Lets talk portable generators....

FWIW, I have an old Generac.  I bought it @ Home Depot in 1999.  the first 10 years it did not get a lot of use, the last 10 I used it for going to the desert.  I only run it during the day because its louder than my 24V Cummins.  Ive done a few things to quite it down, but its still damn noisy.  

I know they have a problem with breaking the valve keepers/spring retainers.  I already have the replacement parts for it.  I will probably put it in this year rather than wait for it to completely die on me & possibly hose up the piston. 

 
RideSand said:
Thank guys. I really like the price of the firman but it seem like the Pred is the way to go. Will check back in for more thoughts and to share what I end up with. 
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If you can't swing the Honda EU3000........The predator 3500 is the way to go For Sure! They offer an extended warranty too.(I think its worth it)

I bought 2 of the Firman 3000 series  generators and when they ran they were great but when they didn't, I could not get them running again. I called Firman factory in AZ and they were tough to work with. They would not send parts out and refered me to their website to fill out extensive forms and bla bla bla.......... I would not buy another 3000 series from Firman

Genny #1  got it to camp fired it up and it ran bad. Checked everything and then pulled the plug and the porcelean was broken on the plug so I replaced it and it then worked perfect, that lasted 2 trips when it just stopped. I pulled it apart  and the rods came off the springs...... I messed with it...got frustrated because the little clip on top got lost in the sand... about 5X... I ended up taking it home and was able to get a similar clip...got it all put back together after trying to get another clip which was a little different...... my buddy put a tack weld on the clip / spring soo it wouldn't come off....... It fired right up and worked for about an hour. When we got back to camp, the genny was shut off / tried to start it and no luck....... 

Picked up the back up Genny I bought for the House / Brought that back to Glamis

Genny #2 of the Firman had the same thing happen with the rods on the valve springs popping off. Again, I tried several times to get it running and no luck.....Tres helped me 2X adjust the tension on the springs but it kept doing the same thing. and coming off. I was over it....I am not great with small engine repair and got fed up chasing small parts in the sand early in the am OR late at night when I needed the daam genny to work.

I said forget this / I was frustrated and just wanted something reliable..... I ended up getting a Predator 3500 and soo far it starts right up and it is quiet and reliable. I ended up selling the 2 Firmans for $150 bucks. I figured that someone that knew what they were doing could maybe make 1 generator out of the 2. 

I  bought the Predator 3500 and its doing the job.....Soo Far Soo Good!!!!! It is quiet and even has an electric start

Someday I will get the Honda EU3000i.........I think those are the best ones for what we do in Glamis!

:poule:

 
Family of 4 said:
I’ve been looking at this at Costco. Why do you think the Costco ones are getting the highest returns? Is it a quality issue or just the fact that people like to buy and return chit to Costco?

https://www.costco.com/firman-3200w-running--4000w-peak-dual-fuel-inverter-generator.product.100843922.html
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80% of the ones I bought had zero hours on them I even had some still wrapped in Banding. Costco's return policy is nothing gets back on the Shelf it goes straight back to the manufacturer. At least for generators it is. I know how many returns they get and after doing 210 million in sales in one year they still haven't under 2% return rate even with Costco. The Hondas for sure are great generator the Predators are good too I think they're even quieter than the firmans.

 
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AlpineFunco said:
I like the wagon idea. Makes it easier to move around and keeps the sand out of the smaller wheels on the generator.
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Not just that... for me loading and unloading alone... I needed something to make my life easier!  It's been a perfect solution to keep all the vents and stuff off the sand... Plus I can keep my "illegal" gas cans on it... cause the law is "They can't be on the sand"... so it is a double win!! 

 
I'm leaning heavily toward getting 2(ea) of the Predator 3500 gens and the Firman 50 amp parallel kit. I like the flexibility this package offers along with the reliability these gens appear to provide. I would have gens that are small enough to handle and move around yet provide enough power to do lots of things. If I only need one gen I only run one. I can power one a/c in the moho or charge batteries or run both a/c's with the parallel kit if I don't want to run the onboard diesel gen. I also like the idea of this package providing a back-up option for my house. I can easily install a 50 amp receptacle and use the two Predators to keep refers, freezers and lights on when we get extended power outages. 

 
Dockmaster said:
I'm leaning heavily toward getting 2(ea) of the Predator 3500 gens and the Firman 50 amp parallel kit. I like the flexibility this package offers along with the reliability these gens appear to provide. I would have gens that are small enough to handle and move around yet provide enough power to do lots of things. If I only need one gen I only run one. I can power one a/c in the moho or charge batteries or run both a/c's with the parallel kit if I don't want to run the onboard diesel gen. I also like the idea of this package providing a back-up option for my house. I can easily install a 50 amp receptacle and use the two Predators to keep refers, freezers and lights on when we get extended power outages. 
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URCLEVER said:
Just buy a honda 7000 save you room and last longer
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Heavy to move around and then I'm running a 7k watt generator when often I only need 3k watt or so. The onboard gen on the moho is 8k so why get another similar size? Although inverter gens are supposed to account for this but they can only do that to an extent. I also have my off-grid house and a 3500 is enough to run the charger portion of my inverter/charger if I don't have enough sun in the winter. I have a big 15k gen there but is way overkill most of the time where a 3500 would be a good alternate size. I realize others may not have the variability needs I do so may not apply to you or others. For me, flexibility is a big advantage.

Or, as my wife would say, maybe I just need to get rid of some chit 🙂🤑

 
Just saw this coupon on HF site. It’s good until 4/28. 
 

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I am in the market for a small (and quiet) generator to keep my 110Ah AMG battery topped off when I'm parked in the shade. My fridge and other devices run my battery down each day more than my solar can regenerate when not in full sun. Usually down to 75% or so. I have a Victron IP67 shore charger in the rig. I'm not looking to break the bank but I also don't want to have to buy a new unit anytime soon. I imagine this would run several hours each day at camp when I am in a shaded spot. That might result to 7-10 days a month, up to 120 days a year during a really outdoorsy year.

Here are some I have found. Do you guys have any experience with these? Or any recommendations for others I didn't think of?

 
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I would also like to recommend the WGen2000 Generator. I am impressed with this portable generator because it is full of several premium and innovative features while being offered at an unbeatable and competitive price. It can supply up to 2,500-watts peak power and 2,000-watt rated power.

 
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