrigerator, washing machine
and microwave during the day time as well.  Ran my TV and fridge from
inverters at night.  My Coleman generator has a Tecumseh engine; some people
say Tecumseh is trash.  I have owned Sears, Roebuck lawnmowers (with
Tecumseh engines) for more years than I care to mention and never had a
problem with the engine.  Parts are readily available for the engine.  If
you have a problem with the Coleman the engine warranty shop and the
generator warranty shop might not be at the same location.

The extra capacity in the Coleman (for the load you identified) means it
will have an easy, and perhaps a long, life until the load starts to creep
up on you... and it will.  Don't know anything about the Nikota but suspect
that the 3500 Watts of the Nikota might not be enough as your load begins to
creep up.  The surge capacity of the Coleman is much higher than the Nikota.

I am satisfied with my Coleman and will deploy it to one of my sons houses
if needed.  I also own a Generac (electric start, 7,500 watts (load creep)
with 13,500 watts surge) and a Honda 2000 for powering the refrigerator at
night.

Based on my experience I would not  hesitate to buy the Coleman again.

Regards,
Newby



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Newby wrote:


How's the Generac? Any good? noisy or quiet?
Eric

 



[snipped]

The Generac has been run about 20 hours, without any problem) and is not as
loud (purely subjective as no measurements have been taken) as the Coleman.
In the day time the noise difference is not significant.  Might be a
different story at 2200 hrs. as the ambient noise level is down in general.
I especially like the electric starter.

Newby



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